'41 Willys Pickup (in storage since '68) Found!!! ... PICS!!!

Ultimate Barn/Garage find? - You be the judge...........

The next time you drive by or stroll past a neighborhood, think about the
people and history that may be lurking right in front of you. How about
that couple that has lived in that house since 1960, in their 90's and
lived a full life of adventures - have you ever taken the time to say
hello and get to know them? Hopefully this will motivate all of us to
treasure old neighbors and get to know them. You never know what lies in
that old garage.............

 

Got any bigger pix?

Did ya buy it? Cool find.....

 

Did you buy it?

 

I was honored to be able to help out an old buddy when he called to tell
me about something he came across recently. My buddy Bill Fowler (SOLO
Speed Shop), got a tip from a friend who was asked to give an appraisal on
a local estate. He told Bill that there was this old pickup hiding
unsuspected in this old garage in Oregon, & could use some help on value!
After giving value it was then possibly for sale! He was given a couple of
pictures to make a judgment about the likelihood that it was indeed what
he was told it was. The pictures revealed an old pickup buried beneath
dust and junk. Could it be a Willys pickup? Hard to tell from the pics. So
with just a couple of pictures and a good friend's description he made the
15 hour drive north to check it out recently. I was honored to be able to
meet him (5-1/2 hour drive from Seattle) and witness the unveiling in
person. This is what us "car guys" dream about. Forget American
Pickers...this is better than that.

 

i would buy it

 

Very Kool, hope you bought it!

 

Come on man don't leave us hangin? Wow what a find!!

 

We arrived in town Friday evening waiting the opportunity to see the truck
the next morning. Neither of us could sleep. We met with the son of the
old man that owned the truck to show it to us around 9 AM.

First a little background on the truck: The old man, now about to
celebrate his 93rd birthday, bought the truck in pieces back in the mid
60's as he wanted to take on a project with his son. So they set out to
restore this 1941 Willys pickup. The truck was finished in 1966 and as you
can see from the picture, he was quite proud of the job they had done. The
truck was completely gone through with new everything. The underside was
cleaned and painted. new exhaust, shocks, new, detailed engine (F-head),
copper fuel lines (old school), heater, electric wipers, overdrive, backup
lights & switch, new interior (including weatherstipping and window
channels), new rootbeer brown metallic paint.....a very nice resto. Check
out the cool headlight buckets! Genuine Electroline Mfg. units -
Cleveland, OH. The old man registered the truck twice, putting the 1967,
and 1968 tabs on the original 1956 issue Oregon plates. (Yes the original
registrations were still in the glovebox!) The story from the son is that
his dad really didn't enjoy driving the truck as he was tall and didn't
fit that well. The son was forbidden to drive the truck all these years
because the dad thought he would try and "hot rod" the truck.

 

Come on ,Brad !!! Show us a shot outside the garage. I'm dyin here!

 

This picture of the Willys restored (1966) was hanging on the living room wall next to their wedding photo from 1942...........

 

Oh...and, thursday night the 5th. Next week. Don't be late. Thats an order!

 

So...he parked it in 1968 in the one car garage/shop and started a new
hobby - building intricate wooden clocks. So for the next 42 years he
accumulated wood scraps and built his wooden trinkets. The truck sat in
the corner and began to collect wood dust. The windows were left down so
it was everywhere. He would stack things around, on inside the truck for
those 40+ years, until you almost couldn't recognize the truck was even
there. FYI - the truck showed no signs of any rust or moisture in all
those years of storage - the chrome, and exhaust looked like new. The wood
sawdust sucked all the moisture up! The perfect preservative!

 

WOW!! that about all I can say

 

hell I'm even nice to newbie gasser asses....

 

Hey Brad!
Wow nice job! Tks for posting! Yes are you kidding? I bought it! Its in the Solo Speed Shop corral! 44 Years & it started right up! Just had to clean the saw dust off the points & drained tank about 6 gallons of gas still in it & believe it or not still smelled like gas! Cranked about 10 times & pow the whole shop filled w/ saw dust soot! Can't wait to drive it! Its got a F head motor & overdrive! Replacing all wheel cyls & master cyl everything was new when put away so easy brake job! Tks again Brad! Bill

 

waiting........

 

The old guy decided he was unable to do his woodworking anymore and felt
it was time to pass the truck on to the son, And so it is that we were
able to hear about the truck and the opportunity.

OK - so back to the find. We arrived and got caught up with the son and
were taken to this little garage with just the house number spelled out
above the door "twenty-five". The garage door was inoperable so we went
through the side door. Inside was this unbelievable sight - a time capsule
under all that junk, was a legitimate 1941 Willys pickup! It took 5 of us
to systematically unearth the truck. The garage doors hadn't been opened
in 35 years as it had wood and stuff stacked above and in front of it.



The truck was literally buried in stuff. There were scraps of wood stacked -42 years worth one at a time until the truck was almost covered. We even found old newspapers under the wood from 1969.



There was stuff underneath
as well, and because the tires were flat it was trapped there. So - 2 -1/2
hours later we finally had it uncovered, tires aired up and ready to push
out and see the light of day for the first time in 4 decades. The old man,
now in his wheelchair and his wife of 68 years wheeling around in her
walker all see the truck really for the first time in all those years as
it was buried. It gave you shivers.

 

This picture was priceless! Here we are about 2 hours into the archeological dig of our lifetime...the old guy wheels out to see his old prized possession uncovered for the first time in decades.



And here we are with his lovely wife of 68 years sifting through the junk left in the bed.....

 

Here it is outside for the first time in many years......

 

The old guy equipped the truck with all the right goodies.....overdrive, backup lights, turn signals, electric wipers, and even a heater!

 

And the rest of the story??????

PACO

 

The deal was struck and Bill became the new owner of the unbelievable 1941
Willys pickup find. We loaded up the truck, dust and all, just as it was
found & had lunch with the son, his wife and good friend Bob who helped
us out. Some good stories were shared before we all headed for home after
a fun day.

 

OK Bill....now show 'em what it looks like all cleaned up!

 

way cool good find..jeffrey

 

... simply amazing!

 

A lil elbow grease & soap & water & looks like a Willys!

 

Huh ... those headlight rings look "gasser" to me. Here's the deal, I'll trade you the Willys P-up for your "patina" Solo coupe ... straight up. (I absolutely love your coupe ... just as it sits).

 

Absolutely awesome!! Good find man!

 

man that thing is clean!

Lets hope it stays like it is. Mayby a motor swap but i wouldnt do much