The Willys is a 1951 M38. Our Dad Chuck Elliott purchased the Jeep in March of 1972 (2 weeks after I was born) in Washington state. We used the Jeep for hunting and exploring ghost towns and old mines in Arizona. My older brother Charlie drove the Jeep as his first vehicle in high school. Then when I started driving I drove it. My senior year of high school we pulled the body off and repaired the rusted spots and painted it the color it is now. In the last few years we started working on getting the Jeep back in good running order. We have used Kaiser Willys for lots of parts. Big Willy seat covers, Willys canvas trail trash bags, a new steering wheel, fuel pump and lots of others I can’t remember right now.
The Jeep is nicknamed “Old 6 Quart” because on a trip with a 4 wheeling group in the 1970’s we used / burned / leaked so much oil that we had to borrow 6 quarts from others. Thus the nickname.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Clint Elliott
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The real jeeps endure. Dave & Sasha.
To the “it’s not an M38” people. You’re wrong. Do some research. The tailgate was correct except the military bolted them shut because of the spare tire and Jerry can mount locations. The cutout on the hood is correct and no, its not for a reservoir or anything else other than a snorkel pipe that attaches to the air cleaner which was used when submerged driving in water.
Great photos and story! Such a cool jeep — had fun running our CJ3B “Frank” with “Old 6 Quart” a few years ago.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing!
A conversation came up with some Jeep pals of mine a few times here in Tennessee was about a old Jeep I seen for sale in Apache Junction once. It’s been probably ten years ago and it still stands out in my mind. That Jeep looks exactly like the one I remember. I’m no expert on Jeep and my friends go for the modern tricked out stuff. The decade I lived in Phoenix was blessed with being able to go on what seemed like a never ending adventure. That was exactly what I was looking for at the time. It’d been the perfectI machine. I’m back in Tennessee now. I’ve never been able to give a good description of the Jeep I seen or the terrain we drove on to my friends. One specific thing I remember about the photos in the listing it they were a lot from Tortilla Flatt and AJ.
Thank you for posting the story and pictures of Old 6 Quart. I know my Dad is smiling down and happy that others are enjoying his Old Jeep. He always claimed it was the best $500 investment he ever made because of all the stories and history it helped create for our family. I hope to continue the story for many more years. So thank you Kaiser Willys for helping keep Old 6 Quart up and running and also for adding to its story by being in the 2022 Calendar and on the website.
Clint Elliott
6 Guart’s has been a fun part of my family’s life the stories are endless. Thank you for highlighting it, makes my heart happy.
Life’s better in a Willys! Great job!
Love the looks of Old Six Quart…….I had a feeling the nickname of your Willys was named for a reason like that.
Stephen , Hey I am a resident of Tonto Basin and hope to catch up with you some time . I have a 1959 CJ 5 which is like your M38 a solid as a rock Willys .I want to let you know there is a Military Vehicle show going on in Buckeye az on Feb. 18th through the 20th .Put on by the AMVCC . There will be lots of parts and venders also . check it out on AMVCC web site. Kaiserwillys has supported this event many times …
Very nice looking Jeep you have their. Thank you for showing respect and honor to your day. Buy not getting rid of it. Congratulations
Hey, great looking jeep. Mine is a 1951n M38 too !!
I restored mine to military specs, but I like that you are leaving yours just like it is !! It is good condition.Getting some fun use out of it too, I see. Loving the family history of your Willys !!!
M38 had the intentions for tools on the passenger side , which this one has!
Could not see the cowl front of windshieldon passenger side where one battery would be located.
But appears to be m38 with lifting shackles also correct
Just observing ,!
I have a 52 m38 I am working on .
Mb gpw jeeps had intentions for tools on drivers side.
Happy jeepers
What. Beautiful family story. Hopefully another 4, 5, 6 generations will add to! Thanks for sharing your memories and all the pictures. I hope my grandsons will pick up where I leave off on my Willys!
Curious, that hole in the side of the hood is interesting. I had a hole like that in my ’47 CJ-2A. When I purchased the Jeep, it had a hydraulic reservoir mounted on the fender for the snow plow. the hose went through the hood. Too bad the body burned up in the barn fire and I threw it away. Today I would have fixed that old body. Live and learn.
The old frame and running gear was being restored in another building and is running today with a new body and a Meyer snow plow control. It soon will have a new rebuilt front axle. I have basically two Jeeps, one for standby and parts, thanks to Kaiser Willies. Good to have a support group.
Stephen,
Actually I had a M-38 just like this, a 1950 that was used by the Navy, and had a tailgate, military switches and nameplates on the dash, the wire headlight protection, military waterproof voltage regulator and waterproof starter and waterproof cables under the hood, etc. It was definitely military, those giant waterproof wire connections and waterproof regulator, no key switch, , all military flip switches on the dash made that clear.
Evidently for some uses, the tailgate was present.for some military purposes.
It was such thick body metal, what a tough and wonderful machine!
Stephen, it looks like an M38 to me. See the second battery box in front of the windshield? That shows it had a 24 volt system. Also see the larger gas tank opening? And on M38s the tool locations are on the passenger side, not driver side. It also has front blackout lights, although I know those could’ve been added. But it sure looks like an M38 to me! I have one.
Great Story on your Jeep. You might want to recheck it being a M38 Military Jeep. I see by the aerial view it has a tailgate which would make it a CJ3A and no indentations on the driver side for tools. Also the aerial view
shows no tie-downs for the M1 carbine that would be located just below windshield on inside. I have a 1950 CJ3A…Great Jeep. -SG.
Good looking Jeep. I like the moniker, “Old 6 Quart”. If I were to name my CJ-2A, it would have to be “A Quart Low”. It’s lacking in many things, including oil.