The cold of winter has been upon us for the past few weeks, but we finally have been hit by snow and with 6 inches of it on the ground already, the roads have gotten a bit treacherous. After the first few minutes of shoveling snow, two things quickly became apparent. The first was why the snow plow was invented and second our need for one. That’s why when we came across these vintage Willys CJ-5 Jeeps, we couldn’t help but lust after them. Not only are they barn finds, but all three come with their original snow plows. Obviously they are going to need considerable work before they will be out plowing any snow, but with three of them, we are sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to get at least one running. Have a look for yourself here on eBay.
These three have been parked for a number of years and are showing it. The seller claims they were running when they were parked, but given their condition we doubt that matters much. The Willys Hurricane straight four is a built proof little motor, so it would surprise us if there isn’t at least one good motor here. This 2.2 liter motor isn’t all that powerful, it only put out about 75 horsepower and 110 lbs. of torque when new, but given the low curb weight and high center of gravity it should be plenty of power for most uses. As long as the snow isn’t too wet and the drifts aren’t too high, they should be able to plow just about any driveway or parking lot.
The CJ has been an American workhorse since the day it was introduced to the civilian market in 1944. Before that it was on the front lines of Europe during WWII, where it demonstrated what it meant to be a hard working American. We have no doubt that these three have spent most, if not all their lives working hard on this farm. Even though they are in rough shape, when you consider their age and the rough lives that they have likely lived, they are in surprisingly solid shape.
While the CJ came in a wide variety of models and was offered with any number of options, the basic components changed little from ’44 up till AMC bought out Willys in 1970. During the Willys years, one could order their CJ with all sorts of options, like these snow plows. The seller claims that all three came optioned with these plows and that they are the originals, we aren’t sure if this is the case or if it has any impact on the value, but it sure makes for a cool story.
Whether you’re like us and just want one of these to make life a little easier this winter or are looking for a possible business venture to earn some extra Christmas money, these Jeeps have lots of potential and could prove to be fun projects. We are even tempted to buy them to start our own snow removal business. They would make for some eye catching and interesting snow plows! Anyone else here wishing they had one of these to plow snow with right now?
Probably cheaper than buying a big snow blower and the wind won’t blow the snow back on you. I just bought a 1980 Dodge power wagon snow commander for my driveway at a you suck price, cheaper than I could put an engine in my 1985 ramcharger snow commander.
Nice outfits if the price is right but rest assured, you will have to do some extensive work on the frames before you’ll be able to run them. Snow plows can shake and rattle a truck to death in a hurry.
3 jeeps with snow plows in 1 no reserve auction with $1500 ( about the cost of a new HD snowblower ) starting bid. i like this already. if close do a PI and make an offer based on parting them out. if it turns out that 3 can be made into 1 good driver that is even better. seller states one has broken frame and as noted above frames are a issue. great find
I know you guys just love federalized bumpers, but this is going too far.
The upside:
– barn find vintage Willys CJs with plows
– not one, not two, but three of them!
– use two as donors to get the best one going and plow your spread in Wyoming or Idaho in vintage style
– only $1500 start bid and no bids yet
The downside:
– they’re in the rust belt and will need lots of work; one has a busted frame
– there are three of them—bring a triple transporter with a strong winch, on a diesel pickup
– plan on a long trip since they’re way East nowhere near Wyoming or Idaho
When I had my shop I had a customer with a little International jeep they used it to plow the parking lot in the winter it had about 3,000 miles on it & was 15 years old, but because they stored the salt & sand in the back, there wasn’t much left from the rear wheels wells, back.I’m betting these are the same deal.
HINT: Frame broke in half.
Somebody call Fred Sanford!
Please dont let the leopard skin seat covers be on the jeep with the broken frame.! I can only stand so much disappointment today!
The interesting thing about these Jeeps is the hardtops…I’ve never seen any in quite this style. Factory, as well as the period-popular Sears hardtops, were square. All 3 of these have a very cool “slant” to them. Any ideas where the hardtops are sourced from?
Darel, those are actually the factory Willys top. Supposedly, they were made by Koenig for Willys themselves, but if you ordered the “Willys” oem top, thats what you got. The more squared off tops you mentioned were from other companies and often could be sourced through your Willys dealer at the time (Koenig, Meyer, Kelley,etc). The I’m a longtime Jeep collector and have one of these tops on an all original Jeep I got from the original owner, and thats what he ordered. The factory parts catalogs support this as well. The Meyer tops and half cabs are my favorite though; much better shape, fit and have angled door windows which looks much better. I’m on the east coast and see this style of top fairly often (they did seem to rust quickly however). Some of these style tops even had a plastic roof panels in the later years. I believe these “factory” tops were a bit pricey compared to the tops from other makers, hence why they are not as common. Hope this helps. There are a few decent websites out there that have a listing of the different tops and makers. Its interesting to see the variety that was available.
Thanks! I must just be so used to seeing Sears and Acme tops that an actual factory top has eluded me for a long time.