At $6,000, Is This 1941 Willys MB A Basic Bargain?
It’s been said that, next to their rifle, a WWII GI’s best friend was the Jeep. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Willys MB is an OG Jeep. Let’s see how friendly we all are to its asking price.
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People have long complained about modern movie trailers giving away far too much of the plot. In a similar fashion, the matching trailer offered as part of the deal for yesterday’s 1999 Plymouth Prowler told us all we needed to know about what life with the car might be like. At a $35,000 asking, that didn’t result in a happy ending, at least not for the 78 percent of you who voted down the price in a No Dice loss.
Three things came out of the end of WWII that, even to this day, make the world a far better place. The first of those was the Marshall Plan, an initiative led by the U.S. to spark economic recovery in war-torn parts of the world and head off future conflicts. The second was the GI Bill, another U.S. initiative that allowed returning GIs the opportunity for education and employment, thus creating a domestic economic boom. The last of these great achievements was, naturally, the Jeep.
Today’s 1941 Willys MB is an example of a Jeep from the outset of the war, and, as such, it’s as basic as training. This little 4X4 has everything necessary to get its occupants where they need to go when the going gets rough and absolutely nothing more.
According to the ad, some provisions have been made to the MB to modernize it, or at least bring it solidly into the 1950s. Those include updating the original Go Devil flathead four with a later F-head F134 Hurricane, replacing the original T90 three-speed with a T18 all-synchro four-speed, and the adoption of upgraded Dana axles front and rear, with the latter featuring a locker diff and full-floating capability.
Other add-ons include a tow bar on the front bumper, an odd hood scoop, and a Bimini top over the spare interior. Seating is accommodated by way of some sort of bench seat, and that’s covered in blue home center foam with a cut out in the middle to allow the shifter to do its thing. There appear to be a couple of added gauges in the knee-buster dash, and above that, the wiper-less windshield folds out for bugs-in-the-teeth driving pleasure.
There’s really little else to this Jeep. It carries both a knobby spare and a jerry can on the back, but that’s pretty much it for accessories. The body, painted appropriately enough in olive drab, seems reasonably solid, and it rolls on simple steel wheels mounted with off-road tires. It does not seem to sport license plates and while the ad notes it has a clean title, it also lists it as “Offroad” which may indicate that the tow bar is a necessity rather than just a nice-to-have.
It has headlights, brake lights, and turn signals, but the lack of wipers may make it a no-go for road use in areas where safety inspections are the order of the day. With all that in mind, could so simple a veteran off-roader be worth the $6,000 this one asks?
Let’s hear your take on this Willys and that $6,000 price tag? Does that seem fair for an updated but still elemental off-roader? Or is there just not enough to it to ask so much?
You decide!
Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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