Once you have recorded every part you can think of then it's time to take inventory of everything you have and everything you still need. Then it's time to do a second inventory of what works and what doesn't. Remember not to install a battery until all of the wiring has been inspected. The motor may not turn right now but with some tender coaching it may come back to life.

Let us know what you find. Let's start with the wiring. I've seen people put a lot of work getting a truck to run, only to have it catch fire and burn, due to deteriorated wiring. You should inspect the entire wiring harness prior to installing a battery. Look up under the dash and hood, inspect light fixtures (Don't forget the old dome light wire running up through the ceiling post), and switches for damage. Check every place the wire harness passes through a panel, to ensure they haven't chaffed through the insulation.

Now let's take a look at the engine. Many people have had success just dropping in a battery, pouring a little gas in the carburetor and turning the key. Odds are that you won't be that lucky and you could do some damage to your engine that way. I recommend spraying some lubricant into each of the cylinders before your ever try to turn it over. Kerosene actually works pretty well for this. Now try to turn the engine by hand, using a socket and breaker bar. If you have to use more than about 70 foot pounds of torque to move the engine, then it is probably going to need a little more help to break loose. This is not the time to get a bigger breaker bar. It is the time to let it soak. I've seen where some people will drain the oil and then fill the engine up to the top with kerosene. Then they would let it soak for a week or two before trying to break it loose again. Some times they are rusted to the point that the engine must be pulled and the pistons hammered or pressed out.

However, if the engine turns freely by hand you are probably in for a much easier time of it. The first thing you are going to want to do is slap in a battery and try to crank it up. Resist the temptation and wait. This engine has been sitting for a long time and the oil passages are dry. If it starts with the passages dry, then you stand a good chance of damaging the bearings. The oil in the pan is old and useless to your little engine so perform an oil change prior to cranking it up. You will want to crank this engine with no spark for a while to get the oil moving. A preferable way would be to use an oil passage pressurization tool. You can hook it up to one of the oil passage plugs or where the oil pressure sending unit is connected.

Ron Cook has a great way of doing this. "I made a pre-oiler from a discarded freon canister. I welded a one-inch bung on the bottom for a pipe plug. This is used to fill the canister about 3/4 full of oil. A one-inch long by 1/4-inch wide pipe bushing is then welded onto the output of the original freon valve. A 1/4 inch pipe tee was then threaded to the bushing with a pressure gauge on one side and a tire valve on the other.(actually a Schroeder valve from an oleo strut). Attached the proper hose and fittings to the original valve on the canister, air it up and go. Cheap-Simple-and it works. I use it on the Pratt every spring." ... "I use a 20 lb canister, so I think I probably have a little over a gallon of oil in there. The original freon valve becomes my oil shut off valve. The canister is inverted so the oil covers the outlet and my filler is in what used to be the bottom. You just need enough pressure to move the oil into the engine, so 50 to 60 lbs would be plenty I would think. I usually air up to 100 lbs. It goes fast that way and you are dealing with a small volume of air in this small container. Also it seems I am never near my compressor when I am doing this, so I take along plenty of air in the can."

This is a great way to preoil the engine prior to cranking it. I would recommend you weigh the tank prior to filling and then weigh it again as you fill it to prevent running out of oil.

Unless the carburetor was run out of gas prior to being parked, the old gas has turned to varnish. The carburetor will need to be taken apart and cleaned. You can rebuild it at this time but the main goal is to evaluate the engine so just a taking it apart and cleaning it good will probably be sufficient at this time.

Since the gas in the carburetor has turned to varnish, then you can count of the fuel in the gas tank to have done the same. Also, after being parked for so long you will find that the gas tank has picked up a lot of condensation from just contracting and expanding. Pull the tank and blow out the lines. If there are any rubber hose connections, you should replace them at this time. We have spent a lot of time on this list helping people track down problems that could have been quickly eliminated just by doing these few steps. The tank will have a lot of rust in the bottom of it. You can clean up most of this by putting a couple of pounds of gravel in it and shaking vigorously for a log time. Make sure that you get all the gravel out. The temptation we be there for you to use a gas tank sealer while you have the tank out. That's fine but make sure that you don't let it restrict the fuel outlet line. Check the routing of the fuel line to make sure that it isn't in an area where it can be crushed. Any place that it runs near the exhaust, make sure that it has a thermal blanket or heat wrap.

This is Vern's favorite subject. If the engine was running when it was parked then the distributor shouldn't be too much trouble. If the vehicle was parked because they couldn't get it to run, then this could be a problem. The distributor has a tube that fits into the engine block. The tube has a tendency to rust into the block. When this happens, it makes it very difficult to get your timing adjusted. The only way I know of to get it to turn, is with a lot of lubricant and a pipe wrench. Be careful because too much force can crush the tube or break it off. If you don't need to turn it, then leave it alone for now. Check the points and change the condenser, cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. Make sure that with the key on, you have voltage to the coil.

Is the vehicle 6V or 12V? If the battery is still in it, you can look to see how many caps it has. If there are 3 caps it is 6V, if there are 6 caps it is 12V. This will only tell you what voltage battery they last tried to start the engine with. They could have used a 12V in a 6V system. The best way I know of, is to have the generator checked by an alternator/generator repair shop.

