SHARE YOUR WILLYS JEEP STORY
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Willys. Jeep. Life.
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components; gauges, lights, horn, etc. It had never been repainted and the paint on the underside was about as nice as the paint on the body. As you can see in the “before” eBay photos, it didn’t have a top — or so I thought when I bought it.
When it arrived though, it had a full canvas top and all the brackets in the bed. Burl said he had never used the top and that it had been in a box in his barn since he bought it from his wife’s cousin. I almost forgot to mention that the original jack, tire tool, and tailgate chains with the matching green vinyl covers were still in and on the Jeep. Oh, and he insisted on filling the tank with gas!
because it was too cheap to pass up. Shortly after putting it on eBay to get money to buy tires and other odds and ends, I struck up a conversation with a guy from Houston who was interested in buying it. Before long, I told him about my other M38 and my M416 Jeep trailer. I also told him about my lack of the time necessary to put the Jeep together. Then, I realized that what I really needed was a Jeep that I could tinker with, not rebuild.
Miraculously, I went on eBay that night and, Voila! There it was — the ultimate “barn find.” Cue the bright light from the heavens, choir singing “Ahhhhhhhh” and a hundred violins. Since I found it on eBay, I call it my “E-Barn” find. Cue the light, choir and violins, again. What’s funny is that until I saw that Jeep, I thought CJ-3B’s were ugly. With this beauty, however, it was love at first sight! My “3B” was a swan, not an ugly duckling; I immediately wanted this Jeep. Coincidentally, the guy from Houston really wanted my M38 collection. So, I made him an offer. I told him that if he would drive the 600 miles from Houston to Amarillo, buy the 3B and tow it 360 miles to Mansfield, Texas, I’d give him all of my M38 Jeep stuff for it. Like a true Jeep addict, he actually did it!
Warning! The description of this “barn find” will give you a case of Jeep Envy. Read it at your own risk:
This amazing un-restored CJ-3B Jeep, serial number 87755, was built in December of 1961 and purchased new in 1962 by a man who lived in Kerrville, Texas. It was used sparingly as a hunting Jeep and kept (you guessed it) in his barn. About fifteen years ago, the man got too old to use it, so he sold it to his cousin and her husband, who lived in Amarillo but had a ranch in New Mexico. They wanted something to drive in and around the ranch. From 1962 to when they bought the Jeep, it had only been driven around 6,000 miles. Whenever it was taken hunting or to the ranch, it was put on a trailer; it was never dragged behind a vehicle. When not in use, it was in the shrine – I mean the barn. When they sold it to me, it only had 7,092 miles on it — no kidding! The thing had no rust, no body damage, ran like new, and had fully functioning electrical
The Jeep only had a few non-original items on it. The first owner had put big bumpers on it, and a handrail across the dash. The bumpers may account for the taillights and body being undamaged. I completely removed the rear bumper and trimmed the curved ends off of the front one in order to make it look like a Jeep bumper. It was well made and included a fully functional Ramsey model 200R 8,000 pound PTO winch (insert grunting and chest beating here) so I didn’t want to replace it with a correct Jeep bumper.
The paint, glass (including rubber seals) and rear seats were original and in great shape. The Jeep even had the original Goodyear Suburbanite tires. The front seats had been recovered (professionally, it appears) by the first owner. I could see indentations in the “new” vinyl from original gray vinyl underneath. The front seat tops had the original springs inside. The bottoms were replaced by foam when they were recovered. Besides removing the bumpers and the hand-rail, the only thing I did to it was strip and paint the original rims, replace the original Goodyear Suburbanites with NDCC tires including the spare, now on the right side, wash it, wax it, and add a pintle hook so I could pull my new Jeep trailer. I got the trailer locally, from a guy who copied an old Jeep trailer with a 3 x 5 foot bed version.
My fellow Jeep Fever sufferers, I didn’t find the Fountain of Youth, though I did feel like a kid when I played with this thing. I haven’t discovered the lost city of Atlantis, but I have made the mythical barn find that we all seek. My story just goes to show you that the barn find is still out there waiting for you. Just keep looking! ■
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