UPDATE: Steve let me know that the US Border Patrol Museum has an updated website with more photos. Below are a few historical photos. You can view more historical photos (with cars, jeeps, horses and more) here.
ORIGINAL POST 07/27/2012:
1. A cold day for guarding the boarder.
2. Border Patrol Inspector observing sign of possible illegal border crossers encountered while on Jeep patrol duty near Del Rio, Texas – March 9, 1956:
3. High lookout point overlooking the Rio Grande River, June 29, 1961. [Location is still used to overlook Rio Grande River.]
This is the CJ-2A displayed in the Museum. It looks a little green in this picture, but it’s actually more gray in person.
Back in the 50s and 60s, the USBP colors on their vehicles was very light US Government Green. Lighter than the Forest Service, though. We saw those Jeeps and Parkway 4WD wagons every day when I was growing up along the border in Cochise County, Arizona. The CJs had brooms attached to the rear of the Jeep and they would sweep the dirt road right next to the border fence( 5 strands of barbed wire with concrete posts about every 100 feet or so and steel posts in between those. Signs on the fence told everyone that was the United States Border.). When they spotted footprints in the swept area, they started tracking and usually found their quarry. Not like today, unfortunately.
The windshield on the CJ2A looks wrong; slanted too far back. Also the steering column looks too high as if it wasn’t passing through the floor to the steering box. Any thoughts on this?
MIke,
Here’s a picture that shows the steering wheel better.
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/19/7f/92/an-older-south-border.jpg
I suspect the bent windshield combined with the odd steering wheel makes is look more like the steering column is at an odd angle.
The windshield has definitely been bent backwards. The windshield is bending at the point where the vertical part of the windshield leaves the cowl. That is a classic breaking point on these windshields.
I think the steering wheel is much to high also. If you look at most jeeps, there’s not a lot of room for a “big Guy” behind the wheel. This one could have a big guy, with his wife on his lap!
Derek might be interested in these for the 3b page!