After World War II, the Willys-Overland company took what it learned building the famed military Jeep 4×4 and pivoted to a line of rugged vehicles for family, work, and fun.
While Willys had produced traditional automobiles before the war, its management knew that competition for the passenger car market would be tight once the Big Three retooled from the war effort.
So, an idea was hatched to apply the Jeep name to a line of hard-working vehicles that offered plenty of utility, yet were still practical and fun to own.
As great as the Jeep was during the war however, it needed to adapt to civilian life too—just as many of the greatest generation soldiers did when they came home.
So, the Willys company hired flamboyant industrial designer Brooks Stevens to style a range of models derived from the venerable military Jeep.
First was the Jeepster, an obvious portmanteau of Jeep and roadster. It was a sporty, open top model that was more car-like than its predecessor and is considered the last Phaeton* car on the American market.
* “Phaeton” is a fancy word for an open touring car.
Then came the first all steel family wagon with a 4×4 drivetrain.
After that, Willys modified the wagon into a small number of enclosed steel Panel Vans, intended for delivery jobs and similar working roles.
And it’s one of those super-rare Panel Wagon models that brings us here today.
This particular Willys wagon enjoyed a long career as a delivery truck before being transformed into a gnarly street rod surf wagon.
The project was the brainchild of Dave Waddington
Dave’s a lifelong hot rodder and racer from the Portage Lakes area in northeast Ohio—not too far from Summit Racing’s Ohio Retail Store.
A while back, Dave retired and wanted to find another Jeep wagon like the one he had back in 1960 when he was 17 years old.
During his search he found this tired, old Jeep Panel Wagon.
The van started off life in California, where over the years, someone had begun turning it into a hot rod. It eventually made its way to Missouri, before finally ending up in Ohio—still as an unfinished project.
Dave quickly decided that the van would be the perfect starting point for his next build.
When Dave lugged the Willys to his shop, it had already been retrofitted with a 350 Chevy small block V8 and a Mustang II front suspension. So the bones were there—but the van needed to be finished.
Dave went to work.
Over the course of the project, he rewired the entire vehicle, installed a fresh interior, added A/C, fixed some suspension issues, and then painted the whole thing.
And that’s where this build gets fun.
Dave applied surf-inspired graphics to the outside and transformed the trusty Willys into a Surf Van—midwest style.
If that seems confusing to you, here’s some context:
Stretching from Toledo to Cleveland, many folks from northern Ohio refer to the area as the “North Coast” of the United States due to the long Lake Erie shoreline that separates the U.S.A. from Canada.
Truth is, the Willys graphics are a tongue-in-cheek reference to the region, because outside of a major storm, Lake Erie and the nearby Portage Lakes seldom see many surf-worthy waves.
But that doesn’t matter to Dave.
He’s a lifelong resident of the lakes area and a Navy Veteran, so he’s always been drawn to the water.
This specific Panel Wagon was built in 1948, and it’s a pretty rare model. As alluded to earlier, not many of the windowless Panel Wagons were made and even fewer survive today.
Being a fan of Jeeps and Jeepsters, Dave wanted to create an easy driving hot rod that was different from anything else you’d see at a local car show.
Suffice it to say, an Ohio-based Surf Wagon fit the bill nicely.
Dave also transformed a vintage Jeep CJ-5 with similar surfing flair, but that’s is a story for another day.
Dave stresses that this Willys van is not intended to be a static display piece, it was built to surf the roads of Ohio.
And that’s exactly what it does, daily, three seasons a year.
So, if you ever find yourself in the Buckeye State and spot a surfboard-toting Willys Jeep wagon, you’re not hallucinating—talk to Dave, hop in, and get ready to carve some righteous curl on the warm, clear waters of northeast Ohio.
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