Cafe Einstein: LPTP # X V

I used to own a 1941 Willys Jeep, you might be surprised that the parts are STILL being made today that fit it! The parking brake for alot of new cars uses 9" pads, that is the exact same size of the original brakes on a 1941 Willys! Chrysler did ALOT of that over the years, re-using old parts in new ways in their new cars instead of coming up will all new parts for every new model. JC Whitney and Sears both still have brand new sealed in the original wrapping parts for the Willys Jeeps too, I bought many a new part from each of them as I rebuilt mine. Mine was an everyday driver, not historically accurate, bumpy as all get out going down the hiways, but doing 70mph on the old flat head 4 cylinder engine was fun!! I even changed the front and rear gears to 5:38's and it would go up and down ANYTHING!! No more 70mph on the hiways though!! One thing I did have to change was the fuel pump though, the one running off the engine couldn't handle extreme hills so I swapped it out for an electric one I got from a street racer guy who wanted a bigger one. I used a coke machine type key in the fender to turn it on and off and it looked like the thing had an alarm system, the carburetor was never starved for fuel again!!

I finally sold it because it had a small water leak and the antifreeze would drip out, which my neighbors constantly complained about, so I switched to straight water and it stopped leaking. It was not a radiator leak, I had changed it to a MUCH bigger one with an electric fan so no overheating problems, but from somewhere else. The temps got cold and then thawed and I wanted to drive it, I had another regular car I drove on rainy or too cold days as mine did not have a top, except a bikini style one. Anyway I checked the radiator and it was free of any ice so I started it up and went inside to put my gloves and face mask etc on and when I came out there was water squirting everywhere. Turns out the block was still frozen solid and had cracked along all 4 cylinders and was ruined!

There is a place in Pennsylvania that has a 100 acre field full of Willys and Jeep stuff!! I thought about going up there to get a new engine but was getting into pc's and the Jeep just seemed like alot of work, so off it went to a new owner. I even had an extra engine the buyer didn't want so it went into the dumpster, I'm sure when the guy emptied the thing his truck shook and he was very startled! It was a complete 4 cylinder overhead cam engine and weighed ALOT!! It wasn't really worth selling though as it had multiple oil leaks and was already bored out to .030 over.