1963 Wagon 230 Tornado Morgantown, PA $27,000 (DEALER)
https://www.classicautomall.com/vehicles/6864/1963-jeep-willys-station-wagon
I’m sure most know about Classic Auto Mall out in Morgantown, PA. It’s a nice size consignment dealer, looks like they have a 10% commission, my guess is off the sale price, I’ve never delt with them but it looks like a really cool place to visit one day.
This is a nice “driver”, 230 Tornado. I’m partial to these and its actually really nice looking, there are some issues but overall has some neat features.
- Factory Air Cleaner
- Washer Bag and Nozzle.
- It looks like its all pretty much there.
- Looks nice.
- Bright work is nice.
- Trim is all there.
- Wraparound rear bumper is nice
- Interior is decent.
Things you may need to address.
- Rust never sleeps kind of stuff; it’s a driver so looks like you can jump in and go!
- Rubber pretty much needs a bunch of rubber stuff.
- Springs, need to take a good look probably need to be done.
- Leaks, while ingenious they have some cool magnetic drip cans, never seen that before but like a good Willys it marks it spot.
- The engine compartment is all there but needs some clean up. Have a couple of weekends and you have a nice driver.
- Some glass is older may need some work eventually.
Overall if this drives and stops enjoy it for a season then peck away at these things as time permits.
I have this at a “make an offer” and see if it sticks.
Seller’s Description
Body Color
Light Green
Stock
7047
Engine Size
230ci SOHC I6
Transmission Type
3 Speed Manual
Vin
5417813234
Miles
86,785 (Unknown)
Drivetrain
4X4
Tim, maybe you can comment on this, The 230 OHC was never one of my favorites, and to the best of my knowledge, never had a good reputation, (prone to problems) oil leaks from the rear main seal seemed to be a constant problem. (65 Wagoneer) I owned and sold quickly to “second hand Bob” back in the 70’s.
I ask you this question, What makes this 230 OHC a favorite of yours?
Between the Kaiser 230 and Pontiac 230 both were some of the earliest large production # OHC engines, just different which can be fun at time.
The early ones suffered from issues with many TSB’s, they really never caught up with the issues. But they made a lot of progress as they went on, unfortunately they just ran out of time and design.
My top reasons, OHC with 6 lobes is just neat to me. Hemi cross flow design head, these move a ton of air it’s really impressive the work Ken Parkman has shared with us on the overall capabilities of the head and design when you fix the known issues.
These have good power, well understated numbers from what they do.
The 2415 carb is well suited.
On the actual Wagon side a 230 Wagon is a dream to drive, the upgraded steering is really slick, I have 3.54 with an OD, would rather 4.10 the 3.54 seems to lug a little it has way more top end then factory brakes can support.
The M715’s came about long way with some neat features to address the short falls of the early ones, so one could do a mix and match of M715 and Truck, Wagon, J series stuff and have a really capable original MFG powered rig.
Just some of the neat things to me.
Lest anyone complain about the price, remember in the collector car world old SUVs are particularly hot now.
I cover car auctions (real and on-line) for a car magazine. I recently reviewed an original unrestored 1990 Land Cruiser with 207,000 miles, nice but far from pristine… it brought $20,000. So, this asking price is pretty reasonable for a restored unit.
About the Tornado engine…my Jeep mentor in Texas, Charlie was GIVEN a nice M-715. He thought it the truck was underpowered and planned an engine swap.
Magnetic drip cans, a neat but sort of sneaky idea. Cant have old pie pans on the polished epoxy floors for everyone to see. right?
Covid pricing.