Hi there (and question)

[Pfnaak]

I am a Willys owner to be from Europe and I am looking for some further information to decide, if the seller made a good offer. I therefore hope to get some information here to make a decision.

The vehicle. no. is MB 254813, so it was made in 1943 (with the rotatable headlights). The engine no. was MB 537953, but it has been changed. The actual no. is MB 278234. It has been changed to 12V and unleaded petrol. It seems to be in a very good shape, no rust, no missing parts, good paintjob, nice engine sound, etc.

I know nothing about it's history and would be thankful for any hint. At the moment it's sand colored and it has also a condenser (but the small one, not the big one the british had for their LRDG etc.).

Pfnaak

[LarrBeard]

A good way to get an idea of what prices people are asking for Jeeps is to look in the Classified section of the Kaiser-Willys website.

As in any marketplace, there are wide ranges of asking prices ...

How badly does the seller want to sell something... ?

How badly does the buyer want it ... ?

What is it really worth ... ?

http://willysforsale.com/

Good luck!

[Pfnaak]

Thanks for the input. The price is in an adequate range for my region, but the prices grew quite a bit over the last years.

But I am less searching for the "price tag" itself, but rather for the history of "my" Willys. Are there any databases for serial numbers or other ways to find out, where it has been in WWII or who drove it?

[Pfnaak]

And a pic:

1982

[LarrBeard]

A. The picture didn't attach. Use the "Go Advanced" option to select and upload the picture.

B. Check out the g503.com forums to try to find out more about your MB. Those guys talk about everything...

[Pfnaak]

Thats "my" Willys... The question is, was it really sand coloured originally? Has it been to North Africa?

[gmwillys]

Welcome Pfnaak. The color has been redone fairly recently, from the look of the photos. The body looks too clean to say that there would be any evidence to any of the original colors. Most likely it would have been sand blasted, or at least taken to bare metal. I would fare to say that all Willys were painted the Olive drab from the factory, and then painted the sand. If it was an original desert patrol vehicle, there should be a lot of extra holes in the body for extra fuel cans and water. It appears that the body work on your Jeep is clean as can be.

[Pfnaak]

I am sure, that the paint job is quite new. And it's a good one, as they did spray any corner of the car. I really can't find a green spot. But as to the dents I would say that the job has been done quite some years ago, even if the paint is still a little glossy. But of course it's neither teh original color from the factory nor an original sand paint, even if there are some more holes in the body (attachment points), but not much. The funny thing is, that the holes for the axe attachment at the front fender are missing, couldn't even feel them beyond the paint. So there is only a short axe attached.

But I think it's cool and in a good shape, so I will probably buy it (about $21000)...

[LarrBeard]

Tge one thing we have learned to say about old Jeeps is:

"They never ____ _____ _____ _____ _____" ... and then fill in the blanks about paint, mechanical differences, body features or anything else...

But, I agree - it probably wasn't sand colored originally. And - from just a logistics and history point of view - it probably didn't serve in North Africa, not many of those vehicles ever made it back.