1950 Willys Jeepster

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Name: Mike Wade

City: Modesto

The car: 1950 Willys Jeepster

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What sparked the interest: I was looking for a project after selling my 1942 military jeep. I liked the classic lines of the early Jeepsters and that you don't see them very often. Fewer than 20,000 were built from 1948 to 1950.

Road to ownership: I found it for sale online in Hollywood. After seeing it in sorry condition with a tree crushing the hood, I had to give it a home where it could be restored and appreciated. My friend Ron Costa and I spent one long Saturday traveling to Hollywood and back to retrieve the car.

Under the hood: The engine is an original-style 6-cylinder with an overhead valve setup from the mid-'50s It was completely rebuilt in Modesto by Bob and Kevin at Bell & Gaines. They did a great job.

Body of work: The entire car was disassembled and restored from the ground up in my garage and driveway. I welded in all new sheet metal where rust had taken its toll and primed and painted the car myself, installed the new convertible top and replaced the chromed bumpers and trim.

A favorite memory: After restoring the frame and engine, I had the body on the car and primed for paint. I put a bucket upside down in the empty shell of the body and my wife, Amy, sat on it like she was going for a drive. It was the first time it started feeling like a "car" again.

— Compiled by Jillian Hanks, Bee Newsroom Assistant