“Swell” Longroof – RHD 1962 Kustom Jeep From Down Under

“I had a dream, a crazy dream. People won’t you listen  now…” The Song Remains The Same,” Led Zeppelin

Looks like an Aussie had a dream to cross-pollinate a 1962 Jeep wagon with a 1937 Willys front clip and the result is the aptly christened, “Swell” wagon you see here.

According to Seven82Motors,  “The owner purchased a stock 1962 Willys Overlander Jeep in 2002. Number two of six that were made by Chrysler in Brisbane. Originally purchased to tuck away, the owner had no intentions of doing anything more than restoring it to use as a surf wagon

Come 2004 the Jeep was still sitting in the corner. With a new LS motor on hand in the shop, the process to pair the two up gain momentum.

The plan was to re-driveline the Jeep along with a HG Holden front and a 9-inch rear. But as time progressed, a set of billet wheels were acquired and that led to a whole bunch of other mods. The dream morphed and the intent to take it to another level was spawned. The driveline had been mocked, brakes and suspension fitted, and then removed for the body to be sandblasted and primed.”

Next up, they chopped the top and continued working on cosmetics.

“New front sheet metal, cowl panel, firewall and bonnet were massaged to make it all flow together and the wagon began to take shape. New running boards were fabricated to connect the front guards to the rears which were modified to peak at the roll pan.

Frenched headlights where finessed, the side panels were all modified to look like they came from the factory to accommodate the rear guards and follow the new contours.

Chrysler rear wheel skirts where modified to fit and a 1937 Chrysler spare wheel cover was added and resized to be proportionally correct for the car. A Fulton Visor was also added as well.

The owner knew of a ’47 Olds that had a Aussie RHD dash in it that caught his eye, so he cut it out in no time and now that’s what you stare at when you’re driving the Jeep. The diecast was all rechromed, the gauges sent to America to Williamson;s Instruments to be refurbished and converted to 12v. A 55 Chevy steering wheel was resized to 15” and 1970 Ranchero seats were chosen to park your bum in and when you stood back from here it all started looking like a car.”

This render differs from final build. We dig the split front bumper.

We dig the maroon and white color scheme and the Polynesian flavor incorporated into this wagon. Hand made custom carved door handles and shifter knob were made by Marcus Thorn from Tiki Beat and the new dash was pinstriped and lettered by Damo from Masterart as the final touches.

Back to the exterior  where they finished the top with a Porsche Targa vinyl before the custom roof racks were fitted.

“All the glass is custom, and hand cut with the left hand rear being etched by Kelly Crane to finish the Polynesian theme and the spare wheel cover on the rear was also Air Brushed by Damo. There’s so much more to the build and details everywhere you look… What you have to remember is what this car started out as and what it is now, it’s a one-off piece of practical rolling art.”

Very cool build!  Wonder what it would cost to ship it to the West Coast?

About the author

Dave Cruikshank

Dave Cruikshank is a lifelong car enthusiast and an editor at Power Automedia. He digs all flavors of automobiles, from classic cars to modern EVs. Dave loves music, design, tech, current events, and fitness.
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