One Spring afternoon in '94, I found myself driving through a Sacramento suburban neighborhood while talking about my Willys search with my friend Sean. Sean just happened to remember seeing a Willys PU that had been parked in a driveway about a block away. Sean also mentioned that this truck had been sitting for years but has never seen it for sale. I figured it was worth a look so we made a quick detour to check it out. After rounding the last corner my Willys radar kicked in gear and my eyes locked on to a '56 Willys PU sporting a wonderful shade of rust.

Sean was right, this truck looked as if it had been sitting for many years. Although it was parked on a cement driveway, the grass growing in the cracks under the truck was tall and the area under the truck was very dusty and full of spider webs. Sure, it looked a little rough but I did not have much money and this just might be the gem that I could afford. With a twinkle in my eye and a few dollars eating a hole in my savings account, I proceeded up to the front door.

To my surprise, the owner was home and quite hospitable. I informed him that I had stopped to admire his truck and was wondering if he was interested in selling his pile of iron oxide. I was expecting that old song "well someday when I get the money and time......" but the first thing that popped from his mouth was "sure."

We gave the truck a good looking over and the owner told all that he knew about the rig. According to him, the engine was a Ford 289, the transmission a Ford top-loader 4spd, the transfer case a Spicer 18, and stock axles. At the time I liked the idea of having a small block V-8, however my engine/Willys ideals have greatly changed in recent years. The Willys also apparently had an over heating problem that the owner never figured out so he parked it until it fixed itself or until some stupid fool came by and offered to buy it.

After five minutes of looking the truck over I was smitten. I offered the owner almost my entire net worth $600. He was a little hesitant at first but finally agreed to the deal. A couple days later I came back with money in hand and towed the old beast away.