RealRides Volume 13: Searle Roscoe

At RealTruck, we’re more than just a retailer—we’re a collection of enthusiasts who live and breathe trucks and Jeeps. From daily drivers to full-blown restorations, our employees’ passion for vehicles extends far beyond the office.​

Few builds embody that passion quite like Searle Roscoe’s fully restored 1953 Willys Wagon. What started as a dusty barn find evolved into a full family project, blending history, hard work, and a deep-rooted connection to the Jeep brand.​

Follow along as we dive into Searle’s story, his one-of-a-kind Willys, and the restoration that brought it back to life.

Before we dive into Searle’s Jeep, let’s take a moment to cover what this series represents.​

RealRides is our take on the traditional “readers’ rides” segment—only instead of showcasing customer builds, we’re highlighting the vehicles owned by the people behind the brand.​

It’s our way of showing that when you order from RealTruck, you’re not just forking over cash to a faceless company, but supporting people who live and breathe this lifestyle. At the end of the day, we aren’t just RealTruck people—we’re real truck people.

With a better understanding of the RealRides series, let’s hand things over to Searle for a quick introduction.​

“My name is Searle, and my love for vehicles goes back to when I was a kid. My grandparents, aunts, and uncles all worked at the Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio. Just about everyone in my family had Jeeps, Wagoneers, or Jeepsters—and so did a lot of people in Toledo.​

I’ve been with RealTruck for about two years. I’m in the purchasing group, so I order products and make sure we’re keeping inventory where it needs to be so we don’t run out.”​

While his role focuses on keeping operations running smoothly, Searle’s enthusiasm for hands-on projects and restorations aligns perfectly with RealTruck’s enthusiast-driven culture. Searle’s passion doesn’t stop at classic vehicles, however—it extends into another unique restoration niche, also on brand with our overlanding and camping product lines.​

“My son and I restore old Apache pop-up campers from the late ’50s through the ’70s. We save them from being scrapped or destroyed and fix them up for families to enjoy. We’re not trying to make money—we just like bringing them back to life.”​

Over the past few years, the father-son duo has rescued nearly 30 campers, traveling across multiple states to give these vintage RVs a second life.

Now for the main event—Searle’s 1953 Willys 475 Station Wagon.​

Unlike many builds we feature, this Willys doesn’t stand out for its catalog of aftermarket parts, but for its commitment to originality. Rather than heavily modifying the rare platform, Searle and his family restored it to its factory condition using original and new-old-stock (NOS) parts sourced from around the globe.​

“I found it in a barn in Monroe, Michigan, back in April of 2018. It had been sitting there for about 15 years. Before that, it spent decades up at a family cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where the original owner drove it for nearly 50 years and put about 46,000 miles on it…It was still very stock. It even had the rear seat, which a lot of these lost over time. It still had the original 6-volt system and even a heater under the dash that worked.”​

After nearly missing out on the purchase, Searle finally got his opportunity.​

“I was told someone from out west had already put money down on it, so I thought I missed my chance. But they ended up passing because of shipping costs—and that’s when I made the deal and brought it home.”​

My son and I decided we were going to tear it all down and have it ready for JeepFest the next year. We started around Thanksgiving—bagging and tagging everything. Before long, it was completely apart…We rebuilt the transmission, transfer case, axles, and tore down the engine. We did the interior, seats, and headliner—things we had never done before. We just studied, learned, and figured it out as we went.”​

Like most overly ambitious projects, the Willys restoration wasn’t all smooth sailing.​

“We had a delay with the body and paint, which put us way behind. When we finally got everything back, we had less than a month to reassemble the entire vehicle. It was like one of those TV car builds—total chaos…The night before JeepFest, we had family over helping us put everything together. Around 9:30 PM, we finally got it running and drove it to the gas station for a shakedown…We didn’t even have all the glass or seats fully finished—but we made it to the parade. That was the goal, and we pulled it off.”​

Since being finished, the Willys has become a centerpiece for events, family adventures, and community engagement.​

“We’ve taken it to JeepFest, the Henry Ford Motor Muster, and events at the Yankee Air Museum. Everywhere we go, it draws a crowd. People come up and share stories about their own Willys or family vehicles—it’s really something special.”​

The Willys has also played a role in major life events, as Searle’s daughter included it in her wedding photos. Today, the Jeep serves as a weekend cruiser and event vehicle, living a much busier life than most completed restoration projects. While the work itself was rewarding, Searle highlighted the worldwide search for parts as his favorite aspect. According to Searle:​

“Finding original or new old stock parts from all over the world has been one of the most fun parts of the whole experience.”​

From Europe to Australia and across North America, sourcing the correct components became its own adventure—one that helped preserve the Willys’ authenticity.

Searle’s Willys Wagon is more than just a restoration—it’s a tribute to family, history, and the passion that connects generations of enthusiasts. We’d like to end this feature on a quote from Searle himself:​

“It started as something I remembered from when I was a kid, and it turned into something my family and I built together. Now we get to take it out, share it with people, and hear their stories too.”​

A huge thank you to Searle for sharing his story and incredible build with us. Stay tuned for the next installment of RealRides, where we continue highlighting the vehicles—and the people—that make RealTruck so special.