It all began in the summer of 2010 when I came across an advertisment for a 1969 built CJ-5 Kaiser Jeep. The Jeep was owned by the Swiss Armed Forces until 1991. As I always enjoyed driving this model during my military service, I decided to embark on the adventure and finally bought the car in august 2010. The Jeep was running fine in the beginning, but it slowly started to show obvious signs of its age. In summer 2013, just 3 years after my purchase, a safe ride was no longer possible. Rust began to decompose the vehicle, the motor broke down more and more often and even the lights stopped working. I therefore decided to completely disassemble the Jeep and overhaul or replace each single part. The process of disassembling took one month. The restoration, assembly and testing took nearly another 2 years of ups and downs. The severity of its condition only turned out when the car was completely disassembled. Some parts were beyond repair and had to be replaced.
So I ordered new parts from dozens of places across Europe and North America. One of my most important suppliers was Kaiser Willys Auto Supply LLC. Without their exceptional service I would still stand in front of single parts and couldn’t enjoy a ride on a warm summer evening on my CJ-5. I completed my first test drive in April 2015. The Jeep was running perfectly and seemed to be ready for its second life. Local authorities confirmed that by assigning it a special veterans status which is quite hard to receive. The Jeep can now be enjoyed for many more years to come.
If you would like to share your Willys Jeep Story please send us a line. We ‘d love to meet your Jeep.
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Hello
This is a cj-5, no m38a1, the cockpit on the latter is different.
I own one of there former swiss BAT vehicles and am also busy renovating it.
Please send me a pm if you’re interested. I’m located in the very east of Switzerland.
Liebi Grüess
Christian
Well very nice jeep. Cleaned up very well. Just one you should know it is not a cj 5. It is a M 38 A1. And it use to have anti Tank canon on it during ils military service. We named them in the Swiss army the Jeep Bat.
Beautiful restoration, top to bottom! Did I see your Jeep in Murten, Switzerland (my mom’s hometown) a couple of years ago? If not, he has a twin near by!
Absolutely beautiful job, very, very nice. Very nice,
I have had my 1956 CJ-5 since 1960, many adventures as a young kid, still driving it. I imagine there is still traces of dust and grime underneath from woods and mountain adventures in El Dorado County from the early 1960’s.
I built a Capacitive Discharge Ignition for it, installed a winch, put in a rebuilt engine in 1976… also converted it from 6 to 12 volts and installed an alternator instead of the original generator. Installed a Warn Overdrive also back in the 60’s.
In my late 70’s now so will pass it on to my kids.
Best to you sir!
Great adventure !
My restauration of my Willys MB from 1942- with a title from1956, bought in 1985 – took 4 years > from 1992 untill 1996. 7 Years he – or is it a “she”- stood in a garage; after finishing the JOB I enjoyed driving untill 2018. I had to sold the Willys to a German citizen because I need the money to get my Panel Van restored.
gr. Theo
I was thinking if after work we could grab a cup of coffee
Awesome restoration!! That looks like an exceptional paint job!
Excellent, restore job…..! wonder what it would look like with Mil. type tires…well done…!
este carro esta orijinal