1950 Willis Jeepster Phaeton

1950 Willis Jeepster Phaeton, click picture to enlarge.





Hi everyone, I am back at the computer and working on this blog again after being away from it for five or six days. I felt somewhat guilty about neglecting this work for so long and it feels good to be back at it now.



There is now well over 60 different cars on this blog and I am adding more cars almost every day so spend some time looking through the whole thing. Use the older posts and newer posts links to scroll through all of them. then tell the other old car buffs that you know about this old car blog and let them enjoy some time here too. That's what this is all about anyway, enjoying these old cars and riding down memory lane for a while to relax and enjoy ourselves without spending a pile of money to do it. Come back often to see what's new.



I did not ever drive one of these Jeepster Phaetons myself but I drove the earlier Army Jeep for many a mile at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Fort Benning, Georgia. I was the company clerk and when the troops went out to the fields for a camp during training I was supposed to go back to the main base everyday and turn in my field report of all personnel both present and or accounted for. I was able to buy 3 or 4 cases of lite beer at the base PX store for about 50 cents apiece and carry them to the troops in the field and resell them for about a dollar apiece and keep the profit for myself. This was all with the company commander's blessings because jumped right in and bought his beer too. Now on to the Jeepster Phaeton itself.



Willis returned to making cars for the civilian public in 1948 with this Jeepster, a four passenger which served as a jeep and a passenger car too. The Jeepster featured a sporty styling and the classic verically barred grill. It had an L-head, 4 cylinder engine called a Hurricane that produced 63 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and a 3 speed manual transmission. Features of the Jeepster included the open passenger compartment with a manually operated soft cloth top and plastic windows and side curtains. Some of the options included front and rear bumper guards, dual wipers, cigar lighter, radio and antenna, and large wheel disc brakes.