Ok, I entered the contest before I noticed Soupkitchenmike entered his cousins sisters BFFs TANK, complete with a RPG hanging above the walk-through door like a mistle toe…..Ill just hope no one notices it. (if u see this its on ExPretender Portal) anyway,
This M38 Willys name is OLD DIE HARD. I purchased it from a great guy in Greensboro NC that was told the jeep had a new T90 and was Parade ready. (parade ready means it can be pushed along a parade route relatively easy by 3 guys.)
After rebuilding the entire T90 and transfer case and rearend an replaced the shocks and springs and about everything in between except the engine, I was on my way to hit the Rubicon trail grand nationals. I installed New high speed eco lockout warn hubs, high end correct parts from Oneida and Shisuang INC. and she looks just like one of those rotisserie restorations.
I 4X4ed this thing like a stolen Tacoma, all over the Brushy mountains and back trails, waiting for the 1956 F head 161 6 cyl to finally give up, this was so I could install a Cummins ISB out of a local Ram 3500 I was eyeballing. It will fit, a SIX is a SIX.
I CAN tell you, that when you JUMP a Willys into a 4 foot hole and back out again, upon touchdown you WILL lose your right- front black-out light dangling, and your battery will fall out of the front tray, kissing your fan blades like a 1 day old FMTV owner and your shovel will disembark to seek out a grave nearby.
Then one day it finally happened! A blown head gasket!! Now I could head down to the Piggly Wiggly and wait for that guy with the Ram 3500 to leave his truck running in the parking lot.
Meanwhile, I removed the Head on that rare F6 161 and proceeded to take a look. What I found was a cracked block, and head that had been brazed up with brass, and grounded down and installed with a prayer by some past inebriated biscuit eating M35A2 owner. Well, this motors toast.
I searched everywhere online and found I COULD purchase a back-pack nuke easier than a head for a F6 161.
In disgust I reassembled it all with gorilla glue and parked it, and hung out at the Piggly, waiting…watching.
A year ago, I had to move the Jeep to make way for more FMTV tires, so I started it up. No smoke, no pressurized overflow tank, no water in the oil. I then decided to press my luck, driving 5 miles, then 10 then 45. A year and a half later, OLD DIE HARD is still wheeling. I have had zero issues with the miracle muscle mini as of this wonderful write up.
I DO have 3 Ram 3500s for sale cheap, $200. no papers or questions, and 3 backpack nukes for $1200 a pc.
Vote now vote often.