Features Research Archives

To Top

CJ-3B Coffee Bar in Colombia

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

Oscar shared these pics of a CJ-3B coffee bar from his friend Ron, who accompanied him to Colombia. Oscar shared his own pics in this post.

The jeep looks to have some type of pop top to create more room.

DCIM100GOPRO DCIM100GOPRO

 
To Top

Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa

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

<– Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun | OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More –>

2014-04-20-heather-nick-henryToday we enjoyed a relaxing morning and afternoon with Ann’s cousin in Belmont.

2014-04-20-pacifica-santarosa-map

Sunday’s trip to Santa Rosa

On Saturday, we’d planned to visit downtown San Francisco some more. However, after hearing that officials were warning that the city was extra busy and that driving downtown was going to be crazy, we chose to take a quick trip into the city to get Ann’s mother something and return to the housetop spend more time with my friend Jack.

Today after visiting with Ann’s cousin and her family, we drove north to Santa Rosa. Except for narrowly avoided some jerk who almost hit us, the drive was pretty nice. We landed in Santa Rosa and were surprised to see Peanuts Character Statutes along some of the city’s streets. We didn’t have much time to explore the city as much was closed Sunday.

2014-04-20-lucy

Ann’s selfie with Lucy

A little research informed us that Santa Rosa is home to the Shulz Museum. We’ll be exploring that tomorrow after meeting with Treeline Teardrop Trailers in Petaluma. We have a couple additional stops before we head to Sacramento on Monday evening.

<– Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun | OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More –>

 
To Top

Lost your Key to a Hardtop or Something Else? Try Lostakey.net

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

The seller of this hardtop http://www.ewillys.com/2014/04/20/cj-2a-koenig-hardtop-fountain-hills-az-395 lost the key. Brian found a key for Kellly Hardtop through lostakey.com. He states that the lock will likely have number on it. Use it to find a key and order it.

http://lostakey.net

lostakey-logo

 
To Top

1948 Willys Overland Dealer Wagon Poster 44-1/2 x 29-1/2 Inches on eBay

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

This looks like an interesting item.

“THIS AUCTION IS FOR ONE VERY LARGE AND ORIGINAL WILLYS JEEP DEALER SALES POSTER FOR THE VERY RARE JEEP STATION WAGON MODEL THE “STATION SEDAN”, PRODUCED FROM 1948 TO 1950. THE STATION SEDAN WAS A FANCY VERSION OF THE STATION WAGON. DISTINQUISHING FEATURES OF THE STATION SEDAN WERE A STAINLESS STEEL “T” BAR OVER THE GRILL, A BASKET WEAVE PATTERN DECAL ON THE UPPER PANEL BELOW THE WINDOWS, AND LARGER HUBCAPS.ALSO, A “JEEP STATION SEDAN” SCRIPT PLATE ON HOOD AND GLOVEBOX DOOR. A CLOSE LOOK AT THE PICTURES OF THE POSTER WILL VERIFY SOME OF THESE FEATURES OF THE “STATION SEDAN” MODEL.
THE PRINT IS VERY LARGE AT 44-1/2 X 29-1/2 INCHES IN SIZE.”

View all the information on eBay

1948-willys-wagon-dealer-poster

 
To Top

1949 Photos of Band Leader Jeep on eBay

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

This is a neat photo. Looks like a 1943 GPW.

View all the information on eBay

1949-band-jeep-1943-jeep1 1949-band-jeep-1943-jeep2

 

 
To Top

Round Ashtray with Jeep Stamp on eBay

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

Looks like an interesting piece.

view all the information on eBay

jeep-ash-tray

 
To Top

Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun

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

<– Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi | OVERVIEW | Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa –>

2014-04-18-happy-easter-ann-rabbit

We found a bunny at Monopoly in the Park in San Jose

Happy Easter Everyone! We found this bunny especially for the occasion!

2014-04-18-santacruz-pacifica

Our drive from Santa Cruz to Pacifica on Friday.

On Friday, having rid my body of the wicked sushi curse from Scotts Valley, Ann and I left Santa Cruz for San Jose using the notoriously dangerous Highway 17. When I lived in the Santa Cruz area I drove this highway regularly and I can attest to the danger.

Fast speeds + narrow lanes + no shoulders + lots of mountain curves = dangerous highway.

