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VIDEO: Engine Rebuilds…Screen Junk….Valve Problems

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

Bill shared this video of Mr. Metalshaper showing some issues he encounters while rebuilding some L-heads. Check it out on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9hRYtIv0Tk

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Howard & Ora Boyd’s Jeep Trip to South America

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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A photo from the May 30, 1959, issue of the Eugene Guard showing the FC-170 “EL Borrego” with the Boyds.

UPDATE: This series of articles was first published in 2015. I’ve updated with several additional articles and photos.

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(First published February 15, 2015) This interesting collection of news articles captures Howard & Ora Boyd’s 1958 trip in an FC to South America. The first article was published prior to the trip. The second was published during the trip. The third was published following the trip. I was only able to find one photo and it was poor at best. It may have been that the Boyd’s got the idea from the Schreiders, who did nearly the same route three years before them.

Howard Boyd died in 1993, but Ora Boyd lived until 2009, dying at the age of 106, meaning she was born around 1903. Living much of their lives near Eugene, Oregon, according to her obituary their year-long jeep trip was one of her all-time favorite memories. The obituary was published in the Talent, Oregon, Historical Society newsletter, so I’ve written them to see if we can learn more.

1. This October 31, 1958, EugeneRegister-Guard article discusses trip preparations. The Boyds had a custom camper built for their FC (though no articles mention the model of the vehicle — it looks to me like an FC based on the pic below). They named their jeep “El Borrego”.
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2. November 09, 1958 Eugene Guard .. brief article:

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3. December 14, 1958, from the Eugene Guard:

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Racer Work Resumes…

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

UPDATE: Today I removed the tube bender from its box, only to find that the collar for the tube bender had irregular holes that had been “patched” by welding two spacers to the outside of it. But, that modification meant that the bolt was no long enough, meaning one of the two sides of the collar would be riding over the threads. Given the importance of the collar, this “fix” is unacceptable, so this bender will get returned.

Below you can see that both holes are irregular, so a spacer has been welded to the outside. What are these people thinking? 
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The bolt next to the collar is the stock bolt. I happened to have a similar bolt that was longer and better for this application. However, given the poor quality collar, I will be returning this device.

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As mentioned, a couple weeks ago we had the estate sale, which consumed WAY too much of my time. First there was the setup. Then, there was the rain, so then we had to re-setup using part of the shop (which meant moving stuff out of the shop like the race jeep), hanging tarps to hide tools, etc. In the end, the rain stopped Saturday at 4am and began Sunday at 3pm, which gave us a decent window to sell stuff.

We sold or gave away quite a bit, but there were still multiple trips to donation centers, a trip to recycling, and several trips to the dump. Then, once completed, we still had to reorganize the remainder.

The good news is that a lot of crap left the shop, which gives me much more room than I’ve had. Also. good news, the weather has finally warmed up, with blue sky and no rain.

So, I finally returned to work on the racer, though the work was mostly grinding/cutting off the remaining pieces of the rear front spring holders and the former mounts of the side bars. With that done, I can now fit the new side bars.

Before:

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After:

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I’d prefer to take the whole thing apart to better clean up and paint the frame, but that can wait until winter. For now, I am focusing on functionality over style (though the green will be painted black before the body is installed).

With the grinding done, I’m not far from being able to begin work on the roll cage. The new cage will be wider (for the wider Parkette body) and roomier (so I fit better). To build the cage I needed to get some new tools.

My plasma cutter arrived a few days ago, along with my tube bender (from Affordable Bender). I was going to build another bender, but I cannot locate printed copies of my bender plans nor can I find the password to the PDF I received from gotTrikes.com (locked PDF .. and no response from the gotTrikes website for a new password). So, after some research, I decided to take a chance on the AffordableBender, which as gotten pretty good reviews.

The thing I am awaiting now is my new MIG welder, which was supposed to arrive around June the 9th. It is now expected to arrive June 29th.

 
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1960 Video From the Gold Country Classic Jeep event

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

Dave Morgan shared this video taken by his father. With some research, Dave figured out the video was from the 1960 Gold Country Classic (I like the ‘backing a trailer event’ idea; it’s something different), a jeep event held by the Sacramento Jeepers Jeep Club. There is no sound.

You can learn more here: https://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/index.php?threads/cool-video-jeep-rally-in-n-california-c-1960.24095/

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1970s Era Local Jeep Races

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

Jeep races used to be a near weekly event during the summer back in the 1970s. Below are examples of Pacific Northwest 4Wheel Drive Association (PNW4WDA) races held between 1967 and 1970 near my local Eastern Washington community.

