Features Research Archives

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Handy Table for Sleeping/Eating

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

This article comes from the 1963 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine. Perhaps more interesting to me than the table, which is utilized for sleeping or as a table is the top. The top was modified to accommodate the table, but I’ve not seen a top that also had the rhombus-shaped rear windows. I believe the bumpers may be from Con-Ferr (or were later sold by Con-Ferr).

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Photos from Belgium’s National Day Celebration

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

Charles shared these photos from Belgium’s 2019 National Day Celebration parade. I’ve also added a Belgium fun-facts video; did you know that 80% of billiard balls come from Belgium?

Below are the pics from Charles. The whole royal family was present for the parade, as this year is the 75th year of Belgium’s liberation. Some thirty old-aged belgian veterans were present (aged between 90 -98 ), each personally greeted by the king. The parade included sherman tanks and about 20 Willys jeeps.

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9th Annual King Family Jeep Weekend

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

IMG_6707Jason reports that his family continued their annual jeep weekend.

“The King family of Parke County, Indiana held their 9th annual Sweetwater Run Jeep Rally over the 4th of July weekend, 2019.  Family members, and extended family members came from six states. Those traveling the farthest came from Oregon. Several events were held…… Favorite Jeep contest, A nine-mile timed route with each leg a different speed, to name a couple. 

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After a pitch-in Bar-B-Que dinner we followed the trail of the Wabash and Erie Canal. We ended our afternoon Jeep Tour by driving up the world-famous Newport Hill…. where the Newport Hill Climb (newporthillclimb.com) is held annually during the first weekend of October.

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We ended the day with music. Singer/songwriter Jack Shannon performed an hour of original songs. His singing and guitar playing was enjoyed by everyone.”
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Willys jeep Dealer Service Card Reminder **SOLD**

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

Using the Stradivarius as an example seems an odd choice to me given the Jeep’s demographic. Seems like they could have picked something a little less aloof. Maybe something like, “even a race car needs tune ups” or “even John Wayne has to go to the doctor for checkups”?

“Dealer sales service advertising of Willys. Measures approximately 5″ by 8″ Good condition.”

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Here’s another one that was on eBay:

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1950 Berg Jeep Parts Catalog **SOLD**

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

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

This early 1950 Bert “King of Jeeps” catalog only has about 24 pages. The price is high, but the seller will accept offers.

“Offered – Berg’s Truck and Parts Co., Genuine Jeep Parts and Replacement Parts, Catalog 150. Age – Dated 1950, stamped on the back.”

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1949 Truck JeepRod Traverse City, MI **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: Features, Jeep Rods, Willys Trucks This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $24,999.

Lots of work went into this one.

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“49 Willies one of a kind Jeep. Featured in Rod Authority Magazine in 2018, this was my daily driver in 2018 and you will not be disappointed with the looks, waves and thumbs up. The trophies from the car shows are also extremely nice! Won an award at each show we have entered.

This ‘one off’ custom has been built right. The body is all original steel. The frame is ‘C notched and boxed’. 400cdi Ford V8, mild cam, Edlebrock Carb, C6 automatic transmission capped off with a Ford 9” rear end.

The top and doors have been chopped. Customer made tonneau cover hides the battery and 13 gallon fuel cell. Custom built 4 link. 46-48 Jeep Comanche 2 wheel drive front end. New pads all the way around, hand made steering wheel, mechanical door latches opened from the interior. US Steel solid wheels, I have 2 additional US Steel wheels that are 20” x 9” with BFG runflats and spacers. If you plan to trailer this you may need to install them to fit on the trailer.

The zoomie exhaust is loud but there are baffles in each tube. Starts, runs and drives like you would expect.”

