Update **sold**
“I got this original fire jeep from VT. It’s all original with correct mb engine and 6v accessories including sparton horn! Needs restoration, but a good starting point. Engine should run, I need to tune it up.”
Update **sold**
“I got this original fire jeep from VT. It’s all original with correct mb engine and 6v accessories including sparton horn! Needs restoration, but a good starting point. Engine should run, I need to tune it up.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was auctioned.
Doug spotted this nice looking, recently retired, 3B Brush Fire jeep. You can see the auction page here: http://shelbycity.oh.gov/visitors/fire/9-uncategorised/234-1963-willy-s-jeep
“The City of Shelby Fire Department is accepting sealed bids for our 1963 Willy’s fire truck. The vehicle has 9666 original miles. The vehicle will be available to view on Saturday, June 10th from 10 AM to 12 PM at the Shelby Fire Department, 10 East Main Street, Shelby, OH 44875. There will be no test drives.
Sealed bids will be received on June 23, 2017 at 12PM at Shelby City Hall, 43 West Main Street, Shelby, OH 44875. A certified check or cash in the amount of 10% of the bid shall be included with the proposal form. This vehicle will not be sold for less than $5,000. For more information, please view the Bid Documents.”
Needs some work.
“1954 Willys Jeep M 38A1 Brush Truck
runs
need brakes and a gas tank
12 volts”
Buz shared pics of a Scrambler that has been transformed into an ambulance. Neither he nor I had seen one like it. A little research revealed that it may have been one of six the Horton Company built in 1981. Derek Redmond wrote a piece on the vehicles and coined a nickname: the Scrambulance. You can read more on the CJ-3B page.
Gayland spotted this former government vehicle. It could use some loving. It has several neat data plates.
“1966 JEEP CJ-5 For Sale. For $1500.00. Engine is unassembled and in rear of JEEP. JEEP was built for the Government. Has a warranty sticker on dash from Kaiser Jeep to the Government. Has a Government Data Plate on the dash. It is equipped with a 540 PTO on rear. The previous owner said that the person that he bought it from said it was used to mow grass at a park. The paint has a nice even patina and would look good preserved as is. More pictures added. The rust near the Department of Agriculture decal is the worse spot on the out side of the body. If you were going to restore a 1960s Jeep this would be a rare and interesting one to restore. I have added a picture of the Kaiser JEEP Corporation’s Special Sales Order Plate.
Price reduce to $1250.00 before it goes into the woods for another 10 years.”
UPDATE: Still Available.
(03/19/2017) Looks good.
“1951 Willy Fire Truck. Completely refurbished in excellent condition. Fully equipped with fire equipment and hoses.”
UPDATE II: This jeep is now for sale in the UK on eBay for 10x what it was and it doesn’t include the spraying equipment nor the front hub caps. Price was originally $1500.
“Willys 1948 cj2a jeep
Runs and drives
New tyres, brakes etc
We have screen surround, seat covers and hood included
Fuel tank is present
Converted to 12v but all original parts kept
Original paperwork and nova certificate present
Based in chertsey surrey
Sensible offers considered
Any questions please ask”
It’s not a long video, but this is a fine looking CJ-5 fire jeep.
UPDATE: We had a busy, long weekend, Normal updates resume on Tuesday morning. In the meantime, here’s a rerun from 2010.
Eureka, Utah is a very small town. I imagine it was even smaller when Frank Zamboni was born in 1901. From those humble beginnings, Frank grew up to create one of the most iconic service vehicles ever: The Zamboni® Ice Resurfacer. I’m not sure why they have entered the public’s imagination in the way they have, but if you say Zamboni®, people know what the vehicle does.
In fact, the Frank J. Zamboni company is legitimately concerned about the name Zamboni® passing from being a description of an Ice Surfacer into a noun, which can spell death for a Trademark. You’ll note on the website that Zamboni® is quickly followed by Ice Surfacer for that specific reason. In addition, there’s an extensive discussion of the Zamboni® trademark here.
By now, you are probably asking yourself what all this has to do with jeeps? For about 7 years, from 1942 through 1949, Frank Zamboni attempted a variety of experiments to create a good ice resurfacer, mostly using different Jeep models. Below is a summary of the Zamboni® history from the company’s website coupled with pics I’ve found all over the web. The CJ-3B Page also has some information.
2. Model B introduced the jeep to ice surfacing. In 1950, apparently Frank decided he needed something more portable, so he came up with Model B, which used a War Surplus Jeep (I’m assuming MB?). If you look closely below, you can see Frank connected a U joint to the steering column and then added another steering rod so that you could steer from behind the jeep. According to the Frank J. Zamboni Corp:
In 1950, Olympic skating star Sonja Henie’s traveling ice show was practicing at Paramount Iceland, and she saw the Model A in action. She had to have one and asked Frank if he could build one in time for an upcoming Chicago performance. The deadline was tough, but Frank worked day and night, then loaded all of the resurfacer parts into a U-Haul® trailer. He towed the trailer to Chicago behind the Jeep he would install the parts on and assembled the Model B there.

UPDATE: This is form W-991-5. You can download a pdf version here.
(first published 12/7/2010) Gerald scanned and forwarded these images from the Jeep Family of 4-Wheel-Drive Vehicles in Public Service. There are 25 images. Thanks Gerald!