Tales From the Field

by Jon Weatherwax

After riding in a friend’s WWII Jeep, I purchased a 1942 MB from a Ranger in northern California in 2003. He had 2 jeeps and sold the one to me so he had funds to restore the other. He bought the jeep from someone who bought it at a depot in England.

The Willys runs great, and I keep it at our cabin in California’s Sierras. I use it often during the summer months, taking it off-road on the mountain trails around Lake Tahoe and taking our family and friends for rides in an original historic military vehicle. We also use it to schlep chairs, coolers, etc. to the nearby beach.

My hopeful assumption is that if it was bought in England, it might have been an Invasion vehicle. I’m having trouble getting full identification as I only have a tub number. I cannot find a frame number. So, for now, the hood number is really my California license plate number.

I was the first in our group of friends to own a Jeep. Since then, four friends have purchased G503s. We do a lot of “trail rides” and occasional parades. My Willys is my most treasured “toy.”