 
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GP Team’s Fiberglass Flat Fender Bodies in South Africa

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

Here’s a unique fiberglass Flatfender replica out of South Africa from GP Team. The dash is particularly unique. Apparently, these are in the experimental stage. The bodies will be available with an MB or a CJ style grille.

https://www.teamgp.co.za/p/697928/fibreglass-replacement-bodies

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Badger Fiberglass Body in South Africa **SOLD**

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

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was R3,500.

This body, branded a “Badger”, looks to be the same body style as the GP Team’s body. The branding was place on the hood, tailgate, and windshield. The Badger appears designed for the VW chassis, while the GP Team body looks designs for a standard Willys chassis.

It suggests to me that GP Team may have bought out the Badger company and removed the Badger brand in favor of Willys.

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Here’s an example of oak complete Badger body, which may be designed as a VW body type.

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1959 Ramsey Winch Brochure on eBay

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

This two-page Ramsey Winch brochure is dated 1959, but given there’s a wagoner on the front, it’s likely front 1963 or later. Still, it’s got some neat illustrations about how to winch.

View all the information on eBay

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1950 Wagon Front Clip Batavia, OH Make Offer

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

Roger Martin shared this winning ad. Someone had some fun with this. Now, the seller is ready to let it go. The “price” suggests it is free, but the seller would like a buyer to make an offer.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1325522420958688/?ref=messenger_share

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“Yard. Art. 1950 Willy’s wagon front clip. Complete engine for parts. Mouse got into engine pissed on everything locked block. All other parts are good. Dashboard front hubs and suspension 4 4×4 wheels hard to find 3 speed on tree with overdrive. Come look see make offer. Hate to sell this stuff for scrap. Make me happy if someone could use it.”

 
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Willys Jeep Story Helps Out Legion Post 66

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

Here’s a good story of a man named Robert Sines who bought an M-38A1, wrote a story about it on Kaiser Willys’ website, then donated the check he received for the story to his local American Legion Post 66.

Kaiser Willys Post: https://blog.kaiserwillys.com/jeep-for-sale-with-conditions-a-willys-m38a1-used-in-support-of-veterans?doing_wp_cron=1563676900.8970100879669189453125

Newspaper article: https://www.hiawathaworldonline.com/news/willys-jeep-life-story-helps-out-local-legion/article_bf804a78-983d-11e9-a9d1-df2402b1b0b9.html

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Photo Credit: Joey May and the Hiawatha World

 
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Bobbie Howard’s Willys-themed Key Chains $10

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

Bobbie Howard makes waterproof key chains with Willys insignias. I asked some Facebook readers about them and they all said the product was a good one. They cost $10 and include free shipping. At this point, it looks like she only works from Facebook, so you’ll need a FB account to order them.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2382510764/permalink/10156506817540765

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1945 Photo of Jeep Navigating Water on eBay

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

That looks miserably cold.

View all the information on eBay

“Wonderful original Acme Press photograph showing a US Jeep with soldiers driving through floods”

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Some Crazy Drivin’

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Me looking over the valley at an overlook in Glacier National Park.

I don’t know what it was about Friday, but through the course of our 14 hour drive from Great Falls, Montana, to Pasco, Washington, we encountered more rude drivers and more poor driving than we had over the rest of our trip. Maybe it was something about Friday and the weekend, but people just had no patience.

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On Friday we drove home to Pasco, but we definitely took the LONG way.

We began the day at 5:30am. Our goal was to get to Glacier National Park before the crowds arrived. We reached the eastern entrance at 8:00am, but by then the eastern visitor’s center was already packed solid. So, rather than linger, we began our trek across the Going to the Sun Road. Here are some pics from Glacier:

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Photo of FC-150 w/ Mobile Deluxe Bumper on eBay

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

The seller puts the date at 1954, which is clearly incorrect as the FC didn’t exist yet.

View all the information on eBay

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Heading to Glacier Today

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

Just one post Friday. We are getting up early to drive to the Road to the Sun Road in Glacier. Here’s a video of what we hope to see (the weather ti supposed to be this good).

