Willys MB Jeep (like WW2) available in TW?

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

I’m not a car expert at all, but seems like here are some… so, basically, if I wanted to buy one of those WW2 or post-WW2 area Willys MB Jeeps… is this a easy or impossible thing to buy in Taiwan?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_MB

I read and heard that in the Phillipines a lot of those jeeps are available. Basically it’s only me being fascinated by the looks, so I don’t really care if it’s a vintage WW2 car, or something that just looks similar.

Any opinions?

Actually I am kinda prepared for a “forget it, son” :wink:

2

I think Mitsubishi/CMC did a copy of a fairly early Willy’s, though maybe a '50’s model rather than WWII vintage. A garage near my room in Tainan, that often has interesting/unusual/classic vehicles, had one they were renovating, but I’m not sure if its still there.

If it is, they’d probably sell it, but it probably wouldn’t be cheap, was very basic, and spares might be a problem. I can ask if you’re interested.

I think they are very rare, though of course there are lots in the Philippines. I dunno about the copy but the original Willys, though very small, had a bloody big side valve engine so you’d want to be on good terms with Saudi Arabia.

3

Gosh, one of my neighbors has a Wrangler, and that is already unusual here. I saw a Willis here one day a protest against limitations for 4WD cars on the highways was held -pity, no camera that day, really cool trucks all together, surrounding our building. So, if there are any Willis on this island, they are extreamly rare. Buy it? Not forget it -there must be an army surplus somewhere- but it will definetively have a limited scope.

4

I’ve seen a few minis driving around, i think there is a club - has any seen any mokes? maybe outside of taipei?

5

Hmmm… thats what I feared… I just wondered, what with the US supplying the TW Military (I guess so, no?), maybe some old stuff (even M151 or so) might be available.

Ducked, if you happen to pass by there I’d be glad if you could look what kind of vehicle it is. Actually, if it wasn’t olive green colour, please don’t put any effort in asking for any more details :wink:

6

There seems to one for sale on the Yahoo auctions now.

7

[quote=“olm”]Hmmm… thats what I feared… I just wondered, what with the US supplying the TW Military (I guess so, no?), maybe some old stuff (even M151 or so) might be available.

Ducked, if you happen to pass by there I’d be glad if you could look what kind of vehicle it is. Actually, if it wasn’t olive green colour, please don’t put any effort in asking for any more details :wink:[/quote]

I’m sure the one I saw was Mitsubishi, because I hadn’t known they did one until I saw it. I don’t know if it was Mitsubishi Japan or Mitsubishi/China Motor Corporation, but I’d guess the former. A bit of googling shows that highhood CJ3B “Jap Jeeps” were used by the US in the SE Asian theatre (Vietnam) and supplied in large numbers to allied forces such as ARVN, so (a) If you wanted a “war replica” you’ve got at least one big war, maybe two (Korea?) and a lot of littler ones, like the Congo, available, and (b) its a good bet that the Taiwanese army would get some, though I didn’t see any mention of that. The civilian version was apparently in production in Japan until 1998.

The one I saw was green, but IIRC not exactly “olive drab” combat-vehicle green, but a slightly glossier and greener “parade” green. (Again, IIRC, there is such a distinction in the green of ex-British Army vehicles like Landrovers, though in this case its likely the garage had already repainted it).

To get preachy, you could, like, PAINT whatever you get (or, more likely, get it painted.). If you are seriously contemplating getting in to this kind of hard-to-find vehicle you’ll probably have to consider yourself at least an “enthusiast”, if not a “nutter”. If the wrong shade of green is going to put you off then, yes, I’d say “Forget it, son”

8

[quote=“Ducked”]

I dunno about the copy but the original Willys, though very small, had a bloody big side valve engine so you’d want to be on good terms with Saudi Arabia.[/quote]

Ducked was talking crap again. According to the net, the original “Go devil” sidevalve and the later “Hurricane” OHV are both about 2.2L, so not especially big considering their role.

9

Yup, 2 of those babies are on Yahoo auctions right now - starting at NT$ 8.888.888 though. Which, at almost 200.000 Euro if I am not mistaken, is probably not what I would be willing to pay for a Jeep. Should be a fully workable tank for such a price ^^

Thanks for all the answers! Basically, I am not a “Nutter” for such vehicles at all, and the question about “green” was mostly to say I am looking for a military looking vehicle, not a civilian glossy painting fun jeep. Of course, if it is close enough Jeepy-looking, repainting is always an option. Basically I don’t really care for Authenticity, as long as it looks somewhat spartanic, like that Willys MB. And I’ll not get through too much trouble to get one here, probably I’ll wait for this “childhood dream” to come true until I move to the US. And in case it will be Oregon, probably in some years get me matching Sturmgewehr44 as well :wink:

10

[quote=“olm”]Yup, 2 of those babies are on Yahoo auctions right now - starting at NT$ 8.888.888 though. Which, at almost 200.000 Euro if I am not mistaken, is probably not what I would be willing to pay for a Jeep. Should be a fully workable tank for such a price ^^

