Summary
- Westen Champlin's road trip with a 1953 Jeep was plagued with car issues and overheating was the main problem, leading to frequent breakdowns.
- Despite the Jeep's issues, it proved its mettle across rough off-road trails in Moab and outperformed newer, more expensive vehicles.
- Old Willys Jeeps from the 1950s can be worth up to $44,000, but availability of spare parts is crucial to avoid being stranded during a trip.
Road trips can be a fun way to get to know a new vehicle. This was the plan for YouTuber Westen Champlin, who had planned a 1000+ mile trip to Moab, Utah. His new acquisition that he planned to do the trip in, however, wasn’t exactly new. He’d recently acquired a 1953 World War II era Jeep, and as the video would go on to reveal, things didn’t go according to plan.
Westen’s ambitious road trip with the Jeep was plagued with car issues, and try as he did, he just could not make it across a sizable distance without the car breaking down. Westen admitted that the entire point of the road trip was to get to know his new acquisition better, to see if it can off road well enough, and to get a few Instagram-worthy shots if and when the Jeep manages to scale the intended summit, but whether it would end up actually doing it was a mystery.
With a car as old as Westen’s Jeep, unless the car has been meticulously cared for and serviced regularly, there was always a chance for issues to crop up on the move. All that said, the video does showcase how far you can reach in a car like the ’53 Jeep, just as long as you have access to a few quality spare parts and the right mentality.
Note
All the information in this article has been sourced from Westen Champlin's YouTube video, and classic.com for their used prices.
Overheating Was The Jeep’s Main Problem
As Westen kickstarts his trip, he’s hopeful he can put a few miles on the Jeep before any serious issues cropping up. However, the Jeep immediately starts to overheat, and Westen and his crew are forced to pull over to try and rectify the problem. It’s at this point that Westen comes up with the rather curious solution of taking the hood off altogether to solve the heating issues that are plaguing the Jeep. “The things underneath the hood can’t overheat if there’s no hood,” he goes on to say. Needless to say, this wasn’t a permanent solution.
A short while later, Westen and his crew are seen pulling over into a gas station to try and source some parts for the Jeep. All they managed at this point was a fabric roof for the open-top Jeep, so if nothing else, at least Westen could put an end to his own body overheating. As per his own admission, though, things were about to get a lot tougher for the old Jeep. The ambient temperature was hovering around the 85 to 90-degree F level, with their destination expected to be closer to 100-degrees F.
And the trouble is that Westen and his team can’t seem to go more than 20-30 miles without the Jeep overheating, and what was even more painful for them was that this was being done at an average of 30-35 mph. At one point, after sorting out a gas pedal issue, Westen was able to nudge the Jeep to a high speed of 50 mph, but no more than that.
Soon after, a clogged radiator is found on the Jeep, and they’re forced to stop once again. And after flushing it out at a nearby car wash, the team set out once again. Despite making it 20 miles or so without an issue, the Jeep once more cried enough, and had to be towed thereafter by the team’s support vehicle all the way to Moab. Once there, they replaced the thermostat, too, but the radiator was still giving them issues, and they then had to take it back to Kansas to get a new one.
That seemed to do the trick for the old Jeep, as it made it to Moab with a fresh radiator without any issues.
The Jeep Showed Its Mettle Across The Rough Stuff
As mentioned earlier, Westen’s primary motive was to see how well the old Jeep did across Moab’s famous off-road trails. For him, this was the biggest test of its ability; one that, if it managed to make the hike to the summit, would be well worth the troubles it gave on the way to Moab.
Before setting off, Westen and his team set out in search of a roll bar for the Jeep at a nearby auto store, and were lucky enough to run into someone who seemed happy to give them just what they needed. The Jeep was then duly fitted with a roll bar that would help protect Westen in the event of the Jeep turning turtle on the way up to the summit.
As per Westen, the trail they’re heading toward takes four hours on the way up and another four hours back down if you’re in a brand new Jeep Rubicon running 35-inch tires. At this point, how the ’53 Jeep would fare was anyone’s guess.
For whatever it’s worth, Westen and his team shouldn’t have been worried. The old Jeep, across multiple trails, proved that it was more than up to the task. Westen was delighted with the way his Jeep performed compared to cars around him that were significantly newer and more expensive.
The only slight issue for Westen came when all the clutch-slipping action required to navigate the trails finally caught up with them. With the clutch completely burned out, the team hastily tried a few makeshift solutions that would enable the Jeep to make the short hike to the top, and in the end, Westen was relieved he made it.
Old Willy's Jeeps Can Be Worth $44,000 Today
If, like Westen, you’re keen on getting a ‘50s Jeep for yourself, there aren’t too many options in the used market. Most owners of vehicles like the M38A1 or the CJ-5 hold on to them as a collector’s item that rarely ever gets put into use, or they’re left abandoned in a garage or a shed somewhere.
That said, a quick scan shows that the Willys M38A1 sells for an average of around $20,000 today. Prices can go as low as $7,500, and as high as $44,000 if you find one that’s in good running condition.
The important thing to keep in mind is availability of spares. As Westen’s video proved, if you plan on getting some mileage out an old Jeep, it would be ideal to have plenty of spares along for the ride so that you can avoid getting stranded. The good part, though, is the spares aren’t too hard to source and don’t cost an exorbitant amount, either.
This article originally appeared on HotCars and is republished here with permission.
