If you are near Columbus, Indiana, this weekend, make sure to drop by the Midwest Willys Reunion. There’s a lot happening, including Alaska Or Rust tables with parts for sale, a raffle and at least one carb demonstration by Mr. Old Jeep Carbs himself, Richard Pacholski.
Event Research Archives
Jeeps @ the Fort Miles Reenactment Event
The annual “Delaware Goes to War- Victory In Europe” reenactment took place at Fort Miles in Delaware last weekend. Joe shared these photos taken by Bill Goodwin. Thanks! (I think this is a good start to “Front-end Friday”)
NW FC Get-Together Aug 4-6th in Olympia, WA
2017 Colonna Della Libertá
Every year the Italians celebrate the Colonna della Libertá (Column of Liberation). CeePee and his friends from Bavaria once again made their way down to join the event in their jeeps. It had snowed two days prior to their trip south, so it sounds like it was a chilly drive.
CeePee reports they had a good time, as always. One of the people he met for the first time was Italian Gregory Alegi (read more about his trip here), who in 2013 drove an MB with his friend to Toledo. Ann and I almost had a chance to meet up with Gregory, but we couldn’t make the timing work.
On their return trip to Germany, CeePee wrote that his group was nearly swept away with rain. Still, it didn’t dampen their spirits. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
2017 Swap Meet @ the Portland Expo Center
Paul Barry of Willys America shared these photos he took from the 2017 Portland Swap Meet at the Portland Expo Center. The black truck is priced at $12,000. The red wagon has no engine. The other two trucks are rough.
2017 Willys Jeep Rally June 2 & 3, College Corner, OH
This year’s Willys Jeep Rally takes place June 2-3 in College Corner, Ohio. You can learn more at the event’s website: http://www.mw-willysjeep.com
2nd Annual Jeep Heritage Expo June 3rd in Georgia
Omix-ADA is hosting its second-annual Jeep Heritage Expo at its company headquarters in Suwanee, Georgia, June 3rd, 2017. Learn more here: http://www.ruggedridge.com/event
Moonshiners Swap Meet Puyallup, WA Sunday March 12th
The Moonshiners swap meet is this weekend. It’s 9am to 4pm at the Puyallup Fair Grounds. Thanks to Rob Stafford, I’ll have a warm, indoor booth in the main building to promote eWillys and Alaska Or Rust. Admission to the event is $10. Here’s more information: http://www.moonshinersjeepclub.com/swapmeet/.
Gledhill Snowplows
This early Gledhill brochure was on eBay and came from Canada. I’d never heard of Glehill snowplows, but the company still manufactures snow plows and moldboards.
2017 Southwest Military Transport Show in Mesa, AZ
The weekend of March 25 & 26 is the Southwest Military Show in Mesa, Arizona. If you like plans and jeeps, this is a great place to be. As Joe points out below there will be more than a dozen jeeps and jeep-like vehicles.
Bantam Jeep Festival June 9-11, 2017
The Bantam Festival is only four months away (as is the Great Willys Picnic which is June 11th this year). Learn more at http://www.bantamjeepfestival.com.
2017 Events for Willys-Am-Tegernesee
Christian has finalized this year’s Willys-Am Tegernesee reunion. It will take place from July 7th till July 9th with the main event on Saturday, July 8th , including an extracool little concert of some oldtime blues. I can’t go this year, but maybe Ann and I can figure out how to get there in 2018. We have been wanting to tour Europe, meet readers, and chase some more family history, but have delayed that opportunity for several years.
In late April this year’s Colonna della Liberta / Column of Liberation in Italy will take place. Date to be finalized.
Gary Holbrook’s & Juan Mean Jose
Gary Holbrook, a long time member of the Jolly Jeepers of the PNW4WDA, shared this video. Not only does he show off his fascinating build, but he also discusses one of his club’s annual summer Back to Basics Rally in Oregon.
2017 Coming Events
There are a variety of events already scheduled for 2017. These are in order of occurrence:
- March 24-26: The 14th Annual FC Roundup in Phoenix, Arizona. A great event for FC and FJ owners.
- May 19-20: 25th Annual Midwest Jeep Reunion & Swap Meet in Columbus, Indiana. This long running event hosts vintage jeeps of all kinds and includes a swap meet.
- May 19-21: 8th Annual Willys Rally in Moab, Utah. This wagon and truck focused event continues to grow in popularity.
- June 11: The Great Willys Picnic, Kempton, Pennsylvania. This pre-1970 jeep day-event includes a car show and swap meet.
- June 9-11: Bantam Fest, Butler, Pennsylvania.If you like jeeps of all types, there’s nothing bigger.
