If you are near Columbus, Indiana, this weekend, make sure to drop by the Midwest Willys Reunion. There’s a lot happening, including Alaska Or Rust tables with parts for sale, a raffle and at least one carb demonstration by Mr. Old Jeep Carbs himself, Richard Pacholski.
Features Research Archives
DJ-3A Jeep Dispatcher Dealer Poster **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
This was listed a couple months ago. Now back on eBay. I’d get it, but outside my budget at a starting price of $80. At that price, I can build my own in Photoshop and print it.
1946 Photo of Married Couple Taking CJ-2A on Trip on eBay
This married couple has quite the age difference: 61 years to be exact! The 2A is a column shift.
“This is an original press photo. Mrs. Mattie Lyons Large Sprouse, 79 and her 18 year old husband are ready for their 100 mile jeep trip to a Huntington amusement park tomorrow. It will be the first trip out of Lawrence county for Mrs. Sprouse, a widow for 17 years before her recent marriage.Photo measures 10.25 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated –1946.”
1941 Photo of Ford GP Leaping Over a Bump on eBay
Great action photo. Interesting mix of tires.
“1941- U.S. soldiers hurtling over bump while taking Ford GP Jeep on a test drive. Photo measures approx. 7″ x 9″ ”
1943 Photo of Ford GPA Delivering Food in Wabash **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
A Ford GPA to the rescue!
“1943 Press Photo Army amphibious jeep delivers food to flooded hotel. This is an original press photo. With downtown Logansport IN inundated by the Wabash River guests stranded at the Barnett Hotel received their food via an Army amphibious jeep during the worst flood the area has known since 1913. Photo measures 8 x 6.25inches. Photo is dated 06-19-1943.”
Noland and His CJ-2A in the Sawtooth Mountian
Nolan and his brother Heath used a drone and camera to create this video. It sure is gorgeous country!
Camas County, Sawtooth National Forest from Heath Watte on Vimeo.
Reviving a Dead Willys Video
Steve shared this video about reviving a rusty, dead looking jeep.
“Patterson”, Our Newest 1956 DJ-3A
It was late Sunday night when I wrote this, so it’s going to be briefer than I’d like. We spent most of the day yesterday driving (after a long drive the day before). I believe I may be a little loopy; time to get some rest, so this is tonight’s only post.
For several weeks we’d been planning to go to Salt Lake City May 13th to celebrate my son’s graduation from Westminster University. It was only last week that this trip turned into a jeep purchase, this in turn led to a more circuitous route home. It is all the result of an ad I saw on Craigslist last week.
It was just another evening of reading through ads when I happened upon a Craigslist ad with no pics and a short description of a 1956 2WD jeep. Curious, as I thought it could be a DJ-3A, I sent an email, asking if it was wagon or truck. I quickly received a friendly email describing the jeep as a 1956 CJ-3A. What followed was me explaining what DJ-3A was, with my intent only being to educate and help the sellers find a good buyer. Pretty soon, I had a series of photos which depicted a very original 1956 DJ-3A with what appeared to be original seats, zero rust, and a variety of other parts.
At some point I showed Ann pictures of the jeep. Then, Ann’s mother piped up and said that she’d loan me the money if I wanted to purchase it. That led me to investigate the DJ-3A further.
The sellers, Nick and Erika, were wonderfully patient in their responses to my questions. When I asked for photos of some aspect, they were always quickly accommodating. After discovering there was a brake problem, some peeling paint, and a broken column shifter, I made an offer, which factored in my concern that there were other problems and one that also considered the distance we would have to travel to pick it up. The sellers accepted my offer, satisfied that it would go to someone who understood its value and would keep it stock. It was very generous of them.
Fast forward to Sunday (I won’t go into installing a hitch and activating the tow package in the jeep, which required a dealer), we arrived at 10am to meet Nick and Erika. They turned out to be as wonderful in person as they had been over email: gracious and kind.
Nick explained the history of the jeep. The city of Patterson (and reason behind the jeep’s name) is known as the apricot capital of the world. An apricot farmer there bought this DJ-3A new. The farmer used it on his farm and also drove it around town. I am even wondering if the color of this jeep is meant to be “apricot”, maybe special ordered? I looked extensively under the cowl and couldn’t find another color. And, it has an Apricot-themed license plate. I will keep investigating this.
There’s more to tell, but for now, here are some photos:
Hemming’s Celebrates 60 Years of the FC
Several readers let me know that Hemmings had an article celebrating 60 years of the FC.
This article below was published 60 years ago this month in the May 1957 issue of Willys News.
FC-170 Wrecker in Sedona
Larry spotted this FC-170. He writes, “We are vacationing in Sedona. There are newer jeeps and jeep tours all over the place so we took one. As we were coming over the hill, there she was, an Fc170 tow truck. It was totally redone and beautiful. The kid in the shop had no idea what it was (some kinda jeep thing). It wasn’t for sale but it was great to see”.
Those familiar with this wrecker recognize it as Wayne Trent’s former FC. You can see some video of it here.
And here’s my photo of it from one of the FC-Roundups in Phoenix.
Feb. 1942 Photo of Ford GP on Panama HWY on eBay
Looks like a slat grille behind the GP.
“1942 Press Photo Jeeps travel across unpaved section of Panama trans-highway.
This is an original press photo. Under the supervision of the U.S. Public Roads Administration fourteen hundred men are at work constructing a trans-ishmanian highway which is scheduled for completion (withal weather paving) by the end of March 1942, if the work is not hampered by rain during the present “dry season”. Photo shows part of the “Jeep” parade over a section of road which has not a yet been laid with concrete. The road is entirely within the Republic of Panama. Photo measures 9 x 7.25 inches. Photo is dated 02-06-1942″
1942 Photo of Jeeps and Soldiers on eBay
Includes a newspaper clipping with the same photo.