It’s hard to believe gived the growth in the Tri Cities (an area consisting of three cities–Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, all separate by rivers) in southeast Washington that races were held near Columbia Point. Now, that area is either wetlands, parks, or homes. Here are several articles with names I’m familiar with. These races were held in conjunction with the annual Water Follies celebration, an event still being held, though without jeep races, though the unlimited hydros still run.

From the June 4, 1967, issue of the Tri Cities herald:

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An article later in the year contained some great images (July 16, 1967 Tri City Herald):

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The results of the race were reported in the July 24, 1967 issue of the Tri City herald:

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The July 20, 1969, issue included this pic from the racing:

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Two days later, the July 22, 1969, issue of the Tri City Herald published the results:

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National Museum of Military Vehicles Dubois, WY

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

If you head toward Yellowstone, but it still remains closed (roads got his pretty heavily due to rains/flooding), you might detour to the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wy. This huge collection of military vehicles includes multiple jeeps.

George Bondora posted these to FB:

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MacDonnell Aircraft Company Fire Jeeps

• CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jim shared this photo from a cookbook of the McDonnell Aircraft Company’s Fire Vehicles, including several jeeps. I tried to learn more, but my searches were a bust. Anyone recognize how the modified CJ-5 might have been used?
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Roger’s Drive to Breakfast this Morning

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

It was a beautiful morning in southwestern Ohio, so Roger took his wife’s grandkids to some breakfast this morning in his 1947 CJ-2A. it was was painted Jade Green in 1967.

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His jeep still looks as good as it did when I drove it in 2013…

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Roger’s Air-Cooled Engine

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

UPDATE: This is not for sale.

Roger shared these pics of an air-cooled engine he has. He showed it off at this year’s Willys Rally. It’s an air-cooled engine with “WILLYS” cast on the valve cover and intended for use as a generator, though he was told it was the same engine used in the M-274 Mule.

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Riding to the Rescue: A look back at LA County’s Rescue Vehicles

• CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles, Willys Trucks, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This updated post from 2012 now includes photos taken by David Carr at LA County’s Cabrillo Beach.  The three photos below are on a wall as part of a “wall-of-fame”. 

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From June 28, 2012: Over the past 100 years Los Angeles County has used a variety of vehicles to manage their beaches.  As part of a retrospective, the article below shows a few of them, along with welcoming some new hybrids into the County system.  All photos belong to LA County’s Life Guard Association.

Here are two GPWs (the pics were from a now defunct blog):

Bathing beauties were still posing on county lifeguard trucks in 1959.

Buz unearthed this CJ-2A Life Guard Jeep used by the city of Los Angeles (vs. the county).  Though the caption accompanying the jeep suggests this was war surplus, it’s clear this is a civilian rig. The rear extension is interesting, though doesn’t look neatly done.

 
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Busy Few Days

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

The Estate Sale: This past weekend’s estate sale kept us busy! Overall, it was success, but exhausting. Most importantly, we found homes for all kinds of stuff. Still, there are some dump runs and donation runs in our future, but not nearly as much as it could have been.

We have not yet sold the motorhome (my mother-in-law’s), though there was plenty of interest at the estate sale. We haven’t used it in a year and a half and don’t have plans for it, so we figured we’d sell it. We paid off the loan, so we own it free and clear.

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2014 Sun Seeker 32800 miles, winter package, built on an E450 Ford Chassis. It runs great, has lots of storage and sleeps six. It has auto-leveling, a slide out, two awnings, gas/electric fridge, and more. NADA average retail is $63,300. We are priced at $65,000.

Perhaps the next best outcome of the event was meeting neighbors who had known the builder of our place. Many had known “Merl”, some fondly and some less so, as he was “a character”. His wife must have been a patient woman!

Miraculously, the pouring rain stopped on Saturday morning at 4am, giving us a little time to remove tarps and pop-up tents. The crowds were even and steady, likely a result of it being graduation weekend (we didn’t know that). The rain stayed away until Sunday around 3pm, when it began pouring to the point of causing some flooding in places across southeastern Washington.

As for Mom’s place:

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Last pic from Mom’s place … the garage where several jeeps were built and rebuilt.

On Tuesday, we drove to mom’s place, probably for the last time, so it was a little bitter-sweet. After nearly 60 years in family hands, the property has sold. We met the buyers, who signed the papers Tuesday morning. They were a nice couple who are excited to be get the place, as it is unique.  I walked them through the property, sharing stories and pointing out things they should know, which reminded me just how much work the place needs. But, that’s no longer my problem (thankfully).

