If you ever wanted a reason to visit Lincoln, Nebraska other than the SCCA Solo Nationals and their plethora of pylon puns, a nondescript used-car lot has a Chevy-powered Willys Overland 4×4 Sport Wagon for you. One of their long-time employees, Jim, apparently has quite a collection of cars and they’re helping him sell them off one by one. This not-quite-flat-black two-door Willys wagon caught our attention. It’s got metal everywhere and is purt’near guaranteed to make the 50 mile round-trip to Greenwood, Nebraska. Any further than that and all bets are off. Especially if it rains.
That 50-mile trip was apparently Jim’s most recent journey with Willy (which is what we’re calling the car, though the ad doesn’t specify a name), taken after recently installing a new clutch kit ahead of the four-speed manual. Apparently the 327-cube Chevy up front could use a tune-up and a set of plugs, but otherwise runs well.
You might want to get the wipers fixed before taking a long trip, and don’t expect to set any speed records on the way home. The speedometer only goes up to 9.
(That’s a joke, you keyboard warriors.)
It’s all utility inside and clearly Jim wasn’t in the high-end restoration business, so you don’t have to worry much about runing klassik. Just give it a good cleaning and start hauling parts, cars, parts cars, and… well, is there anything else you could do with a truck?
No, I can’t think of anything else either.
The body looks reasonably straight and looks light on rust, which is remarkable enough for a vehicle this old, nevermind one that lives in the Midwest. The red wheels are a nice accent on what is otherwise a mostly straightforward tractor-like four-by-four.
Get your Jeepy grins for a mere $3500 at Star City Auto Sales in Lincoln, Nebraska, via this Craigslist ad. If you’re heading West on the way home, stop by Murphy’s Wagon Wheel in Hastings (population: 25,000) for the most delicious burgers in the damn world.
[Photos courtesy Star City Auto Sales]
Jim's Proto-SUV could be yours if you can get home from Nebraska
By Alan
Aug 11, 2016
By Alan
I'm a giant nerd and lifelong iconoclast who happens to like cars, especially terrible ones. I've built many low-budget race cars, driven in many Lemons races, worked at a Real Deal Print Car Magazine, and gave up that lifestyle in the interest of life balance. I also wear khakis and ride bicycles, though rarely at the same time.
Jeff Glucker
Are the Mark III and the Reatta part of his collection, too?
I’m about 200 miles away from this, but no thanks — all I can see are the nickles and dimes. So many nickles and dimes.
But it’s certain to make it at least 1/4 of the way home under its own power!
After the VW, I’m never going to Lincoln for a car again.
My commute is short enough that I could DD this, and I have light truck- and truck-adjacent needs on a regular basis at work.
The drive from there to here would be mighty unpleasant though, and I already took June off to do a road trip this year.
The nice* thing about Lincoln, Nebraska is that it’s centrally located in the country. That also means it’s equally FAR from practically everyone.
*not really a nice thing at all.