Rescuing a 1950 Willys Jeep from a collapsed barn

[@noddingat]

Right now this Jeep is sitting in safe storage while we wait for my Uncle's estate to be settled. We'll have more videos of the restoration process as soon as we're able to get back to it.

[@jacmaey]

Can’t wait!!!!

[@SahilKhan-rr9gt]

Can't wait !!!!!

[@brennanbarber688]

Hearing your dad talk about his experience on the farm is a spitting image of what it was like on my grandparents farm in Kansas. Cream of wheat for breakfast, Grandma always in an apron and the freedom of the farm! Playing in the creek, jumping hay bales, catching frogs and fishing, exploring all the buildings. Great project Benja, thank for sharing!

[@deanbrunner261]

North Dakota and grandmas pancakes 😊😊thanks for the memory

[@ricc6310]

Loved your beginning narrative. I became instantly nostalgic for those times of my own.

[@boblamb8421]

My wife's family farmed in southern Illinois outside a small town called Carmi. We loved to visit the farm with it's log house and 2 acre lake. I spent most of my time on the tractor's mowing or hauling stuff around for her grandfather who still kept a big garden out there. Our kid's would fish the heck out of the lake. The place was last farmed in the early 70's. We'd go in the 3 story log house with it's huge stone fireplace and solid wood mantle just to admire the workmanship all done by hand. It was like time stood still. Everything was still in the same place my wife's great grand parent's left it when they departed for the final time. In 1989 her family approached us asking if we'd like to own the farm?. Even the cast iron wood stove was still in the kitchen even though the place had power the great grandma still cooked on the wood stove. What remained of the farm was just over 85 acres. They sold off some over the years. I heard it was about 150 acres at one point. The purchase would include everything on the property. The price she told us was 100K. We live in Arizona making the drive back and forth over 1700 miles each way. The fact the humidity was brutal as were the winters on the farm we reluctantly passed on it. Today the place is still in the family but belongs to one of the nephews who bought it to keep the rest of the family that could care less about the farm wanting only money from splitting it up and selling it off. I think about it all the time how cool it would be to have that sprawling acreage to do as I please but reality always sets in. Your story on the farm sounded like a really fun way to grow up.

[@ronrusling2113]

I’ve got a real good friend who still lives in Carmi with his family.

[@boblamb8421]

@@ronrusling2113 My wife still has some cousin's and an aunt and uncle that live there as well. They live by the old ice plant building my wife's grandfather and his brother both owned when they ran Large brother's and HVAC repair company they opened clear back in the 50's. We've been back to Carmi a dozen times over the years. It never seems to change especially the old town part. Like I said we really mulled over the decision to buy or not buy the farm. I came up with a thousand reasons for us to buy it but only one to not. The weather.

[@type3666]

What a nice story 👍

[@mishapopov5762]

how interesting it is to find finds of this kind

[@china-trip]

My best friend, Great... We liked and enjoyed to the end. Thanks Have a happy day! Keep it up! +thumb up3!

[@wagonlife2778]

Super cool jeep,and awesome story about growing up on the farm,I too grew up on a farm and it sat withering away until nothing left and only memories remain,all the holidays,birthdays,dinners with family ughhI go there probably more than I should and just roam around,I still dig for milk bottles in the old from time to time,

[@JoeyP322]

Thanks for posting this video. Absolutely loved it and your story.

[@raywinchester3062]

My Dad’s people were from Stearns. I lived in Burnside and Somerset for a while. Love that country. Keep up the good work.

[@nyuntshein814]

A good car.

[@ronaldcooper7609]

We might be cousins. Dad's mother was a Winchester. We lived in Pine Knot.

[@wes11bravo]

You had me at "This was my grandfather's farm". Do everything you can to save the Jeep but frankly I was expecting it to be a lot worse. MD Juan has pretty much everything you need to make it 100% good to go. Well done!

[@jamesdamron2065]

Great rescue,,the little jeep deserves it,,he gave you guys so many good memories

[@kingfornjot]

Fantastic storytelling of the history thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings

[@WNCworks]

I like that patina, it tells a story. Good video, love the family history.

