My name is Dave Bennett and I am in Gilbert, AZ. I have built a few cars and trucks over the years and currently drive a 1937 Cadillac Sedan around the country. Most of my builds are for drive-ability and safety, but I like to keep the old look. I just took ownership of a 1947 4T with only 25,900 original miles. The truck appears to be be all original stock and was used for farm work mostly; although it has been parked in a shed for the past 30 years or so. What is interesting is the serial number; 10038, which means a real early production. That makes me think about leaving it stock since it may be one of the oldest/earliest ones around. Any thoughts on this idea? Modify or Restore?
Wow - 10038. That puts it in a build date of the first week or so of build for 1947 production, maybe July of 1946.
The 4WD trucks are easier to find parts for than the 2WD and a lot of parts are common to everything in the day. I chose to keep the '48 2WD stock and as close to original as I could. I had forgotten how slowly that 4-cylinder engine with a 6-volt starter turns over on a cold morning!
At that low a number and with that few miles, it is probably close to original - like the book shows it. A couple of years later, Willys-Overland got sloppy in what we would call configuration control today - if it fits, they put it on. Then, if it gets a lot of use and wears out, people replaced the worn out part with whatever fit. The '48 2WD had a lot of that.
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