On Friday night Ann and I both decided we were ready to head home, despite the fact there were some things we still wanted to see. But, that’s always the case. You can never see everything, so you have to enjoy what you can see. Here’s our route.
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Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City
<– Day 37 – Apr. 25th: Carson City | OVERVIEW | Day 39 – Apr. 27th: Crying Babies and Grungie Folks –>
Anyone who has met Ann knows that she has a good sense of humor. So, it probably isn’t surprising that she had all sorts of fun teasing me about driving down ‘Virginia Street’ in Reno (one of the main streets) or noting it when we arrived at Virginia City. Yes, Virginia’s name is stamped all over the Washoe Valley! [Ed Note: this is due to the book I released in 2011, Finding Virginia]
On Friday night it rained pretty hard, but by Saturday morning the rain had passed. Relieved at the partly cloudy weather, we ascended Highway 342 to Virginia City, which is in a valley surrounded by mountains. The landscape is pretty bare, except for the metal ghosts of mining operations.
We figured that given the cold and the potential rain and snow in Virginia City, there wouldn’t be many people. We hadn’t counted on a Motocross Rally! The town was packed with cars and motor homes. Just a couple of streets down from main street (actually C Street) was the start and finish of the race course. While not great timing for us, it seemed like a really great motorbike event.
Virginia City has the largest historic district in the West. The former boomtown is famous for the 1800s Comstock strike, its old west feel, tourism, and ghosts. Anyone who has watched Ghost Adventurers on the Travel Channel knows how much fun they’ve had at this city. The Washoe Club was one of the places they investigated.
The place has a wonderfully authentic, old, creaky feel to it. Check out how the water drains pour water onto the street! There was still a little bit of water dribbling from them.
I thought the Bank of America cash machine positioned underneath this Saloon was pretty funny.
Ordnance Transforms Jeep to Sedan
This post was originally published Nov 20, 2013. It shows a jeep that was altered into sedan.
UPDATE: This photograph pair was also published in the February 22, 1945, issue of the IBT Roundup (Inda-Burma Theater Roundup)
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The May 1945 issue of Popular Mechanics published this little blurb about the 8th Air Force Bomber Station’s effort to transform a jeep into a sedan using only salvaged materials.
Unique Jeeps in the June 2014 issue of JP Magazine
Art Moore let me know that the June 2014 issue of JP Magazine has an interesting article on unique vintage jeeps including the Creep (never heard of that one). I’m going to get an issue tomorrow.
Day 37 – Apr. 25th: Carson City
<– Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno | OVERVIEW | Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City –>
Well, it had to happen. After five weeks of mostly great weather, the temperatures dropped and the rain arrived. So, rather than drive to and walk through historic Virginia City, we decided to drive south from Reno and visit the Nevada State Museum, then head to our motel to do some eWillys updates.
On our way to Carson City this morning we passed this unexpected mural tribute on the side of a building to Alice Ramsey:
The Nevada State Museum was a surprising amount of fun. There was lots of Nevada history told in interesting ways, such as a rebuilt ghost ‘town’, a working Carson City coin stamp (there used to be a US Mint in Carson City) , and an underground mine in the building’s basement that was great to explore. Much of the museum of dark, so we didn’t take many photos.
This overloaded stage coach was a neat photo:
Naturally, my wife found an explosive . . .
We both really enjoyed this museum. We left the museum and decided to head to the motel; it was not the best motel experience, but that happens sometimes.
Hopefully the weather will improve for our visit to Virginia City on Saturday.
<– Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno | OVERVIEW | Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City –>
1951 Here Comes the Jeep Book by James Jonathan on eBay
UPDATE: Here’s another version of “Here Comes the Jeep” Book.
This has four wheels on the cover and back that turn.
“In excellent condition, all four wheels present and turn well, all pages nice with no writing, binding very good. Satisfaction guaranteed or return for refund.”
Empire Tractor Marlow, OK **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $650.
Finding an Empire Tractor is a rarity. Carl and I are finishing up a special post about them for eWillys sometime in May.
