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Holt Forklift with Willys Engine Coachella, Ca **SOLD**

July 5, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Features, Industrial-Welder-Generator This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE:  **SOLD** Was $2000.

(04/30/2012) I tried to uncover more information about the use of Willys engines in Holt Forklifts, but I found nothing.

However, regarding forklifts, I found that Mercury forklifts were stamped ‘JEEP’ prior to the development of the jeep:

Otis Elevator and Baker Electric Truck combined to produce the first Lift Truck in
1907. It had a nickel iron battery and it had a chain lift. The company was know as Otis-Baker. Baker manufactured the Baker Electric Car but then switched to industrial tow tractors and pushers. They had tiller steering. Otis Elavator was the preeminent expert in all things lift so the marriage was perfect.

Mercury electric trucks were competition for the Baker and they eventually became Pettibone-Mercury. Mercury had nothing to do with the Ford Motor Company and their use of the name pre-dates Ford’s. Mercury was the first company to use the word “jeep” on it’s forklifts. The use of the name pre-dated the famous Willys Jeep. Forklifts to this day are still called Jeeps and occasionally in an old industrial scap heap you may still see a counter weight for an original Jeep.

Read more: What year was the first forklift made? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2136154#ixzz1tXwQxWfI

I tried to locate the year in which Mercury forklifts were first called jeeps, but have yet to find it.  Instead, I found this brochure on ebay that clearly labels the forklift as JEEP as early as 1950.

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Below we have the Holt Forklift that is for sale:

“holt forklift don’t know what year it is. the motor is a flathead 4cyl willys manual shift 4×4 drive.right now it needs electric fuel pump to run. asking 2000.00 obo call manny 760-250-9975 after 5pm or leaeve message before then.”

http://imperial.craigslist.org/cto/3118683325.html

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Pictures from the Korean War

July 3, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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David forwarded these images.  He wrote, “Found some of my dads photos he took while stationed in Korea ……note the soldier standing outside the flatfender has a rifle pointed at the cameraman”

I especially like the photo of the kids leaning on the jeep.  I can relate to doing that as a kid.

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PIctures from the Great Willys Picnic 2012

July 2, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Event, Features, Unusual This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Mark from sellajeep.com took a variety of pictures and a couple great videos from last month’s Great Willys Picnic.  If you’ve never seen a working saw driven by a PTO, then check out his page:

http://sellajeep.com/ShowsEvents/gwp2012/gwp2012.html

Here’s a line up of some of the jeeps:

This truck has an neat paint job:

This is a picture of the pto driven saw:

This is a rare CJ-5 factory compressor:

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Auto Show in Costa Rica

June 30, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Event, Features, International This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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This past weekend Gustavo and his CJ-3A participated in a vintage car show in Costa Rica.  He took some pics for us.

He writes, “Last weekend I was invited by the Costa Rican Antique Car Club to an Expo they organized and I wanted to share some pictures with you guys.  There were around a hundred different cars, from Fords Model T up to a DeLorean, and obviously Jeeps where there, including my 1949 CJ-3A.  It was a great Jeep weekend.  The 1932 Hot Rod was Meguiars Car of the Year (at Costa Rica) and they are taking it to SEMA.”

These first pics are of the jeeps.  More pics of the car show are on the next page.  Gustavo’s is the blue CJ-3A.

Continue reading →

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Don Prine in the August 2012 issue of JP Magazine

June 29, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Magazine, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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Link to Part 1: http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1208-the-old-man-and-the-jeep-part-1/

Link to Part 2: http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1209-the-old-man-and-the-jeep-part-2/

You’ll definitely want to pick up the August 2012 issue of JP Magazine, along with the subsequent issue, if you like jeep history (I have yet to see the story online). It features 94 year old Don Prine, who has been driving jeeps since the very beginning of the jeep.  Don Prine was a test driver of the prototype Willys, Ford and Bantam jeeps. Seventy-Two years later he is still involved with jeeps and, at age 94, still goes into his shop daily in Lakewood, Wa.

According to the article, a recording of Don describing the day pictured in the photo below in early 1941 at the US Capital is supposed to be here:  http://www.jpmagazine.com/prine, but I couldn’t make the link work.  Also, according to the article in JP, he was driving up the steps in the below picture.  However, according to this link, it is Senator Meade of NY driving the jeep and Representative Thomas, of NJ, in the passenger seat at the time of this photo.  I can only guess that in the photo Don is seated in the rear?

Don has long been a fixture in jeeping and racing in the Northwest.   In 2008 I called Don and had a very nice conversation with him, which you can read about here, about Stainless Steel Parts.  For those that belong to the PNW4WDA, Marty has posted a few pics of the visit with Don, Herm Tilford, and Christian at their forum.

 

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