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1966 Jeep News Volume 12 Number 1

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The eight-page Jeep News Volume 12 Number 1 kicked off 1966 with the news that sales increased 23% and, surprising to me, special equipment sales jumped almost 42%. Given the increase in Wagoneers and Gladiator sales, I would think the special equipment numbers would be falling, as I thought a shift was happening away from the notion of utility vehicles in favor of “fun” and family vehicles. I’d be curious to know what was driving those equipment sales.

Page two is mostly dealer news, while page three continues a page-one discussion of the anti-skid, safely and traction capabilities of the Wagoneer and Gladiator jeeps. Page four highlights the use of larger magazine images.

Page five goes international and includes an article about Mrs. Welthy H. Fisher, an 85-year-old literacy advocate, who raised funds for a Wagoneer-turned-traveling-library, which she used to deliver books to folks in India as part of a function of Literacy Village, a program she launched at age 73. From her photo, I’d never guess she was 85.

Page six features Sinclair Oil’s Wagoneer, which traveled with a touring exhibit featuring a flatbed trailer with nine large animatronic dinosaurs. I wonder whatever happened to those dinosaurs. Here is a pic of them floating down the Hudson River circa 1964:

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Page seven reported on the unexpected 4WD display at a Florida Airstream gathering of almost 1500 trailers. Mud had forced many of the trailers to be towed into the site via tractor, but the fact that Florida Outdoorsman John Wilhelm had a Wagoneer capable of puling his trailer into the site without issue seems to have spurred interest in his jeep. Page eight highlights the use of jeeps in Detroit Mine, something covered by Jeep News previously and other sources.

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Seats N Stuff

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

A big thanks to Craig Brockhaus for selling me some original FC-170 seats and his last electric wiper conversion unit, along with a few other parts. They arrived on Wednesday. The seats need some recovering and the set frames some blasting, but we planned to recover them in the same material that the bench seats will be covered, so we expect these are a good solution for us.

As for the electric wiper unit, yes the tour jeep is a convertible and we should rarely need wipers, but there have been times where I’ve driven through irrigation or other forms of water around here, so I figure it’s better to have working wipers than non working ones.

My hope is to use the stock bracket to mount the steering wheel, but I won’t know for sure until I can test-mount the tilt-steering wheel based on the seat position and dash. But, just having the stock bracket helps me estimate where to begin with the column mount options.

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Meanwhile, I am also moving as much of the wiring and other elements down to the frame so that when I have to pull the cab, it’s as simple as possible. The cab floors and some interior dog house elements could use some blasting, sanding and smoothing. But, that’s not something I want to tackle at this juncture. Mechanics, so it can be safely driven, and a new bed are the priority.

 
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July 1963 Jeep Service and Parts News

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The July 1963 Jeep Service and Parts News page three includes some important tips about towing a jeep vehicle with an automatic transmission. Page four provides an exploded view of a Dana 20 transmission.

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October 1954 Comm and Jeep Sales Bltn Western Plow

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Documents, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

On October 28, 1954, Kaiser Willys announced the addition of The Western Duty Snow Plows to the Special Equipment line.

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Some Vintage of Photos of Folks w/ Jeeps

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

Blaine spotted this thread on Curbsideclassic.com that shows some vintage photos of average folks and their jeeps.

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-snapshots-early-jeep-adopters/#comment-1776492

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1965 Jeep News Volume 11 Number 6

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This eight-page holiday  issue is the final issue of 1965 (only 6 issues produced). Page one introduces the first luxury Wagoneer, the Jeep Super Wagoneer. Page two highlights the growing demand for contract plowing. Page three continues the luxury wagon discussion, while also noting that parts can make an “attractive store display”; so, when you start hanging parts in the living room, just show your partner this article and how it can be actually attractive (good luck with that, lol).

Pages four and five share more on Gladiator and Wagoneer vehicles. Page six shows off an unusual display in Peru, while the new Kaiser Argentina Model 101 four-door jeep is depicted. Page seven shares news on the Afton Canyon excursion in Southern California, which is the first I’ve heard of this annual trip. It drew 398 vehicles in 1965.

Page eight includes a story on a New Jersey M-38 fire jeep. Also on the page is a photo of Col. Dave Harbour, an outdoor writer who drove his wagon 100,000 miles, being presented with a model jeep, but I can’t tell what kind of model it is.