Oh, and one more …. In Mid July a small group of intrepid, brave, dedicated, and somewhat nutty jeepers will begin an epic trip to Alaska. Yours truly will be driving Rusty and reporting on our daily adventures. Expect a formal announcement in the next week or so.
1963 Sidewinder Jeep Cruise Photo
This photo and caption appeared in the May 1963 issue of Desert Magazine. Note the camping modifications on the CJ-6 in the foreground. Looks like a pretty interesting rig.
Jim Allen’s Recap of Dan’s FC September Event
Jim Allen published a great review of Dan Horenburger’s Military FC Gathering. With Dan’s passing, this article takes on a special significance.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/events/1611-a-celebration-of-the-jeep-forward-control/
8th Annual Willys Moab Overland Rally May 19-21, 2017
This year’s Willys Moab Overland Rally will be taking place May 19-21, 2017. Learn more here: http://www.willysrally.com
Merlin’s Southeast Willys Get Together Report
Merlin attended the Southeast Willys Get Together. He wrote that it went well. You can read his entire report here: https://hansonmechanical.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/first-annual-southeast-willys-jeep-get-together/
2016 Southeast Willys Jeep Get Together
UPDATE: The event is this weekend!
Will Springer is holding the first annual Southeast Willys Jeep Get Together October 1st, 2016. If you want to know more, check out his website or contact him via email or Facebook:
E-mail: wills@southeastwillysjeepgettogether.com
Website: http://www.southeastwillysjeepgettogether.com/contact-us.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southeastwillysjeepgettogether/?ref=bookmarks
Video from Dan’s Military FC Show
Craig and Steve did a video tour in “Marilyn” (his new FC Van) of the FCs at Dan’s Military FC Show. Pretty impressive.
Bob Christy’s Ohio Flatfender Gathering
Bob’s gathering was this past weekend. He shared these photos. Looks like it was great weather for the event.
Dan’s Military FC Show Next Weekend Sept. 17-18
Next weekend Dan’s hosting an FC gathering at his place in Marengo, IL. Though it is branded a military FC event, all FCs are welcome. Contact Dan for more information.
Some of Dan’s FCs are heading for Illinois right now. Here are some of the photos:
Great American Jeep Rally Sept. 17, Ellington, CT
Tim let me know that the Great American Jeep Rally will happen on September 17 in Ellington, Connecticut. You can learn more here: http://www.jeeprally.org
Saturday @ The Races
Saturday morning in Ethel started with a driver’s meeting at 8:30am. This has been standard practice for decades, the intent being to let driver’s know of any changes to the schedule, heats, classes, and courses. Some folks always have a skip in their step, others, like me, not born as morning folks, view it as the crack of dawn. Eventually my caffeine kicked in and things began to make sense.
After the driver’s meeting is a parade of jeeps, something that I never remember doing. Most of the racers line up and slowly drive the obstacle course. Not only do you get to see the course first hand, but it seems like a great group activity.
Here’s a short video:
Once the parade was finished it was time to race. About that time, the drizzle began to fall, adding some extra water to the already muddy track. The kids lined up to race first. During that time Jeff Miller introduced himself to me. We’d exchanged emails not long after I started eWillys. At that time he shared his Jewel’s Stainless Jeep with readers. Jeff has been a regular reader of eWillys since.
For much of the 1990s Jeff raced a jeep, but then he put racing on hold. It wasn’t until this year that he finally assembled another racing so he could reenter the sport. Like me, he’s fond of the Bobcat and Parkette bodies, so it’s no surprise that his race uses a Parkette shell. The jeep is a little more old school, powered by a 331 Stroker connected to a Ford Toploader and Dana 20. Not much is jeep other than that Dana 20. The hood is a piece of aluminum that a shop rolled for him so the angles from the grille to the body would look correct. It’s a nifty, clean piece. Holding the hood to the fenders are some original, stamped, Jewels stainless latches. As you can imagine, my shirt was wet from my drool. It’s a beautiful rig and it’s obvious he’s proud of it.
Overbored Racing & R.A.C.E’s End of Summer Race
Yesterday I made my way from the warm dry eastern Washington desert to the ‘wet’ side of the State. I was not surprised when I hit light rain as I approached the western slope of the Cascades.
However, by the time I arrived at the Ethel property where Overbored Racing & R.A.C.E are holding their Labor Day Weekend race, the rain abated, replaced with some sun. Hopefully the weather holds!
I’m here at the invitation of Rob Stafford, who suggested I attend, baiting me with a couple of rides in a race jeep. That’s a hard thing for me to pass up. I haven’t raced since 1986- Memorial Day 1986, not that I’m counting or anything-and I still miss it. Thanks to my mother-in-law, whose motorhome I borrowed, I could attend. Sadly, Ann isn’t with me as she had a prior engagement in Spokane. Continue reading