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Testing The Racer’s Front Clip

March 18, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features, Racing • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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I spent the last couple days figuring out where I want the firewall positioned and how I want to attach it (and watching some March Madness, so not a lot has gotten done). I may even be able to reuse the firewall from the yellow jeep, though I’ve had to “massage” it with a sledge hammer into a useable state. I will know more once I remove the body.

But, before removing the body, I wanted to see if/how well the front clips I have fit the body and frame. It turned out that the radiator (and the attached power steering cooler in front of the radiator) needed to be moved back about an inch for either front clip to fit. Thankfully, that was easily done.

I tested out the better of the two front clips, but it didn’t want to mesh well with the body. So, I tried out the more damaged of the two front clips, which was original to the yellow body, and that fit much better. The problem is it will require more work to fix (which I will take as an opportunity to do something creative with the grille portion).

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Note that this is sitting crooked at the front. I have not added an mounts for the front clip yet.

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San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours Brochure

March 16, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Artists/Drawings, Features • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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This is another example of a San Juan Scenic Jeep Tour brochure. It is a tri-fold brochure that is 8.5″x11″ when fully unfolded.

This is the cover.

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This is the back when folded.

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This is partially unfolded.

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This shows the brochure when fully unfolded.

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Continue reading →

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PNW4WDA Summer Convention 2022

March 13, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features, Racing, videos • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Steve let me know this video of the 2022 Summer Convention had been published.

After our wayward trip to Phoenix, I’m back in the shop making progress on the racer. The rear sway bar has been added and some rear bump stops should be done soon (once I get some more welding rod). That will complete the rear suspension repairs/mods.

Once I finish the mount for the gas tank and battery, the rear area will be complete. Then comes the floors and cowl area, after which is the seats, the wiring (most of it just needs to be re-run), and, finally, mounting, prepping and painting the body. May 1 is still the goal.

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1940s? Rock Ford, Colorado, Postcard on eBay

March 11, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features, Postcards This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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This military-appearing parade may be a part of the state fair. That’s the only thing I can think of when the card references “fair day”.

View all the information on eBay

“Rocky Ford CO Street Scene Main Street Signs Downtown Old Jeep Vtg Postcard View
Original, vintage item.
Standard size, measures about 3.5″ x 5.5″ or a little smaller.”

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Free-Lock 27 Spline NOS Hubs with Documentation

March 9, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Thanks to Chris for publishing this information on a Facebook post … It appears I will be buying from him a set of model F-28 Free-Lock hubs sold by Dualmatic. These NOS Free-Lock hubs included documentation stating that by December of 1973 Free-Lock had become a “Quality Division” of Dualmatic Products Company.

So, I believe this confirms that Free-Lock was acquired by Dualmatic, so now the questions are 1) when did this happen and 2) why didn’t Dualmatic use the branding sooner than circa 1970 (there was a gap between the end of Free-Lock in 1959 and the re-emergence of the brand circa late 1960s or early 1970s).

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This document suggests there were seven different models of Free-Lock hubs, which may explain why we have seen several different types of later-model Free-Lock hub styles. Given the emphasis on “A Quality Division”, this document *might* hint that Dualmatic was using the Free-Lock brand as a premium hub, perhaps hoping to clear more profit from them?

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The fact that the top of the hub shows no branding suggests these instructions were intended to be distributed across multiple brands of Dualmatic-built hubs.

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The date of the newspaper used to wrap the hubs is December 4, 1973:

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Parmley Engineering’s Jeep Replacement Body

March 9, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old News Articles • TAGS: , , , , . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE: Zac shared a Parmley that he inherited along with a document that shows some pricing and states it was designed for the 81″ chassis.

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Originally posted in 2013, with some pic updates over the years:

As many of you know, I am very curious about the fiberglass aftermarket bodies made for the jeep.  While I’ve seen most models for sale over the years, I have yet to run across Parmley Engineering’s fiberglass body, one of the more unique ones ever created.

After wrecking his CJ-5 in the early 1970s, Californian Tom Parmley, a machinist by trade, decided to build himself a better body for his still-good chassis.  He wanted the body to legally accommodate  wider tires, a dash box with more room, a hood that was lower, and other features.  So, he built and tested his dream body with great success.  Along the way, he received so much positive feedback that he created a kit so others could easily install a Parmley body on their CJ-5 Chassis.

So far, I have only located two resources that document this body.  One is the February 1974 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine, which featured a multi-page article about the new body.  Additionally, at least two issues of Four Wheeler Magazine also have ads for the Parmley body kit.  The other resource is a June 1975 Popular Mechanics article.  The Pop-Mech article also shows off the fiberglass top he invented (at least I assume it is fiberglass).

Here are a couple publicity photos taken by Tom Parley and published in the Feb 1974 issue of Four Wheeler:

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This image shows the Parmley with a top and is from Popular Mechanics.  Note the top example sports Desert Dogs …

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Here is a Parmley-bodied jeep on the cover of a the May 1978 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine.

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This Parmley Engineering ad appeared on the back of January 1974 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine:

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Bob Christy wasn’t sure what this vehicle was when he photographed it in 2008, but now we know.

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This Parmely sold in 2015 and included a rare top:

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This one sold in 2017:

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This one sold in 2022:

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RIP Tom Cruze

March 9, 2023 • CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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On Sunday, while we were gone, Tom Cruze left the house in the morning and never returned. On Wednesday morning I found him in the ditch across from our driveway. He’d been hit by a car. The girls, especially Lizzy, who treated Tom like her puppy, remains upset with his disappearance. I brought Tom’s body back so the girls could sniff him in hopes it provides some closure, but Lizzy remains the sadder of the two.

Tom embraced his puppy role, eating with the dogs from their bowls, following us to the gate when it was time to open or shut it, and playing outside with us. He had no fear and was up to the task of taking on both dogs when they wrestled. He was only here eight months, but he made the most of it!

Here is Lizzy grooming and playing with Tom Cruze from January:

So, the greatest-dog-there-ever-was-that-was-actually-a-cat has gone to that great actor’s studio in the sky. He didn’t stay with us long, but he made a giant impact. He also helped the girls get over Zollie’s death. The house will be a quieter place without Tom’s giant personality filling it.

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