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January 1963 Jeep Service and Parts News

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This four-page issue of the January 1963 Jeep Service and Parts News focuses on the J-Series vehicles.

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Fall Willys Reunion Interview

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

The Jeepsterman shared this video of the McCollum’s recently bought CJ-2A from last year’s Fall Willys Reunion.

https://thejeepsterman.com/blogs/walk-arounds/the-mccollums-1948-cj2a-jeep

 
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1965 Jeep News Volume 11 Number 4

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This eight-page issue of the 1965 Jeep News volume 11 Number 4 begins with the Vigilante engine billboards, along with a strange story of a hardware merchant using pennies and dollars to buy a jeep only for the jeep dealer to return the favor and buy a washer and dryer from said merchant using pennies, but this time ones bathed in syrup and oil!

Page two contains various pics, while page three includes the story of a Jeepster that looked like new despite having been driven 332,800 miles! His rigorous attention to maintenance was key to his Jeepster’s great condition; it may not surprise you to learn that he worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I wonder what happened to that Kentucky-based jeep.

Page four showcases some international stories, while page five contains another story about Kent Frost and his southern Utah tours out of Monticello, Utah. Page six includes an article about the use of f-head engines in Miller’s Trailblazer welders, while page seven highlights Allen and Phyllis Ellis, who travelled extensively in Mexico in their 1959 CJ-5 (which may have been nicknamed El Osito, which apparently translates to ‘the bear’).  Page eight highlights the use of Wagoneers at the 1964-1965 New York City World’s Fair.

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FC Tour Jeep – Brake MC & Bracket & Other Details

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

My poor wife has been down with neck and shoulder spasms for the past two weeks, so time with the FC has been limited. She’s finally feeling a little better, though still unable to drive and do a variety of tasks. At least she has less pain.

In the meantime, I’ve been gathering/making what I have needed to assembling the dual-mc brake setup. The goal was to move the MC back between the brackets so that it is completely hidden under the dash using as many stock components as I could. I mostly followed Steve’s design, but mine is an 1/8inch wider to accommodate the nylon washers.

To the setup I’ve also added Chev brake light switch (left over from disassembly). I happened to have a leftover spring bolt with a zerk fitting that will allow me to apply grease to the brake pedal pivot if necessary (I am waiting to trim down the bolt in case I the end for smoother purpose, such as an extra anchor point of the steering column. To each side of the pedal pivot I’ve added two thin nylon washers which should reduce metal wear between the pivot and the brackets.

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I am unsure what direction I want the MC fluid tops to point. The reservoirs will likely hang on the firewall, but that’s TBD.
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December 1962 Jeep Service and Parts News

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This year ending December 1962 Jeep Service and Parts News includes an index page of 1962 topics. A short blurb on page two highlights the desire of some folks to switch their column shift DJ-3A to cane shift. The column shift as a novelty is neat, but it’s not something to be forced. It feels delicate (to me) when shifting. If I were driving the DJ on a regular basis, I would change it a cane shifter.

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Koenig-Branded Pocket Knife

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

Barney Goodwin shared pics of this Koenig-branded knife he bought off of eBay. If you visit his shop in Ohio, you can see this plus other rare items in his shop’s display case.

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1945 Parts List for the Universal Four Wheel Drive Booklet

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

Branden scored on this rare, early 1945 print of a Parts List for the Universal Four Wheel Drive booklet. The use of the “J” logo so prominently is unusual. You can view my discussion of the “J” logo’s short history here.

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December 1954 Jeep-A-Trench Added to Spec Equip List

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Documents, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This December 20, 1954, Commercial and Jeep Sales Bulletin introduced the Auburn Jeep-A-Trench to the Willys Special Equipment Line. No brochure was included with this document (unless it was removed).

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May 1949 Salesbuilder

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This issue May 1949 Salesbuilder has seen some better days, but the info matters more to me than the condition. The cover boasts about “smooth” the new Jeepster is, but I never discovered what was so “smooth” about it, unless the company was referring to the new fabric top?

Most interesting to me was the pic on the last page, lower right. It shows the Palmer Dealership sitting right next to a Koenig sign, leading me to wonder if somehow the two businesses were related at some point? I knew both were out of Houston, but it never occurred to me that they might be connected.

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October 1954 Willys Adds Gran Hydraulic Lifter to Spec Equip List

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE III: This is a merge post, adding a nicer scan of the Commercial and Jeep Sales Bulletin, this one dated October 29, 1954, to the original Gran Hydraulic Lifter history post. This doc welcomes the Gran Hydraulic Lifter to the Willys Special Equipment list.

