Here's a view of the custom tailgate and fence stretcher on day one. Since then we have done a rattlecan  resto to keep Coleman Beautiful, and so far in 5 years it has kept the rust at bay.  Pintojeep is safely in the garage , awaiting time to reposition the engine in the frame so it isn't sticking thru the firewall into the tub, and the driveshafts will be in the right place as well as the fan/ radiator spacing. Then off to 11 inch brake land, rebuild or replace the T -90, wire up some lights, horn and wipers, and we will be ready to go to Colorado. Before I do any of that I have to get my shop shipshape, as I brought my tools down from NY and have yet to get everything put away and set out where it is useable. Gotta get the shop wired to run the compressor and welder, too.

With being on the road 300 days a year or more it is hard to get anything done.We stopped work Thanksgiving this year, so the honeydo lists have been getting chipped away at and things are looking up for progress on the PintoJeep. (Already have new bathroom plumbing, window , and walls installed, gotta paint and do trim now and then it is off to the shop!)

FBill--Finally!! The infamous Pinto Jeep!!  I've read a little about your Willys, but the begining was a little scetchy.  What never ceases to amaze me is the modifications that folks have done to these Jeeps over their history, and how much effort many of us put in, to undo it.  
Trust me, I like an all original Willys as much as the next guy, but I also appreciate the changes that were made....to make it more useable for the POs.  A pinto engine added to compensate for the heavy tub??  Was it something he just happen to have laying around?

Through history, baring military conversions, is there another vehicle that has been more 'modified' than a Willys?  I think not!

Love the fence stretcher too!  

Tim

Mike,

That's a good looking Willys!  How 'bout some history...  How did it find you?

Maybe it's the photo, but that rear wheel looks a bit different.  Not sure I've seen a wheel like that before.

Tim

Pretty rusty - but I've seen MUCH worse (like one of my 3Bs). Looks fixable.

I especially like the "gas tank" on the front bumper, leaning against the grille. 

I've been watching craigslist daily looking for a flat fender. I realized that a 3A would be best for me as I just didn't fit well in the 2A's that I tried. Two 3A's were available locally. One has an f-head and a huge hole in the hood, and some easily reversible mods and I've looked at it three times but could not bring myself to make and offer....then this one popped up. Not as nice as the other, but very original and very well used. owned by the same family since 1959...I just thought that this 3A needed good home....the floors are very  rusty, it does not run, but all the parts are there, gauges, mirrors, wiper motor, and all the engine compartment parts are stock...

Brought it home yesterday...cleaned the pine needles, leaves, rust flakes and a rat's nest out of it today....

The PTO is there, rear drive shaft is there. The front bumper and frame horns are untouched. It has a Harrison heater with a big old flat under dash on-off switch-looks more like a circuit breaker.  The center seat is a period aftermarket.  I'll get a picture of the label but was made by Dumas manufacturing in Oklahoma.

I have to admit it!
I'm a Garage gnome Fan!

Ohh Sorry!   I was on my iPhone and was bored in between classes. Shoulda read the instructions... Thanks though! I had the restoration thread here before the move and it is over on the 2A page as well.

The before pictures were taken in 2008 when I 14 and was just about to start ripping it apart. My dad got it off a job and used it for plowing for several years before then. The guy he got it from used it as a plow jeep and to run around town with. He got it from a tobacco farmer who bought from Monsanto Chemical Co of Springfield MA who bought it new. At Monsanto, it was used as a runabout for the couple hundred acre plant. Now this is the very weird part, my two grandfathers worked there at the same time my jeep was there and they were both in maintenance and both probably drove it. On the gas cap, it has Formalin Jeep Monsanto SPR inscribed on it. I left that cap on despite it being beat up. I have never been able to figure out what that means. I finished restoring it when I got my driver's license.