Features Research Archives

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Kennebunk Fire Dept’s CJ-2A Brush Jeep

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

Nate spotted this article in the 1st Responder Newspaper about the Kennebunk Fire Department’s 1947 CJ-2A, which is still in service.

Kennebunk-brush-fire-jeep-1947-cj2a-article-lores

There’s also a pic of the jeep on the department’s website:

Kennebunk-brush-fire-jeep-1947-cj2a-1

 
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Hand-Built Command Car Columbus, OH $300

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

UPDATE: In the comments section you’ll see a reference to another, similar Command Car on eBay. Yet, there are differences between the two. I’m not sure what’s going on with these.

Roger Martin spotted this hand built Command Car model. It is 15″ long, so it’s a good size. I told Roger that I’d buy it, but it’s not a good use of my budget.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/291299039023339

“Hand made Military Jeep by a WWII Veteran who served in North Africa. All metal Modeled after the Jeep he drove . One of a kind . Built meticulously no details left off. Great for Military collectors 15” L 7” h. 51/2 “ w .”

command-car-2 command-car-3 command-car-4 command-car-5

 
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The Jeepster Beach

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

Bill shared this announcement: Jeep has Resto-modded a Commando for Easter Jeep Safari. Jeep calls it the Jeepster Beach. According to Hemmings, it is basically a Jeepster body on a Rubicon chassis. As much as I am a believer in safety, I don’t think the roll bar works. It looks like an after thought to me. Still, it looks like a fun ride.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/03/22/now-that-jeep-has-restomodded-a-commando-for-the-easter-jeep-safari-what-heritage-models-are-left

jeepster-commando-easter-jeep-safari

 
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Barney’s 1944 Mr. Jeep Ashtray From Holland

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

Barney shared photos of this neat WWII Ashtray. Created in 1944, it celebrated the liberation of Holland prior to the end of the war.

1944-mr-jeep-holland-ashtray1-barney 1944-mr-jeep-holland-ashtray2-barney

 
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1942 Photo of Jeep Landing at Guadacanal on ebay

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

This photo captures a jeep coming ashore on Guadacanal. I tried to find this image in a newspaper, but had no luck

View all the information on eBay

1942 Press Photo U.S. Marines landing jeep ashore at Guadalcanal in World War II. This is an original press photo. Jeep comes ashore at Guadalcanal —- U.S. Marines land a jeep from a new-type landing barge during their offensive against the Japanese on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons.Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 08-30-1942″

1942-08-30-guadacanal-jeep-ashore1

1942-08-30-guadacanal-jeep-ashore2

 
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40-Year Jeepster Stickers on eBay

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

I imagine this were part of a Jeepster Club? They are priced at $29.95.

View all the information eBay

“LOT OF ( 18 ) VINTAGE UNUSED STICKERS FROM WILLYS OVERLAND JEEPSTER CONVERTIBLE 40TH YEAR 1948-1988.”

jeepster-40th-year-tags

 
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1975 DJ-5 Safari-Kar Bakersfield, CA **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: DJ-5 & DJ-6, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $11,111.

I suspect the price is just a placeholder. It’s been almost two years since the last documented Safari-Kai popped up for sale. Here’s a brochure about the short-lived Safari-Kai business.

1975-dj5-safarikar-bakersfield-ca0 1975-dj5-safarikar-bakersfield-ca1 1975-dj5-safarikar-bakersfield-ca2 1975-dj5-safarikar-bakersfield-ca3 1975-dj5-safarikar-bakersfield-ca4

“1975 Jeep DJ5. Summertime is the perfect time for open air cruising and this little Jeep gets you where you want to go in style. Like new in appearance, this 2WD AMC Jeep DJ5 was completely reconditioned 25 years ago by Safari Kar International – one of only about 500 units built. It is economical and easy to drive with a reliable AMC in-line six cylinder engine, power steering and brakes, and a floor shifted 3 speed automatic transmission.

There are less than 1500 miles on the odometer since its rebirth as it was stored for over 20 years and has just emerged to give joy to a new generation. This is a great utility vehicle with new seats, a sturdy roll bar, a bimini top to provide some shade, a flawless Shamrock Green paint job, and new floor coverings. The tires show virtually no tread wear and the 15 inch chrome Centerline rims glitter like diamonds.

This is not the kind of luxury SUV with power accessories, air conditioning, and a stereo system. It is the kind of fun machine that is perfect for beach cruising, backroad touring or just use it in the neighborhood as an eye catching grocery getter. This is the kind of vehicle that will lure lots of new friends who will want to know all about it. There is no rust and only a little bit of dust. It has always been garaged, and it starts easily and runs great. It does not have a full top or doors, but who needs ‘em? Just hop in this breezy ride and seize the day. Carpe diem!”