[@wizardofhyd]

Awesome video guys! I’m happy that you are rescuing your grandfathers Willys Jeep! It gets to live on in the family, I hope that you have a video of y’all getting it running again.

[@noddingat]

We will for sure!

[@malu1409]

O Jeep willys também fez história aqui no Brasil. ainda hoje os encontramos repousando em fazendas ou em garagens nas cidades do país. parabéns pelo resgate e aguardamos os vídeos do retorno desse ´49 ás ruas!

[@ТусовкисМедведьевичем]

Hello from South Ukraine 🖐️😉 Video very, very beautiful ❤❤❤ My Super Big Like for your my dear friend 😊👍

[@panzerleader49]

it is a testament to these old jeeps that people are willingg to do just about anything to get one and bring it back to life. Jeep people are a people apart.

[@andykirkendall8285]

We definitely need an part two from this please 🙏

[@noddingat]

Working on it. Jeeps still in storage waiting for the estate to be settled

[@andykirkendall8285]

@@noddingatunderstand hope everything works out that an awesome Jeep

[@freedomforever6718]

My neighbor had a 1950 Willys and I swear that thing could climb an oak tree.

[@noddingat]

Looking forward to seeing how this thing behaves once we get it running again!

[@shubhammore300]

Make more videos

[@bobkendall1805]

Your idyllic childhood mirrors mine from the 50's, happy days!

[@cargone2000]

Great video glad you were able to rescue Jeep

[@beyondmiddleagedman7240]

I've still got family on the farm in Curan and New Berlin, Illinois. I learned to drive there in a 1960 GMC 1 Ton grain truck at 7 years old. We weren't allowed to drive the tractors or combine at that age. My summer visits were the same freedom you described.

[@wrenchingwithrob6001]

I grew up in rural Minnesota on a dairy farm too. We also had a Willys Jeep, 1946 CJ-2A. All four of us learned to drive with it. Spent a lot of time with that Jeep. I am now in the process of restoring it to original condition.

[@friguy4444]

So AWESOME! Thank you for sharing this! I would really LOVE to see it being worked on and getting it started again and driving!!

[@noddingat]

We'll be recording the whole thing!

[@andriesviljoen4309]

Love this story! Great little "big" jeep. Very little could stop it☝🏻🇿🇦

[@normanmerrill1241]

Well done…I’m envious…great restoration project…stay safe and keep those memories alive…

[@SeanKerns]

So cool that you did this. My Dad learned to drive on a 2A where he grew up in Iowa. It was actually my Grandma's car. My Grandpa drove big Chryslers that he got new every year from a local dealer, and somehow, my Grandma and the three boys got the 2A.

[@2times2is4]

What a great project to work on.

[@mudweimer768]

Thanks for the story

[@azadqasimov7709]

ÇOX XAHİŞ EDİRƏM DEVAMI GƏLSİN ÇOX MARAQLI PAYLAŞIMDIR

[@fsj197811]

Not bad considering a building fell on the poor thing. Thanks for sharing.

[@peterknight4692]

Great to see another early jeep saved.

[@jeremystill4146]

I’m happy you saved it

[@brianelliot2719]

Wow, that’s a treasure. Can’t believe all that weight didn’t damage it worse. Tough old car.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Interesting project. Looking forward to more videos!

[@rodneydarbonne1906]

My grand parents also owned a big dairy farm in Central LA and my grandfather also always had an old Willis jeep for the farm what great memories we made there

[@michaelguinn5736]

For having a barn fall on the ole Willy's, it still looks pretty good. Y'all be safe!! God Bless!!

[@noddingat]

Yeah! Frankly I was surprised to see it was mainly just the windshield frame that was damaged

[@xmo552]

@@noddingat Why the tape on the pant legs, snakes? I'd love to find a Ford 3 window in a barn like this. I know they're out there.

[@noddingat]

@xmo552 A relative of ours got Lyme disease from getting bit by a tick and that area is known to have ticks so we were being extra cautious. Even with bug spray and taping our pant legs we still got bit by chiggers

[@xmo552]

@@noddingat Thanks for the reply.

