Thanks to Blaine for spotting a Craigslist ad for six unique tool posters. They are each almost 2ft square and made of a plasticized (?) paper. There is definitely a weight to them. I suspect, given two of the posters have a number (Transmission & Clutch 2) that there were additional types of posters.
The text of the ad explains them well, “Set of six 1970’s vintage Jeep Kent-Moore special tool dealership posters. The six posters include special tool diagrams with associated part numbers for the “Body”, “Transmission & Clutch 2”, “Brakes”, “Axle & Propeller Shaft 3”, “Transfer Case & Overdrive”, and “Steering & Suspension”. Each poster measures 23.5” x 23.5” and has 4 punched holes in each corner for hanging/display purposes. All posters are in very good condition with some very minor paint wear on a few of the diagrams. The posters were found in the basement of an old jeep dealership in Montana and believed to have never been used.”
I picked these up Saturday afternoon, knowing that the proceeds were going to help restore vintage Yellowstone Tour Cars, but more about that in a moment.
The sellers, David and Cheryl, were a delight to speak with and I felt like we became fast friends. They explained that David’s grandfather owned a garage on the Main Street of Red Lodge, Montana. After WWII, his grandfather started selling jeeps, which meant David spent his youth driving a CJ-2A, so he is pretty familiar with jeeps. In fact, David and Cheryl still own two Wagoneers, both of which came from the family dealership.
These days, the garage is no longer a garage; instead, it houses the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust, Inc., a 501(c) nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the history of the early Yellowstone tourist vehicles. If you are interested in making a donation to their efforts, you can do so here.
David and Cheryl are also restoring the garage and former gas station back to a 1930s feel. One item they are still seeking is an original or good quality reproduction of a large Mobilgas Pegasus sign/horse. If you have any signage like that, I know they’d be interested in discussing it with you.
Once we can travel again, we’ll be stopping by Red Lodge, as they’ve offered to give a us a tour of the old station.
In the meantime, here are some pics of the tool posters:
the vehicles are awesome, but I gotta ask and I know this is pre-war, did Yellowstone use any Jeep Vehicles?
Steve — The only vehicle I’ve found is a Howe Fire/Brush Truck: http://www.ewillys.com/2012/02/10/yellowstone-howe-fire-truck/
red white and blue , american motors colors , these tools were for new jeeps , power steering ? never heard of it ..
Yes, I was assuming AMC, too. I’d just never seen anything like them.
Yes, these are AMC posters. They were provided by AMC when they purchased the Jeep product line and were for the “Tool Room” walls. The Jeep specific tools would have been placed over the top of the “shadow” on pegs. (although some dealerships used huge tool drawers, doing the same thing)
If I remember correctly, the Red tool was for a specific use and the Blue was for general use; such as the seal installers were Red and the grease gun is blue.
The idea was that the mechanics didn’t have to purchase tools that were only used on Jeep vehicles (although most of us bought some of the tools because it was faster than going to the tool room)