Not only did I witness multiple accidents, but several times I came close, really close, to being involved in an accident myself (while going the speed limit). In each case there was a car broken-down and sitting in a lane of the highway near blind curves.

I learned that avoiding rush hour traffic on Highway 17 is one sure way to increase the odds of making it over the summit alive. On this day, I kept my ‘alive’ streak intact.

2014-04-18-woz

Woz way in San Jose named for Steve Wozniak of Apple fame.

Our first mission of the day was to locate the world’s largest permanent monopoly board at Monopoly in the Park. We found it pretty quickly, just off ‘Woz way’ (named for Steve Wozniak of Apple fame). We quickly discovered one downside to the monopoly board’s location. No close parking. Here are some pics once we trekked over to the board, which was smaller than we expected, yet still very fun.

2014-04-18-monopoly1 2014-04-18-monopoly2 2014-04-18-monopoly3 2014-04-18-monopoly4

The next stop was the Pez museum in Burlingame, north of San Jose [Ed Note, the Pez museum closed in July 2019]. I can’t remember why I had an inkling to search for this bit of oddness, but it proved worth every dollar we spent on it ($3/per person). Much to my surprise, Ann knew about some of the Pez history, as Pez originated in Linz, Austria, where one strain of her family originated.

2014-04-18-pez-guide

The owner and museum guide.

Continue reading

 
To Top

Pics from Charles

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

Charles note this photo is from 1943. That’s pretty clear in any language.

Morto

 
To Top

Canfield Wrecker Rapid River, MI on **SOLD**

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

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay for $999.

These sure don’t appear for sale often.

canfield-wrecker3 canfield-wrecker2 canfield-wrecker1canfield-wrecker4 canfield-wrecker5

“Vintage slide in wrecker unit. made by canfield. was on a jeep truck.Turn your pickup truck or jeep into a tow truck. Goes in pickup box. Factory made. I know the last two owners. This was purchased used in 1967 or 1968. I don’t know the year of manufacture. This has been on a 3/4 ton jeep, a new 1975 chevy 3/4 ton and a 1996 dodge 3/4 ton.

Continue reading

 
To Top

April 18th: No Updates Until Later Saturday

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

UPDATE: See all of April 18th’s activities here

We had a great day. There was Monopoly, Pez, Ramen with Dan, and sunset drinks at the Distillery in Moss Beach with my friend Jack. So, more on Friday’s adventure at some point Saturday. For now, I have this one pic. I don’t drink often, but when I do, it is a martini, next to a fire pit, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, as the sun sets. That’s a good way to end the day.

2014-04-18-mossbeach

 
To Top

Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi

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

<– Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats  | OVERVIEW | Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun  –>

I had big plans for today — a trip out to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, a walk through downtown Santa Cruz, and an excursion to the Mysterious Mystery spot.

Alas, all that was put aside as I wore a path between the bed and the toilet. Was it the sushi or the artichokes? Who knows, but something didn’t agree with my stomach this morning.

I felt much better by the afternoon. We even made it to dinner the Santa Cruz Diner for dinner (though I had breakfast), which has appeared on a number of food shows.

2014-04-17-ann-santacruz-diner

That’s a mural inside the restaurant. Ann was concerned the mermaid might get her! BTW, she is the understanding wife who hadn’t combed her hair yesterday. She’ll do anything for a photo!

Tomorrow, our plans to locate the worlds largest Monopoly board, visit the Pez Museum, and visit with Dan and see his Traveller will still occur.

One thing I did have time to do today was plot the remainder of our trip. The top is cut off, but I’ll provide that later on in the trip.

2014-map-home

<– Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats  | OVERVIEW | Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun  –>

 
To Top

Cross Country Jeepster Tour

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

Jeepster Jim is driving across the southern portion of the USA. He left St. Augustine, Florida, April 6th and will arrive at Imperial Beach, California, April 24th. Learn all about it here:

http://www.jeepstertrip.com

2014-jeepster-jim-trip

I put together this map of their trip based on their itinerary. As of the 18th they ought to be near Tucson, AZ.2014-jeepster-jim-trip2

 

 
To Top

Truck Trend article on the Rubicon Trail

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

One of our stops will be in Georgetown, CA, to see the Jeep Jamboree hometown. I’m not quite sure if we’ll see much at all, but we’ll be close enough that I gotta go.

