I got distracted by a few things today, including hunting down Gus and the Model Garage stories involving jeeps (read the first installment of that below).

Last night I revamped the eBay section some.  There’s more that I hope to do.  I’ve expanded the search keywords as well.  Besides a little nice look, when you run your cursor over the picture it will expand so you can see it better.

http://www.ewillys.com/buying-and-selling/ebay-page/

I am also hoping to get the new version of the site running this weekend.  The reason for the new version of the site is that I decided that creating a separate app for phone users would be unnecessary if I could implement a website that ‘degraded’ well onto the mobile platform.  After doing my research on mobile apps and experimenting, I found that developing for the iPhone (and other platforms) was more frustrating than I expected (and more difficult than advertised).  To explain much more requires understanding how the web is moving towards a HTML5 and CSS3 foundation, how phones are embracing that technology differently (differently among different devices as well as the web itself) and how they are implement those programming techniques on top of the their native programming and how only natively programmed apps (especially on the iPhone) actually run the best.  So, in the end, building a better mobile sensitive website is a better use of my time.

If the above paragraph doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry.  I wish it didn’t make sense to me either (and didn’t a month ago before I started the app development process).

James spotted this article.  According to it, a British company has built a special operations jeep  they call Pegasus, using a Wrangler as the foundation.  The company built the frame to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook. It is 201 inches long, 79 inches wide, 72 inches tall with an 11 inch ground clearance. It has a curb weight of 6,610 pounds and a potential payload of 3,310 pounds

According the the article, “It is named after the Pegasus Bridge crossing the Caen Canal the British 6th Airborne Division wrenched from the Germans in the invasion of Normandy in World War II …. ”

No Updates today.  I’m trying to get some writing done.

Here are a couple items you might look at on eBay:

5 GPW wrenches?  Seller is unsure

1971 Edition of The Military Book Complete

I really couldn’t say just how rare these toys are.  However, there was one for sale in 2007 for only $65 at G503.

I did learn that the jeep on which this was based is called both a Willys MB Calliope or a MB with a Rocket Launcher unit.  I’m sure someone else knows more about this than I.

“DANBURY MINT 40’s Willys World War II ROCKET LAUNCHER Jeep Replica with Detachable and Adjustable Angle Launcher. Produced in 1995. Finished in Olive Drab. Diecast 1:16 Scale.

VERY RARE! Great Collectible for the War Veteran or Military Collector. Beautiful Condition!
If interested, please contact Rose at 724.251.4772 or email a response to this posting.”

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/clt/3056661107.html

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

I’m guessing by the front grille that this is some type of Tri-ang pedal jeep, based on what I can see from the CJ-3B Page.  The back is different though.  Lots of pics and even a video.

Continue reading →

I’ve been busily working on the eWillys App, learning more than I care to know about Phonegap, JSON, YQL, jquery mobile, and more.

I can’t wait to get back to writing rather than programming!

There’s value here.

“willys frame not sure the year. has motor, tranny, t case, and rear end. motor is a ford 4 cylinder, maybe out of a mustang 2. tranny and motor wont spin, has been covered and might not be to bad inside.
brandon 206-963-7023”

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/pts/3041703252.html

Robin had a question about  a wagon he just bought.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to research it at the moment, so I’ll throw it out to you all.

Robin writes, ” just purchased a 1957 Station Wagon that, from the pictures on Craigs List, appeared to be a Parkway conversion. Upon further inspection I am totally confused. It has the rear doors of a delivery wagon that appear to be factory. The windows however, are not flush but recessed and the wheel wells are squared instead of rounded. The history, according to the seller, was:

1. sold to US Forest Service
2. 12 years ago sold to a fella in Moab, UT.
3.  The gentleman I purchased it from got it three years ago and used it as a “daily driver” for two years. It sat for one year when they decided to sell it.

To make a long story short; did they make station wagons with the “delivery” doors?   Some more pics here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/alturusphoto/sets/72157629855658998/”

UPDATE:  I moved this morning’s posts to the top of tonight’s posts, but I’ll keep this ‘update’ here.

Just a few posts this morning.  I’ll post more a little later.

Ann and I have to run the truck to the dump transfer station (the truck is full of garage cleaning).  This is Ann’s first time to the transfer station, a place special to the family.  It was at the transfer station in 2003 where dad drove the truck for the first time following his stroke.  The stroke hurt his ability to use his right side, so he had to relearn the use of it.

It all started, because he was unhappy with mom’s parking job.  So, he climbed over to the driver’s side while she was taking off the tarp to dump stuff.  He meant to pull forward a few feet, but instead his foot hit the accelerator, causing the truck to lurch forward about fifty feet before dropping over a steep embankment.

There was a shriek from mom and gasps from employees and onlookers.  Soon, news helicopters showed up to film the scene.  However, the copters left the scene, disappointed by the lack of death.  Because, both dad and the truck survived just fine.  It took two tow trucks to pull the truck back up, but it still drives fine.  In fact, it is the very truck we are taking to the dump today 🙂