Ronald Reagan’s favorite ranch truck started life as a Christmas present. In 1963, Nancy Reagan bought her husband a used 1962 Willys CJ-6, and he kept it working on his ranch properties until 1997. Today that Reagan Willys CJ-6 survives unrestored, scrapes and faded paint included.
It is not a show car, and it never was. Instead, it was a farm tool that happened to belong to a governor and then a president.
That plain history is exactly why historians later chose to document it. As a result, the little Jeep now sits on a federal register next to some far more glamorous machines.
A used Jeep under the tree in 1963
The National Historic Vehicle Register entry for the Jeep states the basic facts plainly. Nancy Reagan bought the 1962 “Jeep” Universal CJ-6 as a Christmas present in 1963. After that, Reagan used it to tend his ranch properties from 1963 to 1997.
A 2016 report from Fox News also describes it as a used 4×4 when Nancy gave it to him.
It was also built for work, not parades. For example, Fox News notes this one carries side-facing rear bench seats, Dana axles and an 8,000-pound winch.
What powers the Reagan Willys CJ-6
Nothing about the drivetrain was fancy. According to the register entry, the Jeep still has its original Kaiser-Jeep F-head four-cylinder. It displaces 134 cubic inches, breathes through a one-barrel carburetor and makes 75 horsepower.
Power goes through a three-speed manual gearbox to a transfer case with high and low range. Meanwhile, it rolls on 15-inch steel wheels and stops with four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, per the same record.
The odometer reads 3,067 miles. However, the register notes that it has probably rolled over at least once, so nobody knows the true total. Given more than three decades of ranch duty, that seems a fair guess.
Green, then maroon
The famous red paint is not original. Fox News reports the Jeep left the factory green, and the register lists a green vinyl interior to this day.
The color change came in 1974. That year, the California National Guard repainted it maroon with white pinstripes as a going-away present for the outgoing governor, according to the register. The timing lines up with another big change. The Reagan Library says the Reagans bought Rancho del Cielo in 1974, near the end of his second term as governor.
So the Jeep came first and the famous ranch came later. That’s why its working life spans more than one property, not just the 688-acre spread near Santa Barbara.
The president’s one chance to drive
Once Reagan reached the White House, Rancho del Cielo became his escape. Andrew Coffin of Young America’s Foundation told the group’s own news site that the ranch “was the one place” Reagan could drive while in office. Similarly, former Attorney General Edwin Meese told Fox News the president loved driving the Jeep there.
Reagan used it for real work, too. YAF says he loaded it with tools and headed out on the trails to clear brush. Not everyone admired it, though. Coffin recalled that Barbara Walters once called it “scroungy” during an interview with Reagan.
Santa Barbara station KEYT later told the rest of that story. According to its 2021 report, Mrs. Reagan was horrified by the remark and then bought a new blue Jeep Scrambler for the ranch fleet.
From ranch tool to historic record
The Reagans sold Rancho del Cielo in 1998 to Young America’s Foundation, the Reagan Library says. By 2016, Fox News reported, the foundation also owned the CJ-6 and kept it at the ranch. Reagan’s 1983 CJ-8 Scrambler and his 1978 Subaru Brat stayed there with it.
That spring, the Jeep traveled east for the Historic Vehicle Association’s display on the National Mall. YAF says it was shown in Washington from April 20 to 26, 2016, and was scheduled to return home in early May. During that visit, the Jeep also became the 10th vehicle on the National Historic Vehicle Register, according to Fox News.
The documentation work was thorough. YAF says it included photographs, 3-D scans, line drawings, a written history and a short film, all archived with the Library of Congress. Separately, the register entry gives the Jeep a Historic American Engineering Record number, CA-2320.
Unrestored on purpose
Nobody has polished away its past. The register describes the paint and interior as unrestored. It also notes the Jeep is not in running condition, which fits a vehicle kept as an artifact rather than a driver.
That choice keeps the 1974 Guard paint job, the worn green seats and decades of brush-clearing wear intact. For a vehicle whose whole story is daily use, the scuffs are the history.
The record that matters most is short. According to the National Historic Vehicle Register, this 1962 Willys CJ-6 is entry No. 10, a Christmas gift from 1963 that served Ronald Reagan’s ranches until 1997.
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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.
