Jim, take it away … (thanks for sharing!)
Got a call today. Guy says,”I hear you like willys jeeps?” Yep, that sounds like me I thought. He said,”I have one here with flat fenders, all original, hasn’t been started in a while, will probably need a battery, some tires, gas.” Sounds like my kinda deal I thought, then I asked the fatal question,”when was it last run running?” “Oh, maybe 30-35 years ago when I was a kid,” he said.
Wow, it had been sitting in the same spot in a field on a fence line for so long that the diffs were touching the ground and part of all 4 rims and tires were 6-8 inches under ground. The 8000 lb warn winch on my trailer wound up pretty damn tight for a few seconds and then the whole jeep “popped” up and out of the ground as if it had sat on a tack!
2 trash bags of old carpet, wood, leaves, clumps of moss (yes, moss) rotted tools, a rusty hunting knife, 3 hornets nest and one poor little very unhappy wet field mouse later [ed note: see last pic] I found some very decent floor boards, perfect hat channels underneath, factory paint still on the frame, a surprisingly straight body, all stock everything and a super trashed windshield frame, but I have a spare here at the cabin.
The owner said they parked it originally cause it needed a fuel pump; so, what do you want to bet I will be driving this old rig in a few weeks? A lot of fun for an afternoon of flat fender hunting! Cocktail time to celebrate!
PS. my sincere apologies to the owners of the carwash I spent $10 at to remove the worst of the goo; sorry bout the mess …… serial number CJ2A 211636
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