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WillysJeep publishes more from Cuba

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

Tim contacted me to note that he published more images about Willys and Fidel from Cuba on willysjeep.com. Here is a little history of Fidel and Willys along with a gallery of images. I previously published a post about Cuba here.  Tim continues to publish some truly unique items!

Here’s a sneak peak of an ambulance.  I haven’t come across too many later model Willys Ambulances.

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Charley’s Wild Willys

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

One vehicle I wanted to highlight from the Wonderful World of Willys Wagons was Charley Crossley’s Wild Willys.  I tried to located additional images of it, but the only ones I found were on the WWWW website.  I liked Charley’s creativity, so I wanted to make sure readers saw it as well.  You can read about Charley’s approach to building this Wagon here. Note the rumble seat in the back!

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Wonderful World of Willys Wagons

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

I was doing a search for Wagon axles when I found this Wagon-based website:  Wonderful World of Willys Wagons.  It’s got some interesting, funny, silly stuff, including a description of a sprung front wagon clip.  There’s a section of trains and jeeps titled Geeps & Jeeps.  This site could easily  be called the goofy world of wagons.

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Paul Readies His Radiator

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

Paul made good progress recently with the radiator installation.  I’ll let him explain …

Paul writes, “During the past few days I’ve been busy scrounging metal, making parts and playing with the welder but the end result is the Willys has an M 151 radiator installed along with a V type firewall to radiator brace and a hood hold open rod.  I also picked up my new radiator from the local military surplus yard in addition to a used shroud and the necessary lower mounts.  The new radiator will reside safely in the house until it’s time to be installed after I quit taking things apart for modifications and redesigns but the size of this radiator is just about perfect for the room available under the hood.  I’ll have to spend some time at the local autoparts store mixing and matching coolant hoses before the engine is plumbed to the radiator and I also have to go shopping for a low profile electric fan (a puller is what I’m hunting for) but both of these tasks can be solved with reasonable amounts of money so I’m feeling pretty good with my progress so far. ”

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Roosevelt, Morocco & an MB

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

Here’s a couple images from the Library of Congress showing President Roosevelt cruising the American troops in Morocco.

Here’s one image:  http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8e01227


Here’s a second image: morocco2: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8e01229

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Paul is finally chillin’

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

A trip to the local Military show turned out to be just what Paul needed.  BTW Paul, you don’t owe us anything.  You are putting on a show for us up there in “The Last Frontier (which is the official state nickname)”.  No doubt there’s a few readers who might benefit from this mod.

Paul, take it away!  “This past weekend the local military vehicle collectors had a show at a car dealership near my house for the general public and it was free so I went.  Before leaving the house I grabbed my camera and a steel tape just incase I ran across a shining gem of a radiator nestled among the antique olive drab metal.  In addition to the WWII Willys and Ford Jeeps on display, the Dodge command cars, M 38’s and M 38 A1’s there were a couple of M 151’s and one of them had it’s hood up.  Naturally I began checking out the radiator, first by eye and then measuring the height, width and thickness and ending up on my back under this Mutt where I noticed the radiator was a bottom mount.  Most interesting!

The original M 38 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 21 1/4 inches wide by 19 inches high and 5 inches thick.  These dimensions are overall and they include the radiator cap.  The core dimensions are 13 inches high by 20 inches wide and 3 inches thick.

The M 151 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 20 1/2 inches wide by 19 inches high and about 4 inches thick (I didn’t measure the metal shroud so I’m guessing here) and once again these measurements are overall.  The core is 13 1/2 inches high by 19 1/4 inches wide by 2 inches thick.

Both radiators have a drivers side inlet (top) and a passenger side outlet (bottom).

Gentlemen, we have a winner !!!!!!

For the past 55 years E. A. Patson Parts and Equipment has been dealing in new and used surplus military vehicles and parts here in Anchorage but Elmer Patson is 86 years old (his son, Rod, is only 63 but he’s been working at the business since he was 12) and would like to retire so everything’s for sale.  I asked about M 151 radiators and they have both new and used radiators.  I was able to borrow a used radiator so I could do a bit of metal massaging and fabricate a lower mount and the top brace rod and when the snow melts some and they can get into one of their outbuildings where the new radiators are stored I’ll buy one of those.  For now this used radiator will allow me to continue my progress with the Willys resurrection until the end of March when I’ll officially declare the winter to be over and it will be time to do outside (summer) projects.

Thanks again to all the Willys fans for their much appreciated suggestions, ideas and help.  I look forward to the day when I can return the favor, but until then I owe you.

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Mr. White Brings Home His Jeep

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

Here’s a short article about a Veteran of WWII named Mr. M C White.  He was assigned a Jeep with only 7 miles on it during the war and proceeded to drive it for 3 years, through battles all over Europe.  I don’t see a period at the end of the last sentence, so I suspect this article might be longer than it appears?

This article is from the front page of the July 19, 1946 issue of the Mt. Pleasant, Ia, Newspaper [The Mt. Pleasant News].  Thanks to Bruce for the article.

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