A few weeks back, I was in the Pearl District of Portland and spotted a rig that I’ve come across several times. In fact I think I first spotted this wagon back in ’08, and see it every so often in different parking spots throughout the area. Its definitely a regular driver and some lucky Portlander is enjoying it.
I believe this is between a ’59 and ’65 model. It has the V shaped grille as opposed to the CJ-like flat piece, with three evenly spaced horizontal chrome bars, and a one piece windshield as opposed to the divided glass on earlier models. It does have a manual transmission, with what appears to be a gearshift lever and knob that fit right in with the overall aesthetic, so it’s possible that it still retains either the original F Head four or Hurricane six with which they were equipped.
Usually these trucks become the subject of a wild off-road hotrodder’s garage experiment. Not that this truck wouldn’t look amazing with 6-8 inches of lift, a metallic blue paint job, slot mags, rocking a beefed up Mopar 360 under the hood with fender well headers and cherry bombed sidepipes….it would! Yet something so perfectly original as this deserves to stay as it is. The only non-stock parts I could pick out are the side mirrors, which are clearly from a 1987-2002 Wrangler, and the bumper mounted driving lights.
The Pearl District is a trendy, upscale and very hipster-infested section of downtown Portland. Whoever owns this clearly has no garage, as it’s always out on the street. And yet, the rig is about as pristine and unspoiled as you could possibly want. The lightly faded metallic beige paint may be original, or it could be an older restoration. From old pics/brochures Ive seen, such a color could have existed in its day, and if this truck was at one time restored or repainted then the attention to detail was superb.
Note the “Jeep 4 Wheel Drive” logo painted onto the tailgate. Most every Jeep of this vintage sported this logo, and it’s a nice touch to see it preserved. Its amazing how certain colors and styling cues just work on certain vehicles. The champagne paint definitely looks more distinguished on the lines of this beast than on the Camaccordundais that usually wear a similar hue. Even the skinny basic white painted steel wheels which would look horribly plain on anything else lend a certain utilitarian yet classic look to the truck. I couldn’t get a good shot of the interior, due to glare and my iPhone’s limitations, but the cloth seats appear to be a recent re-cover, and the inside is very clean and intact as well.
Portland is a strange place, and in a lot of ways. The Toyota Prius is the best selling car here, and has been for some time. Yet with the climate, lack of roadsalt, and plenty of gearheads, it’s not unusual to see lots of older cars; might as well call it Curbsidelandia. Thing is, many were the workaday econoboxes of their time; it’s almost mundane in the land of no rust to see brown Valiants, dull red Falcons, old Volvos of all types, and even other classic 4x4s such as Toyota Land Cruisers.
Usually older rides are piloted by someone with thick framed glasses, a pork pie hat….hell, just watch an episode of Portlandia, you’ll get it! Generally they tend to fetishize anything ‘vintage’. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes you wonder if this person really knows what they have, or do they just think anything old is cool. In terms of some of the older cars they flock towards, it’s up for debate. But if you want to argue whether or not this old wagon is “cool,” good luck finding that rare Willys hater! Skinny jeans and argyle sweaters on the other hand…
I see it as vehicle perfection, as is………….
Oh yea.
NW Portland is full of CC material. When I was working there in the mid 90s I used to see a Rover 2000, a Series I Land Rover (in bare metal), a Singer Gazelle and a BSA M20 motorcycle with a Hebrew license plate on the street all the time. Plus my co-worker daily drove a 1953 Nash Ambassador for several years, and another guy in the shop had a 62 or 63 Ford pickup with the bed integrated with the cab.
On a “hipster” note, Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini lived down the street and drove an early 60 Valiant at the time.
While I haven’t seen the British iron form the early 90s lately, my regular runs to Forest Park pass a Mazda GLC some Series Land Rovers and air cooled VWs.
To frugal people such as myself the Pearl District is the bane of our existence. The day all of (Western) Portland becomes the Pearl District will be a sad day indeed because I like my cheap rent and being within five miles of downtown. Guess I need to relook at a map since my first thought is “That does not look like the Pearl District” but anyway this Willys Jeep is a nice find since the Pearl District from my experience is one of the least Curbside Classic areas of the City of Portland. Usually the place is populated with pricey European vehicles (do not park really close to them their owner hates that) or various curbside fodder.
I have only met one person with an old car who does not know what they have. In their own paraphrased words “They have some 1979 Yellow Volvo that their family keeps running.” I hear the Pearl District got its name because back in the day the place was full of empty warehouses and the occasional one hosting an art exhibit was a Pearl. I have only been in Portland for six months so there is still a lot to learn.
I see a lot of CC’s in inner southeast. VW Squarebacks, old Minis, the occasional Detroit vehicle, etc.
Same here, I have taken photos of several cars around Grand Avenue aka OR 99E.
Did the US Postal Service use these?I’m sure I saw one in postal livery driven by a postman in the 60s
Not officially, to my knowledge. They used the DJ-5 which was a full cab 2wd version of the CJ-5 with sliding doors, right hand drive, and funky mirrors. Although, these old Willy Wagons were used for anything and everything back in the day. Surely, a few savvy rural postal carriers grabbed them…I believe rural route carriers are independent contractors, someone correct me if Im wrong.
Thanks for that,I’m not well up on Jeeps and it was in the 60s on holiday in California.That’s one of the things I like about this sight,you see a car and remember when you saw one (or one like it)
The Pearl is very upscale, trendy, etc. but I don’t think ‘hipster’ means what you think it means.
They DO have hipsters with money in these parts. And ‘hipster’ isn’t some absolute term….a lot of people have a little hipster in them, some are full blown hipsters and of course theres everything in between.
I would argue that it’s now a meaningless, nonspecific, and overused term if it’s now being applied to the yuppies of the Pearl District in such a general way.
Now that you mention it, I think the hipsters are more prone to visit the area, rather than actually live there. The residents would absolutely fit the yuppie demographic. I visit the area a lot because Im hopelessly addicted to Escape from NY pizza…
I still have a bit of a thing for these. As a young kid, I rode in the back of one on a family visit to California.
I still wonder how the world could have been different of Kaiser had done a more Toyota-like job of building and promoting these all over the world.
I have wanted one since my first ride in one, at age 9, to a back country lake in the High Sierra for a day of fishing. That was 1965.
Paul, I just found a mistake that made it past my craptastic proofreading skills. “The Toyota Prius is the best selling car here, and has been for some time.” is obviously wrong. I think I meant to say “People here actually do buy the Prius.”
I edited that a bit. Your original line was a bit too strong for the CC censors 🙂 And the Prius is (or was) the best selling car in Portland;seriously.
Seriously?!?! I used to live just down from a Toyota dealership and the used section was literally infested with them and they weren’t selling. That said, Ive seen more around here and seattle than anywhere else. But it would appear that fullsize trucks are whats really moving in this area, like everywhere else…and Im clearly not the only Mopar fan in the area! haha