“Interesting little Empire tractor. These were built from left over Jeep and Willy’s parts from WWII. For the best source of information go to http://www.empiretractor.net – this one is almost complete, the engine, drive train, etc, is there. It’s missing some of the body/panels. Great project or if someone is restoring a 40’s/50’s Jeep or Willy’s, lots of good parts! $650 cash.”
Day 36 – Apr. 24th: Tire’d of Reno
<– Day 35 – Apr. 23rd: Over the Sierras | OVERVIEW | Day 37 – Apr. 25th: Carson City –>
The good part about Reno is the room rates during the week: $26 a night at the Circus Circus (great rooms for the price, too). The bad part is that Reno eats tires for lunch, which just so happens to be the time of day that we discovered one of our tires was flat.
We were pretty lazy Thursday morning. By the time we were heading to Reno’s National Automotive Museum it was noon. On the drive over I though the handling on the jeep seemed a tiny bit odd. When we arrived at the museum, I got out to check the tires. Sure enough, the front right tire was approaching flatness.
Now, you might say to me, “Dave, didn’t your fancy new jeep have a tire pressure sensor?”
By Joe, you are right! But, last winter the tire pressure sensor came on for a while, due to the severe cold. Well, yesterday the tire pressure warning lit up as we dropped down off the pass into Lake Tahoe. I pulled over to check the tires, but nothing seemed amiss. So, I figured it was a cold/altitude thing. It appears I was wrong.
So, on Thursday we found ourselves at the museum with a flat tire. Some threatening rain clouds loomed overhead. What did we choose to do? Well, visit the museum of course! I figured we could unpack the jeep to pull out the spare tire later.
The museum turned out to be outstanding. The collection represents only part of William F. Harrah’s overall collection at the time of his death in 1978, but it is still outstanding. Harrah’s collection strategy was to find cars of which only a few were made or of which only a few existed. The result is a collection that is unique and diverse. Both Ann and I had a good time looking at the vehicles, watching the demonstration engines, listening to the tv shows and music that acted as background, and reading some of the stories. I took a bunch of pics.
The museum had several jeeps, including a few for a WWII exhibit. The Jerrarri (Wagoneer plus Ferarri) was in the museum, but I figured there are enough pics of that online.
This very famous Thomas Flyer vehicle had it’s own extensive display. Neat rig and great history about the race from New York to Paris.
We only had one bad experience at the museum. That’s when Ann’s camera phone slipped from her hands while she was taking a photo. She reached to grab the falling phone, but hit it forward instead. The phone sailed through the air toward a vehicle that shall remain unmentioned. Fortunately, it narrowly missed the car, landing with an odd thud on the crushed rock. Whew!
With our museum tour finished, I had to face unpacking the jeep to remove the spare tire. Really, in the scheme of things, it wasn’t that bad, but still a pain.
After competing the swap we drove over to Les Schwab to see if they could fix the tire. After finding the leak, it was clear the tire was toast. Because the jeep is all-wheel-drive, we were forced to buy four new tires, setting us back $1000. You can imagine that hit the travel budget! Ann claimed we are the only people who can go to Reno and lose $1000 without ever entering a casino.
So, we spent the afternoon at Les Schwab waiting for our new tires to be installed. That’s not quite how we saw our day going. Our evening did end with one high note. We found a great and inexpensive Vietnamese restaurant called the Golden Flower right next to Circus Circus.
Tomorrow we plan to tour Virginia City and then drive south to Carson City to see the Nevada State Museum.
