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Plastic Jeeps

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

UPDATE: I’ve added a pic of my toy collection at the bottom per John’s request.  As for the next updates, our hectic spring property schedule and some 16 hours days seem to have taken a toll on me, so I’m needing to rest (Apparently, 57yo is not the new 40yo). Fortunately, we’ve gotten a ton done and I made additional progress on the racer. The flooring and firewall all have paint. Now, on to the seat frames  (once I feel better). 

(April 27) … I still have a couple days of work (irrigation systems and garden stuff) before regular updates resume. In the meantime, I’ve got the race jeep floors and firewall painted and ready to assemble. The “dash” gauge plate (actually hooked to the horizontal rollbar) is being constructed in free moments. Once the seat brackets and seat belt anchors, and the top anchors drilled, I’ll be ready to clean and paint the chassis (rattle can paint as the chassis has some rubberized paint that is a bitch to get off. Then, the final assembly can begin.

In the meantime, thanks to Andy spotting the ad, I was able to pick up these 9 plastic jeeps (only one was slightly broken) and one metal one for only $10! I ended up paying the woman more, because she went through the trouble of shipping them. She was grateful for the extra dollars, but it only seemed right. She is keeping a watch out for more jeeps  for me.

Note the Oglesby jeep is there for size reference.

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John asked about my jeep-toy collection. Here are many (sorry the pic isn’t better). The “jeep room/study) still needs to be setup (we were going to redo this room in the shop, but I am trying to get the real-jeeps all running first:

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August 1947 “Pink Heap” Photo

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

I know I’m still on a break, but when folks send cool stuff, it is hard to resist posting it. Maybe someone has this jeep …

https://www.shorpy.com/node/27068

Caption: August 1957. “Nantucket, Mass. Jock Gifford’s ‘Pink Heap’ beach buggy.” 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment “Nantucket Essay.”

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Making More Progress on the Racer

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

Sorry the pics aren’t better, but the focus is on creation and not documentation. The goal is to be able to drive it during the first week of May.

The clutch and brake pedal system are all ready for install, though it’s apart for paint. The floor framework is partly complete as of today. I should have the floor frame and floor itself ready for some paint by Sunday (assuming there aren’t more distractions (there have been plenty of those ..).

I ended up building a custom bracket system for the clutch and brake. Because of the holes in the firewall from the old clutch/brake system, I sandwiched the firewall between the bracket I made and a thin sheet of metal to make it look cleaner. Here’s a very rough look from a few days ago. Both pedals had bends, which I straightened (and are straighter than shown below) with the press (as I didn’t need the bends).

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Below are some of the parts with a layer of paint. There’s nothing fancy here. I’d love to have the time to tear the whole jeep down, properly clean it, then paint it. But, I want to run the racer first to see how it does before investing more time doing a big overhaul.

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Propane Powered 6×6

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

Barry Andre posted pics of his 6×6 to Facebook. It’s a pretty cool rig.

837017479769475https://www.facebook.com/groups/837017479769475/?multi_permalinks=2504533526351187&ref=share

“Here’s my 6wd Willys 231 Aluminum Industrial Buick 231 V6 on Propane Twin Stick Transfer case Hydraulic Steering and all 6 wheels drive when it 4wd”

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Testimonial: Davis Farm Contracting

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

UPDATE: This was previously published August 25, 2013.

This and other testimonials are from 1946 and were combined into a sales binder used by Willys Overland salesman.

This particular testimonial is by Davis Farm Contracting, Company, of Albany, Georgia.

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1956 DJ-3A Brochure on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, DJ-3A, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This is a pretty good price on this rare DJ-3A brochure from no W-301-6. I thought I had posted the version of the form that I have, but apparently I didn’t. So, I’ll include the pics from this eBay auction and update them with better pics from my brochure at a later date.

View all the information on eBay

“This is an ORIGINAL brochure, NOT a reprint

It is in GOOD condition with some very light shelf wear to the covers. Interior pages are CLEAN

It is a 4 PAGE color FOLDER that measures 8 3/4″ x 10 1/2″”

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Meanwhile In Italy

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

Valerio sent me some updates from Italy. He was able to get his 1975 CJ-5 vm 2.5L diesel racer into good enough shape to compete in a regional trial championship. He’s only got this one photo, but will share more if he receives more.

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Let month Valerio and his friend Fabio trailers home two FCs. One is an FC-150 and the other is a Zanzi. They plan on restoring both vehicles. Those look like some good projects!

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1959 Surrey/Gala Press Release on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, DJ-3A, Documents, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This press release package is currently at $29.50 with three days to go. It’s unclear if this is a complete press kit or a partial one (seems partial to me given there is only one photo). The date on the photo suggests this kit may have been release September 16, 1959.

What’s interesting to me is that the 2-page document on the left is one of the few documents create by Willys Motors that explains that the new Surrey is the name of the model released domestically and that the Gala is the export name, though no explanation is given for the difference.

View all the information on eBay

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Here is the document I mentioned. See the last sentence on the second page for the link between the Surreys and Galas>

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1959-09-16-surrey-press-release7This is caption for the photo. Note the date at the lower left hand corner 9 16 59.

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