Here’s a Truck Trend article that includes a variety of vintage Jamboree jeeping photos. Most appear to be downloadable in high resolution, too.

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/consumer/163_1310_the_rubicon_trail/

truck-trend-rubicon-photo

 
To Top

Dirt x Dirt Article about Jeep Jamboree founder Mark Smith

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

Speaking of the Jamboree, Dirtxdirt.com has a good article about Jeep Jamboree founder Mark Smith and his collection of jeeps. http://dirtxdirt.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-mark-smith-collection-founder-of.html

This video link is included as well. Note that during the video Mark is mentioning his Bantam jeep, but the video shows a Ford GP.

http://youtu.be/SHqUam6TO6o

 
To Top

Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats

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

<– Day 27 –Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey  | OVERVIEW | Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi –>

2014-04-16-castroville-artichokes3

World’s largest artichoke in Castroville

Monterey was our launch point today. Before we headed north, Ann submitted a request to re-photograph the western side of Fisherman’s wharf. It took a few wrong turns, a couple mistakes, and dumb luck to find a good spot from which to take the photos she wanted. That’s where we discovered a memorial to Father Juniper Serra (he was news to me) who was responsible for forming a variety of spanish missions along the coast of California. Unfortunately, he’s seems pretty forgotten in his current spot on Monterey.

2014-04-16-monterey-father

2014-04-16-monterey-morning

A hazy Monterey morning.

With photographs snapped, we continued toward our second goal, Castroville.

2014-04-16-monterey-scottsvalley-map

Our drive from Monterey to Scotts Valley, Ca, on Wednesday.

As we approached Castroville, the highway was lined with never-ending fields. It had been six years since I’d seen these fields, as I used to live just north of them in Aptos, California. I’d driven through the fields many times and seen folks working the fields no matter the weather. It always looks like hard work, often they are hunched over for hours. Hoodies are a popular item, as they are loose, flexible and offer sun protection. Whether hot or cold, field hands wear them.

2014-04-16-castroville-fields1 2014-04-16-castroville-fields2

Eventually, we arrived in Castroville. Apparently, Castroville is famous for two things. 1) it is the birthplace of Norma Jean and 2) It is the self-proclaimed artichoke capitol of the world and holds an artichoke festival every year.

Norma Jean and artichokes came together in 1948 when Norma was named the very first honorary Artichoke Queen. History would show that such an honor didn’t keep Norma from leaving Castroville nor did it keep her from changing her name to the more familiar Marilyn Monroe.

2014-04-16-castroville2

2014-04-16-castroville-produce

We didn’t travel to Castroville to learn more about Marilyn, but rather to find the world’s largest artichoke. The area surrounding Castroville provides 75% of the domestically grown artichoke crop. The other 25% is grown in other areas of California.The unusual thing about the artichoke plant is it is basically a weed, a type of thistle. But, a yummy thistle it is!

The town of Castroville is pretty small, so it wasn’t hard to spot a giant artichoke once when we arrived (see photo at the top of the post).

We took some photos. Then, Ann spotted ‘Fried Artichokes’. She’d never had them, so we set about having some for an early lunch. We also added an order of spinach and artichoke dip. Life was good!

2014-04-16-castroville-artichokes1

Fried artichoke hearts

2014-04-16-castroville-artichokes2

Spinach and artichoke dip

Continue reading

 
To Top

Day 27 – Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey

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

<– Day 26 –Apr. 14th: Gorditas Make Me Sleepy  | OVERVIEW | Day 28 – Apr. 16th: Artichokes and Sushi Boats –>

2014-04-15-wharf3Today we didn’t do much but relax and wander around Monterey on a mostly cloudy day. Monterey has two wharfs, one more tourist-oriented and one more local-oriented. We started at the latter by grabbing some clam chowder at the Sandbar & Grille Restaurant. The chowder tasted good, but had a too many potato chunks and too few clams.

2014-04-15-monterey-map

After lunch we got on our tourist vibe with a walk to the other more notable wharf.

2014-04-15-wharf-signThe ‘tourist’ wharf even had an unofficial greeter:

2014-04-15-wharf1

It doesn’t look like his fishing is faring to well.