<– Day 35 – Apr. 23rd: Over the Sierras | OVERVIEW | Day 37 – Apr. 25th: Carson City –>
Jake’s jeep ‘Lil Beasty’
Jake’s jeep was handed down from his grandfather to his uncle and now to him. As you can see, it had undergone some unique modifications. Jake decided to refurbish the jeep, saving what he could of the modifications while returning other portions to a more stock look. I think it looks great. You can view higher resolution photos of this project here: http://imgur.com/a/r9dLW#0
Here’s Jake’s story:
Please as you read this take note of the doors, tub, tailgate, fenders, bumpers, windshield, cab, cab seat and maybe some other little things. I know the end product is not a STOCK cj2a but it looks good. I am trying to get info on who might have done this awesome metal work job 50+ years ago. Thanks for any info anyone can give me. 🙂
Okay, here is what I know about my great grandpa’s jeep. It is titled as a 1946 cj2a. Has the overhead valve f 134 engine in it. Had a column shift tranny but the side shifters have been welded so they cant move and a floor shifter was added. I was told he got the jeep in the 70s from a gas station in Michigan. He used it for 25 years to plow snow at a church. The plow that was used is shown in picture 1.
When he passed away my great uncle got the jeep and it sat in a barn for at least 10 years.—pictures 2-4a show this—.
We loaded the jeep up back on 2009 and that is when the project began. The jeep appears to have a custom body. Except the grill. We gt the jeep home and noticed it had heavy gauge steel. Everything is thicker then it should be except the grill.— thick fenders, body, doors and hood. They look to have been custom made by someone who knew what they where doing.
Alex’s ‘Sissy’ Bar Tip
Alex offered this tip on flatfender passenger bars, aka ‘sissy’ bars.
I see on your site quite a few CJ2 or 3 A and even GPW-MBs with “sissy bars” mounted on the dashboards (see photo of red Jeep).
A few years ago, while teaching my niece how to drive, I was in the passenger seat and she drove off a bridge where we fell 9 feet into a dry creek. I got lightly wounded, no problem. The Jeep survived OK.
And here is my point : if I had installed the sissy bar on the dashboard, I today would be for the rest of my life in a wheel chair with exploded knees, because it is just the right heigth to smash them in case of accident (which is not the case in the CJ3 B or CJ5 as their dashboards are quite higher).
Thus to prevent body harm, I recommend to all those who have these grab bars mounted on above mentioned Jeep’s dashboards to move them higher, onto the windshield (see photo of my yellow CJ3 A), where they actually are much more useful.
Day 35 – Apr. 23rd: Over the Sierras
<– Day 34 – Apr. 22nd: Old Town Sacramento | OVERVIEW | Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno –>
Reno was our goal on Wednesday, but not before a few stops along the way.
We started by taking I-80 east, turning off at Auburn, then following highway 49/193 as it wound into the Sierras towards Georgetown, the western gateway to the Rubicon Trail. The drive is delightful, with trees, valleys and mountains all around. Many of the turns are tight and slow, but we weren’t in a hurry.
We knew we’d arrived at the right location when we spotted a “Jeep Jamboree USA” building. We hopped out and peered in the windows. Nobody was home, but there were several vehicles, including Mark Smith’s green CJ-3A and yellow Jeepster. We would have taken photos, but the glass was kind of dark.
As we pondered the vehicles inside the building, a truck pulled up near us. The driver got out and he too peered into the windows. We got to talking and it turned out he was a retail rep for YETI coolers named JD Holt. He handles the area south of the Oregon border all the way to Bakersfield. He explained that YETI is trying to penetrate the Northwest better. I explained that sounded like some of my readers would appreciate. After some discussion, he told me he’d set me up with a cooler at good price so I could test and report on it. Sounded like a deal to me, so we’ll be arranging that after we return home [Ed Note: I never did hear from him … we ended up buying a Bison Cooler, which has since changed company names].
Day 34 – Apr. 22nd: Old Town Sacramento
<– Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More | OVERVIEW | Day 35 – Apr. 23rd: Over the Sierras –>
During the spring of 2013 my son Karson visited Old Town Sacramento and said it was a great area of the city. Ann and I didn’t know for sure what to expect when we arrived there today, but we came away pleasantly surprised.
We began the day at the California Auto Museum located just a little south of the Old Town Sacramento area. Much of the museum’s collection came from Edward Towe, a Montana banker who assembled a large collection of Fords in Deer Lodge, Montana (some of his collection is still there at the Montana Auto Museum). That explains why many of the early vehicles and artifacts are related to Ford.
