When I first saw my Jeep it was a beat up hunk of junk coated in bondo and probably a few layers of paint and rust, but I knew from the get go that’s what I wanted to drive…possibly for the rest of my life. Most of the other kids in school wanted expensive sports cars, muscle cars, big lifted 4×4 trucks, all I asked for was a Willys Jeep, something that could go anywhere! Do anything! (except go the speed limit). I had taken it all over San Diego County, to the desert and over truck trails which is consequently where I got the name “lil’ buddy” because the Jeep was to me as Gilligan was to the Skipper, no matter how much it frustrated me with some of it’s outlandish break downs (like exploding brake drums and snapping the clutch rod) it was still my lil’ buddy and it could take me anywhere. Then the problems started…
It wasn’t always easy to get everything repaired on my budget, but I figured out how to make it happen one way or another. For a little while I was struggling with the engine (maybe a year) until my uncle decided to help me out and get me a shiny new one! I was very excited because I had found a man selling one on Craigslist for $1000 which was well under what he said he would help me with, so he bought it for me (I still had to pay him back). I didn’t know it at the time but I would later become good friends with that man. Anyhow I had a few blips and bumps getting that engine into lil’ buddy, but in the end it all worked out. I felt much better than I had a few months earlier when I was threatening myself to sell lil’ buddy. My Jeep has come quite a ways from that pile of metal I bought during High School, it now has a tailgate, working gauges, a working horn, seat belts, and a lot more, but it’s still a long dirt road till I see a shiny new CJ-3A sitting in my garage and I’m sure I will hit a lot more flak along the way.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Brian Liesberg
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Good looking Willys, I like the insignia of the Indian Head. Where can I get one? I was in the 2nd Infantry Bn, HHC, Avn. Korea 1969 – 70. I’d also like to find 1st Cav Decal one each for both of my Jeeps.
Nice Willys. I know the lure of owning a Willys. I had a 61 when I was 17, named her Jenny. We went everywhere together. 41 years later I wish I still had her . Hang on to that Jeep.
Great looking, but I would suggest you put a roll bar on it if your going to off road like in your photos. I had a friend die after his jeep rolled over crushing him.
Brian, I like a lot of people started with a Willys Jeep for my first vehicle. I got it 2 months before I was 15. It was a 1943 Willys MB, stock drivetrain, beat up, homemade plywood halftop, a zillion wires from a 24 volt winch setup that got removed when I bought the Jeep with the stock 6 volt on everything else. This thing had been stored in a chicken coop and I even found a dehydrated, dead chicken under the passenger seat. By the time I got my licence, it had diamond plated the rear corners, installed a brand new soft top, put in bucket seats out of a GTO (which made it almost like a bench in the front because they were so wide) and had a custom roll bar installed. Plus painted it bright yellow with black trim rather then the 4 or 5 different primer colors that I got it with. My BIG mistake was selling it when I turned 20 to get one of those “muscle” cars like all my friends had. 3 years ago I got back to my roots and have bought & sold 5 different Jeeps, keeping the prettiest of them–a 1952 CJ3A that’s in pristine shape, with a stock feel to it, but upgrades where it counts, like overdrive, 11 inch Cherokee brakes, manual Saginaw steering. Also parts from Kaiser/Willys such as grill screen, side mirror and steering wheel bearing.
Do yourself a favor: keep it forever and just get a 2nd vehicle if need be. Oh & do put a rollbar in–SAFETY.
I really appreciate all the nice comments guys!
Great jeep! I’ve got a roll bar I took off my MB–it’s yours if you want to pick it up near San Antonio, TX.
My first vehicle was a 1949 Willys Overland Pickup, drove it down to the Yucatan Peninsula before all the resorts went in out there and all the roads were dirt, then back across Mexico to Mazatlan where we put it on a ferry to La Paz then up the Baja back home. Drove it until I went into the Army in 1970 and sold it before I went to Vietnam along with everything else that I owned. Wish I still had it.
Dear Sir,
Good choice for a first car! My first one was a CJ-2a with a wooden wagon box jammed in the back. It turned out to be the best time of my life. Consider replacing the clutch push rods with spherical rod ends made by, I believe it is something like spherco. Tr 590, and L 590, one being left hand thread so there is an adjustment available when the lining wears. Also don’t forget to put a locknut on the rod so it will not slip. Mine laste 180,000 miles. if the frame hadn’t rusted out I still would be driving mighty mite. Also a nylock nut on the bolt throught the crossover shaft, or a cotter pin through the bolt itself.
Sincerely,
Dave
Hey Brian, my jeep story is much the same as yours, only 40+ yrs earlier. I had a ’46 1 ton jeep pickup at a time when NO ONE would be caught dead driving a 4×4 pu to high school. If you didn’t drive a late model (60’s) muscle car, you were a redneck, (a bad thing at the time). I too traveled all the back country roads, truck trails, and desert trails in Anza Borrego and the mountains of San Diego county. The background of some of your pics look very familiar. I now have a ’65 CJ5 project that I am working on. Good luck with your CJ3A, and have fun!
Nice lil buddy Brian, I can always tell a true Jeep owner by what essentials the carry in it, as I see you have a gas can, spare oil can and of course the trusty tool box for when the inevitable break down happens while your off roading. If you wind up like me you’ll own lil buddy for the 32 years I have owned my M38, and still have the essentials to go along for the ride and all the fond memories of the simple things that make life a pleasant journey.
Nice Willys, but PLEASE install a roll bar! They just look scary without one! Glad you were able to catch the “Jeep disease” at a young age!
Everyone talks about a vehicle they had that they wished they still had.You have come along way .Don’t tell that story to your children or grand children.You have a legendary Icon One worth keeping a life time. Little buddy looks good.
I too have a CJ3A [53] and love it but didn’t get mine till I was 63.There will probably come a time when you think about selling yours—DON’T.Love your pictures.
Well done young man I really liked your story and your JEEP we need more of you
So glad to hear of someone that is individually minded. Someone not influenced by the media and the crowds. Plod along in lil’ Buddy and enjoy life. Most people do not learn this until they are old. You are wise.