- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Location
- Raleigh
Paul Dunn (hillbilly21 on the forum) has been restoring Willys Jeeps for 20 years. His dad, Perry Dunn, started collecting parts from all over when he retired and it became their hobby to do frame-up restorations of 1940s and 50s Jeeps. Paul soda blasts all the metal and repaints everything in his shop, his dad (who passed away in October, 2008) was a masterful transmission mechanic. Paul's girlfriend, Kathy, says she's been through many sewing machines in the process of outfitting 20 or 30 Jeeps with new canvas.
The Navy and POW-MIA Jeeps
One day, Paul told his dad that he had a dream of doing a Jeep for each branch of the armed services. They finished and sold Jeeps for the Army, Coast Guard and Shore Patrol, complete with decals byCrazy8Graphics. Paul completed the last of the group, the 1951 M38 Navy Jeep, in honor of his dad. The POW-MIA Jeep is dedicated to Kathy's brother, a cousin of Paul's, and several other named prisoners of war, along with all those unnamed. Paul has traveled with it to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
The restorations are stories in themselves, but Paul has quite a few tales to go along with the acquisitions and the future owners of his projects. One Jeep found it's way home on his trailer with a rattlesnake curled up under the hood! While searching in Virginia for a motorcycle to restore, Paul found two M38s (but only a motorcycle side car) in a warehouse packed wall-to-wall with firetrucks. His USMC Jeep was never completed. On the afternoon he rolled it out of his shop to start the motor, someone drove up and offered to buy it as it sat. The mystery fellow came back a couple of days later and hauled it home to Alabama. Paul has sold four that were shipped to England and has had offers to take a Jeep back apart to ship to India. He tells the story of being out-bid on a Jeep Surrey Gala he found at auction in Arizona by Mrs. Cindy McCain.
Paul\'s red 1946 CJ2A with original stickers on the windscreen.
He has a couple waiting in the wings, including the second M38 from Virginia (pictured at the top) and a 1945 1/2 CJ2 of which Paul is only the second owner. The original owner's grandson had driven it to high school. With his dad gone almost two years now, Paul says he's not sure how many more he'll do. It was their hobby and not as much fun to do by himself. He says he's always willing to show others how things are done but that it's tougher to find younger Jeep enthusiasts with the same patience and respect for the vehicles.
Click for more images:
The Navy and POW-MIA Jeeps
One day, Paul told his dad that he had a dream of doing a Jeep for each branch of the armed services. They finished and sold Jeeps for the Army, Coast Guard and Shore Patrol, complete with decals byCrazy8Graphics. Paul completed the last of the group, the 1951 M38 Navy Jeep, in honor of his dad. The POW-MIA Jeep is dedicated to Kathy's brother, a cousin of Paul's, and several other named prisoners of war, along with all those unnamed. Paul has traveled with it to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
The restorations are stories in themselves, but Paul has quite a few tales to go along with the acquisitions and the future owners of his projects. One Jeep found it's way home on his trailer with a rattlesnake curled up under the hood! While searching in Virginia for a motorcycle to restore, Paul found two M38s (but only a motorcycle side car) in a warehouse packed wall-to-wall with firetrucks. His USMC Jeep was never completed. On the afternoon he rolled it out of his shop to start the motor, someone drove up and offered to buy it as it sat. The mystery fellow came back a couple of days later and hauled it home to Alabama. Paul has sold four that were shipped to England and has had offers to take a Jeep back apart to ship to India. He tells the story of being out-bid on a Jeep Surrey Gala he found at auction in Arizona by Mrs. Cindy McCain.
Paul\'s red 1946 CJ2A with original stickers on the windscreen.
He has a couple waiting in the wings, including the second M38 from Virginia (pictured at the top) and a 1945 1/2 CJ2 of which Paul is only the second owner. The original owner's grandson had driven it to high school. With his dad gone almost two years now, Paul says he's not sure how many more he'll do. It was their hobby and not as much fun to do by himself. He says he's always willing to show others how things are done but that it's tougher to find younger Jeep enthusiasts with the same patience and respect for the vehicles.
Click for more images: