http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/preview/trail-rated-time-warp-1962-jeep-willys-underground-concept-13071531September 25, 2012 5:00 PM TEXT SIZE: A . A . A
In the shadows of the multimillion-dollar concepts Chrysler debuts each year on the auto show circuit, the automaker develops its Jeep "Underground" concepts. These aren't the futuristic and fanciful concepts designed for the mainstream stage. The Underground vehicles are one-off Jeeps meant to grab the attention of the most hardcore Jeep fans—and to be driven.
The renegade group of dedicated Jeep engineers builds three or four of these trucks per year. These guys hit the trails just as hard as Jeep owners do, so most of their creations have been geared for extreme off-roading. But this year, a rather unassuming 1962 Willys wagon emerged from the Underground garage and caught our attention—so we decided to take it for a spin.
The Specs
The Jeep brand has owned this particular Willys for decades. "There's a secret warehouse we have in Warren, Mich., that few people know about, and it's full of Jeeps," says Mark Allen, head of Jeep Design. "That's where this one lived. We can trace our ownership of this Willys back about 30 years, to Jeep's AMC days."
At some point along that timeline, a group within Jeep began the process of mating the body of this Willys with the chassis and drivetrain of a 2004 Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited. The Unlimited versions of the TJ generation of Wranglers, produced between 2004 and 2006, were the long wheelbase models—which matched perfectly with the old Willys. However, that Jeep group abandoned the project, leaving the rig to be reclaimed by Allen's team.
"The original plan that group proposed was to strip and repaint the body—that horrified us, because it's in such great original condition," Allen says. So after the project had sat deserted for more than a year, Allen's Underground group adopted it.
The team sandblasted and painted the bottom of the Willys' body, and mated it to the Wrangler chassis after it had been cleaned and detailed. The suspension remained factory stock, although the team added a short three-quarter-inch coil spring spacer to each side of the rear end to provide adequate fender clearance for off-road use. Although the front springs were untouched, the team mounted a TeraFlex adjustable sway bar to allow for more wheel travel off-road while minimizing body roll on the street. Aftermarket off-road axle experts Dynatrac upgraded the stock axles with ARB Air Lockers; the Jeep team installed new Tom Woods driveshafts.
To keep that old-school look, Allen's team bought a set of 16 x 7 white steel wheels and mounted skinny STA Super Traxion 7.50-16 bias-ply tires on them. These wheels and tires impart a strong vintage vibe, and might fool the casual Jeep fan into thinking this is just an old Willys wagon.
The Drive
Today's modern Jeep Wrangler JK, as good as it is on the trail, is still a little crude if you compare it to a smooth-riding family sedan. But compared to the even older Wrangler chassis that underlies the Willys Underground, the JK feels practically like a Bentley.
"You know, it's very difficult to drive an old truck with drum brakes and manual steering in modern traffic," Allen says. "So the idea was to have this vehicle look very, very old and original, but then perform to today's specs—so it steers and stops and threads through traffic just fine."
On the road, the Willys is relatively quick with a lot of scoot off the line. The 4.0-liter straight six is not only torquey at the low end (235 lb-ft) but also strong as the revs build, generating a full 190 hp. That's quite a bit more potential under your right foot than the 105-hp flathead inline six that originally occupied the space between the frame rails.
"Part of the attraction is that we pulled a straight six out of the engine bay and replaced it with another one," Allen says. "A V-6 just would have seemed odd." That newer 4.0-liter six is one sweet-sounding engine too. It's smooth and turbine-like. The easy-shifting five-speed AX-15 transmission changes gears with light flicks from your wrist.
Originally, the Willys weighed about 500 pounds less than a 2004 Wrangler Unlimited. It's likely that this package now has a better power-to-weight ratio than the Wrangler Unlimited did when it rolled off the assembly line. The modern brakes and ABS provide a high degree of confidence, so you drive this Willys with a lot more bravado in traffic than you would an original.
The Willys is amazingly soft and surprisingly smooth. It soaks up a series of rough potholes like, well, a modern vehicle. Of course, a soft ride usually means the chassis is a little floppy in the corners, and that's the case here. Push the Willys through a series of corners and it will lean. But once you learn that the body will roll, take a set, and hold that position through a bend, it's easy to manage.
As you speed up, the Willys gets a little looser. The aggressive tires sound like a squadron of angry bees is tailing you at highway speeds. And then the hood starts to move around a bit, as though it's about to come unhinged. But it's not. It's just old.
The Willys is best below 70 mph. You do feel a little vulnerable driving around in this thing, because it's 50 years old. There are no three-point belts, and the metal certainly isn't crash tested. But we were happy to take our chances.
The interior is like a time warp. The gauges are original, and mark speed in single digits, so 40 mph is just "4" on the speedometer. The springy green seats really were a part of the vehicle's suspension back then. Their motions are like spiky little jolts up and down, cushioning everything that happens beneath. (In this Willys, however, you don't need this type of seat; the modern suspension is much smoother than the original.)
Everywhere you look this thing appears authentic. Like your favorite pair of Levi's, the seats are torn. The steering wheel is a thin, rough plastic rim. They could have easily found a new wheel, but they kept the original and maintained the Willys' worn feeling. On the downside, heat from the Wrangler's exhaust pours up through the floorboards and will make you sweat on a hot day. But that doesn't really detract from the experience. In fact, driving around town in this five-decade-old Willys is so easygoing that it's probably okay to feel a little discomfort.
The Bottom Line
Jeep's Underground team has created one very cool, very honest vehicle. It's like a "sleeper"—a car that looks completely stock on the outside to hide its heavy modifications.
This Willys wagon is perhaps the tamest project vehicle the Underground engineers have produced. But it has created quite a bit of interest within Jeep. Allen says, "It really rekindled the Jeep design studio's interest. The Willys wagon is the original SUV and Jeep's second product after the war. This is where it all began for us."
We know Jeep is working on a longer version of the Grand Cherokee that will seat seven passengers. Many think its design will recall the legendary wood-paneled 1962–91 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. But perhaps this Willys has inspired the designers to also take cues from Jeep's original family truck.
Read more: Off-Road Time Warp: 1962 Jeep Willys Underground Concept - Popular Mechanics
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