Coming to us from Polk City, Florida is an almost finished restoration of a 1953 Willys Jeep with an original Sears aftermarket aluminum hardtop. It sure looks great, especially with the hardtop installed! This Jeep could be yours for the price of $12,500.
Like a pair of blue jeans, the flat fender Willys is one of those rare items that never goes out of style. This CJ-3B model is just about finished with its restoration. According to the seller, it needs a few items installed to be finished and road-worthy. The simplicity of these vehicles will allow anyone with a small tool set to complete this rig and have an excellent example of the last flat fender model. It is hard to read a set of internet pictures fully, but this Willys sure looks like the restoration has been a top-notch job. The green paint looks great and you can never go wrong with painted steel wheels in Henry Ford’s favorite color. The interior is extra clean, too. Can you imagine romping through a war zone sitting on those rumper seats?!
But let’s talk about the most interesting part of this Willys: the Sears hardtop. According to “Early Civilian Jeep Hardtops” by Bart McNeil, these tops were available through the Sears and Roebuck catalog and could be installed by a dealer or the owner. They were shipped unassembled in a flat pack with instructions (Ikea has nothing on these tops). These period aftermarket pieces are fascinating and can set a vehicle apart at the local cars and coffee. I had never seen one before and was interested in researching their history. Have you ever seen one of these? What can you tell this community about them, if you have?
If you want to join the classic car community, an early Jeep is one of the best vehicles to consider. Parts are plentiful, the aftermarket for these Jeeps is strong, and they are straightforward to work on and reliable. This Willys would be an easy project to finish and a great addition, or first car, to your classic car collection. Please check out this ride in the Barn Finds Classified section or here on eBay.
Interesting top! I had a factory top on my CJ7. Off in the Spring, on in the Fall. Great fun!
Looks like some nice work and so close to the finish line. The aluminum top is very cool and I’m sure it’s quite the conversation piece. Is a Jeep with a metal top warmer in the winter? Maybe, but I’m pretty sure you won’t be turning the heater down. My current project Jeep had a steel top when I bought it. It made me think of driving down the road in a tin can… partially filled with rocks.
Here is a stupid question, if finishing the restoration only requires a “fun weekend” with all the parts supplied, why don’t they have a fun weekend and finish it then set the price at $15.500?
I hope Sears included a rivet gun with top, ha ha. Made me think of a flat pack steel shed my dad purchased when I was 11 or 12. I wanted to help and remembered cutting my hands on the steel edges…you learned and put gloves on next time
I see we have a couple new writers, being the 1st post I’ve responded to, I’d like to welcome Dusty aboard. You don’t have to be crazy to be here, but it helps.
I’m quite confident by now, people don’t buy these things today for their 67 mile commute everyday, strictly a novelty. The hardtop is a great addition, I wouldn’t want a Jeep without one. There were literally dozens( hundreds?) of companies that made aftermarket items for Jeeps. The hardtop was offered by a slew of companies, and most of the Jeep snowplows I remember,, had hardtops. Tip of the iceberg, as there were aftermarket items I doubt have ever been matched again. It was called “Universal” for a reason. With devices like trenchers, backhoes, PTO driven farm implements, you name it, someone made it for a Jeep. Always unclear why it wasn’t finished, but can speculate with reasonable accuracy, the hottie shown is obviously the kid, and dad never got to see his project finished. How does she know it runs and shifts unfinished. Red flag right there, folks. 9 viewers, not a ton of interest. It’s clear, people just have no use for a vehicle like this anymore. So sad, dad never got to drive it. Turning the page, someone is going to get a nice Jeep.
Hottie? Subjective term, that.
Thanks for the welcome, Howard! Appreciate your comment
Welcome Dusty. Good write-up. And, you provided information I have wondered about for a long time.
Upon returning to oil field work, my dad bought a new 1962 CJ-5. Working the Ohio oil fields, he was outside essentially all the time. A regular complaint was that the soft-top-equipped Jeep was always cold in the winter. I can remember him lusting over the hardtops advertised in the J. C. Whitney catalog.
But he never sprung for one. Now that I see the prices ($1200 to as much as $3000 in today’s dollars), I can understand why.
The ultimate solution to his problem? When he got a company pickup, a new 1966 F-100. He was a happy camper when that happened.
Have one of these tops as well that came with one of my Jeep buys.
Modern tires look weird on an old Jeep.