Features Research Archives

To Top

Blasting Away

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This was meant to be a longer, more glorious post about the trials and tribulations of setting up the blasting process (and I’d planned a second post on Alaska’ Paul’s blasting). But, this evening my mother needed rescuing after her battery died, so I shall have to skip the day’s drama and Paul’s efforts in favor of a short summation: I ran through three different compressors (a portable pancake, a portable contractor, and finally the 26 gallon wheeled Husky) before getting one that would work. Of course, the Husky had to be repaired, which further delayed work on Rusty.

2017-01-27-blasting-setup

Once the compressor started pumping, I started blasting. After considering various options, I went with fine coal material made by Black Diamond designed for blasting.

2017-01-27-black-diamond-coal-blasting-material

I tackled the headlight buckets first. The photo below shows one side blasted and the other not.

2017-01-27-headlight-bucketsl

I was able to prep a number of parts, but forgot to get a photo of them lined up on my work table. I’m bringing them back to Pasco with me today to paint them.

One reason I need to return home is so Ann can return to our bedroom …. she had a freaky experience at 2AM a few nights ago. Our dog Zollie woke her up, growing at something. He never growls at night. She said he was looking all over as he growled. Once she calmed him down, the Amazon Echo on her side table unexpectedly announced “that’s not a very nice thing to say”. Knowing she hadn’t said anything, she used her Amazon Echo app to determine what the Echo had heard. When she brought it up the echo claimed to have heard the word “die”. As you might imagine, that was enough for her. She went downstairs and slept on the couch. She hasn’t slept in the bedroom since.

One last thing I did yesterday was to spend a little time straightening the rear quarter panels. Plenty of work left, but using some clamps and flat metal I was able to make them look a little better. Here’s the passenger side.
2017-01-27-Rusty-rear-quarter-panel2

2017-01-27-Rusty-rear-quarter-panel1

Plenty of work left …

 
To Top

Photo of 3 Willys MAs

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo appeared on the G503 Facebook page. It’s rare photo of 3 MAs next to each other.

willys-MAs-facebook

 
To Top

1940s Photo from Training in Tennessee(?)

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I saw this in the G503 Facebook group a while ago.If I remember correctly, it was taken in Tennessee somewhere during WWII.

IMG_2377

 

 
To Top

Jason’s Dually Truck Project

• CATEGORIES: Builds, Features, Willys Trucks This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jason Potts, out of Burnettsville, Indiana, shared a couple photos of his Willys Dually project, so I asked him where he found his adapters and how he got into jeeps.

14241468_10100479635074969_9222073552002417203_o

Of the truck adapters he wrote, “The adapters came from Hank himself. With the original bed rusting out on me, I bought the flatbed knowing someday the original would go bad. I had a local welder cut the length of the bed down 22 inches. The black locust was cut out of my family’s woods and milled at a relatives mill. I live in an apartment and the truck is currently stored in an enclosed metal barn and will see a garage again in the spring to continue work. The motor is a 232 out of a 70’s CJ and is being rebuilt.”

15196027_10100531861048699_2781110104452442629_o

Then he shared his jeep history. “Originally my dad bought a 63 Cj5 at an implement auction and we used it to get around on county roads for fishing, hunting, and for other adventures. I was in my early teens at the time. In the early spring of 2004 (Junior in high school) a culvert washed out down the road from our house forcing myself and my dad to find alternate ways to work and school. His route took him past a place that had the 54 Willys and knowing I wanted a truck he told me about it. I bought the truck for $1500 and had to buy an electrical kit for it as its wires were all the same color and no lights worked. After about 2 months it became road legal and I started driving it to school.

Senior year of high school I was still driving it. Ever since owning it, the truck always smoked and was burning through oil at such a fast rate I eventually had to put the hottest burning spark plugs and plug extensions on just to keep up, in the end I resorted to using used tractor oil. The truck got 27 miles to the quart of oil. For a long distance football game I burned through 9 quarts of oil and $27 in gas.

Through the years since I have owned/or still own a 92 Jeep Cherokee, 66 Cj5, 75 Cj5, and a 95 Wrangler. Not to be outdone my older and little brothers also bought Jeeps. Older brother bought an 88 Wrangler and little brother has bought 2 Cherokee Country’s (both were previously rolled and used as trail rigs), a 47 Cj2A and a 65 CJ5.”

