You have surely heard someone say they don't build ‘em like they used to? Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Jeep Pickup is a perfect example of how they used to build ‘em, but will its modern-day price give you the willies?
Hey, check out the new blog format, pretty sweet, huh? Not so sweet - in fact, seemingly leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the 79% of you who gave it a Crack Pipe loss - was yesterday's 2006 Lotus Elise. Sure everyone loves an Elise, but when an accident is so severe that it inflicts damage to both car and title, it's sometimes best just to walk away.
Sure the Elise is a modern interpretation of the classic less-weight equals more speed school of thought, and even meets today's stringent safety and pollution wrangling mandates to boot, but as yesterday's car proved, it has its limits. Today's 1962 Willys Jeep Pickup has none of those constraints, and it may very well be the last vehicle you'd ever need to buy.
What calamity do your tea leaves foretell? Armageddon? Meteor attack? A big sale at Pennys? Whatever the disaster, this Jeep is built to survive it. Sure Subaru may claim pownage of the zombie apocalypse, but really, when the shizzle hits the fan, you're going to want something with a little more ground clearance than a WRX, as well as a handy place to mount your double pump.
This pickup is based on the same robust ladder frame as the Jeepster, and maintains leaf-sprung solid axles at both ends, the front one being a Dana 25 while a Dana 53 holds up the back. In between is a Spicer two-speed transfer case, and bolted to that is a Borg Warner T90 3-speed with overdrive. Power is provided by the massively robust Super Hurricane flathead six, an engine that displaces 226 cubic inches and produces 105-bhp. I said it should last until the end of days, I didn't say it wouldn't take that long to get there.
Outside, this Jeep has the expected vertical grille, round headlamps, and flat-topped fenders you would expect of the related Jeepster, while in back there's a step-side bed where you might otherwise assume there to be a wagon's tail. That bed here is coated in enough diamond plate to be a girl's best friend, and the tailgate sports the twin I-beam embossing shared with the FC pickups.
Under that is the step bumper of the gods. Other trucks may have rear bumpers that do double duty as perch for your Timberlands, but they all pale in comparison to this one, which is more a wrap-around porch than a bumper. Overall it appears to be a very well maintained and considerately updated truck- the paint looks shiny, the body seems as straight as an old Jeep could be expected to appear, and the alloy rims look. . . well, like ass.
Those totally incongruous wheels are about the only issue one might have with the exterior presentation of this Willys, the diamonds on the soles of her bed being a toss up. But of course the rims are an easy fix if you know which end of a lug wrench goes where. Inside things are better with a pair of faux sheep adorning the twin buckets and a center bin that looks appropriately nicked and dented (hmm, Nick Denton?) evidencing this as a place where work gets done, and not one where earl grey tea gets sipped. Instrumentation is augmented, but still sparse, and it may be disconcerting to discover that the Speedo is marked with single digits. Despite that graphic choice this Jeep assuredly will do more than 9 miles per hour.
However, it won't do oodles more, being built for the comfort of slogging over either rough terrain or the oleaginous entrails of zombie hordes, rather than for speed. It also will serve well for parades, and for Fireman fantasy fulfillment requiring only a pair of red suspenders and a Dalmatian to complete the effect. Mileage? Who the hell knows or cares, as the lifespan of trucks like this Jeep aren't counted in miles, but in decades, or perhaps even centuries as there's little to stand in the way of it's surviving to the next big calendar flip-over.
But what of its price, is that also one for the ages? The seller is asking $7,500 for someone to move to you-Jeep-istan, and that's a lot of dough for an old and very basic vehicle. Remember, this Jeep lacks A/C, power anything, and has the driving dynamics of a riding mower, it will, however, last a long, long time. That means that any price paid could be amortized over years or even decades, making its full CPY (cost per year) eyebrow-raisingly low.
What do you think, is this Jeep worth $7,500? Or, does that make you think they don't price ‘em like they used to?
You decide!
New Jersey Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. H/T to Adam Wechsler for the hookup!
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