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For $11,000, That’s Willys Trike!
For $11,000, That’s Willys Trike!-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:11

If home invader Goldilocks had decided to also steal one of the Bears rides, she might have found Mamma Bear's minivan to have too many wheels, and Papa's Harley to have too few. If da' Bears also owned today's Willys home-built, she might have found it just right. Will you find its price equally so?

Do you remember the original movie? Need to go back and have a refresher? I'll wait. . . . Okay, now that you're up to speed, you know Sid, the creepy neighbor kid who was always getting all Dr. Moreau on his toys? Well, I think we've discovered what he did when he grew up.

This Willys is obviously the product of. . . a very unique and eclectic mind. There, I think that was a very non-judgmental way to put it. Described in the ad as a it's a home-built that simply demands explanation. But before we contemplate the why, let's have a look at the what - or WTF? as it were.

The body is described as a Willys, and for the most part it does have the general aesthetic of a CJ2. The rear end has been extended and it looks like it has been channeled, but for the sake of argument, we'll go with the Willys label for the moment. Underneath in back is what the seller describes as an IRS out of a T-bird, which would explain the wheels. Sending power back to the disembodied bird bits is a 4-speed automatic and what is claimed to be a Chevy 4.3 V6- which as we all know is three quarters of that brand's tried and true SBC.

Also being three quarters, and apparently limiting access the the engine compartment is the number of wheels and the mechanism for allowing the single front wheel to turn. This Willys has an odd, amputee look to it, having been shaved of front fenders or wheel wells, instead featuring a triple clamp precariously affixed above the traditional Jeep seven slot grille. That yoke is connected to handle bars in front of the driver's seat by a pair of windshield frame piercing rods.

The driver's seat and matching passenger's throne are out of a Tahoe, and behind those is a small bench said to be from a CJ. Above all the is a padded roll cage, which is a good thing as you know this contraption will be prone to roll like Vegas dice.

Okay, so that's what this trike is, and while I noted that we'd get to the why, unfortunately the ad doesn't offer any rationale for its existence. It does remind me of a joke however - the old knee-slapper about the farmer who walks into a bar with a three-legged pig and sits down to order a drink. The guy at the next stool contemplates the pig for a moment and then asks the farmer why it has only three legs. The farmer replies that the pig is very special, having rescued the family from certain death when their house caught on fire. The other bar patron says that while very interesting it doesn't explain why he only has three legs. Ah yes, the farmer replies, you see he's also a very smart pig, and can count to one hundred, and add and subtract by using his snorts. Getting a little frustrated at his original question not being answered, the man at the bar turns to the farmer and raises his voice - but why does he only have three legs?! Oh that, the framer says, well, a pig that special, you don't just eat all at once.

That farmer obviously recognized the value of his tripodal porcine pal, and so does the seller of this three-legged beast in asking $11,000 for the right to trike. We're now at the point where you need to weigh in on whether he's alone in that opinion. What do you think, does $11,000 make this a trike to like? Or, is that too much for a vehicle whose wheels are too few?

You decide!

or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Mark Howell for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

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