David Knickerbocker

Deer 54, is a 1954 Willys 4×4 6226 Utility Wagon. It was originally ordered in June of 1954. The purchase was completed by my father in July of 1954. The dealership where my father made the purchase was called J.E. Meyers Motors, a Kaiser/Willys Dealer, located in the 700 blk. of E. Miner ave. in downtown Stockton, CA. My dad and I were driven from Stockton, CA to San Francisco to pick out the color of the Willys my dad wanted. As I recall, the dealer was not able to tell my dad what colors were available in the San Francisco warehouse so we drove to the warehouse in a 1954 Willys Aero Ace sedan to see what was there. My dad picked the forest green metallic as his choice. All of Jeep Wagons were a solid color and as I recall the colors were limited to red, blue, green and grey. We drove the wagon home from San Francisco.

This jeep wagon was my father’s baby! He drove the Willys daily and hunted it on every Deer hunt he (we) could fit in during the years. It towed a 21 foot Westwood Tahoe travel trailer on a few hunts and in fact, it was one of these hunts at age 12, that I took my first Deer. We loaded my deer on the tailgate of the Willys and took pictures. Wow !!! It was special.

At 116,000 miles my Dad decided that the stock engine, a flat head six, did not have the power he wanted for pulling a travel trailer. Even with the 499 rear end gears it was down to 1st gear on some of the hills. A 283 Chevrolet V-8 engine was substituted for the six cylinder, which required an Advanced Adapter bell housing and a longer main drive gear in the T 90 transmission. Not too long after the V-8 was installed in the Willys, my dad suddenly passed away. I was left his baby, the Willys.

I made a few changes to the Willys, adding an 1187 GM power steering box and a Warn Overdrive. Eventually, after a paint and upholstery job, the original lic. Plates, # APK 548, were removed (retained by me) and the personalized plate of Deer54 was installed. My sons and I have hunted the Willys many times, traveling to Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Colorado for some of the hunts. Between my Dads use and my family use, we have logged over 400,000 miles on the WIllys. To this day, the Willys is as sound as a dollar, from bumper to bumper. It has won Best 4×4 at various Car Shows in California. Today’s 4×4’s are not like the Willys of old.

This Willys will never leave our family. As not yet decided, one of my sons or daughters will have the pleasure of owning the Willys when I check out. I recently refurbished a 1941 Willys Army jeep for a friend and found everything I needed at your supply house.