Every now and then, I get someone who asks me why we do what we do here at Walck’s 4 Wheel Drive. I tell them that we love restoring old Willys Jeeps because there’s nothing greater than taking a hobby and being able to turn it into a business. It’s even better that a lot of people share the same hobby and so we can help them through their restoration journey and share the experience with them.
As Restore Cars Fast explains, “Restoring a car is not the same as rebuilding it. In a rebuilt car, it doesn’t matter where the parts come from as long as they fit the purpose they are needed for. Car restoration, on the other hand, involves returning the car to as much of its original glory as possible which usually involves hunting down and using authentic original parts.”
When you decide to restore a Willys Jeep, you’re preserving a little bit of history. In 1940, Willys-Overland Motors Inc. began vehicle development for America’s first four-wheel drive utility vehicle and began production in 1941. In all, more than 350,000 “Jeeps” were produced during the 1940’s in support of the war effort. At this time, the military only paid about $740.00 per vehicle. Not a bad price for what would become such an iconic and great vehicle.
Because it IS such an iconic vehicle and an important part of history, there are numerous Willys Jeep events around the United States to celebrate the brand. Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival is the most notable because not only is it located in the birthplace of Bantam Jeeps (Butler, PA) but it has a huge turn out for those who own or just love Bantam and Willys Jeeps.
At these events, there are numerous contests you can enter your Willys Jeep into for the chance to win prizes, there are parades in which you can drive your vehicle, or sometimes attendees just decide to get together and take their Willys Jeeps out for a spin.
To attend these events, you really don’t need to own your own Jeep but it’s fun to bring your pride and joy to the event and show it off. You can talk to other restorers who are there and it’s nice to be able to talk about how you combatted the play in your steering or how they fixed a problem with their starter. There’s just something about taking a Willys Jeep that has seen better days then putting the hard work and dedication into fixing it back up like it would have been in it’s glory days.
A lot of customers who purchase from Walck’s 4 Wheel Drive, tell me that they’re starting a new restoration project with their kid. They want to show their son or daughter to not only appreciate older vehicles but to spend time with them and bond a little. Restoration projects, like a Willys Jeep would be, take a lot of time and perseverance so they find this is the perfect time to talk with their kids or to just share a hobby that’s important to them. Each person has a different reason as to why they want to share the restoration project with someone else, whether it’s to teach a lesson or just to spend more time with family or friends.
There are so many different reasons to restore an old Willys Jeep and I only mentioned a few here. Whether you’re a history buff or just a parent with a little extra time on your hands, it’s an activity that can teach you skills and help you to appreciate what it takes to restore something old into something “new” again.
