Jamie Walters
I caught the Willys bug Thanksgiving weekend of 2011. I was at my brother in law Sean’s house. He has been into Jeeps his whole life and had an addition to the family. A 1947 CJ-2A that was in pretty good condition. It was the history and simplicity that instantly appealed to me and I commented on how I wouldn’t mind having one. That was all it took. Sean smiled and said “ I know where there’s one that can be bought”. Lucky for us it was black Friday and our wives were fighting crowds at the mall and a couple hours later there was another rusty gem in the driveway. A 1946 CJ-2A. The Willys bug turned into a full fledge epidemic in southern Indiana after 4 more CJ’s found their way into family and friends garages. Somewhere along the way someone had the bright idea that there needed to be a Willys rally across the Hoosier state. Unfortunately when we made these plans not a single Jeep was on the road or running for that matter. We planned and planned the trip, but still no drivable Jeeps. Well with the help of internet forums, quick shipping from Kaiser Willys and a crazy week of around the clock work the last one was finally revived about an hour before our scheduled departure. We had a great weekend with a 300 mile trip along the Ohio River. So I’m not going to lie we had a couple breakdowns and a few stops at local parts stores, but for six almost 70 year old American built beauties not too shabby. Now the only question is where our love for 35MPH will take us next. Faster ain’t always better.
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