 
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4 Lane Bliss to 2 Lane Torture

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Me standing on the walkway at Giant Springs State Park. Note the trees in the background bending to the wind. The wind plagued us all day.

On Thursday, we drove from Minot, North Dakota, to Great Falls, Montana.

The drive started off nicely, with a flat, smooth, four-land highway. North Dakota really knows how to build a highway, or at least they know how to build Highway 2. The road was great all the way to Willston, North Dakota, which also is the border between North Dakota and Montana. Along the way, we enjoyed wind blown grass against countless deep blue ponds and lakes. So Idyllic.

Naively, I thought all of Highway 2 would like that. As usual, just when you are cruising down the highway of life, life throws you a curve … or in this case takes away two of your lanes and turns the remaining two lanes into whoop-d-doos. Adding to that, Mother Nature cranked up the wind until our average MPG dropped from 24mpg to 18mpg.

This made for a long drive between Williston and Great Falls. Still, we made it safely to Great Falls.

Our reason for spending the night in Great Falls was to see if Giant Springs Heritage State Park had made any updates to its smelter exhibit. The exhibit is a walking tour through the remains of the Montana Smelter, the first industry that came to Great Falls. It was a state-of-the-art silver-lead smelter designed, built, and controlled by Anton Eilers; which is the reason he is considered the city’s father of industry.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Montana State Archives. The smelter, built in 1887, fills most of this photo. To the right is the manager’s residence and in the foreground you can see the spring for which Giant Spring is named.

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Yes, the tour is still there, along with the remains of one of the blast furnaces.

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After our quick tour, we walked down to see the park’s core attraction: the Roe River, the shortest river in the world. The water bubbles out of a spring, then flows 200 feet, before tumbling into the Missouri River.

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Fergus Falls, MN, to Minot, ND

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

Not much to report from Wednesday’s drive.

Yesterday we drove from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, to Minot, North Dakota. We started the drive by briefly meeting with Minnesota Chris so we could see his unrestored 1959 CJ-3B in person. His floors are in amazing shape.
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From there, we drove to Morehead, Minnesota, which is right on the border and across the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota. The Dairy Queen in Morehead invented the Dilly Bar (which I’d never had … I can now cross that off my list) and also has the world’s largest Dilly Bar, proudly displayed outside DQ.

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World’s largest dilly bar is over my shoulder. I’m enjoying my first-ever Dilly bar.

After a little ice cream, we went to go see a 76-foot Viking dragon ship, which is housed in the Hjemkomst Interpretive Center in Moorhead. When we arrived at the Center, we learned it would cots $10/each to see the ship (and the museum, but we had no time for the museum). While we debated whether to see the ship, we went into the gift shop and quickly found a couple items to purchase.

As we were checking out (and still deciding about whether to enter the Center), a Center worker (a woman probably in her 60s) announced to a Center manager (a woman in her late 40s?) that she was quitting that day with no notice. Instead of the manager taking the employee aside, the manager began chewing out the now-former employee right there (I can see why the woman might have wanted to quit).

As you can imagine, things got a little awkward, so we high-tailed it out of there. Here’s a pic from the web of the boat we didn’t get a chance to see.

We left Morehead, crossed over the Red River, and drove to Fargo’s visitor center, where we donned some hats and re-enacted a scene from the movie Fargo.

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To get you photo taken by the Visitor Center staff, just ask them. They’ll had you the hats and take the photo.

After Fargo, we drove north to Grand Forks, then headed west to Minot (pronounced ‘My Not’ … thanks Chris!). The drive was long and quite flat to Minot, but the road (highway 2) was in great shape. It was also a pretty drive, with plenty of small ponds and lakes along the way. There was also almost no traffic; that was great!

The biggest surprise of the day happened in Minot. There, I discovered that Minot’s Marketplace grocery store has the largest gluten-free section, by far, I’ve ever seen; how is this in Minot … it’s crazy! That’s a pretty big deal to me, as feeding Ann can be a challenge on the road.