[@nevillesmith9795]

Just subscribed to the channel. I love the story telling. Very straight to the point. It's almost as if i was there myself😊. You can hear the true passion in reliving the past of yester years gone by and it is so heart warming to hear. I am looking forward to see the re-born of this Willy (Dillard) being brought back to life again and learning more about not just the farm but the Jeep as well

[@ronaldcooper7609]

When I saw the opening shots I thought "That looks familiar". My Dad was also born in Fidelity. I''ll be in the area next week and will revisit the old dairy.

[@missedmebich2963]

A friend of mine is a shriner and asked for my help getting the organizations parade float running again. It had been sitting in a garage for over 20 years. It was a giant Fez with lights and such. I looked through the opening where the driver sits and I was shocked to see a mint condition 1952 jeep. I helped make it road worthy again but, I would rather have taken off the old spinning Fez and gone cruising around in the Jeep.

[@henryf.ky.3415]

Great video, Interesting! Sounds like a fine childhood.

[@jonjones5198]

Cool story!

[@tommaples9174]

What great stories, should had made some popcorn!

[@bmwloco]

Grew up in the mountains of NC. Nature was my playground. First car? 1959 Willys Overland Wagon 4x4. Oh I miss it.

[@specialized29er86]

Love all your other stuff that could be recycled.

[@karlnelson6593]

Enjoyed the voice over.

[@moremortskerepair4354]

I really dug the editing on the intro and the backstory! Well done!

[@gregfoster3620]

Good luck with the restoration ,what a fantastic project 😊

[@burtonbird5518]

Just subscribed to the channel. Liked seeing all the barn getting split apart and separated. Would have seen recycled use for all the barn wood. Plenty of saved wood would have liked to have seen the wood repurposed or sold for someone to Finnish their project. Congratulations getting to the Jeep and pulling that out n washing it off. Lots of heavy patina. Hope there will be future videos of the Jeep. That there might be value to the rest of the equipment that you get freed up. Cheers 🎉

[@noddingat]

Yep, we ended up stacking up a bunch of the lumber we found for them to use. Some of it the lumber had degraded over the decades. We'll have more videos as we restore it.

[@benniehazelwood9276]

That was the good old day's beening kids I remember those days to.

[@frankfurther3828]

What a cool story and vid.

[@jamesmolley8636]

Was holding my breath as you spray washed that body, thought it might fall apart. LOL!

[@noddingat]

Haha, you're not the only one!

[@curtda2]

Will it run? Because KZbin needs another “will it run” video 😅. Kidding aside good luck she’s a beauty.

[@user-fn1rb9ze6p]

😆 nope but would be a crime to let that jeep turn to rust

[@noddingat]

She's safe now. One of these fines day we'll hear her roar again.

[@Wvds478]

Parabéns pelo resgate! Hoje tenho 63 anos, em 1951eu saudoso avó Alfredo Schubert comprou um jeep igual ao seu, com rodas na mesma cor, creme, e a lataria era cor vinho. Brilhava muito, era uma boa lembrança de 1970, quando eu tinha apenas 10 anos de idade. Mais uma vez parabéns pelo resgate, me emocionei ao assistir o vídeo!

[@petroassuncao3392]

Um grande resgate, merece uma restauração completa, parabéns.

[@noddingat]

Obrigado 👍

[@michaelwallace981]

that's sweet hope y'all get it running again

[@thalestheodoro2063]

Muito bom ver o resgate do Jeep Willys. Falando em fazendas e no Kentucky, eu tenho alguns parentes no Kentucky, os Hamilton. Estou enviando congratulações, do Brasil, ao pessoal do Kentucky.

[@mrliberty8468]

Literally going down memory lane...what's next a slide show?

[@wahine7556]

You deserve so many more subscribers

[@noddingat]

Thanks. Slowly but surely. We're just getting started!

[@GwynnOak1]

Now that was a really cool video! Monumental clean up effort, looked like there was other good salvage too. If it was still good, which looked to be, the amount of wood alone. At todays prices? Good to see you spend the time, not just bring in a bobcat, and attack it. The family story really adds to it, so much nostalgia. Priceless memories associated, that now can be relived. Incredible how well it survived the collapse, I was prepared to see much much worse. A very worth while project. Thanks for sharing, best of luck!