The DJ-3A: After we get the shop cleared of the remain estate items, I will install Patterson’s new fuel pump, double check a few things, then he’ll be ready for sale.

 

 
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2022 Great Willys Picnic Video

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

Bob Smith assembled these pics into a video fo the 2022 Great Willys Picnic.

 
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Willys Rally 2022 Swag

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

A big thanks to Tom for sending me some Willys Rally swag. He reports that he had another great time at this year’s Willys Rally! The pic below includes there printed posters from previous years that he sent me last month. The shirt fits great (I’m wearing it as I type this).

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Progress on the Racer

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

On Sunday I turned 57. The years seem to be churning by all too quickly! To celebrate my aging, I spent more time removing parts off both the green chassis and the black chassis (no updated pics of that). While spending time thinking and measuring how to use as much of the existing green chassis and black chassis parts as I can, I made an unexpected discovery.

The green chassis is 5 inches wider than the black chassis!. The black chassis is a standard size (29.5″ from inner side to inner side) and seems to be most likely a CJ-3A chassis. The green chassis has the side mounts for the springs and was most likely a DJ-5 chassis as some point. For whatever reason, someone decided the frame rails should be widened, so all the crossmembers were removed but one (which was simply cut and patched using angle iron). The rest of the cross members are all rectangular tubing.

Given the widening, I don’t feel the need to outboard the rear springs at this time (perhaps a winter project). Unfortunately, the wider frame rails mean that I can’t just reuse the sway bar on the back of the black chassis (though I can reuse the mounts). I just need a sway bar that is 5″ wider than the one I have.

I am awaiting the delivery of an adapter so I can try out my new YesWelder plasma cutter to clean up more of the frame and am awaiting delivery of my new MIG Hobart MVP 210 Welder (I have a very very old arc welder that’s a big workhorse on heavy metal, but I wanted something for finer work). I had considered something as cheap as the YesWelder MIG (it is well-rated, but some folks complained about support problems) and something pricier as the Miller Multimatic 215 (which came highly recommended, but may be more than I need right now), but finally decided to get something more in between.

Anyway, here are a few pics of the progress. There’s nothing particularly exciting .. just the drudgery of cutting, grinding, and smoothing areas …

The seat mounting frame (1″x1″) tubing was uneven and not the best system in my opinion, so I cut and grounded the welds flat:

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With the seat mount frame gone, you can see the floor base (also 1″x1″ square tube). It’s not welded level (ugh), so it will likely go away as well.

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The side rails needed to be replaced as they were built for the narrower body, so off they came. I also plan to do a side bar similar to the way the other frame is done (more on that later).

Also gone are the mud flaps on the back (racing requirement), as they were welded onto the inside of the rear tubes (ugh). I will cover the rear tube with plates to hide the parts welded inside, then will cut off and mount the flap system used on the other frame, which is a long tube welded under the rear bumper with flap mounts that are bolted onto the tube (again, more on that later).

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We plan to have a garage/estate sale this weekend, so work will slow for a few days. At least I will finally be able to get rid of a bunch of junk that has filled the shop. As Ann has been finalizing stuff in the house, more items have ended up in the shop, so I will be happy to have this stuff gone and have more room to work.

Finally, I am awaiting a new fuel pump for Patterson (which has taken more than 2 weeks to get here). Once that is here, I will test things out once more, then put Patterson up for sale (essentially trading up for a different jeep, but I will announce that later).

 

 

 
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CJ-6 w/ Willys-Powered Compressor at the Willys Rally

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

Tom shared a pic of this cool CJ-6 with a restored willys-engine-powered compressor in the back. It was at the Willys Rally.

2022-06-05-willys-rally-CJ-6-tom-loresHere’s a second pic that Tom took of the same jeep a few years ago:

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Disassembled the Black & Green Race Jeep

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

A couple days ago I took disassembled some of the black and green race jeep. The cage for the narrow body is tool small to be useful for me. So, I will bend my own cage, built for the yellow parkette body, and outboard the rear springs while I am at it. I will also swap out the current swing pedals for the ones on the yellow racer. Hopefully, I can get this project done by August, in time for Summer Convention. We will see….

Here is a comparison of the Parkette full-size body vs. the narrow body. The difference is enough to give a person more room at the feet (more room for gas, brake and clutch). The narrow body would probably work better for an auto transmission with just a gas pedal and brake (I prefer to have enough room to the left of the clutch to help brace myself.