 
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Photo of Pat Etherton Driving a CJ-2A on eBay

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

Clewiston is in Clewiston, Florida. I could not figure out who Pat Etherton is.

View all the information on eBay

“1952 Press Photo Pat Etherton drives a jeep in a Clewiston field. This is an original press photo. Hand Winch on front of jeep is a handy gadget for the driver who overestimates the capabilities of his “mount.” The cable is hooked around a nearby tree (if there is one) and elbow grease does the test. That’s Pat Etherton of Clewiston at the wheel. Photo measures 8.5 x 6.75 inches. Photo is dated 01-27-1952.”

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Tractors & Spam

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

2019-07-16-austinToday we drove from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Along the way, there were several cool stopping places, so we took advantage of them.

The first, the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, was in Waterloo, Iowa, (and yes, ABBA’s Waterloo song hits me every time I read a Waterloo sign). We arrived just after the museum opened, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The museum is free and is full of restored tractors, interactive displays, history, and nicely arranged exhibits. It’s worth a stop if you are in the area.

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John Deere also offers free tours of the nearby Engine Works and Drive Train Operations (see the bottom of this page for more info). Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for that.

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Two Jeep Toys from Frank

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

Frank shared these pics of toys his neighbor gave him. Anyone familiar with either?

The first toy is an odd one. The rabbit in the bubble spins as the jeep moves.

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The second toy is a puzzle, as it’s in a CJ-2A box, so he’s not sure if this toy had it’s own box and the neighbor got confused or if it came in the 2A box. With all the nice details, one would expect the base would be correct, too.

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Photo of Marine Sgt. Joseph “Joe” Dinnigan in Korea

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

Marine Sgt. Joseph “Joe” Dinnigan was photographed by Life Photographer David Douglas Duncan in this photo of the Sgt sitting on an MB. The image was shared by his son; what an amazing photograph of his father.

 
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Soap Box Derby Jeep Freeport, NY $250

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

I’m not sure if this is really a soap box jeep, but still a neat vintage piece.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1675391245929395/

“Willys Jeep vintage wod soap box derby car! homemade very cool! Measures 52″ long. This is a great vintage piece that was made with pride, just imaging the father son team that raced this with pride for the US Army. Please take a look at the pictures, jeep has some missing layers of plywood, a broken bumper and one rail is missing on the back.”

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Oh Deere, A Traveling Gothic

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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I tried to tell her that it wasn’t a ‘pole’, but that didn’t stop her ….

Yesterday we slowed down a little so that we could check into our hotel early and get Ann some rest. To kill some time, we did a little sightseeing.

First, we stopped in Peoria. The city took us by surprise. Peoria sits on a river bank overlooking the Illinois River. Knowing nothing about the city, I had assumed it would be a small city with an industry feel. So, we were surprised to see a fairly modern looking city with a park along the river that lined much of downtown. Our reason for stopping there was to take a photo with a huge American Gothic statute, one that has spent the last decade traveling around to different museums.

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That stop got us looking around the city a little bit. There’s a really cool looking Caterpillar Visitors center downtown (see this site for some pics), but it didn’t open until 10am. We couldn’t wait that long, so we took off, but we’d like to visit again to check out that, the “The Art of the Brick” display, and some of the other spots.

Here’s Ann at a nearby monument in downtown Peoria.

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Downtown Peoria. That’s Lincoln on the building looking at a War Memorial.

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Thumbs Up for a Champaign Storm

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

We’ve stopped in Champaign for the night. Just as we entered the city, a storm arrived. By the time we found the statute of movie critic Roger Ebert, which sits outside the Virginia theater in Champaign, Illinois (now showing John Wayne in Red River), sheets of rain could be seen and gnarly clouds were everywhere. We saw lightening and heard the thunder that followed. Thankfully, there was no rain falling on us. All three of us thought it made for a great storm, worthy of three thumbs up!!

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