I have been a Jeep owner off and on since the eighties. My first jeep was a CJ-7. I have enjoyed owning a CJ-5, a few different CJ-7’s and a few TJ’s, but deep down I always wanted to own a Willys Jeep.
Just a few weeks ago, I finally found a Willys that interested me mainly because it was a good price and it actually ran. It also happened to be only an hour away from where I live which was much closer than most I had found. I messaged the owner and found out that my sister knew the couple who owned it and it was within two miles of where my brother-in-law’s family owned a farm (that I had been to less than a year before). So one Tuesday I left work early and drove with my sister and brother-in-law to see the Jeep.
When we arrived, we were able to jump right in and drive it and I fell in love with it. We returned to the house to make the deal with the owner.
Our next step was to figure out how we were going to get it home. I decided to drive it instead of returning later with a trailer to pick it up. It had taken an hour and 15 minutes to get there but it took over 2 hours to drive it back home. It was quite the adventure as I could only go about 50 mph, it rained on me almost all the way home and since it had no top I pretty much got soaked. It didn’t matter though as I was hooked on this little Willys.
That night I climbed all under it and over it. On the dash was a plate which said “Bureau of Ships Navy” which at first disappointed me (but at least it wasn’t from the Air Force, as I was Army Infantry).
I also saw V35/U on a plate on the dash and I googled it. To my surprise, the first thing I read was that the V35/U is one of the rarest military Jeeps known. I read that to my wife and she called me by my dad’s name because he would always make things up like that just to joke around. I told her that I was being serious and I read that it was a Jeep made for the Marine Corps forward observers. (It wasn’t Army, but it was the next best thing as my dad had been a Marine.) If my dad had still been alive, I sure would have enjoyed asking him if he remembered any of these old Marine Jeeps.
I saw on the CJ-3A website a page about the V35/U and it listed all of the known Jeep Willys in that category. Mine was not listed, but I will be sending it in soon.
My Willys Jeep is a 1950 CJV35 #10974. Only 1000 were made and just over 100 are now still known to be around. My wife and I take it out almost every night and drive it around our place. We love it and we enjoy every minute of the ride. My plans are to restore it to the best of my ability and to drive it every year in our town’s Fourth of July parade which is the oldest running parade west of the Mississippi River.
I am a proud rookie Willys Jeep owner and I wanted to share my rough looking, but running Willys Jeep that I am so proud of.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Todd and Becca Hungerford
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Looking for, Willys Jeep Parts, Willys Jeep replacement parts, Willys Jeep body parts and much more for your 1941-1971 Willys vehicle, you have come to the right place!
Many hours of enjoyment are had with original CJ’s. Don’t go modifying it, as with properly adjusted brakes and the ground strap under the generator they will start and run in any weather.
Dave
Many hours of enjoyment are had with original CJ’s. Don’t go modifying it, as with properly adjusted brakes and the ground strap under the generator they will start and run in any weather.
Dave
Great find, I think your little treasure is beautiful just like it is. Make it safe and just drive it. FYI when you start researching it you will find that the front and rear shackles are hardware store items you can purchase, the rest of the CJV35U parts (radios, pto driven generator etc) are made of unubtainiun, in other words you can’t get them unles you are wealthy or extremely lucky. once again I love your new jeep!
Great find, I think your little treasure is beautiful just like it is. Make it safe and just drive it. FYI when you start researching it you will find that the front and rear shackles are hardware store items you can purchase, the rest of the CJV35U parts (radios, pto driven generator etc) are made of unubtainiun, in other words you can’t get them unles you are wealthy or extremely lucky. once again I love your new jeep!