Rick Grover adds: "They could drop in a 12V battery to try to start a stubborn engine, but if they ever turned on the 6V lights with the 12V battery, the bulbs would give out pretty quick. Once again, probably not conclusive but much less likely to have the wrong voltage than the battery. "

Once you have the right battery installed, then check each of your electrical connections for the engine. Make sure the battery cables are clean and well connected. Make sure the engine is grounded to the battery. I have seen a lot of times where the negative terminal of the battery was connected to the frame or fender and the ground strap from the body to engine was broken. Main battery ground should always go directly to the engine.

Do not attempt to start the engine until you have serviced the transmission. If it is dry, and you start the engine, you could damage the front main bearing and mainshaft pilot bearings. Drain the transmission and transfercase and fill them with oil. Look for water in the oil when you drain it. If there is water in the oil, the odds are pretty good that you have gear damage due to rust. This is a good note you guys with spare transmissions. Do not store them outside. The top of the shifter for all but the M-38A is designed, so that water can run down the top of the shift column, and leak into the case.

At this point you can put the tranny in neutral and you should be ready to start the engine. Do not try to drive it until you have the next items fixed, but you can start the engine.

The steering knuckles will need to be disassembled and serviced, but for now, all you will need to do is fill them with 90W oil. This will leak out slowly, but it will keep the knuckles from being chewed up when driven. Later you will want to service them properly with some Willys Tech "Knuckle Pudding", or another suitable substitute. Rick Grover recommends using a soft bearing grease in the steering knuckles.

Check the steering box and it's mounting to the frame for cracks. Inspect each of the tie-rod ends to determine if they are worn out. Make sure the steering wheel turns completely from right to left and back without binding. Check steering wheel play and repair as needed. Verify that the four nuts or bolts on the top and bottom kingpins are tight.

It's possible that the differentials are dry. Drain them and remove the covers. Inspect for damage. Rotate the pinion gear to see if it moves in and out of the differential. If it moves on the ring gear, the differential will need repair. Reinstall the covers and service with 90 oil. Running these gears dry can damage them quickly. While you are down there check the universal joints to determine it they are bad.

Now let's look at the brakes. It's quite possible that this is where I should have started. This is the most important system on your vehicle. It's easy to get going but it's much more important to get stopped. All Willys came with a single reservoir master cylinder. The 9" brakes on the jeeps are just enough when they are working properly, so if they are in need of repair they will be inadequate. Jack the vehicle and put it on 4 jack stands. I can not stress the importance of using jack stands enough. Bricks and wooden block are not suitable for holding a vehicle. Make sure the jack stands are not used on dirt. That's enough for the public safety announcements. Remove all four brake drums and inspect the wheel cylinders. This is a good time to rebuild them. I rebuilt all four of them on my truck for about $20. I normally recommend people replace the wheel cylinders, but Willys wheel cylinders are not cheap, so if yours are rebuildable, then I would rebuild them. Inspect all of your metal brake lines for rust, cuts and dents. Replace the rubber brake lines at this time. Even if they look good, they are probably bad. They deteriorate from the inside out. Since you've got it this far, it's time to rebuild or replace that master cylinder. Now purge all of the brake lines and blow them out with compressed air. Now put it back together, service, bleed, and adjust the brakes.

Rick Grover gives another point of view: "You said the wheel cylinders are expensive so try to repair them, but said to replace the master cylinder, which costs more than a wheel cylinder. At first I repaired the master and the 1" wheel cylinders. I couldn't find 7/8" kits so had to switch to 1" on a couple. Eventually, I replaced all the wheel cylinders, the master, the flexible lines and the steel lines. The kits for the wheel cylinders were $7 or $8, something like that. The kit for the master wasn't much more, maybe $15. New wheel cylinders were $28 to $33 at different times and places. The master was available from about $40 to $75 at different places. Carl Walck was the lowest as usual."

More Grover word of wisdom: "I think you probably would do this, but didn't see where you mentioned it: Before it moves under its own power, it would be wise to hit all the zerks with a grease gun. Most critical would be rear wheel bearings and U-joints, but the spring zerks and steering linkages need to be greased once in while too. If they are going to pull the brakes to fix them, they might as well go a little further and inspect the wheel bearings. I guess if they are bad, there is no danger involved in rolling them first. They will have to be replaced either way. And some people don't realize that the old generators and distributors have oiler tubes to oil their innards."

Hot dog, it's time to put everything into motion. That's right, while it's still on jack stands. This way you can listen for grumbling gears and other weird sounds. Make sure the brakes work well enough to kill the engine in second gear. Along about here is where you will probably find that the clutch plate has rusted to the flywheel. This can usually be cured by putting the tranny in 2nd gear, and leaving the engine off, depress the clutch pedal, and tow the jeep. This will usually break the clutch plate loose. You can change to a lower gear if the engine is turning too freely.

This should be enough to put most old Willys back on the road. Motor on and enjoy your Willys.