Soon after learning that our son Andrew was planning to move back west, Cindy and I decided that a great way to celebrate his homecoming was to give him our old 1997 Jeep XJ Cherokee. Of course, that would leave us with an open stable and so for a while now, we had been looking for a new Jeep to help fill in the void. Being that we had just adopted Emma, our 1969 Kaiser Jeepster Commando C101, we felt that maybe it was time to get what we've always wanted, something a bit older and that would be a Willys! After looking far and near for about a month or so and coming up empty handed, we finally found Pappy - a 1954 Willys CJ3B. Here are a few photos of what he looks like and we hope that you will welcome here on WAYALIFE 
Ironically, we just happened to pass this awesome "high-hood" Willys in a parking lot, in town and just as we were leaving to drive 3 hours to look at an old M38 located in California. Here's a quick shot that we took of it at the lot before heading out.
After spending the better part of the day driving well into California to look at yet another rusting hunk of junk covered in shiny red paint, we headed back for home and hoped that Pappy was still available for sale. The following morning, we called up the owner, took it for a test drive and brought him home.
For those of you who don't know, the CJ3B is a unique Willys in that it has a much higher hood to accommodate the more powerful F-Head Hurricane engine they came with. And, as our good friend Chris likes to say, when it comes to Willys, they're kind of the "ugly stepchild" and in so many ways, it's what Cindy and I have always loved about them. From what I was told, the previous owner had this one for about 12 years and before that, it had been owned for a long time by a guy in Dayton, NV and before that, it had served as a Forest Service vehicle up in Portola, CA. And, while it isn't in perfect condition, Cindy and I were surprised at how clean it is overall and even more so at how well it drives. Here are a few all around exterior shots of what Pappy looked like soon after we brought him home.
Here are some shots of the interior.
Being a Forest Service vehicle, this CJ3B even came equipped with a heater for those cold snowy days.
With the exception of the gas gauge (needs a new sending unit), all the instruments on the dash work perfectly.
While the CJ3B's didn't come with turn signals, this one was outfitted with a period piece one made by Napa.
View from the driver side.
Shot from the rear looking in.
The floor pans do have a couple of holes but nothing worse than what one could expect of a 61 year old Jeep and not nearly as bad as what I have seen.
Passenger side floor pan drain hole.
Check out the cool embossed "Jeep" on the side of the tool box.
A little rusty inside but amazingly, there's still a floor. Most Willys will have a big open hole looking at the ground here.
Although this Willys came with a soft top and soft doors, it was full of holes and basically useless.
With the exception of the floor pans and this tiny bit of rust on the tub, Pappy was for the most part cancer free.
Shots of the factory wheels.
International Harvester manual locking hubs.
While these tiny street tires are tubeless in design, they are still being held up by inner tubes inside.
A few shots under the hood.
A few fun close up shots.
A couple more shots of the back with the sun on it.
Ironically, we just happened to pass this awesome "high-hood" Willys in a parking lot, in town and just as we were leaving to drive 3 hours to look at an old M38 located in California. Here's a quick shot that we took of it at the lot before heading out.
After spending the better part of the day driving well into California to look at yet another rusting hunk of junk covered in shiny red paint, we headed back for home and hoped that Pappy was still available for sale. The following morning, we called up the owner, took it for a test drive and brought him home.
For those of you who don't know, the CJ3B is a unique Willys in that it has a much higher hood to accommodate the more powerful F-Head Hurricane engine they came with. And, as our good friend Chris likes to say, when it comes to Willys, they're kind of the "ugly stepchild" and in so many ways, it's what Cindy and I have always loved about them. From what I was told, the previous owner had this one for about 12 years and before that, it had been owned for a long time by a guy in Dayton, NV and before that, it had served as a Forest Service vehicle up in Portola, CA. And, while it isn't in perfect condition, Cindy and I were surprised at how clean it is overall and even more so at how well it drives. Here are a few all around exterior shots of what Pappy looked like soon after we brought him home.
Here are some shots of the interior.
Being a Forest Service vehicle, this CJ3B even came equipped with a heater for those cold snowy days.
With the exception of the gas gauge (needs a new sending unit), all the instruments on the dash work perfectly.
While the CJ3B's didn't come with turn signals, this one was outfitted with a period piece one made by Napa.
View from the driver side.
Shot from the rear looking in.
The floor pans do have a couple of holes but nothing worse than what one could expect of a 61 year old Jeep and not nearly as bad as what I have seen.
Passenger side floor pan drain hole.
Check out the cool embossed "Jeep" on the side of the tool box.
A little rusty inside but amazingly, there's still a floor. Most Willys will have a big open hole looking at the ground here.
Although this Willys came with a soft top and soft doors, it was full of holes and basically useless.
With the exception of the floor pans and this tiny bit of rust on the tub, Pappy was for the most part cancer free.
Shots of the factory wheels.
International Harvester manual locking hubs.
While these tiny street tires are tubeless in design, they are still being held up by inner tubes inside.
A few shots under the hood.
A few fun close up shots.
A couple more shots of the back with the sun on it.
