UPDATE:  I think this is a Fiat 501, Series 2, made in the 1920s.  

I was testing out my handheld scanner today that mom bought me for Christmas (yeah, I know, about time I did that).  It turns out, it works pretty well!  I decided to try scanning some of the 1924 images from my grandfather’s trip around Europe and Northern Africa.

My question is, anyone know what type of car this is?  I believe it may be a Durant Motor Company 1923 Flint e-55?  Grandpa appears to refer to it as the ‘Flea’, but the only two notations I have are kind of blurred.

I don’t know if they imported the car or bought/rent/borrowed it when they got to France, but they had plenty of resources, so it could have been any one of those.  The thing I couldn’t match up was the grille — I couldn’t find any grilles that matched the front of the grille below.

And though it might not be a jeep, I suspect traveling around Europe without a full top was as adventurous as any jeep trip would have been (they did have a light, but airy top they could throw over themselves)!  They started in France, traveled through Spain and into Northern Africa. They returned by ship to Marseilles, drove throughout Italy, then headed north through Switzerland and into Germany.  They ended the trip in France then took a plane to the UK.  I have over 400 photos, many of popular landmarks, making their path easier to track.  I hope to recreate part of the trip some day.

UPDATE: Dan forwarded a pic of his yoke.  Despite grounding the sm420 rib, the yoke still won’t make it by the tranny while spinning.

For the last year, Dan has invited me up to take a look at his project: the rebuilding of his grandfather’s jeep. Well, I finally got a chance to drop by his remote Deer Park, Washington, home.  

As soon as I arrived, my gracious host gave me the cold beer he had promised, a very tasty bottle of Red Hook.  Soon after, his four kids wandered in the garage to see what kind of strange guy would drive all the way to Deer Park to look at a jeep and talk with dad.  Clearly unimpressed, they dashed back into the endless , densely treed property like baseball players from the movie Field of Dreams.

Meanwhile, Dan and I looked over his jeep and we talked about various issues he circumvented.  He said his goal was to build something functional that he wouldn’t be afraid to scratch and dent, so he didn’t sink much time or money into the body.  For example, the rust in the bottom of the body was repaired with some fiberglass and steel from the old body sitting across the driveway.  It was nothing fancy, but sound.  He was concerned it might not be nice enough, but I told him the most important thing is that it satisfied his goals, was solid, and got him closer to exploring backroads.

We also talked about his sm420 tranny. His yoke is hitting the side of the tranny, despite the grinding he has done (I should have gotten a pic of that).  He’s hoping he can find the slightly smaller V6 yoke.  Does anyone have one of those?

While we talked, his wife dropped by to say hello.  We chatted a bit and then she dashed off to finish supper.  Dan noted that he convinced his wife he needed a new garage to work on the jeep  by parking his jeep inside the existing garage.  That seemed to work, so he built a new shop around the jeep project just down the driveway.  It’s a fine man cave, clean, organized, with plenty of light.

I asked Dan to take my picture with his jeep and he kindly obliged.  After which, I left his piece of paradise to head south so I could hang out with my cousin and explore family history. So, many thanks to Dan for a pleasant time.  It was worth the drive!

Here’s yours truly.