The narrow body seems better built, perhaps a slightly thicker fiberglass job. The Parkette needs some reinforcement in my opinion (which I will do).

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Her’s the narrow body racer without the body. Thankfully, unlike the other racer, this cage was bolted, rather than welded, to the frame.

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Well, the seat support piece was welded to the rollcage and to the frame, but it was easy to cut. I will have a different setup for the seats. Note the broken driveline ‘safety’ loop, that wasn’t very safe. I have a much stronger one from the other chassis.

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Here is a trail run of Parkette body on the racer.

2022-06-02-race-jeep-2Besides the new roll cage and the rear springs being out-boarded, the side bar will need replacing (it was built for the narrower body). A new firewall needs to be built (it will be wider, thanks to the wider parkette body, than the current one). The steering wheel needs to be angled differently and will have a tilt column (my preference).

Thankfully, the power train can remain in tact, as will the front spring setup. So, that saves a bunch of work.

 
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A few More Pics from the Willys Rally

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

Roger shared these pics from the Willys Rally

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This scale-model toy jeep and trailer is really neat, too:

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Continue reading

 
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Roger Martin’s Photos from the Willys Rally

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

Thanks to Roger for sharing these photos from Saturday’s Willys Rally.

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This CJ-5 has a 3-point lift:2022-06-03-roger-martin-willys-rally1-lores

Continue reading

 
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More from the Willys Rally

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

UPDATE: Bill Norris shared a few pics of his jeep following the trail ride. It looks like they found a little mud. He said they had a great time.

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Chris recorded a couple more videos. Many thanks to him for doing this!

You may need to tilt your phone or computer sideways to better see this video.  This group of drivers is heading out for a trail ride.

This group of drivers is heading out for a road excursion. This one you don’t have to tilt your head…

 
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Video From 2022 Willys Rally

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

Thanks to Chris Rutherford for shooting this video showing Friday morning at the Willys Rally. In the video I saw a few familiar folks, including Cowboy near his Jeep truck and Russ’ wagon, along with Barney manning his parts booth.

For some reason, when Chris spins the camera part way through, the video doesn’t spin, so some of the video you have to tilt your head to see. No matter, the effort is greatly appreciated!

 
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1943 Letter From Soldier Run Over by Jeep on eBay

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

This letter, written by PFC Carl W. Eklund in 1943, describes how he was lying under a plane, trying to get some rare rest, when a jeep ran over his legs just above the knees. The injuries weren’t very severe and he felt he’d be recovered after a few days of rest.

Carl went on to serve as an aircraft mechanic in North Africa, then in Italy. In 1945, he received an honorable discharge and returned to Texas. Unfortunately, his brother Rudolph, who was captured in Java in 1942, died in Burma in 1944 while still in captivity.

Carl was living in Kenedy, Texas, as of 1969. I could find no updates about him after that.

View all the information on eBay

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Newgren Lift Service Bulletins from 1947

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

Barry published three rare Newgren Lift Service Bulletins created in 1947 by the Newgren Company, sent to him by Keith Buckley. Learn more at Farmjeep.com.

https://www.farmjeep.com/newgren-service-bulletins-may-1947/

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Short Dualmatic Hub Video on FB

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

Brian shared this video. I don’t have away to embed it here, so you’ll have to view it on FB. The narrator notes that the jeep has been sitting since 1994, but it only required a little oil to make them work again. The narrator concludes that because of this the design was a good one.

My only caveat on that compliment is that near the end there’s a closeup that shows how bent one of the arms is. For better or worse, the bending of the levers has been one of the weak spots of these of this design.

https://www.facebook.com/17841402371748118/videos/1430888580667593/?fs=e&s=m

Closeup of bent lever:

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2022 Midwest Willys Rally June 03-04

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

UPDATE: Don’t forget the Willys Rally this weekend!

This year’s Midwest Willys Rally is June 03-04 this year. This event takes place at Heuston Woods State Lodge in College Corner, Ohio. Learn more here: http://www.mw-willysjeep.com.

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2022 Great Willys Picnic Kempton, PA June 12th

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

UPDATE: Don’t forget that the Great Willys Picnic is next weekend.

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This year’s Great Willys Picnic occurs June 12th, 2022.

“Sunday June 12, 2022 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad located in Kempton, Pennsylvania.

The Willys Picnic will be in compliance with all regulations in effect on June 12th. Be prepared for possible changes from past events.

https://cj3a.info/picnic/