1948 Willys Jeepster

1948 Willys VJ-2 Jeepster Having produced pickup trucks and other utilitarian trucks in the mid 1940's, Willys Overland Motors saw an opportunity to appeal to a new audience with a more pedestrian friendly car that would retain the dependable military drivetrain but could serve as a family car. When everything else at the time had rounded, articulated fenders and bulbous hoods, Willys created a slab sided vehicle due to lack of machinery and created a car for city and country driving. For consignment, a 1948 Willys Jeepster VJ-2 showing 80,585 miles, but the true miles are unknown. According to Jeepdatabase.com, The Jeepster was the first Willys vehicle limited to rear wheel drive, which hurt its potential appeal to existing Jeep customers. Along with a limited marketing strategy, sales were low and production only lasted 3 years with a total of 19,100 produced. NOTE: This vehicle is sold on a clean and clear Delaware registration. Please research proper titling procedures with your country, state, provincial, county or local DMV. Exterior Fiesta Yellow bathes the body of this Jeepster and on the iconic grille, the yellow is accented by a column of polished metal ornamentation that meets the rising hood trim above. A chrome bumper also helps tame the Jeep but the sharply angled front fenders mirror the rest of the Willys line. A-pillars and windshield frame are painted black which flows onto the shoulder line's vinyl black stripe which wraps around back, separated with a metal trim piece. The 15-inch wheels and the canvas top have an artful relationship as both contain oxblood red and black while the white wall tires and chrome hubcaps top off the beautiful set of shoes. Steel steps allow rear passengers to enter without using the door and protruding circular tail lights add to the car's personality. Imperfections include some evident filler, scratches, scuffs, spider cracks, chips throughout, and a scratch on the chrome bumper. Interior The metal inner door is painted body color, and a door card consists of red vinyl framed by stainless screws. This same mottled oxblood vinyl covers the 70/30 bench seat framed by white piping, mirrored by the rear bench and both are in great shape. An ivory steering wheel with full horn ring provides tasteful contrast ahead of the body colored dash with the vintage center gauge cluster framed by machined metal faceplate which also surrounds the AM/FM/AUX radio and glove box. The floor is simple and rubber coated and footwell kick panels are dressed in matching red vinyl. Drivetrain Pop the hood and you'll find lots of space and a clean 134ci L-head Go Devil four cylinder putting out 60 horsepower and fueled by a 1-barrel carburetor. It's mated to a 3-speed manual with overdrive and power is routed to a Dana 23 axle with 4.88 gears. Undercarriage Other than some road splash and some residual oil, things are pretty clean underneath. Drum brakes occupy all four wheels and a single exhaust moves through a stock style muffler and resonator before exiting through a steel pipe with some surface rust. Suspension consists of a transverse leaf spring in front and leaf springs in the back. Drive-Ability The Go Devil comes to life and we roll this somewhat whimsical car onto the test loop where it gets us from A to B without trouble and provides a simple and comfortable cabin with which to do it. We're pleased to report that all functions on this 78 year old work as intended. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase. Not the fastest or most powerful car on the road, but if you want to talk curb appeal, look no further than a Jeepster, one of the great Sunday drivers in existence and one heckuva parade car! Show worthy and a shocker to see on the road, this yellow on red example is the perfect antidote to a boring weekend!