Roger Martin took these photos from the last weekend’s Mason Dixon show. In no particular order …

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Roger Martin attended this year’s Toledo Jeep Fest this weekend. He brought along his 1947 CJ-2A, an M-677, and his FC Fire Truck. He also took photos of the jeeps at the show, along with some merchandise for sale and a few of the parade.

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UPDATE: Only two weeks until the 9th Annual Southwest Ohio Jeep FC Gathering & Swap Meet is less than a month away on July 28-30th.

Roger shared a link for t-shirts should you want one: https://www.designsnow.biz/product-page/jeep/jeep-fc-gathering-tshirt-2023?fbclid=IwAR2peqt2rgOr-7qYVVb3bgZdENT1LjZNnmrDh9NDAmfitxVRXiJiCbDOZEc

If you are interested in attending, contact Roger or Sharon for more info:

July 28, 29, 30
Roger and Sharon Martin’s Place
1905 Roxanna New Burlington Road Waynesville, OH 45068
937-477-5270 rogerjm55 @gmail.com

More information on this years Fall Willys Reunion & Swap Meet here: http://willysreunion.com/fwr23.htm

“Join us once again at the Auto World Museum 200 Peacock Drive in Fulton, Missouri for this year’s Fall Willys Reunion. Bring your Willys or Jeep to be displayed with other Willys from around the Midwest and check out the fabulous vintage car display at the museum. All reunion activity including the Saturday evening banquet will be held in this nostalgic facility.”

Photo courtesy of the Cranberry Eagle: https://www.cranberryeagle.com/2023/06/07/the-chase-for-the-inaugural-concord-cup-begins-at-bantam/

UPDATE II: On June 11th, eight different teams launched the race for the inaugural Concord Cup. One of the cool features employed is the map, which allows folks to follow racers: https://www.followmychallenge.com/live/epicwillysadventure/ . It also includes a REPLAY feature which allows viewers to revisit the race for all the days.

I was finally able to find some pics of the finish on Facebook, which shows two jeeps crossing the finishing line, one after the other:

The winner was “Rusty Trombone” with Adam and Steve. Close behind, coming in second(?) looks to be “Roos Racer” with Scott and Joe.

You can see more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/EpicWillysAdventure/photos

It sounds like the event went well and those participants who did report on FB seemed to be having fun. When I saw reports on Facebook, I republished them on eWillys FB when I could. However, as a casual viewer, my tiny critique was the difficulty of figuring out what was happening, who was ahead and, even, who won (eventually I tracked down the info on FB). Timd32 had a similar sentiment when he wrote on OWF: “From what I can piece together on FB, Instagram and the sort they are doing awesome”. 

Having done many travelogues over an eight year period, trust me that I GET the challenge! It is hard and time consuming to be a participant, then have post-drive fraternization, and also update readers with progress updates (my late nights-into-early-mornings in motel rooms with crappy wifi along the Alaska Highway attest to that fact), along with context for those readers who might, for example, not be aware of the event until day 3. In fact, when on the road with Ann, we tried to stop by 5pm so I could write updates (that would take hours), which is why we did little to nothing in the evenings (thankfully, Ann was usually worn out by then).

The only answer I can think of is a dedicated reporter along the way with a dedicated location for updates accessible to all, probably to a website (a surprising number of people still don’t use FB). Myself, I don’t use Instagram or TikTok.

Again, that’s just a little critique. I’m glad to hear participants had fun and that the race was deemed a success. Based on the Bantam Festival’s post, they’d like to see the event held again.

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UPDATE Posted Nov 9, 2022: Check on out this recent video that shares more information about this year’s Concord Cup.

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Initially published June 22, 2022:

The 2023 Epic Willys Adventure 4 was announced at this year’s Bantam Festival. This time, there will be new twists to the event, including turning it into more of a competition or rally. Text from the video post:

“@mrmaxbilt and @jonahmhodgkins laying out the details for EWA 4! Pseudo live. June of 2023 we will depart from @bantamjeepfest on a 2000 mile adventure up through New England in 40s-60s period correct Willys Jeeps! New twist this trip, it’s a race! A challenge. A rally. Each day, each rig, it’s driver and co-pilot will be timed from stop to stop, with an array of challenges to complete. All while keeping their Willys running and rolling. Best time overall at the end wins the coveted Concord Cup!

Applications to compete will open this fall and all the rules, regulations, and stipulations will be announced later this summer. Follow Epic Willys Adventure here on IG, on FB, and at epicwillysadventure.com for updates!”

Here’s the video: https://www.facebook.com/EpicWillysAdventure/videos/710182950204126/?_rdr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpicWillysAdventure/
Website: https://www.epicwillysadventure.com

A big thanks to Tom for buying me a Willys Rally shirt while attending the Hueston Woods event, along with a few other swaggy items. He even picked up a set of gardening gloves so Ann wouldn’t feel left out (turns out she needed a set of gloves, so that worked out great!).

It sounds like this year’s Rally was well attended, with more jeeps than ever. Here’s a message from Rick about the event:

“The Willys Jeep Rally for 2023 was a great success. Mike Mee did a splendid job of overseeing the event. Barb and Bill Marshal were well organized and had plenty of help so they could enjoy the show.

Mary Kindburg prepared a delicious picnic on Friday evening with pulled pork and turkey sandwiches and loads of fruits and vegetables. Both trail rides had large numbers, and nobody broke down!

There were more Jeeps than ever involved in the demonstrations, and we even had a plow champion who showed the boys how a professional does the job. All the demonstrations had larger attendances than ever.

