Chris Holmes posted this photo to the PNW4WDA Facebook group the other day. The first thing I spotted was the brown jacket worn by the man to the right of the group; it’s the color of the Wandering Willys Jeep Club. Looking closer, I realized that guy was none-other than my father! Apparently, he had taken part in the shuttle of special needs kids into the Woodland Park Zoo in North Seattle.
Looking more closely, I realized that the front of our CJ-5 was pictured just to the right of Dad’s back. one tell-tale sign is the horseshoe welded to the front of the winch plate. Given the jeep pictured was before Dad’s topsy-turvey roll down the hill at Icicle Creek outside of Wenatchee (summer of 1974 or 1975), this photo was likely taken in the early 1970s.
Wow Dave, that’s cool, tell us about the CJ5, what year, engine, etc.
OH MY GOD ? IS THAT A FORD BRONCO IN THE PICTURE ?? — lemme tell ya , in the old days , we used to call them ” BOUNCING BRONCOS ” because they had coil spring front ends — not desirable — i hated em — BUT , FAST FORWARD TO YEAR 2021 , NOW THEY SELL FOR OBSCENE MONEY !!! — A FIX R UPPER FOR 40K ?? — THIS MUST BE PLANET BIZZARO ?? — CALL SUPERMAN ???
Mike,
Good question Mike: It was about a 1962 CJ-5 (I have the serial plate somewhere in the shop). I think by the early 1970s he was running a chev 327 (it seems he tried out a couple different V8s, but I don’t remember those details). I don’t know if he had the full cage installed yet as of this pic, but I doubt it. His cage wasn’t installed long before he had his fateful series of rolls down a hill in 1974 or 1975. … I’ve updated and reposted the story of his roll down the hill: http://www.ewillys.com/2021/11/23/dad-rolls-his-jeep/
my father didnt drive jeeps after ww2 — he drove a 50 pontiac catalina , we drove from virginia , my home state to CAL-I-FORN-IA , cross country , like okies — stopped at the great salt lake for a float — bucket of blood saloon in virgina city , nev , for some sarsaparilla — then on to the GOLDEN STATE — pops later bought a 57 mercury commuter wagon , two door , push button auto trans , then a brand new 65 corvair monza 110 4 door , we took it to baja that year , great in the hot desert , didnt boil over , san felipe was a sleepy little fishing town then , dirt streets , women cooking churros ~ on 55 gallon drums — carta blanca and tecate cerveza.
After my sister got drunk and crashed the monza , pops got a 1968 chevy caprice wagon , it had the works , 396 MkIV big block , turbo 400 slushbox , astro air , 3 seats , hideaway headlights , we took it on vacation to WASHINGTON state numerous times , towing an aristocrat low liner trailer , usually camped at mt rainier national park , or over at belfair state park on the hood canal — pops was stationed at bremerton navy yard in the 50’s , i remember the constant rain , barack type houses — uss missouri was docked there , toured it several times – i liked the memorial site on it it where doug mac arthur and the japanese signed the instrument of surrender , big brass plaque.
Pops then got a new 1974 dodge dart swinger , hahaha , what a name , SCHWANGER !! , had a little flower ornament by the name — it was an ok car i guess , 318 v-8 , auto-trans – 2.79 rear axle , highway gears , no air , first year for electronic ignition , would stall on the freeway at 65 mph , very dangerous , i replaced the ignition module a few times , the schwanger went for 300,000 miles before he retired it , sold it to two prostitutes in stockton , it was later abandoned on the streets of hollywood , we got the tickets — we had two buicks in between , a 65 skylark 4 door , v-6 225 , auto.
I later took the 225 out for a jeep and installed a 300 v-8 , what a great conversion , so simple , just dropped in – i think i got the 300 v-8 from our 66 skylark , ma got hit by a drunk driver broadside , she wasnt hurt , but the good old 66 buick was totalled , hence donor vehicle — then for some reason pops got a 99 saturn sl-1 — oh my god , didnt even ask his mechanic son before buying it , bought it at a car dealer , just got ripped off on the price , 14k , 5 years old , 40K on the clock — looked like the oil had never been changed — i went down to the dealer and threatened em , they threw the keys back at me — the dealer was later arrested for fraud — it was a dodge dealer , the owner knew frank sinatra , probably a mobster.
Ok , that was pops last car , when he turned 92 , he stopped driving — i later ended up with the saturn , i love it , its on the ranch here , what a great commuter car , i can drive to another state for shopping , for pennies , it must get 35 mpg ? runs perfect , only has 61k on the clock now , ice cold air , auto , paint falling off , my kinda car — all my willys jeeps stay on the ranch , hubs locked , why drive them when you can drive a SATURN ?? R.I.P. POPS !!