2014-04-15-wharf4

Visitors strolling the wharf.

2014-04-15-wharf2

At the end of wharf Ann got busy with her camera, so I got busy photographing her.

As we left the wharf I decided to see if YELP could find an interesting ice cream place. Sure enough, YELP found Kai Lee Creamery in Pacific Grove. So, we headed west until reaching the cannery row area, with some recognizable places.

2014-04-15-monterey-canning3 2014-04-15-monterey-canning2

2014-04-15-monterey-canning

Kai Lee Creamery was started six months ago by Butch Adams who had no experience in the industry. His goal is to make ice cream that is organic, gluten-free, non-soy, all-natural, vegetarian, and handmade.

Continue reading

 
Comments Off on Day 27 – Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey  •  FavoriteLoadingAdd to favorites
To Top

Oscar’s Visit to Colombia

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

Oscar Skold was in Colombia last month. He shot these photos for us (at least that’s the way I’d like to think of them).

He reports, “I know most of these are not actually Willys jeeps but nevertheless a very cool encounter while I was visiting Colombia a month ago. They use most of these old jeeps as taxis and you see them everywhere. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera to shoot all that I saw but these pics gives you an idea what a great country this is to travel around in. We were mostly in the Medellin area and south, down to a town called Roldanillo.”

P1010703 P1010761 P1010780 P1010781P1010664 P1010665

Continue reading

 
To Top

October 1950 Rare APU Press Photos on eBay

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

Marc forwarded these photos.

View all the information on eBay

1950-apu-photo1

1950-apu-photo2

 
To Top

1945 French Postcard w/Jeep on eBay

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

I bet she loves him just for his jeep.

View all the information on eBay

1945-french-baby-postcard1

Continue reading

 
To Top

Day 26 – Apr. 14th: Gorditas Make Me Sleepy

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

<– Day 25 – Apr. 13th: Port Why-Knee-Me | OVERVIEW | Day 27 – Apr. 15th: Strolling Monterey –>

2014-04-14-pch1

Henry is looking toward the coast on our way from Paso Robles to Highway 1.

Today’s goal was to drive Highway 1 north to Monterey, California.

2014-04-14-pismo-monterey-map

Today we drove from Arroyo Grande – Pismo Beach area to Monterey.

We started off this morning with a quick visit to Pismo Beach to say we’d been there and done that. One thing we didn’t do was give into the temptation for some pastries from Old West Cinnamon Rolls, though my mouth sure watered as we passed their store front.

2014-04-14-pismobeach

Pismo Beach pier.

After a short walk on the Pismo Beach pier, we drove north to Paso Robles to visit the highly recommended Pioneer Museum. When we arrived, I discovered that I hadn’t read the fine print; it was only opened Thursday through Sunday.  Still, there were a few exhibits outside, so we entertained ourselves for a little while.

2014-04-14-pioneer-museum1

The front of the Pioneer Museum. Me wondering how I missed the fact that the museum is only opened from Thursday-Sunday

2014-04-14-pioneer-museum2

Ann took the news of the museum’s closure pretty well. I only stayed in jail for a little while.

2014-04-14-pioneer-museum3

I got a little worried when she found this witch’s pot and began uttering the words “Double Double Toil and Trouble“.

2014-04-14-pioneer-museum4

If you travel anywhere along the coast you are likely to run across signs with bells for El Camino Real, one of the early roads through California. Bells were added along the route at the turn of the 19th century.

Continue reading

 
To Top

Day 25 – Apr. 13th: Port Why-Knee-Me

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

<– Day 24 – Apr. 12th: Dan’s FCs and The Lost Romanian | OVERVIEW | Day 26 – Apr. 14th: Gorditas Make Me Sleepy –>

2014-04-13-dinner

Dinner off of Hwy 1 overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After all the craziness of the northern LA traffic, we found a peaceful spot for some dinner with a postcard-perfect view.

Our first objective on Sunday was to grab a bagel at the Old New York Deli & Bakery Company in Newberry Park, California. I’d spotted the bagelry when it delivered some bagels for an event at the Hampton Inn where we stayed Saturday night. They looked so good, that I made the bagel place a must stop. Thankfully, the bagels didn’t disappoint. They were chewy and tasty. If you are in the area, give them a try.