 
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1944 WWII Home Video W/ Jeeps From Oosterbeek, Netherlands

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

This home video (stabilized and improved by Peerklota, the person that posted it) shows the Germans fleeing and the British arriving in Oosterbeek. Lots of jeeps are shown in the film. One commenter spotted her father in the video!

In this video, the same poster visited Oosterbeek and identified several locations from the video.

 
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Fort Lewis Motors Willys Jeep Good Luck Charm on eBay

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

Maury spotted this unusual good luck charm from Fort Lewis Motors in Salem, Georgia.

View all the information on eBay

“You are bidding on an encased 1946 penny good luck charm.”

fort-lewis-motors-willys-jeep-good-luck-charm1

fort-lewis-motors-willys-jeep-good-luck-charm2

 
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1962? Mobile Motion Picture Unit Instruction Book

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

1962-just-wagon-mobile-motion-picture-unit

This booklet started out last year on ebay with a price of $279. A lack of interest caused the price to plummet until it fell into my hands. This rare mobile motion picture unit sports a Tornado engine, which places the copyright date of the instruction booklet at 1962 or 1963.

Unfortunately, attempts to research this unit further using Google result in a bunch of results related to the “First Motion Picture Unit” during World War II or the associated government archives, which while interesting, isn’t helpful to our present query.

The booklet runs about 25 pages and is mostly focused on the operation of the generator. There aren’t enough photos for me to determine whether this is a modified 4WD sedan delivery wagon or a Traveller. Most of the pics have number references; the numbers are referenced to specific parts in the back of the book.

1962-mobile-motion-picture-instructions-unit-wagon-instructions-01-lores 1962-mobile-motion-picture-instructions-unit-wagon-instructions-02-lores 1962-mobile-motion-picture-instructions-unit-wagon-instructions-03-lores 1962-mobile-motion-picture-instructions-unit-wagon-instructions-04-lores

Continue reading

 
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1950 Photo of Soldiers and Jeep in Korea on eBay

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

This press photo appeared in multiple newspapers, including the July 20, 1950, edition of the Austin Statesman.

View all the information on ebay

“AMERICAN SOLDIERS In JEEP w .50 CAL MACHINE GUN In KOREA 1950 Press Photo. Size is approximately 7×9 to 8×10 inches. If significantly smaller or larger the specific size will be accurately described.”

1950-07-20-austin-statesmean-soldiers-jeep-50-cal-1 1950-07-20-austin-statesmean-soldiers-jeep-50-cal-2

Here’s the newspaper clipping:

1950-07-20-austin-statesman-jeep-soldier-50-cal-lores

While searching for this press photo I also spotted this photo of a unique gun mount. It was published in the August 04, 1950, issue of the Arizona Republic:

Clipping from Arizona Republic - Newspapers.com

 
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1950 Photo of a Spokane-Based Air Police Jeep

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

This August 28, 1950, photo from the Spokane Chronicle shows an Air Police MB Jeep. There might be enough there to recreate an Air Police themed jeep like this.

1950-08-28-spokane-chronicle-air-police-jeep-lores

 
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1943 Photo on the Dropping of Bond “Honor Scrolls”

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

This was something new to me. Some war bond buyers were allowed to sign scrolls that would then be loaded on bombers and dropped over Axis-controlled countries. This photo and caption appeared in the May 20, 1943, issue of the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis.

1943-05-20-star-tribune-donor-rolls-dropped-lores

 
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June 1944 Article About the Jeep Name Investigation

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

This article discusses the ongoing investigation into the jeep name business. Minnesota had a particular interest in this issue, due to Minneapolis-Moline’s development of a vehicle that was called a jeep prior to the completion of the Bantam BRC in late September of 1940. Unlike Willys-Overland, Minneapolis-Moline had no interest in owning the name; instead, they felt the name jeep belonged to the government.

This first article is from the August 21, 1940, issue of the Minneapolis Star and identifies the new Minneapolis-Moline tractor as a “jeep”:

1940-08-21-minneapolis-star-minneapolis-moline-tractor-jeep-lores

The second article, dated June 05, 1944, goes into Minneapolis-Moline’s views on the jeep name:

Continue reading

 
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Fond David Bradley Trailer Memories

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

David Bradley trailers are often an after thought among trailers, but for a woman named Diane, her family’s trailer continues to provide warm memories of Colorado camping with her parents and siblings. You can reader her brief story at the end of a forum thread that Maury started years ago about David Bradley trailers on the ECJ5 site.

http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/the-sears-david-bradley-trailer.74865/page-11#post-1644504

david-bradley-trailer-wagon-colorado

 
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Harmony, PA, Made-in-Pennsylvania Car Show March 27-April 11

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

If you have some time, you might want to check out the Bantam BRC-40 that will be included in a made-in-Pennsylvania 5-car auto show at the Harmony Museum in Harmony, Pennsylvania. The show is scheduled to last from March 27-April 11. From the website, it looks like a pretty neat place. It looks like we have another place to visit on our next trip to Pennsylvania!

