Books Research Archives

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New York – Patagonie OU 35.000 Kilometres en Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features, International This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

For those readers, whose French is better than mine, is this 1952 book about a pair of French men, Daniel Barbey and Henri Boucher, who go to New York in 1947, purchase a brand new 1947 CJ-2A ,and take it on an adventure through the US, Central and South America.  The book was publish in 1950.  It would be a good reason to learn French.

The only copies I’ve run across are here:

http://cgi.ebay.fr/NEW-YORK-PATAGONIE-JEEP-Daniel-BARBEY-H-BOUCHER-/200637535521#ht_500wt_863

here:

http://www.amazon.com/NEW-YORK-PATAGONIE-OU-35-000-KILOMETRES-JEEP/dp/B0052OSXHQ

and here:

http://www.abebooks.com/NEW-YORK-PATAGONIE-35.000-KILOMETRES-JEEP-Barbey-Daniel/4985345657/bd

 

 
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1942 Kids Book – PLANE TANK SHIP JEEP on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I’m not sure just how many jeeps are in this. I’m guessing not many.

“Here is a Saalfield Co.WWll era paste book,”PLANE TANK SHIP JEEP” great graphics,USED condition,There are 4 pages 8 sides in ths book,I have shown pics of six,the last is an uncolored pic of a beach assault by the Army this last pic is not a paste on it is for coloring or painting. One page of paste parts is still intact (see pic) these will never come off they are stuck,this was paste on in its infancy.Book is 12″ X 10″ published around 1942 .The covers front and back are spectacular and in good shape.High bid pays 4.00 media thanks Mike”

View all the information on eBay

 
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1940s Kid’s Coloring Book on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here’s an odd cover for a kid’s coloring book.  Those cats(?) look rather evil.

“You are bidding on a vintage Jeepers coloring book from the 1940s. Features a Willys Jeep on the front and back color. Some pages are colored. In good shape, considering. Would look cool framed! It’s a Jeep thing…”

View the information on eBay

 
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African Wanderlust: Across Colonial Africa by Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Books This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE:  I completed the book.  There are some good stories of jeeping and others having nothing to do with jeeps.  If you like adventure and travel, or African travel, or the challenges of border crossing, give this book a read.  One favorite anecdote Andy writes about was a boss of his who at one time was Willys Overland Salesman in Africa during the 1940s.  One of his sales strategies was roll them down a hill, tip them upright, and drive them away to demonstrate how hardy they were.

Andy’s website is here.  You can follow his travels via sailboat as well http://www.rson.ca/index.php

I was on Amazon yesterday ordering a book called  “Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper’s Memoir of Fighting Wildfire” (which has a fascinating story about how smoke jumpers used a willys wagon).  One thing led to another and I ran across a second book called “African Wanderlust: Across Colonial Africa by Jeep”.   Never having heard of that book, I ordered it and will report on it once I read it.

African Wanderlust: Across Colonial Africa by Jeep

 
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12 Jeep Books Upper Burrell, PA $40

• CATEGORIES: Books This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Looks like a good price for all of them.

“Jeep 4×4 Performance Handbook
High Performance Jeep TJs Builders Guide 1997-2006
You & Your Suzuki 4×4
How to Modify Suzuki 4×4 for Serious Off-Road Action
Illustrated Jeep Buyers Guide
Mopar Jeep Engines
The Story of Jeep
The Jeep Bible
Classic Jeeps
Jeep The Unstoppable Legend
Jeep CJ5 & CJ6
Jeep Chassis and Suspension”

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bks/3122519197.html

 
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Love, War, and Hate by Washington Davis **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

The price is a bit steep at $50, but this might an unusual look at WWII.

“LOVE, WAR, AND HATE
by Davis, Washington M.
Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, (1976.)
First edition.
Fine first in fine dust jacket with illustration of black soldiers riding in jeep waving at a German girl.
Octavo. Black author not only relates battle stories, but also relates affair with German girl that resulted in her almost being murdered by white American soldiers. Shocking reading. 85pp., photographs.”

 
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1946 The Little Jeep on eBay $75

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The price seems a bit steep, but I’ve not seen another of these.

“THIS IS FOR SALE A VERY RARE CHILDREN BOOK ABOUT A LITTLE JEEP THAT WANTED TO BE A BIG TRUCK OR TANK IN THE WAR. BUT AFTER THE WAR IT PROVES TO BE A BIG HELP TO THE FARMERS WHILE THE BIG TANKS RUST AWAY IN THE SCRAPYARD.
FIRST PRINTING ORIGINAL 1946 ISSUE.
HARDCOVER. DAMAGED BINDING ON THE EDGE BUT THE RST IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. A REAL COLLECTORS ITEM.”

