02/07/2008 01:52. For the past six months, two friends from Leesburg have been working nearly every day until the wee hours of the morning preparing their antique 1948 Jeep Willys for a trek across the country.

The Willys were the first civilian-made Jeeps, manufactured just after World War II. They were meant to be used as farming equipment, not to travel on highways across the United States.

But on July 15, Paul McIntyre, 22, and Evan Meyerriecks, 20, both of Leesburg, will set out to go to San Francisco and back, each driving a 1948 Willy.

They'll spend about 30 days on their trip, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Willys, the oldest civilian-made Jeeps.

"We thought it would be funny to drive them across the country," McIntyre said. "We're doing it for the humor factor. A lot of people... // Loudoun Times