V8-Powered Willys 6×6: Throwback Thursday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
Vintage Willys 6×6 has a flathead Ford V8, three axles, ten tires, and a ton of coolness to tackle the tough Australian terrain.
I think we can all agree that all Jeeps are cool. But a Jeep with six wheels is a little extra cool. A vintage Willys piles on even another layer of coolness. Make it a right-hand drive with a Ford flathead V8 engine and the coolness factor is practically off the charts. And that is exactly what we have here. A vintage Willys 6×6 with matching trailer. You must travel to Perth, Australia to see it, but based on this video, it very well may be worth the trip.
This week’s “Throwback Thursday” Presented by Nitto is all about this wonderful early Willys build. Jeep guru Rick Pewe made the trip Down Under to visit with Brian Pollitt, the man who built and owns this wonderful Willys 6×6. The adventure is captured on the Gone-Gpn YouTube channel.
A Little History
When you have a Jeep this awesome, there is no reason to get rid of it. This Jeep has been in the Pollitt Family for more than 40 years. Of course, it did not roll out of the factory like this. One of the first things Pollitt did was drop a flathead Ford V8 in there. “This is how Ford should have built them.” Says Pollitt. And he would know. He has been building Jeeps for 42 years. This one retains the original grille, but just about everything else has been replaced. It is a show circuit Jeep nowadays and it should be no surprise that it turns heads wherever it goes.
On The Road
Pewe fires up the old Willys and takes it for a spin. The first thing he notices is the sound of the engine. There is no mistaking the sound of an old flathead Ford, and that makes itself known within the first 100 yards of the drive. Another cool aspect of this Jeep is that it is configured so the driver can choose to drive one axle, two axles or three axles. And it can be done in either two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive mode.
Being in Australia this is naturally a right-hand-drive Jeep. It takes a bit of time for Pewe to get used to that, but that doesn’t take too long. However, what is a bummer, is that because of this configuration he is not able to have his foot out the door while he is driving because he needs it to work the accelerator pedal. That doesn’t seem to take much of the shine off the driving experience. “Driving this is a dream. It’s like a World War II Jeep but better. And you can take along your whole family.” Says Pewe.
In Summary
This may not be an original WWII Jeep, but the work done is top notch and would fool most Jeep enthusiasts. This Willys 6×6 was built with hand-made custom work but was done with mostly original Jeep parts. It not only looks the part, but it drives well and could even be considered practical. It might not be as good a daily driver as a modern-day Grand Cherokee, but it is a hell of a lot more interesting. Pewe sums it up best: “I could take this home.”
Video
You just have to see this thing. Travelling to Perth, Australia might not be in the cards for you, but watching the video below is easy enough. It may not be the fastest or most trail worthy Jeep ever, but it just might be the coolest.
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