The original WWII Willys Jeep was as simple as it gets, no airbags, no seatbelts, no electronics just steel and guts.
It was a light and tough 4x4, easy to work on and you could fix almost anything with basic tools. You could tear the whole Jeep down in less than 5 minutes.
If someone tried to build one today, same size, same style, could it actually pass modern safety and emissions standards?
Or would the rules make a true “modern Willys” impossible?
Curious what engineers, mechanics, and everyone else thinks. It would save people so much money.
I have experience with these. I learned to drive stick in one.
So they would in no way pass modern emissions standards, they also run on leaded 65+ octane fuel although regular fuel would work.
They have very little HP, less than 50, but im not sure, maybe 25-35.
The gearbox is unsynchronized and a 3 speed. The top speed is around 45 MPH I think.
It also wouldn’t pass modern safety standards since it has no roll bar or crumple zones.
There’s no reason to use leaded fuel. Lead was just used as an octane booster. People say that it helps lubricate the valves or whatever, but it’s a myth. You might eventually have issues if you run e10 fuel because that stuff isn’t good for fuel systems in the first place.
I am aware, I was more so saying it to show how old and underpowered the engine is. It does have very low crawler gears though.