Willys Jeepster May Be the Most American Thing Ever

Famed car collector Rick Lorenzo’s star-spangled 1949 Jeepster sees parade duty and pays tribute to fallen service members.

Combine one part Jeep CJ and one part sporty car, and you get the 1948-50 Willys Jeepster. Mix in equal parts war memorial and American flag, and you get the custom Jeepster of noted car collector Rick Lorenzo. He may or may not be as rich or famous as Jay Leno, but he has just as nice of a garage. And possibly even more cars.

ALSO SEE: Dirt Every Day Body-Swapped Willys Wagon onto Jeep YJ

We recently visited his hidden collection as part of a promotion for Mecum Auctions. Not only does Rick collect cars, they’re staged in period street scenes in his private museum. He even has a fully stocked 1950s diner and a hobby shop like the ones he frequented as a kid in the ’50s. You can tell that playing with all these toys keeps him young, at least in spirit.

But, back to the Jeepster…

This rare Willys-Overland Jeepster has been painted in red, white, and blue, with more than 50 stars and plenty of stripes on it. Besides the kneeling soldier hood ornament, “Honoring Our Fallen” is embroidered on the back seat and spare tire cover, with a soldier presenting a folded flag.

Wrapped around the every panel of the car are the names of service members who lost their lives in combat. Honoring Our Fallen is a group that supports the families of fallen veterans and first responders. Rick lent them the car for promotional purposes and parades, and he helped them customize it. The names represent some of the 6,500-plus service members who have died since September 11, 2001.

Unfortunately, we don’t have much mechanical info on this old Jeep. From the interior shot and the Lokar shifter, it has an automatic in it. That indicates it could’ve had a GM V8 swap over the original Lightning straight six or Go-Devil four.

Enjoy this gallery of what could be the most American car ever.