I felt like the museum started strong, with some good explanations and backgrounds. The exhibit is organized on a timeline, starting with some very early Fords.
The demonstration of how/why a ring and pinion developed was particularly well done. There was a video (see below the picture of the R&P machine) of the R&P and played above a hands-on example that people could spin by hand. Well done!
The Johnson’s 2014 Moab Adventure
Jim provided a report on his family’s 2014 Moab adventure.
He writes, “Here are some pics of our adventures at the Easter Jeep Safari. We all faired pretty good. The 1953 CJ-3B ended up breaking a rear axle on Kane creek, but with Russ’s many years of Willys driving experience he was able to finish the trail with it. The 1947 CJ-2A blew the balls out of the front axle but due to Jakes finely tuned Willys repair knowledge he was able to make a quick repair. And my 1962 CJ-5 suffered and broken headlight and a scratch down the side from a scrub oak.(that’s what I get for wheelin and texting). All in all it was a great trip and we can’t wait for next year.”
Airborne Lightweight Jeeps @ Warjeeps.com
Mark just posted an article on Airborne Jeeps I wrote at war jeeps.com. It’s an updated version of an airborne post I wrote a couple years ago. Check it out:
http://warjeeps.com/articles/LightWeightAirborneJeeps/lightweight-airborne-jeeps.html
Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More
<– Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa | OVERVIEW | Day 34 – Apr. 22nd: Old Town Sacramento –>
Fun day today! We met some great people and had a beautiful drive through the Sonoma and Napa areas.
The morning began with a trip down to Tree Line Teardrop Trailers in Petaluma where we met Tom and Paty Perkins. You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TreelineTeardrops.
Tom had contacted me a few months ago about finding a flat fender. He’d explained that the first vehicle he’d driven was his dad’s CJ-2A. So, he was interested in finding another one. As we exchanged emails, I learned he was building teardrop trailers. Fascinated by them, we agreed that Ann and I would stop by during our trip.
Paty and Tom quickly made us feel at home as they showed us the two different trailers in their driveway, one an off road version and one a lightweight (700lb) road cruiser that was being picked up by the new owner that day. One look at both of the trailers and it is easy to see how well made they are. This reflects Tom’s background in construction and finish work. Both Ann and I were very impressed, from the quality of the workmanship and materials, to the choices in stove top (high quality, sturdy, high btu burners) and portable fridge (ARB). Each trailer is built to order by Tom.
Perhaps the best selling point was how easy it was for Ann to climb inside. The doorways are wide and even with Ann’s bad knee and brace, she had no problem slipping inside. So sold is Ann, that she’s reviewing each trailer option as I type this.
Thanks to Tom and Paty for sharing the trailers, the bees, the chickens and more!
CJ-3B Coffee Bar in Colombia
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.
Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa
<– Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun | OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Apr. 21st: Tom, Paty, Sparky, Bill, Lucy, Snoopy, Charlie, Linus, and More –>
Today we enjoyed a relaxing morning and afternoon with Ann’s cousin in Belmont.
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.
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 –>
Lost your Key to a Hardtop or Something Else? Try Lostakey.net
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.
1948 Willys Overland Dealer Wagon Poster 44-1/2 x 29-1/2 Inches on eBay
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.”
1949 Photos of Band Leader Jeep on eBay
Round Ashtray with Jeep Stamp on eBay
Day 30-31 – Apr.18th-19th: Bay Area Fun
<– Day 29 – Apr. 17th: Revenge of the Sushi | OVERVIEW | Day 32 – Apr. 20th: A Sunday Drive to Santa Rosa –>
Happy Easter Everyone! We found this bunny especially for the occasion!
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.
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.
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.
Pics from Charles
Canfield Wrecker Rapid River, MI on **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay for $999.
These sure don’t appear for sale often.
“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.
April 18th: No Updates Until Later Saturday
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.