View all the information on eBay

 
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Inyo Mono Jeep Trailers by Roger Mitchell

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

Someone from California might find this rare book interesting.

“Inyo Mono Jeep Trails by Robert Mitchell
La Siesta Press;  1991 reprint.
Softcover booklet; stapled wraps; 36 pages. Measures 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
The cover is in fair condition, the interior are very good.”

 
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Gus and the Model Garage: Gus and the Case of the Councilman’s Car

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features, How To • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

In this story from Gus and the Model Garage, Gus investigates the centrifugal-advance mechanism. “Gus and the Case of the Councilman’s Car” was published in October 1968.

http://www.gus-stories.org/html/october_1968.htm

 
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Lori’s Jeep at Amazon

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This is a fiction book.  It’s rare to see a book about a jeep, but even rarer to find a tale about a postal jeep!

You can learn more about that book at Amazon.

From Amazon.com comes this description:

“LORIS JEEPApril 2000This is a story about a thirtyish woman, Lori Bearden, and her eight year old son. They live in a town south of Denver, Colorado that has been engulfed by the population that continues to pour into the Rocky Mountains Front Range every year from the West and East Coasts. Better employment is the name of her game, and she lands a job in the U. S. Postal Service delivering mail to the farmers and landed gentry on the eastern plains of Colorado. She buys an old, forlorn postal jeep to make her appointed rounds on the plains, and later meets a man who makes his living repairing these ancient jeeps. They soon discover that they need one-another.Then Lori discovers that her jeep repairman, Rafael Hernandez, has a second occupation much different from his first occupation, and she learns to understand and cherish a man who lives two lives.”

 
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Gus and the Model Garage: Gus Sparks a Uranium Hunt

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features, How To • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This is another story about  a jeep from the Gus and the Model Garage series published in Popular Science Monthly.  This particular article was published in June of 1955.  In this story Gus learns about the oil float in the old Willys motors.

http://www.gus-stories.org/june_1955.htm

 

 
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Heinrich Bole’s The End of a Mission

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This isn’t a book so much about a jeep as it is about the burning of a jeep.  The story centers around a court case, in which a man and his father are being tried for burning an army jeep.

I have yet to read it, but it’s on my list.

You can learn more about this book at Amazon.com.

 

 
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Gus and the Model Garage: Gus Goes Hunting … For Trouble!

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features, How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

In this story from Gus and the Model Garage, Gus explains what happens when synthetic rubber gets old.  The story is called “Gus Goes Hunting … For Trouble” and was published in November of 1953.

http://www.gus-stories.org/html/november_1953.htm

 
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Gus and the Model Garage: Gus and the Miracle Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features, Tips & Tricks • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Buz pointed me to this story title “Gus and the Miracle Jeep”, publish in the August 1950 of Popular Science Monthly.  The story is part of the Gus and the Model Garage series.  I’d never read any Gus stories, and Buz didn’t tell me much, other than I should read it.  So, I didn’t know what to expect.

After reading it I suggest you read it too.  It just begs the question, what other things did the Army try?

http://www.gus-stories.org/august_1950.htm

That is just one of more than 500 stories about Gus and the Model Garage, written by Martin Bunn over the span of three decades.  Who was Martin Bunn?  That was a pen name for a variety of authors who churned out a monthly story designed to describe car problems in ways the average person would understand.  In a way, it’s like Encyclopedia Brown (which I loved reading as a kid) for people interested in automotive mechanics.

Thanks to Mike Hammerberg, there is an entire website devoted to Gus and the Model Garage stories.

 
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Gus and the Model Garage: Gus Helps Land a Big Catch July 1961

• CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Books, Features, How To • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

From Gus and the Model Garage comes this tale.  It is more adventure story than mechanic story, but it does feature a Ford GP.  It is titled “Gus Helps Land a Big Catch” and published in July, 1961.

http://www.gus-stories.org/html/july_1961.htm

 
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Another cool flattie from R&P

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

John, from R&P 4WD, forwarded another neat flattie.

John writes, “Steve, our resident AT/wiring guru has had this in one of the back bays for the last year.  The pictures don’t do any justice to the super slick paint job on the frame.  Boxed and stretched frame (8″ in the front horns), small block Ford, C4 automatic, Model 18 TC, and an overdrive from Herm.  Here’s the reallt slick part, Jeep XJ rear leaf springs, under all 4 corners.  R&P Dana 44 front, with disc brakes, and a R&P full floater kit in the rear, with 11″ drums.”