“1942 Press Photo Marines and Jeeps land Ashore from United States Landing Barges
This is an original press photo. …up on the beach and the marines have landed. Bottom left, a seagoing tank plows its way through the jungle. Bottom right, more marines pour ashore from landing barges bringing with them jeeps and other equipment to reinforce the beach head. They quickly overcame opposition offered by the Japanese on island. Photo measures 6.75 x 6 inches. Photo is dated 09-01-1942.”
3 Willys Brochures on eBay
Staring price on these is $20 for all three. That’s a good price.
“This auction is for a Lot of 3 Vintage 1950’s Willys Jeep Dealership Automotive Car Brochures. They measure approx. 8.5″ X 11″. They are in pretty nice condition overall. The red one has some edge wear.”
Some Roberto Doodles
Robert Flores shared these cool doodles.
1943 Photo of Soldiers on Makin Island on eBay
The lighting of this photo looks perfect.
“1943- Jeep loaded with U.S. troops passes the body of a Japanese soldier on Makin.
Photo measures approx. 8″ x 10″”
Thanks Wade!
The other day I spotted a set of 5 new Super Traxion tires and 4 all season tires mounted on four jeep rims for only $600 on Craigslist. The Traxion tires were perfect for his jeep and the four all season tires were great for Rusty, as both of us are headed to Alaska. Wade and I joined forces and bought the tires. Two days later, he and I met in Bellingham, Washington, so I could give him the tires and enjoy some Mexican food for dinner. At dinner, Wade gave me the follow sign and stickers he had printed up at his sign shop. The sign has a thick aluminum backing. It’s great! The Dispatcher Magazine shows the size of the sign and the stickers.
Thanks Wade!
Dealership Sign Knoxville, TN $2000
I’d still like to get one of these.
“Willys Jeep sign. Dealership sign from 1960s . Light up sign for window display. good condition not cracked or broken. 2000.00 o.b.o. ”
More Pics From Charles
These pics show Belgian para-commandos in the former Belgian territory of the Congo
The remainder of these look like Belgian military taken in Africa:
Getting Tanked
During my brief visit to Seattle the weather was most uncooperative. Today it was rain and hail, intermixed with sun. Two days earlier it was thunder, lightening, and downpours. So, I wasn’t as productive as I would have liked. Still, I managed to clean some more parts, order some parts, and work on the gas tank.
Not surprisingly, there seems to be no aftermarket replacement tank for the DJ-3A. I’m pretty sure a DJ-5 or rear CJ-5 tank would fit just fine, but I didn’t have one readily available and, besides, I was trying to stay with the DJ-3A tank. After some searching, I found one with all the parts, but it was a bit dented.
Today I decided to get the dents out. With nothing to lose, I started by drilling an access hole in the good side so I could pound out the worst side.
My tool of choice was a 20 pound pry bar that had a round surface at the top. So, I inserted the bar upside down into the newly drilled hold and began working out the dents. It worked surprisingly well.
I also had a small sledge and a smaller bar with a rounded end that helped remove some dents. Continue reading
Brochures for Mistubishi’s CJ-3B on eBay
There are several Mitsubishi-jeep brochures on eBay right now.
- An early brochure? View the brochure on eBay
2. This jeep came with a unique platform. View the brochure on eBay
3. This is a CJ-3B J-10 brochure. View the brochure on eBay
4. This is a CJ-3B J-3 brochure. View all the information on eBay
Past Present Photo Series
- Hugo from Uruguay share these photos of a neighbor’s M-38. He hasn’t met the owner yet.
2. He also share this link. There are a series of WWII/Present photos. You drag your cursor over the photo and it changes to the present. It includes informative captions. In one photo there’s the front end of a jeep (can you find it?) and in a second one, are some soldiers unloading an odd mini-bike (at least I am not familiar with it).
http://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/2014/apr/image-opacity-slider-master/index.html?ww2-dday
Jeeps @ the Fort Miles Reenactment Event
The annual “Delaware Goes to War- Victory In Europe” reenactment took place at Fort Miles in Delaware last weekend. Joe shared these photos taken by Bill Goodwin. Thanks! (I think this is a good start to “Front-end Friday”)
Moos Willys’ Drive from Redmond to Kent
Today, a gentleman name “Moos” from the Netherlands will be flying into Redmond, Oregon, to purchase to a Willys Truck and drive it to Kent, Washington. From there, the track will get shipped to the Netherlands, where he’ll prepare it for a trip from the Netherlands down to Dakar (Senegal) in Africa.
Hopefully, everything will go smoothly on his drive today. Moos has my number in case he has a problem along his route. If he does have a problem, I may be phoning folks along his route to serif you can help. I will be around Renton for part of the day, but then I will be heading to Bellingham to deliver some jeep tires and enjoy some dinner with Wade Smith.
I suggested this route to avoid some of the Friday traffic, but he still must drive north up Interstate-5.
And here’s the truck. If you drive by Moos, give him a wave!
Mahl Loader Article at Four Wheeler Magazine
Jim Allen wrote a piece on the Mahl Loader, a bit of history that Glenn Byron has been chasing.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/1705-the-holy-grail-of-jeep-industrial-accessories/
This post from 2016 shows a number of brochures and other information about the Mahl.
Warn Brochure
I thought this Warn brochure was interesting. It’s in excellent shape. It bought it as part of a lot of brochures. It’s approx 3″x3″.