Thanks for all the answers! Basically, I am not a “Nutter” for such vehicles at all, and the question about “green” was mostly to say I am looking for a military looking vehicle, not a civilian glossy painting fun jeep. Of course, if it is close enough Jeepy-looking, repainting is always an option. Basically I don’t really care for Authenticity, as long as it looks somewhat spartanic, like that Willys MB. And I’ll not get through too much trouble to get one here, probably I’ll wait for this “childhood dream” to come true until I move to the US. And in case it will be Oregon, probably in some years get me matching Sturmgewehr44 as well :wink:[/quote]

ahh the good old trick of Nt$8,888,888…it just means " hey i dont want anyone to bid on this thru yahoo…parties who are interested send me a message and we will meet face to face and then work out a price"…basically free ( or at the most a small basic fee ) advertising…

i love the WWII Willys jeep…have got a lot of fond memories…

11

ooooh okay, seems like I need to get in contact, then :slight_smile:

12

if you can get someone to type a message in Chinese then fine…if not and if you feel comfortable leaving your mobile no just do what i generally do – Call me 09xxxxx !! thank you !!

they get the message loud and clear !!

wish you all the best !!!

13

thanks for the hints :slight_smile: I will try to let my girlfriend contact that dealer, even though she doesn’t really understand (yet?) why I’m interested in such stuff at all…

14

[quote=“olm”]Yup, 2 of those babies are on Yahoo auctions right now - starting at NT$ 8.888.888 though. Which, at almost 200.000 Euro if I am not mistaken, is probably not what I would be willing to pay for a Jeep. Should be a fully workable tank for such a price ^^

Thanks for all the answers! Basically, I am not a “Nutter” for such vehicles at all, and the question about “green” was mostly to say I am looking for a military looking vehicle, not a civilian glossy painting fun jeep. Of course, if it is close enough Jeepy-looking, repainting is always an option. Basically I don’t really care for Authenticity, as long as it looks somewhat spartanic, like that Willys MB. And I’ll not get through too much trouble to get one here, probably I’ll wait for this “childhood dream” to come true until I move to the US. And in case it will be Oregon, probably in some years get me matching Sturmgewehr44 as well :wink:[/quote]

Those Yahoo greenies are, I think, the original, low profile WWII model with the side-valve engine, so I’d expect them to be relatively rare and expensive, but in Taiwan, who knows? Must be worth an enquiry.

If they aren’t a realistic option, then, apart from some trainspotter detail, the 50’s onward CJ3B (Japanese military version J24A) only differs in having a higher bonnet (hood) to accomodate the overhead valve head. Since they are less collectable and had such a long production run (nearly 50 years in Japan) I’d expect them to be cheaper. The CJ3B website reports a good condition 67 model (US made I’d guess) going recently on Ebay (in the US) for 7000 US dollars.

Due to their rather vicious inspection regime, Japan exports a lot of used vehicles (eg to the UK), and there are established agencies, so personally importing one might be an option, but probably not to Taiwan

15

sure, thats a totally viable option for me. Thanks on the hints!

16

Olm,

you are starting to worry me. You want to bring an air gun shooting metal bullets (see other thread somewhere) and now you want to buy a WW2 Jeep.
I know traffic is hard here but try to relax man…

:smiley:

[or only shoot at scooters and ask the xiaojies nicely to dismount before firing]
[and don’t shoot your countrymen. Can be easily identified by unfriendly face]
[… and I have this little swagger since my 4th year here on the island, with left food being bent 90 degrees sidewards]

thanks
:bow:

17

Hahahaa… Wir gehn zum Lachen in den Keller :wink:

18

[quote=“olm”]Hmmm… thats what I feared… I just wondered, what with the US supplying the TW Military (I guess so, no?), maybe some old stuff (even M151 or so) might be available.

Ducked, if you happen to pass by there I’d be glad if you could look what kind of vehicle it is. Actually, if it wasn’t olive green colour, please don’t put any effort in asking for any more details :wink:[/quote]

Sorry its taken so long. My camera broke.

It looks in pretty original (but stripped down to the VERY bare essentials) military condition, but there’s a tailgate arpeture at the back (tailgate missing) which may not be an original feature. Those trailer wheels don’t look very GI either.

I’m afraid I still dont have any more information, because I’m zero zongwen, the garagistas are zero English, and I havn’t been past there in the company of a native speaker when there was anyone about. The fact that its still there though suggests they aren’t very actively trying to sell it.

They also have a little red Suzuki “jeep”, looks rather like a miniature Austin Champ (British military vehicle of the 50’s) though I guess I might be the only poster on here old and British enough to have been in one of them.

19

This is the only one i have seen. In Taichung there is a place where they gather and do some off roading and even at their garage i didn’t see one of these. Must be very rare.

20

Another rare “Jeep” undergoing slow renovation at my local “interesting garage” in Tainan.

I think this is an M151 MUTT, Vietnam era jeep replacement. Monocoque with independant coil spring suspension. Looks like it’ll need some bodyshell welding.

I’ve read somewhere that these weren’t civilian road-legal in the US, and that US military disposals were supposed to be destroyed, so they might be rarer than you’d think, and might not be registerable here. I’ve seen a restored one advertised for sale in Thailand, which I guess came on the market via the Royal Thai (or other allied) Army.

I’ve also seen at least one Rocsta driving around here. (Civvie version of S.Korean Army jeep)

Looks like it’d be a (presumably cheaper) alternative Wrangler, but I suspect the screen doesn’t fold down, which spoils the pose somewhat.

Mazda 626/Telstar engine so probably more frugal/underpowered, but from (mostly UK and Australian) web discussion other spares are hard to get hold of.