Nice to find a great forum for Willys. I grew up with a 47 CJ2A at our family cabin. Learned to work on motors on the green machine and learned to drive with it. I think I put about 50k miles on it driving all over the back country for years, lol. Great memories. I'm nearing the end of another year in Afghanistan and I've enjoyed reading the forum comments and posts during my down time. I'm tinkering with the idea of finding a Willys to work on during my destress/re-integration time when I get back home. In the meantime, thanks for letting me join such a great forum.
Last edited by livingthepast; 01-16-2021 at 03:34 PM.
God bless you and thank you for that year and all the others. Welcome back to the soil whether or not with a jeep! One thing to ponder is the Jeep often finds you, so keep on it until she gets all the way to your place. It would suck to miss a cool project!
Welcome home soon ltp! I hope you have a safe and speedy return. Thanks for guarding our freedom from afar.
I think you would love a Willys project. Lots of help out there and parts can still be found. You will feel like you accomplished something when your done.
And, Thank You for going places I'm way to old to go to and I wouldn't have wanted to go to when I could!
I don't know if a Jeep project would be called a de-stressing project, just a different kind of stress.
The group talks about Jeeps, but we wander off with stories that start off; "Well there was this one time .... ". We talk about guns on occasion. We talk about old ships and airplanes, even steam locomotives.
We have suggestions to fix a number of common problems and we still get questions that make us go "Hmmmm?".
Stay safe, stay well and start looking for a Jeep. I favor the early trucks, BMorgil likes CJ-3A's and GMWillys is a soft touch for anything that has flat fenders. There is something for everyone to like!
And don't forget Magoo, restored by the late Ira Jones and viewed by over a half-million viewers at "The Darned Thing Is Out...".
Compared to Afghanistan, a Willys would be a great de-stressor! Please stay safe, and we look forward to having you back home and looking for a project.
Thanks to all for the great welcome! 35 days and a wake up I've started the search for my project. I've got a warm spot in my heart for the "flat fender" jeep and have always been intrigued by the truck and wagon models. I still remember running across a truck in the middle of an extremely large swamp with nothing left but the speedometer. Yes, the Army has taken me to many places, including the middle of a few swamps. I rescued the square speedometer (it literally fell off the rusted dash and into my hands) and remember questioning how someone, at some point, managed to drive a Willys truck through 3 feet of water miles into a swamp, but then I remembered my youth and the places the CJ2a green machine took me.
Thanks for helping me look forward to a project and a new group as I transition back home.
I rescued the square speedometer (it literally fell off the rusted dash and into my hands)"
35 days and a wake-up, the true short timer's saying.
"Back in the day", sailors had Short Timers' Calendars' where you colored in one square of the Playboy centerfold every day - kind of like a paint by number picture - and you can imagine where day Zero was on the picture...
Then there was the short timer's chain, "I'll cut off one link every day and when the chain is gone, so am I ... ".
Of course, "FIIGMO" - F It, I've Got My Orders" and the STA, "Short Timer's Attitude".
And, if the truck speedometer was square, it was for a '46 through mid-50 truck. After that, they were round.
34 days and a wake up. My Dad who was a Marine through and through, used that as a time determination to anything upcoming. Keep your head down, and God speed to your end of tour.
For the time being, check out the following link for information and Willys for sale across the U.S.