1960 Willys Jeep

Sold for $27,500 at 2017 Barrett-Jackson : Northeast.
Industrial designer Brooks Stevens designed the Jeep Wagon in the mid-1940s. Willys, who were known to have limited finances, did not make their own bodies. Instead, the Brooks-designed bodies were designed so that the bodies could be built by sheet metal fabricators. The steel body was efficient to mass-produce and was easier to maintain than the rear wood-bodied station wagon versions at the time.

Introduced in 1946, the first-generation Jeep station wagon was a product of the Willys Motor Company of Toledo, Ohio. Production was phased out during the 1965 model year, after a nearly two-decade run.

These all-steel vehicles were marketed as a 'Utility Wagon' instead of station wagons because Willys preferred the image of a truck builder, then as a car maker. Both two-wheel drive and 4x4 configurations were available.

This fully restored example has been given a few upgrades for practicality like an electric wiper motor in favor of the lazy vacuum unit. The drive train is stock.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2017