2021-03-27-thru-04-11-bantam-brc-show-harmony-pa2-lores

2021-03-27-thru-04-11-bantam-brc-show-harmony-pa-lores

 
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Whoa! Hemmings Highlights a CJ-10

• CATEGORIES: Features, Other 4x4s This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Bill shared this Hemmings find-of-the-day by Daniel Strohl. It looks like the CJ-10 may be gaining popularity.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/03/17/find-of-the-day-is-now-the-time-for-the-jeep-cj-10-to-rise-from-obscurity

The particular CJ-10 that Hemmings highlights has been nicely rebuilt and has a price of $46,900:

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/jeep/scrambler/2470398.html#&gid=1&pid=19

1985-cj10

 
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Tremaine Cooper Passed Away on Saturday

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

Sadly, Tremaine Coooper of Bluemont, Virginia, was in an accident Saturday and passed away. He was 52 years old.

tremaine-cooper-event

Here is Tremaine in front of a jump I’m assuming he designed. The photo is from his Facebook page.

While his main focus in life was Equestrian Event Course Design (read a short obituary about him and his event history here and view some of his creative event courses here on Facebook), for which he was internationally recognized, he too was afflicted with the Willys Sickness. He had been a regular reader of eWillys over the years and we corresponded on an irregular basis about jeeps.

In December of 2019, he learned about my trip to Virginia and hoped to meet up so he could show me the local jeeps around Bluemont (he put together several collections for us to see). I suspect it would have been a great visit. Regrettably, as often happens, I ran short on time, so I had to put it off. Then, the pandemic hit, so I had to cancel plans to fly back to Virginia in the spring of 2020.

In late 2020, Tremaine visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water and Kentuk Knob, where he learned that Frank Lloyd Wright had owned jeeps, among other cars. He was excited to share what he learned, which led to this post.

In January of 2021 he wrote that he was hoping to have some work out in the PNW during the summer of 2021, so hoped to meet up at that time.

Alas, now we’ll have to schedule a visit together in that big jeepers reunion and parts swap meet in the afterworld. My warmest regards to Brian and Tremaine’s family.

 
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March 18-21 Parker Military Vehicle Display and Swap Meet

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

UPDATE:  This Parker, Arizona, event begins this Friday. I’m sorry I can’t be down there to support Joe and the rest of the group, as this would be a nice break from our craziness here, but if all goes well and the event is held next year, we will make an effort to be down there (then head to the final FC Roundup, assuming it’s held in March of 2022). 

(02/16/2021) Joe-in-Mesa forwarded plans for a military vehicle display and swap meet next month over the weekend of March 18-21 at La Pax County Park in Parker, Arizona. The weather should be beautiful that time of year.Here is the basic information.

MV-campout-flyer-public

MV-Campout-Parker-2021-Participants-flyer

2021-mv-campout-campground

MV-campout-group-camp-layout

A PDF version of the below application can be downloaded here:

 
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1946? Video of Ship Arrival Includes Unloading of Jeep

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

John found this video which shows a pretty cool shot of a jeep being unloaded (begins at the 2:12 mark). Now that’s the way to exit a ship!

“Various shots of large battleship in dock. Shots of warships off shore. Several shots of HMS ‘Invincible’ making her way up the estuary. People watch from the shore. Shots of the ship docking. A crane lifts a jeep from the deck of the ship to the shore. Several shots of crew members walking down steps to the shore. M/Ss of the Captain (?) giving speech (no sound).”

 
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Mid-1950s Willys Motors Brochures on eBay

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

Maury shared this eBay ad. The price is $65, but the seller will consider offers. The “Jeep Means Business is from 1954”, the “Public Service” is from 1955, as is the “Completely New” CJ-5 brochure. The DJ-3A brochure is from 1956.

View all the information on ebay

1954-1956-brochures

 
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1943 MB San Juan Capistrano, CA **Status Unknown**

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

UPDATE: Status Unknown. Was $16,000.

Bill shared this MB on eBay, currently listed at $16,000.