[@jamestaylor3737]

The old flat fenders were the best

[@tocaamerillo431]

I love this video

[@kurtloptien185]

You all worked hard to get her out from under that barn. You'll have even more fun restoring her and then off around the farm you'll go. So cool guys, enjoy! Not to be a pain, but it is pronounced will-iss, not will-eez. I accept that there are two camps on this, but it is what it is. Willys Overland Motor Co.

[@noddingat]

I'd actually wondered about that. I've heard people pronounce it that way and even spell it "Willis" so I thought perhaps that was the formal name of the company and "Willys" was just a colloquial nickname! Good to know.

[@kurtloptien185]

@@noddingat Well as I mentioned there are two camps on the pronunciation and quite frankly everybody who knows jeeps knows what you're talking about either way. I'm so excited for you guys to start this restoration and looking forward to seeing your vids and progress. Such a really special and fun family heirloom.

[@TheOldaz1]

You sure put in some work digging it out.

[@noddingat]

That's the truth. Everything up to when we dragged out the Jeep was in one day, so we were hurting!

[@orektez]

used to drive a 1980s bronco around my friend's field when i was like 10, had smashed in windows, beat up roof and wasn't street legal but it was fun, well till a few years later when it ended up at the bottom of a pond because my friend left it in neutral.

[@lindomarthomaz4873]

Inacreditável é um modelo bem antigo um tesouro magnífico parabéns fiquei imprecionado

[@jimmyblues59m76]

The good ole days!

[@jakeoutdoors9600]

I will never understand how people can just let stuff go like this. The bar fell five years ago and just sat? Wow.

[@noddingat]

We're thankful our relatives let us get in there and save it.

[@markheld995]

My uncle had a 51 old military very clean enclosed cab he used it to check out his fields he was a farmer too.

[@mapleholler9800]

That brings back some memories. I had an early 50's Willys, that someone had put a 300 six cylinder Ford into. That thing was a beast. Pretty sure it had been a Navy Jeep in a prior life, judging by the battleship grey paint that still managed to hold on to it in places. It had a 7 ft snow plow on it, worked by a porta-power, set between the seats. That was also the brake, since the master cylinder was trashed. But then, it never made it past 2nd gear anyway, so stopping it by dropping the blade, wasn't too abrupt. There was no fluid in the radiator, due to a hole the size of a silver dollar. But that straight six, never complained. There were a lot of holes in the floor and the gas tank was beyond repair, so I ran it out of a gallon milk jug. I had replaced the fuel pump with an electric unit after the sediment ball fell off. It'd suck that jug flat (I got tired of adding the extra hole and breather hose to the cap when replacing the jug ), but it was easy to blow it up again, refill it, and you were off and running again. Oh, and a word of advice.....if you ever tie one of your kids in the passenger seat for safety, so your wife will let them ride with you.... know that the seat hinges in the front and if you stop real quick, that thing will launch toward the dash pretty darned quick. Just sayin'. I managed to get my hand between my son and the dash, so no harm done. But we weren't back in the house 10 seconds before he said, 'Guess what Mom?' I wasn't allowed to take him with me after that. Plowing snow....pulling trees.....just running around in the field.....good times. Took me back to the times when my dad used to ride me around in the woods, in an old Crosley pickup.....but that's another story.

[@noddingat]

Awesome stories!

[@konstantinvoistinov9110]

Надо же, Ваня Виллис ! В СССР очень любили эту машину.

[@65cj55]

Very Cool...

[@genenonya8458]

A real barn find!!

[@patmayer7222]

Great vid..we all have jeep memories,,,(ours ==jeepster,ragtop,,,go to the dump,,,fish guts,20mph,,,!..land o' lakes,wi.

[@duskintheforest584]

Our family farm in deep South Texas had a ww2 surplus Willys jeep too! It was too easy to get up on two wheels!😮 my granny made them delicious butter milk biscuits too!

[@davidking6172]

Well saved 👏

[@danvanhoose6783]

Watch out for snakes.good old jeep.good lumber worth reclaiming.

[@noddingat]

Yep, I had my head on swivel for snakes. Was really cautious about ticks too.

