About 15 years ago, my mother-in-law, who lives about 45 minutes away from me, called my wife and told her that she saw an “old truck” for sale on her way home from work that I might be interested in. That was obviously enough of an impetus for me to gather up my dad to run up and take a look the following Saturday. Occasionally, I’ll cringe at the thought of what happened next, but we found a solid early ’50s Willys Pickup priced at $3,000. I scoffed. Three grand? Nope. Oops. Well, some time has passed, and our friend T.J. spotted this “barn find” 1952 Willys for sale on craigslist in LaPorte, Texas (near Houston), for $7,000. It too is solid, although probably not as nice as the one I found (argh) way back when. The seller recently inherited the truck and is ready to let it go; will you scoff at the price or think it’s just right?
Being the heir to this Willys, the seller only seems to know a few things about it. Most importantly, it was running and driving two years ago, which is good news. The engine is Willys’ F-Head 134-cubic-inch four with 72 horsepower. It drives a Warner three-speed manual, a Spicer Model 18 transfer case, a Spicer Model 25 front axle, and a Timken Model 51540 rear axle. The standard gearing (front and rear) was a steep 5.38:1. The going would be slow, but am I wrong to think that something like a 283 Chevy or a 289 Ford would make for a cool ’60s-style retromod?
Nah, I’d never do that. I’d adjust my driving habits to make up for the fact that we’d be going 45 miles per hour: “Sorry hun, we’re just going to have to leave a little earlier.”
Speaking of my lovely bride, how’s the interior? She doesn’t need perfection, but she doesn’t like contamination. The seller says that the seat was reupholstered five years ago, but there is no picture of it in the ad; in fact, this is the only interior picture posted. The only rust mentioned is a small hole under the accelerator pedal; the rest is solid.
So, is the Willys Pickup near my mother-in-law one of my great regrets in life? Not really, it was a neat truck but not on my list of “must haves.” If, however, the Willys is on your list of must haves, this solid truck is priced at $7,000. The seller doesn’t sound as if they’re willing to deal, but everything has gone up in price over the last 15 years. If you’re in the market and are in the Houston area, it might be worth the drive to go take a look.
7K sounds like long reach.
I had one of these, a later model with the Super Hurricane 6 engine. I enjoyed the heck out of it until both frame rails broke just behind the cab, a result of too many Vermont winters. This one needs a bunch of work but if you could buy it cheap enough, it could be a fun project.
Hi Mike! Long time no see! Hope you’re doing better than the last time I
wrote you. And since you have one of these, you would know whether that price is right. Last one I saw was in Alabama in 2010. The owner turned it into a rat rod with a tire breathing rat motor (454 BBC, T400 tranny) and
tires that were more cartoonish than they were useful. I’ll bet if you went by there with $5K cash he’d more than likely take it. Aaron, here’s your
second chance to get that old truck and make you MIL proud.
Hi Ken! How is Old Man Franks going? I kind of follow it on FB. Take care Brother!
Love me some Willys pickups. This one looks to be mostly complete and ripe for restoration. The drive train can be fixed for a more enjoyable cruise level or you could drop a V8 in there if you so desired. This is a great find and if it didn’t have a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger in pieces in the workshop I would jump on it. $7k is high but cash is king and I bet $5k or even $4k may do it.
Out west, these had a presence but they weren’t a real game changer. I remember opening the hood on one of these and finding a Ford flathead V8 in the bay. It was a good installation and almost looked factory.
Then there was this old drunk who brought his truck around for some occasional work. His ran what was mostly an F226 Continental, which was used a lot by Willys. I don’t think I saw an F-head until the early 70s when this rancher showed up wanting us to grind the valves.
Long story short, it needed lots more than a valve job. The block was cracked and the engine was essentially a basket case. He loaded it up and took it home.
I did see the truck in town a while later. Not sure what was powering it though…
Can I ever find something that is not a week’s worth of traveling to look at??!?
I’d consider a 1999 or 2000 Jeep Cherokee in-line 6 for this. That engine is a horse!
45 mph is the max or you blow the engine. These were not built for high revs. Good in the woods, or the jungle, not on the highway. Living in CA’s mountains, the only way out is on an interstate standard road, where traffic runs between 75 and 85 mph, so not much use here.
There is one locally for sale that is beautiful! It has been upgraded woth a SBC and many other items. The asking price is $25k. (Estate sale along with a beautiful 1930s Packard and a LeSalle(sp?)
When something looks like it’s been sitting in a junk yard for decades but is commanding $7,000 as a total fixer upper, I think it’s time to find a new hobby,
It may be “solid”, but there is enough rust there to keep somebody quite busy blasting and sanding for quite some time, if that person wants paint to look good when applied. Running and driving two years ago does not necessarily mean the engine isn’t seized now, or that the entire braking system doesn’t need to be redone. With no rear lights, was it driving legally on streets? A seat redone 5 years ago may be ready to be done again after baking in the sun for 5 years. A 10 cube box of parts was enough to finish the truck? Amazing. I see nothing in the pictures that indicates this truck is worth anything remotely approaching $7,000.00, more like $700.00.
A Warn Overdrive could tame that 5:38 gearing issue and let you maybe reach double nickel speeds. Have seen some awesome restomods of these that would be easier and more fun to drive (power steering, front disc brakes, maybe AC…)
Cool? Yes. $7000? Nope!
Slap a Warn (forget the new name) overdrive in it and maybe get to double nickel speeds. Have seen a few resto-mod with SBC and disc brakes AC etc that look awesome!
Good candidate for a SBC, Ford 289, or even a Toyota 22R and matching drive train. I knew someone that dropped a Willys Hurricane 6 in one, but where are you gonna find one of those these days? $5K is more like it.
I like it, for something to just get it on the road again, for something I would be using for a off road right I wouldn’t worry about scratching it
Should have a L head 226 in it or a L head 4 cyl. The nF head is a later motor. Jack
Jack, the F-head was introduced in 1950 in the trucks.
I have the station wagon version of this that I have been restoring for many years. The Willys Wagon and Willys pickup are identical from the B-pillars forward. Mine is a ‘62 with 226 CI flathead straight six. Great engine; dead reliable, silky smooth, whisper quiet, and torquey. I am keeping mine completely stock.
In high school I helped one of my teachers do a V8 conversion to his wagon. FLATHEAD FORD. It was a fairly easy swap as it was a kit. He was quite happy with the result.I never got to drive it, so I really have no feel for the result. I have always loved the body style.
I had a 226 Super Hurricane six in a 55 Willys wagon in high school. It was good for about 52 MPH on level ground, wound out. I got it close to 60 MPH once, but that was down a big hill with the clutch in. It likely kept me from killing myself in high school. But it got me and my friends to school every day in NW PA winters.
Dad sold it after hunting season when I had gone to college. The friends and relatives that I used to plow driveways for expected him to do it. So it was sold the day after the snow storm in the fall of 1971.
I now have a 1943 Ford GPW military Jeep that my cousin built with a 283 Chevy, 6″ lift kit, and 36″ tires. One word of warning on that conversion, the Jeep brakes and steering are designed for 40 MPH.
I need to convert mine to late model stuff, but haven’t got there yet. I did give it a dual master cylinder after one of the 65 year old brake lines ruptured. I can still slow it down by downshifting better than I can by standing on the brakes. Fortunately I only drive it to car shows a couple miles away . .. . . and VERY carefully.