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More on Military DJ-5s

• CATEGORIES: DJ-5 & DJ-6, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Gayland shared these photos showing the military DJ-5s offered by AMC in the early 1970s. Time has tinted the images. The “brown” Army jeeps are actually OD green for the Army, while the Navy “white” jeeps may actually be haze gray.

US Army Jeep Photo:

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US Navy Jeep Photo:

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Rest of US Army photos:
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Refrigerant Tank Folk Art Jeep

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

Roger Martin spotted this unusual jeep made from longs and a refrigerant tank. It sold on Facebook for $55 in just a day.

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1942 GPW Sold for $28,500

• CATEGORIES: Features, GPW (Ford MB) This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Blaine shared this GPW that just sold for $28,500! You can see all the info on Bring-A-Trailer’s website: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1942-ford-jeep-gpw-5/

1942-gpw-sold-BAT

 
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May 1951 Wagon Comparison Brochure

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

This 34-page May 1951 Form No. SWC1-10M-551 wagon comparison brochure is one I’d never seen before it hit eBay. The size is about 5.5″ by 11″.  It’s not in the best of shape, but it’s there and readable. The front page has a rectangle cut out so that the table of contents on page three shows through cover.

I wonder if an equivalent brochure was made for the truck? I doubt anything was made for the universal jeep, as there wasn’t much to compare to it by 1951.

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October 1954 Willys Welcomes Warn Hubs

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I wasn’t aware that Kaiser Willys put out a series of Commercial and Jeep Sales Bulletins, but I now have examples of at least four of these that I will publish over the next week or so. It’s unclear how many were published or how long this lasted.

This particular example, dated October 08, 1954, welcomed Warn Locking and Automatic hubs to the Willys Special Equipment Line. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time Willys included hubs in its Special Equipment line. As of 1954, Warn was likely the largest producers of hubs. Free-Lock quickly became the second largest producer of hubs, but that wouldn’t be until 1956 (See Free-Lock Hubs history for more info). To the best of my knowledge, Free-Lock was never added to the Willys Special Equipment Line.

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3 or 4-Door Hy-Rail(?) Wagon

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Willys Wagons • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Steve shared this photo from the Just-A-Car-Guy website, which was in turn was shared from a French(?) website. This looks to be a three or four-door Hy-Rail wagon. You can learn more about these at Willyscountry.com.

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FC-170 Ashtray on eBay

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

Andy shared this one. Starting bid is $129.99.

View all the information on eBay

“Vintage 1950s RARE Dealership Promo JEEP Willys FC 150 or FC 170 TRUCK Chrome Ashtray”

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1965 Jeep News Volume 11 Number 2

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This eight-page 1965 Jeep News Volume 11 Number 2 begins by announcing the Vigilante V-8 engine. Unmentioned in the news article was the response by recent purchasers of the six cylinder models, which was a unanimous, “Wow, I coulda had a V8!” .. or am I confusing that with another product? Pages 2-7 continue with more V-8 info, along with marketing and dealer info.

Page eight reports on the 1965 Chicago Auto Show. Jeep showcased eleven vehicles, all decked in a prairie gold color with black vinyl interior trim, which got me thinking … what did Willys Motors and Kaiser Jeep do over the years with their specially trimmed auto show vehicles? Looking back to the 1959 Chicago Auto show (Feb 1959 Jeep News), it was reported that all the vehicles at that show had been sold. Moreover, the display featured a full line of “Willys approved special equipment”, but by 1965 note the second largest word that appears on the display wall: “fun“… the word is written in what might be described as a playful font and style. Moreover, it’s hard to see a piece of special equipment (but the pic on page eight doesn’t show the best view; I tried to find some better pics). I’m beginning to wonder it the marketing firm hired in 1964 had something to do with the shift in perspective, from “useful” vehicles to “fun” vehicles. That could explain it.

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Keith Buckley and Bob Westerman Narrates Cutaway Jeep Video

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

UPDATE: My apologies for leaving out Bob’s name from this post! Thanks Barry.

Keith Buckley (aka Joe Friday) and Bob Westerman (aka Bob W.) narrate a video for Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum showing off the museum’s cutaway jeep. It’s pretty neat setup. The museum is located in Chicago, Illinois.