The weather all weekend was gorgeous with high heat but low humidity. We had about 10 vendors with the Jeepster Man joining us with large donations of gift certificates and merchandise. The banquet food was delicious as usual. Barney’s presentation was a story of his journey from his first Jeep to where he stands now. I think everyone could share in some of Barney’s insights and memories.

We are already planning for the 2024 Willys Jeep Rally. Hope to see everyone at Hueston Woods next year.”

This weekend is the Great Willys Picnic (in Kempton, PA) and Bantam Fest (in Butler, PA).

The Willys Rally kicked off yesterday with beautiful, but hot weather, or so I am told. Tom sent me a some pics, followed by Roger Martin, who wore out his camera taking pics, so thanks to you both! So, there’s lots to look at. One highlight captured by both kind gentleman included a four-seat empire tractor, which looks really well done.

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This year’s Willys Rally happens June 2&3, 2023 at its usual spot in Hueston Woods State Park, College Corner, Ohio. You can learn more here: http://www.mw-willysjeep.com

UPDATE: Next Weekend is the Spring Willys Reunion.

Art let me know that the 30th annual Spring Willys Reunion will be held May 19-20. This year, it will be held at a new location:  the Hilton Garden Inn, North Canton, Ohio.

http://willysreunion.com/swr23.htm

The 14th Annual Willys Overland Rally takes place this May 19-21 in Moab.

Learn more here: http://www.willysrally.com/index.php

Image from 2021 Willys Overland Rally

UPDATE: The event is today and tomorrow!

Joe in Mesa shared this event flyer for the 32nd annual Arizona Military Vehicle Show in Phoenix, Arizona, January 28th-29th, 2023.

This year’s Willys Jeep Rally will be held June 2-3 2023 at its usual location in Houston Woods, College Corner, Ohio. Thanks to Russ for letting me know! You can learn more here: http://www.mw-willysjeep.com

One of T15 Weasels and Liberty Auto Restoration. I don’t know if it will be for sale or not. There are other pics and a vid of it being run on Facebook.

Joe in Mesa shared this announcement from Michael Howard about an open house at Liberty Auto Restoration in Elkhart, Iowa,  this coming June. It will be about an hour and a half away from the 2023 MPVA Convention in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be open before and after the convention. Here’s a map showing both the open house location and the MPVA Convention location:

Map showing the Liberty Auto open house and its distance to the MVPA convention in Des Moines.

Background Information: Liberty Auto Restoration is 88 miles (1hr 21 min drive West) from the Iowa State Fair Grounds where the 2023 MVPA convention will be held. We will be hosting an open house for anyone prior to and/or after the MVPA convention to come to our open house.

Open House Dates: Monday June 12th to Wednesday June 14th and from Sunday June 18th to Monday June 19th from 9:00 AM to 4PM. We will be closed during the MVPA convention from June 15th to June 17th.

Location: Liberty Auto Restoration is located at 2008 High St., Elk Horn, IA 51531
We will have free hamburgers/hot dogs around noon of each day of our open house.

Parts for sale: We will be selling off a large portion of our inventory which includes
-WWII/Korean Era Jeep parts
-WWII Weasel parts
-WWII T15 and M7 parts
– Misc Military Parts from WWII to Vietnam era.

Vehicles for sale: We are also selling several of our vehicles which include but not limited to:
M38A1 jeeps
M43 Ambulance
M29 Weasels with LAR tracks
T15 Weasels
M7 snow tractors with sleds
Hagglund BV206

Large inventory of WWII radios, antennas and parts
Please contact me directly if you have any questions. Best to call me on my cell during the day from 9am to 4pm CST.

Thank-you
Michael W. Howard, Pres, Liberty Auto Restoration, LLC
Cell: 712 249 0839 or mhowardems @ gmail.com (remove spaces from around the @)

Merliln shared these Jeepsterman photos posted to Facebook from the Mason-Dixon Willys Jeep Gathering this past weekend. It looks like a beautiful day with a great turnout!

See all the pics here: https://www.facebook.com/eshanson/posts/pfbid027mD3R2pXCREFNMe5hzJ3vSD9qjHA3dBevG2LACr2koQgbEpPgiSBGHMPYX1FfoMBl

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Marco Marin shared pics from this year’s 2022 Yipao in New York. The jeeps might not be as piled high with stuff as you’ll find in a Colombian Yipao, but the jeeps still looked excellent.

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Jason Pall posted a pic to Facebook of some 1960s Jeeper Jamboree dash tags. Even on California jeeps these aren’t seen too often.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Pall

Roger Martin shared some pics from this past weekend’s Fall colors ride at Tar Hollow State Park in Ohio.

It’s a great excuse to enjoy the fall colors with fellow jeepers.

UPDATE: September has arrived; this is only 9 days away!

Just never a week from the FC Jamboree in Lake Mills, Iowa. Dan welcomes all jeep FC’s in ANY condition, running or not!! This year Smoking Joe’s will be providing lunch on Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/Jeep-FC-Jamboree-104006774784933

Jack shared a couple photos from the 2022 Idaho Vintage Jeep Rally. He told me he had a great time! The funky oddball jeep on the trailer is one owned by Jack. He acquired it out of Montana about a decade ago.

There are many more pics and videos on the site’s Facebook page from this weekend.

Dana Wasserburger posted this and other photos to Facebook:

Michelle Jenkins also took a variety of photos. Here is one:

Thanks to Roger Martin for sharing more pics of his 2022 FC event.

This is Rogers “new” M-677:

Roger shared these pics from this morning at the Southwest Ohio FC Gathering.

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