As cool as the 1971 Cougar XR7 was that we saw the other day, we nearly passed out from the coolness radiating from the 1962 Willy Jeep truck we found later that day. Sitting for sale at the end of a residential driveway, this truck, which seems to have been used as a fire fighting rig at some point, is a very rare sight here in New England. 

The Willys Jeep Truck was produced from 1947-1965 and was a great seller for Willys-Overland during those years. They moved nearly a quarter-million of them into America’s work fleets, farms, and construction sites. Despite the large production run, they aren’t seen with regularity on the roads. In this part of the country, road salt ate many of them, and in areas of more forgiving conditions, they were mostly worked to death, as all good trucks are.

As this one is a ’62 model, it is probably sporting the 230ci six-cylinder “Tornado” engine. This was a neat mill because it was the first mass produced American overhead cam engine. It made a respectable 140hp and 210 lb/ft of torque. The oddly cool part of this engine was the the cam only had six lobes. Each lobe operated both the intake and exhaust valves.

The truck was offered with one transmission, the venerable Borg-Warner T-90 three speed. It had a non-synchro granny low and a snychronized second and third gear. Speaking of gears, the tallest ratio available was a 4.88 with an optional 6.17 for totall stump pulling greatness.

In terms of styling, the great Brooks Stevens penned the tough looking little bastard’s face and profile. Our favorite part is the single chrome spear that runs along the door and dives down to the rocker. That was all the glitz this little scrapper needed.  

This truck was used as a fire truck, we’re guessing to fight woodland blazes or any fire that happened too far off the beaten path for an full engine to reach it. The tank is still in the bed as is an ancient one popper Wisconsin engine. That sucker seems to be locked up tight, but would be fun to restore.  We don’t know if the seemingly period correct Ramsey winch was a factory option, but it is right at home on the front of this truck. 

The seller wants $6,000 for the truck, which we think is steep, but it is a cool and unique piece!