[@jamesdavis727]

Boys love stuff like this 😀

[@bobert201164]

Nice newholland hayliner

[@profialex1]

Какое потрясающее состояние колёс😮

[@noddingat]

Колеса были от другого джипа 1961 года, над которым мы работаем.

[@markc5593]

When I was a kid me and my sister and two brothers had a giant fort, a castle and a pirate's ship, for some reason dad called it a hay barn.

[@andrewhooper5645]

Thank you for saying “Willis”

[@noddingat]

I'm learning!

[@jaydeepshiralkar954]

That's the true effort 🎉

[@luisbatista1103]

Please more videos of this Jeep ❤👍👌🇨🇦

[@noddingat]

We'll document it in detail!

[@v65dreamer]

Couldn't help but notice the front bumper. My family has had several Jeeps. EVERY ONE had bent bumpers just like yours.

[@bluejack644]

I found a great little book on the bookmobilebonce back on the early 1980's called The Year Of The Jeep. It's about two young boys who run across an old barn and find an old jeep inside. They return several times and eventually fix it enough to get it started and raise hell in it in the fields. The farmer eventually catches them at it. And I'll let you read the book to see how bit ends. I always thought Robert Duvall would make a great angry farmer if it were ever made onto a movie.

[@johnkolb6717]

Watch "Second Hand Lions" if you want to see Robert Duvall as a grumpy old farmer.

[@jerrybrooks870]

I have that book. You're a little mistaken on how the story goes, though. The farmer doesn't catch them at anything. At the time the story takes place, the farmer and his wife are dead, and the place is vacant while the heirs fight over everything. It's a great story, though, and is extremely hilarious. It's by Keith Robertson, and he has several other books that very humourous, also.

[@shaharsdechen2537]

need part two!!!

[@noddingat]

Its coming. We'll have several more chapters as we bring it back to life!

[@shaharsdechen2537]

@@noddingat earned my subscription!

[@PaganWizard]

Your Jeep is in much better condition than I expected it to be, considering it was under a collapsed barn. Being a DIY/hobbyist woodworker, I sure wouldn't mind finding some lumber like what you uncovered at the 4:07 point in this video. It's too bad there is such a great distance between you and I that the transportation aspect, makes it too expensive for me.

[@noddingat]

As a woodworker myself I was excited to see the wood too but much of it was almost powdery. I think much of it had been in there for 20 some ofd years.

[@bassethousechannel2579]

I like all that lumber

[@bourdon845]

Cool !!!

[@julionavarro5439]

Yo tube uno de esos jeep son lo maximo en doble traccion

[@jimmybritt9537]

Are you going to show getting it running in the future ? It looks to be very fixable from what I could see 👍👍🇺🇸

[@noddingat]

Yep, we'll have more videos as we work on it!

[@ГошаВартанов-м6з]

Хорошая работа

[@phillipmatthews8341]

I watch a lot of barn find restorations and they work on the engines without cleaning them first, lots of rat nests. I would do what you all did and wash the vehicle first. Good job.

[@TractorMan104]

Was not expecting such a violent removal.

[@noddingat]

Haha, yep she was not rolling!

[@sakil090sakilkahn4]

My father fevoritte jeep

[@jerzy56]

Great story , like the way you guys tape your pants to the boots,,,snakes

[@noddingat]

Yeah, we were primarily worried about ticks. Have some relatives that have gotten Lyme disease and am not trying to join that club!

[@Sl20]

So,so,so,much land wow!!!!🔴🫢🤫!!!!!beautiful jeep you did a great job congratulations!!!!love it!!!,🫢it looks like my grandpa when he take a shower!!!!🤫

[@swotteh]

I'm okay with the way you had to move stuff to get the jeep out BUT, are you going to fix the garage maybe later? The wall on the right as you are looking in looks okay! You know better than me!

[@noddingat]

The barn collapsed a decade or two ago, so if its still needed they'll likely have to rebuild it from scratch. The farm is not as active as it used to be.

[@kennethcurtis1856]

Hopdfully that chain never snaps with people being so close. Otherwise, I enjoyed your video.

[@noddingat]

Yep, that's why I was getting out of the way. I've heard stories about chains snapping on ships and maiming people.