Colin alerted to this:  Production Assistant for Burn Notice Brandy Maruschak is hoping to locate a pink Willys Surrey in South Florida for sometime between April 4 and April 12, 2012.  They only need the vehicle for two days.  The script specifically calls for a pink one. If you have a pink Willys Surrey, email me and I will forward Brandy’s information.

I was a little delayed in posting these pics from the swapmeet a week and a half ago, so I will push the pics of the WAAAM visit off until tomorrow.  At the swapmeet there were a few pics of jeeps and racers I wanted to include in this post.  But, I couldn’t leave the booth because the two times I did leave readers dropped by to say “hi”.  My faithful photographer did make it out to snap some pictures, getting wet in the process, but couldn’t quite read my mind as to which pictures I wanted;  Of course, my mind, like the rest of me, was cold that day, so I doubt there was much going on inside my mind for Ann to read.

As you can see, the booth design was compact, but efficient.  Herm was nice enough to give me some front space.  In exchange I even managed to sell something for him while he and his kids were off purchasing all kinds of deals (and he found a couple of astonishing deals on parts).  I have books, tshirts, signage and, most importantly, warm liquids.

In this picture you can see Herm wheeling and dealing on the phone, with his son Richard to his right, and their friend Dan to Richard’s right.

Here is a good example of the type of trailers that are brought in by sellers.  Trailers are piled with as many parts and pieces as they can put on them.  The building in the background is full of sellers and is only one of several buildings.  Many more sellers were outside.

Thanks to Herm, Richard, Don and Marty for sharing their space with us!

It was a wet and cold morning when Ann and I arrived at the Puyallup Fair Grounds for the 2012 Swap Meet.  Because we dropped our stuff off on Saturday, there was very little for us to bring in, so we arrived at 7:30AM, pulled out some books, tshirts and business cards and began our wait for the gates to open at 9AM.

It was a cold wait as I was under the impression that they would close the large doors to the build where the space was located, so neither Ann nor I were dressed especially warm,  but the windy cold weather blew in all day.  We did our best to keep warm.

I really didn’t know what to expect when the crowds arrived, but eventually we were selling both books and tshirts, so by day’s end I was pleased by the results.  Even better, there were a surprising number of people who hadn’t heard of eWillys, so many business cards were passed out.  Ann also went around letting people with older jeeps know that I would list their jeeps for free if they didn’t sell.  More than a few wondered what the ‘catch’ was.  She tried to explain that there was no catch, but I don’t think everyone was sold on that.

A number of readers stopped by, some to just say hi and that they loved the site, others stayed longer and talked.  Even my cousin came by, though I’d forgotten to text him I was there.  A few of the guys from the space next to us came over.  It turns out they were from the Misfits Jeep Club, which was a club based partly in Renton, so I was familiar with the club (truth be told, I had a crush on one of the female members of the club in high school, but that’s another long story).  Anyway, Bob Miles and Bob Moran were members of the Seattle Jeep Club, so they knew many of the older PNW4WDA and Wandering Willys Jeep Club Member folks that I knew.

So, despite the cold weather, the swap meet was bigger than ever and people found treasures in other peoples junk.  Ann did takes some pics, but I will download and publish them tomorrow.  I’m wiped today.

Looks like snow in Snoqualmie Pass tomorrow (pass is currently closed as of Sunday Evening) so we will be taking the longer way back to Pasco.  We are hoping to have time to drop by the WAAAM to take pictures of the jeeps on our way through The Dalles, Oregon.

Steve asked me to post this.

Mark from Sell-A-Jeep has posted sixteen pages of pictures from the All Breeds show hosted by the PA Jeeps Club.  You can check out all the information here.

Here are a couple pictures of the older breeds:

Doug contacted me tonight.  He and some friends will be making a trip up to Idaho City to do some Jeeping.  I drove above Idaho City last year in Biscuit and there are some fun places to explore.  I only got lost once.  Below are the details.  Btw, take the bear and mountain lion and heard wolf warnings serious!

Idaho city

“There are a few Willys owners here in the Boise area who are taking a trip this next Saturday, Oct 15. Several of us met up about a month ago and made the trip to Idaho City. We had 2 CJ3Bs, a M38A1, M37 and M35A3, it was really cool. This will be our second trip and the last one for the year.

If there is anyone interested but cannot make this trip, they can contact me at: willysjeepcj3b@gmail.com and we will get them added to our email list.

Old Jeeps and military vehicles: join us for a drive on the Boise National Forest, Saturday, October 15. Travel will be on public roads in and around Boise N.F. Family and friends welcome.

Trip plan: Depart from Reserve St. alongside Fort Boise City Park in downtown Boise at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Travel up Shaw Mtn/Rocky Canyon Road #260 through the foothills to Robie Creek/Clear Creek Road #261, then Grimes Creek Road #364 to #307 and take 307 into Idaho City. Todd lives on the Hwy. 21 side and will be meeting us at the jct. of #260 and #261, so anyone coming from that side can do the same. Idaho City has a long and interesting history.

Here’s a link to the C of C website. http://www.idahocitychamber.com/ Gas and grub at Idaho City, then backtrack to Pine Creek Road #366 .

If time and weather permits, we’ll go up Pine Creek Road to Shafer Butte, circle Bogus Basin Ski Area, get on #275 below Bogus and take it back to Rocky Canyon Road. Total distance, including the Shafer Butte section, will be approx. 100 – 120 miles. Elevations will be between 2500’ and 7500’. Highway 21 is nearby in case you need to leave early.

Maps? There are many roads in this area, some public, some private, some with travel restrictions. The Forest Service office on Overland in Boise (next to Walmart) has two types. There are black and white “Motor Vehicle Use Maps”, one for each of the 5 ranger districts on the forest. They’re free, get all 5. They contain info on this year’s travel restrictions. You’ll need the Mtn. Home and Idaho City maps for this trip. They also have a large, color “Travel Map” for $9. It’s over 10 years old but gives a good overview of the entire forest. Todd, who lives in the area and travels it often in his 3B, has noticed that the forest maps aren’t always complete, so he uses topos too.

A final note: Todd also reminded us that he’s seen bear and mountain lion and heard wolves while travelling in this area. There was a mountain lion attack near his house last week.

Bob reports that this year’s Northern Ohio Flatfender Gathering was a success.  He writes, “We had 24 Willys Jeeps this year. It was a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Next year we may simplify the food, add windshield tags that kind of thing. The rain held off until 3:45!”

Here are a few pictures from the event.  You can see them all here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18648234@N00/sets/72157627757598958/

The 17th Annual Midwest Willys Jeep Reunion & Swap Meet is this weekend at Jefferson City, Mo.  September 16-17-18, 2011.  This year they will not only feature Willys and “Jeeps”, but have also opened the Reunion to ALL MILITARY VEHICLES.

Brendan from This Old Jeep asked me to put the word out about a soccer team fundraiser that includes a teen who built a very nice Willys Truck.  You can learn more about it here.  The goal is to raise $300 for the club, but a side goal is to get as many classic jeeps there as possible.

The event takes place at Saturday Oct. 1st 2011. 11am-2pm perryville Outlets Center Heather Ln Perryville Md. www.perryvilleoutletcenter.com This venue is just off of I95 at exit 93 so its easy to get to for most of us east coast guys. Registration starts at 9am.