Ancient History…
In 1993 I turned 16. I have always had a preference for 1940’s-1970’s era ‘Merican STEEL!” My workshop is dominated by post WW2 Rockwell Delta stationary tools… I guess I just like things that have good design, are overbuilt, and yet boiled down.
So, the search for a car was fraught… I wanted to look cool. A lot of the kids in my school celebrated their 16th birthday with “A Brand New CAAAARRR!” but that wasn’t in the cards for me. I scoured the classifieds in the Kansas City Star for months. Budget, $1500 that I had saved from mowing lawns. When I saw the ad for a “ 1970 Jeepster Commando, $1300 obo” I had no idea what it was. In the pre-google era, you had to actually lay eyes on something to know it existed, and Jeepsters were rare even then. I called about it… “yes it is running, runs good!” he said. My dad agreed to take me across town to look at it.
It was beautiful. I knew in an instant that I had to have it, and so did the guy selling. My dad, who knows less about the mysteries of internal combustion than I do, wisely asked the seller if we could take it to his mechanic to have it looked over. He agreed, and to Troostwood Auto we drove. I can’t remember if it was there overnight, or if we waited, but I do remember his diagnosis. “This thing is going to nickel and dime you to death” he told my dad. My dad remembers me in tears when he retells it, but I don’t remember that part. He made sure I understood that this was “your money, your choice, your responsibility”, and that there wasn’t a parental parachute available if something went wrong.
I paid the man his $1300 asking price, and drove it home. The next morning it wouldn’t shift out of drive, and that’s when I learned about automatic transmission fluid levels.
I had that car for a year before wanting to move on to an FJ-40 Toyota, and because I had cleaned it up, put in a new stereo, and new carpet, I sold it for $2500. It was a pretty good “freshening up” If I do say so myself. I put in a new radio, carpeted the interior by hand, and fixed a few simple things. It was no restoration. Even if I had known what that meant, it wouldn’t have happened in my driveway “garage” with my dad’s Black and Decker pad sander. I was always jealous of those who could restore a car back to its original condition, and do it right.
The Preamble
I have been fantasizing about buying a Jeepster and tearing it apart for restoration for a few years. And as I watched the Buy/Sell Jeepster Commando group on facebook, and the Jeepster Commando Association of America Facebook group, I started to learn about “The rarest jeep of all”, the 1971 Hurst Edition Jeepster Commando. As I learned how rare they are, (a planned production run of 500, but the purchase of Jeep Kaiser by American Motors reduced the actual number to likely less than 200) only 120 known to still exist, I decided that if I was going to restore one, why not go with a super rarest of all. So I started searching daily for a Hurst, and after 3 months, found one in Texas. No title, body in pretty good condition, rust in the floor pans, no seats, not running, etc., etc., etc. I paid $2500 for it, and then $860 for the transport from Texas to KC.
I know very little about how to restore an automobile. I am an above average handyman, and I have been a maker of things my whole life. I have a full shop, table saw, band saw, mig welder, etc. We have gutted and restored 1.5 houses, and I did nearly everything, so… I am handy, but Internal combustion is a mystery to me, and I don’t know how to even begin pulling an engine out of a car. So, time to get learning.
The Plan
My plan is to do a full, frame off restoration. I plan on completely rebuilding the engine if possible, and if not, replacing it with the same engine, a Buick Dauntless, 255 Cubic inch. I plan on media blasting the body, repairing all the rust and small dents, cut fenders, etc. so that it is back to showroom condition, complete with accurate paint, decals, etc. My goal for the finished Hurst is to have it look as if it could have been transported to 2022 from the 1970’s by time machine. So…it will have a lift kit added, but nothing crazy, and all the trim details will match an original Hurst. But, I do plan to add some modern conveniences, and safety features… Full back seats, shoulder straps, a full roll cage, seat warmers, a loud stereo, you know… the essentials.
I plan on documenting the whole tear down and build here, along with the timeline, costs, tools used, wins, failures, etc. at this point, in February of 2022, I am hopeful that she is finished and drivable in Spring 2023, but who knows… I am new at this… wish me luck.
Here she is when she showed up:
