Here’s a pure utility custom wrecker from WWII.
“1945- U.S. troops sit in the “jeep wrecker” they created and with which they tow in jeeps that have run into trouble on the Western Front.”
Here’s a pure utility custom wrecker from WWII.
“1945- U.S. troops sit in the “jeep wrecker” they created and with which they tow in jeeps that have run into trouble on the Western Front.”
<– Day 20 – Apr. 8th: California Adventure w/ Mrs. Soggy Bottom | OVERVIEW | Day 22 – Apr. 10th: Balboa Island and Pier –>
Most of this week Ann and I stayed with Josh and his wife Quinn. Josh is a long time friend of mine that I haven’t seen in nearly four years (and had yet to meet Quinn and their new son Jacob). So, we spent a couple evenings having a few drinks and catching up (yes, probably more important than even eWillys!). I even got a chance to do some cooking: poached salmon in a mushroom stock with rice pilaf for dinner and some eggs benedict with hollandaise made, in part, from a vinegar/shallot reduction (best hollandaise I think I’ve ever made from scratch — sorry, no pics).
On Wednesday April 9th Ann and I made it back to Anaheim for day two of our Disney adventure, this time on the Disneyland side. It was a good day and we stayed until the very end to watch the water show and fireworks. I can’t imagine the coldest of hearts doesn’t feel their inner child peak out as disney music booms from the speakers while the water shows, dancing, and fireworks fire up the imagination. Here are a few pics:
After a thorough exploration of the park, I concluded there are no jeeps on the premises. However, during the Jungle ride, I am pretty sure I spotted an upside down Mighty Mite. Though I couldn’t positively prove this was the case, after Googling it, I discovered there are pics of a Mighty Mite from the Disney World Jungle Cruise on the G503 site. I guess I’ll just have to go back and investigate more . . .
<– Day 20 – Apr. 8th: California Adventure w/ Mrs. Soggy Bottom | OVERVIEW | Day 22 – Apr. 10th: Balboa Island and Pier –>
Sandy Cone and John Ulfeldt built a racing Jeepster back in the 1970s that was highly successful. Now the Jeepster is being rebuilt back to its original specs. Learn more about this unique rebuild at the racejeepster site: http://racejeepster.com/Race_Jeepster/Welcome.html
Buz forwarded this photo from the East Carolina University archives. The photo is dated June 09, 1962, and shows National Guard vehicles from Pitt County, NC.
Looks cold.
“You are bidding on an original 7 x 9 press photo of Tokyo Japan Army Jeeps at 5th Air Force HQ, covered in snow as the heaviest snow in more than 20 years blanketed Tokyo. Photographer Tom Shafer. Dated 2/12/1946.”
Marc discovered these two technical manuals that discuss Jerry Cans.
<– Day 19 – Apr. 7th: From McDonald’s to Ruby’s | OVERVIEW | Day 21 – Apr. 9th: Day 2 at Disneyland –>
Our goal for today was simple: Go to Disneyland’s California Adventure Park. This was made possible by the kind donation of a reader who wishes to remain anonymous coupled with Disney’s active military only three-day $129 park hopper pass. That pass allowed us to do one park yesterday (California Adventure) and one park today (Disneyland). (how is she still active military you wonder? The Air Force refuses to release her fully from duty because of what she did with them).
Even better, because Ann can’t stand for long periods of time, Disney’s handicap system provides us a way to avoid standing in lines for the ‘fast pass’ tickets. I won’t go into explaining how the Disney Fast Pass vs the standard waiting line vs the single line vs the handicap line all differ from one another, because it does get a little confusing. But, I do have to thank Disney for making the experience possible for Ann (and others).
Now, why am I calling her Mrs. Soggy Bottom? Because we made the mistake of riding the Grizzly Water Ride as our second ride. She got his with a lot of water, causing her shorts to get wet. It was she who called herself Mrs. Soggy Bottom 🙂
The “Cars” ride was by far our favorite. It starts as a typical ride, but then turns into a road race. Pretty fun! What I found most amazing about this ride was the rock wall over and behind it. The rock looks so real and is enormous (see second pic — huge!!). I’m sure it is fiberglass/plastic/cement . . . but the paint, and look, down to the dirt at the bottom of one of the faux mesas’s, was incredible.
Some other pics:
Tomorrow go back for a second day. This time we will go later and stay late to see the evening water show.
<– Day 19 – Apr. 7th: From McDonald’s to Ruby’s | OVERVIEW | Day 21 – Apr. 9th: Day 2 at Disneyland –>
Several people have asked about the history of the “6” nose piece. Anyone know how many and the time frames they were produced?
Tim shared this small bit of news from beachtreenews.com
“Around 4:19pm on Wednesday afternoon a vehicle went through Lindsey’s Market on Hwy 79. Michael L. Hutchison (DOB 3/1/81) of Oak Ridge Road, claims that a van stopped in front of him and he could not stop, so he left the road, went through the parking lot, and into the building. Hutchison is lodged in the Butler County Jail and charged with operating a vehicle on a suspended/revoked, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of Alcohol/Drugs, .08, first offense, and possession of marijuana.”
<– Day 18 – Apr. 6th: Wurlitzer to Wigwam | OVERVIEW | Day 20 – Apr. 8th: California Adventure w/ Mrs. Soggy Bottom –>
On Monday we and my ‘squaw’ awoke in our ‘teepee’ to a beautiful morning. The $70 we paid for a night at the Wigwam was a splurge for us, but we slept well and enjoyed the uniqueness of the experience.
Our first task of the day was to visit San Bernardino’s contribution to the world: The very first McDonalds in 1948. It turns out the ‘birth’ story of McDonald’s are actually two stories, the official McDonald corp stance and the actual truth. Thankfully, the founder of the Pollo Loco restaurants in Southern California has saved this original history (despite McDonald corp efforts to tell a different story). Even better, he’s made the museum free. Now, I wouldn’t drive hours out of my way to visit this, but if you are near San Bernardino, it is worth a short detour in my opinion.
According to the McDonald corp, the first McDonald’s was started by Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, IL. It turns out that, yes, the Des Plaines location was the first McDonald’s Kroc started. But he launched that one as a franchisee of the McDonald brothers. It wasn’t until 1955 that Kroc bought out the McDonald Brothers and gained control of the business. Here’s some fast-food info:
Paul just purchased this early Maverick. Note the emblems on the side. He believes it was blue and white. Though the red paint isn’t the best, he says everything else looks real good.
UPDATE: Was $2250. **SOLD**
This is different.
“I made this one of a kind TV stand / bookshelf / hall table, using the remains of a REAL WWII Jeep! These are not replica parts. I’m down in Houston, but I will be traveling to the Ft. Worth area very soon, so delivery is not out of the question. The Jeep’s hood opens so you can display items behind the grille. Please feel free to ask questions.”
<– Day 17 – Apr. 5th: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor | OVERVIEW | Day 19 – Apr. 7th: From McDonald’s to Ruby’s –>
We began the morning driving the I-10 to the El Capitan theatre (owned by Disney) at the heart of Hollywood. It wasn’t all clear to me how this would play out, but somehow we were going to hear Rob Richards play on one of the last five remaining “Fox Specials”, of which Farny Wurlitzer, a relative of mine, once said were his masterpieces.
Rob was kind enough to email me back in December to tell me he’d welcome our presence at the theatre so we could meet and he could play for us. How could I pass that up? So we agreed to meet on Sunday for a 12:40pm show. I didn’t quite understand it at the time, but Rob would play music on the organ as people streamed into the theatre prior to the movie (which today was the Muppets).
At the agreed upon time, Rob whisked us inside (comped tickets no less — how do these things happen to me?) and began playing for just Ann and I. He bounced between various disney songs as the pipes and bells and whistles bellowed from the right and left of the front row.
Colin shared these photos of Jim’s restoration. Looks great!
Colin writes, “Here are a few of photos of Jim Sullivan’s 1961 DJ3A Dispatcher. The restoration on this little Jeep is fresh, like a month old now! I will include a couple of photos of it when Jim bought it from Bob Tomson about 5 years ago and then a few that I took yesterday morning in front of an Ice Cream shoppe and antique store in Glendale AZ.
The engine and transmission were both rebuilt, all new wiring, upgraded upholstery, floor mats, carpet in the rear compartment, and a 1950s Willys Jeepster/station wagon steering wheel were added. It has 15 inch powder coated wheels, but small VW size tires. The paint is 1959 Ford truck blue, which is the same as Pepsi Cola blue. It has the stock small hubcaps with the raised “W” in the middle.
It has what appears to all of us familiar with it, a reinforcing metal channel on top of the hood, right down over the center seam , which looks like it might have been a factory approved or even a factory installed item (See last photo). It looks too good to be an aftermarket or homemade deal. There weren’t any modifications showing to the underside of the hood and it appears to have been spot welded to the hood. A professional looking addition, regardless of how it came to be there.”
Pics of Jim’s DJ-3A before the restoration:
<– Day 16 – Apr. 4th: The Borrego Springs Jeep | OVERVIEW | Day 18 – Apr. 6th: Wurlitzer to Wigwam –>
We didn’t do a lot today. I got caught up on emails and ewillys, worked out (trying to do a better job of that this trip), and relaxed. We also slept. A lot.
Oh yeah, we also ate some ice cream, too. At a Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor no less (Ed Note, as of Dec 2020, the site is no longer live).
When Ann and I were kids Farrell’s was the place to go for birthday parties (Me in Renton, She in Pasco). Farrell’s was loud, crazy and sugarlicious. Then in the mid-1980s Farrell’s closed quickly. The reasons for the closures are hinted at in this history of Farrells: http://www.farrellsusa.com/history-of-fun.php
So, when Ann found a brochure for Farrell’s in the lobby of our hotel, she got very excited. After unsuccessfully trying to convince me that we should have Farrell’s ice cream for breakfast, we agreed to go yesterday afternoon. Even better, it was located on old Route 66 (not that there’s anything left over from the original Route 66).
Though the wait was long, we enjoyed ourselves. The place still captured the spirit and look of the original Farrell’s. There is still the famous Zoo on the menu (feeds hordes of children). The sounds of birthday songs and drum banging reverberated throughout the restaurant. The ice cream was better than dairy queen, but certainly no Zingers. But, that’s okay. It’s all about the fun and about recapturing good memories from bygone youthful days.
Sunday we get to hear a Mighty Wurlitzer Organ and receive a short, behind the scenes tour of it.
<– Day 16 – Apr. 4th: The Borrego Springs Jeep | OVERVIEW | Day 18 – Apr. 6th: Wurlitzer to Wigwam –>
Robert sent this wonderful note to me. He asked me to share it in case it motivates others with their projects.
My name is Robert and I am writing to thank you for hosting ewillys because it has had a great impact on my life. My father and I decided to get away from the rock crawling scene and build an old willys jeep with a small block Chevy motor because my father was a GM mechanic in the 80’s. However, being from Pennsylvania almost all old jeeps have fallen victim to the rust of the northeast, and as a result, finding a willys worth having was no easy task. After several failed trips to purchase potential projects I stumbled onto ewillys and my father and we decided to purchase a jeep from the west coast.
My father called on over 50 ads from your site and eventually got a call back from the owner of a 1942 GPW with a SBC 305 in Portland, Oregon. The seller was willing to deal with shipping the jeep! Therefore, in early December of 2010, we blindly purchased the jeep sight unseen and prayed it would eventually arrive at the house. The jeep arrived at our house in Pennsylvania a few days before Christmas! The truck driver spoke very little English, but did advise that the jeep ran very poorly and had almost no brakes at all. However, a few negatives could not overcome to excitement my father and I shared upon confirmation that we had not wired some stranger thousands of dollars for a mythical willys, and the jeep was wonderful.
After the long awaited arrival of the GPW we decided to that even though the gas tank said “remove from boat when fueling,” and the seats were mounted on handy angle we would test the brakes and drive the jeep if at all possible. We determined that we could take a short drive down the cul-de-sac since I could not physically push the jeep when the brakes were applied. As we drove in front of the house the transmission was screaming louder than the motor and steering column was far from safe. That being said, we had to see what a barely running 305 would do in the light willys jeep. Therefore, taking the condition of the jeep into consideration it felt like we were flying when we came back past the house. We began to slow the jeep far before the stop sign and made the turn into our drive way to end our first drive. To our surprise, when my father depressed the clutch pedal to the floor the clutch did not disengage, and as you can imagine this quickly became problematic because the one brake that was sort of working could not even begin to slow the v8. This put us on a crash course with the garage door! Fortunately, my dad is quick on his feet and killed the ignition in the nick of time which allowed us to stop before hitting the house.
Here’s a few wide ranking pics from Charles.
Charles spotted the of photo of this jeep from Lithuania. It turns out the jeep is in the Vilnius Energy and Technology Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania. According to the sign next to it the jeep is a 1943 MB. The facility also appears to have an interesting car collection. You might want to drop by the next time you visit Vilnius.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Marc found these photos of Israeli Commandos in CJ-2As
2.
<– Day 15 – Apr. 3rd: Joshua Tree National Park | OVERVIEW | Day 17 – Apr. 5th: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor –>
We spent Thursday night in downtown Palm Desert. I’d like to explore it more some day, but on Friday morning we had no time to see it. Instead, we had a specific mission: find the jeep sculpture in Borrego Springs, California.
Before leaving Palm Desert, more food was needed and, after some googling, we landed at Jensens. One look at the deli case — lobster pot pie, sliced medium rare lamb, and more — we knew we’d better tread carefully, or we wouldn’t have any money left for the remainder of the trip. We couldn’t resist a few slices of lamb, but did pass on the lobster pot pie (Drats! I really wanted to know how that tasted).
Ready for our trip into the desert, we drove east before turning south. The highway took us down the western side of the Salton Sea. Back in my Manyone Network (circa 2006 and pre-eWillys) days I worked with a group to develop a portal about the unique aspects of the area. I’d always wanted to see the sea in person and finally got that chance today. While I’d seen it in photos, it is much bigger in person than I’d imagined.
When we reached Salton City, we began our trek west to Borrego Springs, but part way along our journey we discovered a bit of jeeping nirvana: Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. First, we spotted a sign for a “4×4 Obstacle Road”.
<– Day 14 –Apr. 2nd: It is Cold, Windy and Raining . . . This is the Mohave Desert? | OVERVIEW | Day 16 – Apr. 4th: The Borrego Springs Jeep –>
Our goal today was to make a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park and then hit a motel in Palm Desert early, so we could rest and wash some clothes.
However our quick trip to the park turned into a four-hour stay, between a long hike and the long drive through the park. Part of the delay was my fault, as I took a bunch of photos:
Joshua has two entrances on the north side and one on the south side. We planned to enter via the northwest entrance out of the city of Joshua Tree. There’s a good visitors center at that location, so I’d recommend starting there. The visitor’s center also isn’t far from this Willys Truck that is hawking firewood.
Tom Sterndale had a couple questions: I have just become aware that there are two types of accelerator linkages from pedal to carberator. One has a pivot pin on the lifter cover and up over the valve cover. The other is mounted to the rear of the engine and work the carb. from the right side of the motor.
1. Is the carb. the same with linkage attaching at same place?
2. When were each used?
<– Day 13 – Apr 1st: From Scottsdale AJs to Seligman Sundries | OVERVIEW | Day 15 – Apr. 3rd: Joshua Tree National Park –>
On Wednesday we began the morning by driving to the Route 66 Museum at the old power station in downtown Kingman.
On our way, there were more classic motels, but one in particular caught our attention. There was much more going on at this hotel — murals and themed rooms — but our photos didn’t turn out very good.
After many photographs, we finally made it to the two floor power station. Downstairs you’ll find a gift shop and visitor’s center. Upstairs is the entrance to the museum where we purchased our tickets. The cashier was an older gentleman who at first seemed gruff and bothered by our presence, but then warmed up as he got into a short presentation about how the tickets we purchased were good for three museums in the area. We also learned that active military folks get in free.
The museum tour starts with a history of the trail which proceeded the route. One of the first things I spotted was a photograph of a jeep from 1943. It’s the only jeep I saw in the place.
From there, more history unfolded: the need for good roads, the construction of Route 66, and the success of the towns following WWII, until the opening of Interstate 40 in 1984.
In the middle of the Route 66 history is a large diorama that shares Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and his use of Route 66 in the book.