Ancient Willys truck gets a second life for $150k

In the modern world, we are all but spoiled for choice when it comes to performance trucks, but it was far from being the case some seven decades ago.

Take the Willys Jeep Truck, for example, which weighed in close to 1.5 metric tons (3,300 lbs) and had to haul all that metal around with an engine rated as low as 73 PS (72 hp / 54 kW). Well, it was about time someone fitted that vintage car with a modern V8, right?

Billy Holton began his automobile restoration career with turning classics into hot rods, and did dozens of such conversions over the years. This particular Willys Jeep was cobbled together from parts of other cars, including a 1968 Chevy Camaro hood and Jeep Wrangler bucket seats in the cabin, just to give a few examples.

As nice as the car was shaping up to be, Holton felt that a naturally aspirated V8 had to be the core of the project, so he swapped the stock mill out for a Ford 302. Originally capable of 355 PS (350 hp / 261 kW), the engine was tuned for some extra oomph and ultimately could take the truck to a maximum acceleration of 193 km/h (120 mph). A line lock is included, so burning tires should be a breeze with this build.