It all began with a “chance” meeting with a surfer in an old Willys Overland Wagon at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
After posting the above photo on the Surf Cars Facebook page, saying I’ve really liked Willys Wagons and P/Us since I was 14, a commenter said he had one he’d be willing to sell to me! This is the one on the left!
Two years later I was finally able to commit to purchasing this Willys. The previous owner was so patient, believing that I would come through.
So I made the road trip from SoCal to Coos Bay, OR, loaded up the Willys and headed south. Because it was the beginning of summer I drove down Highway 1 and 101 all the way to Santa Monica — besides the scenery is way better especially through the Redwoods.
My Willys comes home!
First thing was to remove and replace the busted transfer case.
Which I knew needed doing before I bought it!
While waiting for parts…
I started experimenting with colors and grain patterns. I had studied a lot of real wood Woodies (as a member of the National Woodie Club) for design and the joints of the maple frames. Once I settled on what I wanted, I began the process of prepping which included some body work (next section).
Let the Woodgraining begin!
There was a little bit of rust to to deal with (the black is Rust Reformer) and even some refilling on the rear quarters. Can you see how many color changes this wagon has gone through? At first I thought it was Sea Foam Green, the I uncovered a light shade of yellow, and then white began to appear! There was even old school lead filler in a spot.
After the body work a surface prep, I applied base coat paint —maple for the frames and mahogany for the panels. I then applied Birds Eye Maple grain pattern for the frames and Oriental Mahogany or Teak on the panels. Over the whole thing is a urethane clear coat for a deep gloss.
Currently working on the back doors. Took me a while to decide what I wanted to do with the barn doors. A lift/tailgate would be a no brainer (see next section for why the barn doors). I enjoy going to shows like the Southern California Woodie Club show at Doheny Beach (below).
About my Willys
My Willys is a Willys Overland Traveler 4X4 restomod.
Powered by a 1967 Ford 302 V8 with a 2 barrel carb mated to a C4 3 speed transmission. Ignition was converted to Petronix II electronic ignition.
An Advance Adapter connects the transmission to the original Dana 18 transfer case.
Axles are Dana 44s from a 1978 Jeep Wagoneer.
Wheels are 10X15 with 31 inch Firestone tires.
There were not many Travelers made, mine was number 141 and not many made after this one. Willys Overland took their panel delivery model, made some modifications like the side windows, flattened the rear wheel wells to accommodate the side facing seats and made a special roof spare tire mount to made more space for crew and/or cargo.