 
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Around the World in a SEEP called Half Safe

• CATEGORIES: Books, Builds, Features, GPA (SEEP), Unusual • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

half_safe_9FEATURED IN MAY 2009

The next time you are in Perth, Australia, make sure you stop by and see Ben Carlin’s SEEP named Half Safe.  Ben Carlin and his wife navigated their SEEP around the world back in the 1950s.  I found two website’s that chronicle the adventure:  David Brooks shows pictures along with the story and Leisure Wheels has a large article with a single pic.  Below is the beginning of the story and below that are a few pictures.  Ben Carlin also wrote two books about his adventure “Half Safe” and later ““The Other Half of Half-Safe”.

half_safe_8FROM DAVID BROOKS WEBSITE:  “Ben Carlin (1912 – 1981) was born and attended school in Western Australia. While awaiting demobilisation after service in India in World War II, Ben noticed a US amphibious jeep among other war debris, and remarked “You know, Mac, with a bit of titivation you could go around the world in one of these things”. For some never-explained reason, Ben was not certified insane on the spot, and eventually fulfilled his dream ….”

>>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF THE STORY<<

Half Safe Pages

SEEP Pages:

 
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John Barton’s Fleamarket Guide To MB and GPW Tools . . . by John Barton

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

John Barton’s book “John Barton’s Fleamarket Guide To MB and GPW Tools And Accesories” is now for sale at Lulu.com.  The price of the book is $25.  Proceeds from the book are going to John’s daughter’s college fund.   If you have any questions about it, you can contact Merlin at merlin [at] HANSONMECHANICAL.COM.

Merlin writes, “This book was first written by John Barton in 2006. It is a review of all tools carried on the WW2 Jeeps and their varieties. This should be a great help while hunting for the correct tools for your WW2 MB or GPW.”

http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-barton/john-bartons-fleamarket-guide-to-mb-and-gpw-tools-and-accesories/paperback/product-20007467.html#productDetails

 
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Finding Virginia: Adventures Along the Rocky Trail of Life

• CATEGORIES: Biscuit, Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I am proud to announce that “Finding Virginia” is now for sale at CreateSpace.  It has been the culmination of a year’s worth of writing and editing (and 46 years of living).  Please shamelessly encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to purchase this book.   Give it as a present to your spouse (really, they will enjoy it), your kids, other jeep lovers, car lovers, or whomever you know.  It is also useful for filling spaces in bookshelves.

What’s the book about?  
It’s about jeeps, love, the history of the jeep, love lost, the San Juan Islands, my dad’s health fight, how to get kicked out of college, how to  grow up in a jeep club, how not to sail, how to get stuck in the woods, cooking, my thoughts on a variety of subjects, and the reasons why I started eWillys.

Who’s the target audience?  
Readers of eWillys are  first and foremost the target.  People who like adventure and travel should enjoy it too.  Women especially enjoy the ‘love’ story aspect.  People who are frustrated with the economy will, I believe, relate to my frustrations with it too.

The book can be ordered through CreateSpace and, later, through Amazon, though Amazon pays me less.  The price is $18.39.  If you want a signed copy, I will need to order some books, sign them and then mail them to you.  You can email me for more info — d@ewillys.com and put “signed copy” in the subject line.  These will cost a little more due to the cost of me shipping to you.  I will take a check or paypal as payment.

I am willing to both sign books and attend signings.  I can even bring Biscuit if necessary, depending on the weather and distance.

https://www.createspace.com/3748035

 
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Saturday Night Update

• CATEGORIES: Books, News This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

So, I go away for one night (hanging out in Yakima)…. though a fun night …  and the search site (jaxed)  that I have used faithfully for 4 years to find old willys & jeeps for sale across the US receives a cease and desist letter from Craigslist lawyers.  I have seen that happen to other sites, but somehow jaxed could always get around it, until now.

While I can still search through a mashed up collection of individual craigslist sites through SearchTempest, searching nation-wide will be more difficult (or at least time consuming using SearchTempest).  So, I will spend a day or two trying to figure out another method.  One way or another I will have updates Sunday night.