1943-mb-sanjuancapistrano-ca1 1943-mb-sanjuancapistrano-ca2

 
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Porter & Reed Hardtop, Reno, NV No Price

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

This might be good for parts, such as there rear hatch or doors.

https://reno.craigslist.org/pts/d/reno-jeep-willys-cab-cj2/7290902431.html

“Aluminum cab for a CJ2A or CJ 3. VERY rough shape. The next stop is the recycle yard. Respond with first name,”

porter-and-reed-hardtop-reno1 porter-and-reed-hardtop-reno2

 
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1973 Bobcat Introduces New Products

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

UPDATE: Richard Darr from Washougal Classic Jeeps owns a Bobcat body that still had a pair of the fiberglass gas tanks. Here are two pics of each tank. He told me they fit really well inside the bobcat body. He’s working on reproducing the tanks in aluminum for himself.

Here are the pics of the passenger side tank. Above you can see a Bobcat body.

fiberglass-bobcat-tank-darr-1

This is the top of the passenger tank.

fiberglass-bobcat-tank-darr-2

This is the bottom of the passenger tank.

Here is the driver’s side tank:

fiberglass-bobcat-tank-darr-3

This is the top of the driver’s tank.

fiberglass-bobcat-tank-darr-4

This is the bottom of the driver’s tank.

===================

Published March 17, 2021: For a great price, I bought some 1973 issues of Four Wheeler off of eBay. In turns out that the July 1973 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine had a special section devoted to new fiberglass products. Even better, Fred Weis’ Bobcat business introduced three new products in that issue, answering a couple questions that I had.

Before I begin, there are several posts about Bobcat bodies and the related Parkette bodies. At some point I will combine them into a longer narrative, but, for now, here’s a quick timeline:

1969 – The First Bobcat body: Fred Weis built his first body, an approximately 150lb body using plywood for strength, per this February 1970 article in Four Wheeler Magazine.
1970 – Lighter Race Body: Fred builds a lighter body design more for racing, dropping the body weight to around 100lbs. One these first bodies was used successfully by Roy Williams during the 1970s for racing. (This weight info comes from a September 1973 ad shown below):

Scannable Document
1971- Announces the CJ-3B Body:  An Advertisement in the PNW4WDA’s Region 1 contact booklet included an ad from Fred indicating he was making CJ-3A AND CJ-3B bodies.

It might seem strange to see the “Not a copy!” phrase at the top of the ad, followed by “The Original Fiberglass Replacement Body” within the ad. I believe this reflects Fred’s frustration at Paul Parker rebranding the Bobcat body with side stripes and calling it a Parkette body. Assuming that explains the inclusion of the phrases, this puts the introduction of the Parkette body around 1970. The 1970 timeline also fits the purchase of a Parkette by Jim Carter, which must have happened around 1971 or 1972.

Now for our current post. In 1973, Fred introduced perhaps the most iconic item he ever produced, the Bobcat hood. I don’t know how or why he designed it the way he did, but it became a signature piece. Below is the July 1973 listing in Four Wheeler Magazine.

First, you can see that Fred was experimenting with a new type of body style. It appears he increased the size of the lip around the edge of the body’s rear, perhaps to strengthen it so he could lay thinner glass. It’s likely that this was the style of Bobcat body I bought back in 2008:
Scannable Document

The fiberglass gas tanks were a surprise to see. I’ve never run across these. They likely failed to hold gasoline safely. It would take a special resin compound to be effective over the long term, at least that’s according to this motorcycle thread.

Finally, we have the brand new fiberglass Bobcat hood. Whether this came before or after the Bobcat teardrop hood isn’t clear, but it would seem to me that the teardrop is so much less sophisticated of a design that I could imagine he made some of those first before creating the classic Bobcat hood. Here’s a great example of the hood: (see more examples of the low hood and high hood versions of this iconic hood)

Bobcat-hood-fiberglass-maplevalley-wa

Also included in the July 1973 fiberglass section was this ad. It seems Willamette Wheel was offering the Bobcat body for sale, without labeling it as such in the ad. However, a close look at the tailgate clearly shows it is a Bobcat tailgate.

Scannable Document

It’s not clear how many other parties were working with Fred, but at least one, Don Prine, managed to get his business card inserted into a CJ-3B version of the classic hood:

bobcat-cjb-hood0

As I collect more 1970 Four Wheeler magazines I hope to learn more about the Bobcat and Parkette timelines, though I’ve yet to find anything printed about the Parkette body (no ads or articles yet).

 
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Another Pan Brush Available on ebay

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

Maury shared this link to another Jeep Pan Brush that’s available on eBay. This item doesn’t seem to be related to Willys-Overland or jeeps in any way that we can tell, other than you could clean jeep parts with it.

View all the information on eBay

jeep-pan-brush

Here are a couple previous examples of the Jeep Brush. 

1. This brush was available back in 2012 on eBay. It, like this other example, has 1014 stamped on it for some reason.

2. This brush was available for sale on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/778429607/vintage-jeep-pan-brush-1014

jeep-pan-brush-2