2014-04-13-newberrypark-pismo-map

A map of our trip from Thousand Oaks to Pismo Beach.

From Newberry Park, we drove to Port Hueneme to visit the new Seabees museum. If are like me, you are unsure how to pronounce the name of that Port. I learned it is pronounced Port Why-Knee-Me, named for a local tribe. Again, Hueneme = Why-Knee-Me

On the way to the museum we encountered this terrible fire. Ann determined it had been a medical building (we pulled up to a gas station to fill up while watching the action).

2014-04-13-fireWe put the fire behind us and soon arrived at the new Seabee museum. Unlike the old location (which is the only address we had), the new address does not require access to the Naval Base, making it less of a hassle for non-military visitors to visit the museum. It’s very easy to spot the museum by the large “Seabee” out front:

2014-04-13-seabee1

You can see Henry parked in the background.

The beautiful new building apparently replaced some leaky, smaller buildings. The entrance sure looked welcoming:

2014-04-13-seabee2Inside the building is a spacious lobby where a change in exhibits was in progress:

2014-04-13-seabee3This was a creative use of landing grates:

2014-04-13-seabee4There were several rooms that shared the history of the Navy’s civil engineering program. One question we had was how did the Seabee’s originate and get their name? The answer involved the problem of civil engineers fighting in a war.

Continue reading

 
To Top

Newberry Park’s Jungle Land

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

http://www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=197

jungleland-newberrypark-ca

 
To Top

FC-Camper Transformed by ROAM

• CATEGORIES: FC150-FC170-M677, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Tom from ROAM reported (see comments) that this camper FC was a custom installation. He noted that the camper was unsalvageable, so they felt it was a good candidate for something unique.  Tom plans to do a post about the camper in the future.

Here’s what it looked like when they bought it:
fc-frank-camper1

Here’s the completed project:

fc-frank-camper6

Follow the whole build here: http://roamauto.com/1960-willys-jeep-forward-control-fc170-build/

 
To Top

Refurbished Hamilton Pedal Jeep **SOLD**

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

UPDATE: **SOLD** It sold @ Barrett Jackson for $1100!

hamilton-toy

 
To Top

Day 24 – Apr. 12th: Dan’s FCs and The Lost Romanian

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

<– Day 23 – Apr. 11th: Vintage Cars and Campers | OVERVIEW | Day 25 – Apr. 13th: Port Why-Knee-Me –>

2014-04-12-dan-dave

Dan Horenburger and I in front of his Streamline FC Motorhome. See more pics here: http://thefcconnection.com/dan_horenberger_fc_motorhome.htm

Our home for Friday and Saturday night was the Thousand Oaks Hampton Inn. Thousand Oaks was great in part because they had some good food stores. The local Whole Foods had some sliced bison meat they sold in a warming bag (kind of like they do with chicken). Since Ann avoids beef most days (beef protein sensitivity) having some Bison was a treat for both of us!  Not only do they have food, but this small community seems to have more shopping per square foot than most. There are shops everywhere, but not many houses (that we can see) to support them all.

2014-04-12-map

Saturday we did a big loop. The drive north and west on 23/118 was particularly beautiful, due to the beautiful rocky and hilly terrain. The remainder of the drive (especially 101) was full of traffic.

On Saturday, after sleeping in late (due to being awakened by someone walking very heavy in the room above us at 4:30am), our first adventure was a meeting with Dan Horenburger, who has collected an amazing collection of Forward Controls. It was a unique treat to have him share their history with us.

Dan explained that he was brought home in an FC after being born. Clearly he caught the Willys Sickness within just a few days of his birth, the poor guy. By his mid-teens he purchased and rebuilt his first FC. By then there was no turning back, so instead of medication or therapy, he embraced it. Since then he’s spent many years searching for unique vehicles. Fortunately, his professional (carousel restoration) allowed him to travel far and wide to search for them. As you will see he’s been successful.

Here are some of the Fire FCs he owns:

2014-04-12-dan-firejeep1 2014-04-12-dan-firejeep2 2014-04-12-dan-firejeep4

He also has this rare Mobile Driller attachment on the back of an FC-170:

2014-04-12-dan-driller

Continue reading