In the meantime, I finished draft 3 of my book, which involves jeeps and more.  The reviews I have received are extremely positive, so I hope to complete one more draft and then have it ready sometime in September for ebooks (real books will take longer, but I hope will come at some point too).  Here’s a draft of the book cover:

– Dave

 
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Willys LIterature Vancouver, Wa $50

• CATEGORIES: Books This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I’m not sure what all is here, but someone might be interested.

“Willys parts manual, newletters accessory catalog etc, plus wheel clips
Keen to sell,OFFERS 604 872 2766”

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nvn/pts/2440545960.html

 
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Who Needs a Road? A 1960s Trip around the World

• CATEGORIES: Books, International This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Harold Stephen loves old jeeps.  He loved them so much he spent time exploring the world in both a CJ-5 and a Landcruiser during the 1960s.  In 1965-6 Harold Stephens, along with Al Podell, picture editor of Argosy magazine, formed the Trans World Record Expedition and set the world’s record for the longest non-repetitive miles motor trip around the world (42,500 miles). They captured their trip in their co-authored book, Who Needs a Road. I just bought a copy and you can find a paperback copy for sale here.

Prior to their joint trip, Harold purchased a CJ-5 and shipped it with a small trailer to Europe.  He writes, “Three months in Europe, and no accommodations to worry about. I camped in the shadows of medieval chateaus and age-old monasteries. When I could find none of these, I camped in farmers’ cow pastures. Many times I awoke to discover cows nibble at my shoes outside my door. If farmers came, they were usually friendly, providing I had closed the gate behind me, and often invited me to the farmhouse for coffee and homemade bread.”  You can read more about his CJ-5 European adventure here, including a two month stay in a Russian Jail.

He eventually made his way back to Spain, parked his Jeep and returned to the US. He sold his story to Argosy Magazine and then his editor asked him if he would be interested in an around the world tour in a Toyota Land Cruiser (I tired to find the argosy article, but was unsuccessful).  He said yes, so he and a few others went pack to Spain, picked up a Landcruiser, snagged his jeep, and then started off on their journey.

This is Harold with his CJ-5:

Here’s a good pic of the Landcruiser

Read all about their Trans World Record Expedition at the transasiaexpedition.com website

Here is Harold’s Personal Site

 
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Book: Willy – The Little Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Here’s a kid’s book called Willy:  The Little Jeep Who Wanted to Be a Fire Truck.  I haven’t read it yet, but it’s supposed to be based loosely on a real event and a real 1947 CJ-2A.  The book has its own website.

From Amazon.com, “Join Willy as his dream of becoming a fire truck takes some surprising twists and turns. Travel with him on an adventure that brings him from the sidelines to center stage and safely back home again.

Written originally as a Christmas present for a friend, WILLY has already captivated children of all ages. As one reviewer noted, “The book is written for a child, but has so much meaning for adults as well. I don’t mind admitting that a tear of joy rolled down my ‘headlight’ too!” Others have described Willy as “lovable,” “endearing,” and “plain ol’ fun.”

The story, penned by volunteer firefighter Don Estes, is based on actual events that happened in Clinton Corners, New York and Clinton, Connecticut.”

View all the information at Amazon

 
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Before there were jeeps, there was still Willys-Overland

• CATEGORIES: Books This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Before there were jeeps, drivers had to amuse themselves with vehicles somehow. Before there was Willys Overland there was just Overland.  In 1907, wondering where 500 cars he ordered were, John North Willys found himself having to ask friends to inject cash into Overland after he discovered he wouldn’t get his cars if he didn’t (the company would have gone bankrupt).   So, in 1920 you have an Overland (maybe the 1918 Overland 90 Touring model) made by Willys Overland, what can you do with it if you don’t have four wheel drive?

You jump it of course!  On September 5, 1920, the driver below, Henry Alegria, a Basque Pioneer in Idaho, drove this four cylinder Overland touring car over an 18 foot gap between two ramps.  I’m assuming he survived the jump.  It looks pretty crazy, given the driver probably had no seat belt.  I found the photo in a book by Arthur A. Hart called Life in Old Boise that someone gave me recently.  The book has some great pics, which are more enjoyable if you know Boise, Idaho, at all.

jumping_car_in_boise

 
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The Book: Rare WW2 Jeep Photo Archive 1940 to 1945

• CATEGORIES: Books This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I found a link to this fascinating book from the Olive Drab SiteClick on this link so they’ll get credit for the purchase from Amazon and view some of the pages.  There are pics of early jeeps I’ve never seen before and I’ve been spending some time collecting pics for various histories I’m putting together.  I’m adding it to my list of books to purchase.

rare_ww2_jeep_cover