David Tracy pulled off what seemed like the impossible. He took hundreds of parts scattered across his house and yard, then somehow turned them into a working World War II Jeep. I’ve said it before, but David was one of my inspirations when I was a young adult, as was Jason. Crazy projects like the Jeep build are why. Anyway, as it turns out, it was crazy expensive, but somehow cheaper than a 2026 Jeep Wrangler Willys Edition.
David wrote about how much his hand-built WWII Jeep cost him to build. James McHenry:
Your 2026 Willys MB still snuck under the MSRP of a 2-door 2026 Jeep Wrangler Willys Edition. In fact, the only cheaper Wranglers are the Sport and Sport S. So in 2026 terms, still a pretty Cheap Jeep.
Hoser68:
Thank you, David.
I’ve done and seen enough projects to know that this is a realistic price for something like this. It sounds shocking because it seems like it shouldn’t be that expensive, but everything adds up QUICKLY. I’m actually shocked you didn’t exceed $50k when the dust settles.
There will be many outside of here that think “For $42,500 plus all that labor, David could have bought a brand new Wrangler that was much more capable, faster and had a better warranty.” Which is completely true, but completely missing the point.
We live in a world that all our hobbies seem to have to be monetarized. “If you can’t sell it on Etsy for a profit, you shouldn’t do it.” I call BS
David made his own jeep with tons of sleepless nights and busted knuckles and, if he is like me, about 5 pirate ships worth of cuss words. Oh and for a LOT more money than it would have cost to go to a dealership and just picked out the red one.
AND he’s thrilled with it. Which is the ultimate point.
Jeep says that a 1945 CJ-2A was $1,090 new. That means that David didn’t even beat inflation, as that 1945 Jeep’s price would be $20,521 today. Apparently, the government paid even less for the military versions. But, David also built it with his own two hands, which he couldn’t say about a new Wrangler.
Antti wrote about James Bond’s Saab. Dogisbadob had me giggling with:
James Bønd. :-p
Matt wrote a Morning Dump about Porsche 911 sales, and finished by asking you about your favorite 911. Taargus Taargus:
Probably Reno 911.
Finally, Jason wrote about a weird Brazilian car again. Y2Keith:
Munga only pawn in game of life.
Have a great evening, everyone!
“didn’t even beat inflation”
The tires looked full to me…
I’ll see myself out…
Jeep says $1,090? Well That was based on stealing the design and a quite a large volume discount. Let’s ask Jeep to release a similar model today for their $20,521 price they will sell a ton
“Jeep says that a 1945 CJ-2A was $1,090 new. That means that David didn’t even beat inflation, as that 1945 Jeep’s price would be $20,521 today. Apparently, the government paid even less for the military versions. “
Yeah… that’s the magic of mass production.
“We live in a world that all our hobbies seem to have to be monetarized. “If you can’t sell it on Etsy for a profit, you shouldn’t do it.” I call BS”
I like to fly fish and tie flies, been doing it since the late ’60’s. Don’t want to let the other half know the, err, monetarized cost is, lol.
Yeah, that comment really hit home for me as a model car builder. I’ll often have hundreds of hours and several hundred dollars invested in a build and the questions “how much would you sell that for” and “how much would it cost you to build me one” come up once in a while. Non-hobby people don’t understand that a fully-detailed 1/12 scale model could come in at 5 figures if I put any value on my time at all.
David also built it with his own two hands, which he couldn’t say about a new Wrangler.
Didn’t DT design part of the current Wrangler’s cooling system? That’s gotta count for something.
That whole comment started for two reasons:
1: I remember going to IMTS, a big manufacturing trade show, a few years ago. There was a then-new Renegade on the show floor as an example of something made with the various products, and I commented to a coworker how it’d be neat to have. Said coworker noticed the window sticker was present and told me to go have a look.
I retracted my comment.
2: I just wanted to use the words “Cheap Jeep.” It’s a fun phrase. It rhymes.
So, to justify using it, it was off to the Jeep website…
> David was one of my inspirations when I was a teenager
I’m sure that made David feel young and sprightly.
This feeling only gets worse the older you get. You’ll remember when babies were born and be appalled they are in high school, college, or have a child of their own now.
I teach middle school, and have multiple coworkers who I taught in middle school now.
One of my parent’s friends used to be a head teacher, so he’s used to bumping into former pupils, but said it felt a bit odd when he was sat in hospital, just dressed in a gown, waiting for a test, and the doctor walked in and said, “Oh, hello Mr K!”
I might have made a time goof there. I started reading Jalopnik when I was a teenager, but now that I recall it, he didn’t get there until 2015 when I was…uh, 22?
I was wondering about that. I know you were young when I met you, but I was fairly certain you were not a teenager.
Yay I made it 😀