995041_819334365909_1526413902_n

 
To Top

Colorado Ice Racing in the 303 Magazine

• CATEGORIES: Features, Racing This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Shawn McKeown wrote an article about the Our Gang Colorado Ice Racers and interviewed their president, Lisa Lannerd.

 
To Top

Odds, Ends, and Working on Rusty

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I made it across the mountains on Monday, now that the snow and ice has let up temporarily. And, that reminds me. We traded in Henry, our red 2012 Laredo Grand Cherokee, for a slightly used blue 2016 Limited Grand Cherokee a few weeks ago.

oliver-jeep1

Henry was incredibly dependable over the course of 100,000 miles, but he was due some maintenance and new tires. Once we considered those costs along with the equity, we decided to get something newer that had the upgrades Ann wanted (such as heated seats). Best of all, our payments stayed the same. We still don’t have a name for him yet: oliver-jeep2

And now for a ramond photo. When Ann and I were last in Ellensburg, Washington, eating lunch, I ran across these urinals in the men’s room. I hadn’t seen kegs used that way, but maybe I don’t get out enough ??…

barrel-urinals

Yesterday (Tuesday), I spent the afternoon working on Rusty, triaging next steps (what needs what work done and fix-or-buy assessments). I’m also choosing some projects to bring back to Pasco. One thing I did was remove the bumpers and clean them up (not perfect, but good enough for the moment).

rusty-bumper1

Continue reading

 
To Top

Aligator Biting Willys Wagon

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This sculpture of an Alligator biting a Willys wagon used to be at the entrance to Jungleland Zoo, which is now closed.

jungleland-zoo-truck-aligator1 jungleland-zoo-truck-aligator2

 
To Top

A Jeep Story

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Thanks to Roberto Flores for spotting this story. Someone named Cliff authored a story about his family’s WWII jeep, which he has inherited. He titled it “JEEP – FAITHFUL AS A DOG, STRONG AS A MULE, AGILE AS A GOAT”

https://www.stellabooks.com/article/jeep-faithful-as-a-dog-strong-as-a-mule-agile-as-a-goat

cliff-jeep

PHOTO CREDIT: Cliff. Look closely at the 1956 picture in the back. You can see the small petrol tank mounted in front of the windscreen. The jeep was started using petrol but the main tank under the driver’s seat was filled with TVO (Tractor Vaporising Oil) which was much cheaper.

 
To Top

1942 Photo of Slat Grille Towing Glider

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

Cool photo.

“1942 Press Photo La Mesa Texas Army jeep towing students in glider training. This is an original press photo. Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 07-15-1942.”

1942-07-15-mb-slat-pulling-glider1 1942-07-15-mb-slat-pulling-glider2

 
To Top

Retro Racer on DJ-5 Chassis

• CATEGORIES: DJ-5 & DJ-6, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jim spotted this vintage looking racer from California that’s built on an inexpensive DJ-5 chassis. Read all about it at Petrolicious:

http://petrolicious.com/this-homebuilt-retro-racer-was-built-to-drive-tastefully

dj5-vintage-racer

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Golseth

 
To Top

Vietnam Jeep Adventures

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

jeep-image-vietnam-trip

Heading to Vietnam? You might consider a jeep adventure while you are there. John shared these Vietnam-jeep related links. I’ve yet to receive any reports about any of these trips, but they must be gaining popularity give the number of them. There are some jeeps, but mostly M-151w.

  1. http://vietnamjeeptours.com
  2. http://www.vietnamjeeptour.com
  3. http://motorbiketoursinvietnam.com/vietnam-jeep-tours/
  4. http://vjtadventures.com

 

 
To Top

Model 50 Ramsey Winch **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD**

John’s got a Model 50 Ramsey winch that he’s interested in selling. If anyone has some advice on the value or its condition, feel free to comment.

Hello, My name is John Knowles, I live in Mont Albert, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. I have a Ramsey model 50 PTO winch head and mounting frame. It apparently came of a damaged UN vehicle and was brought back to Aus. When I got the winch it had no cable fitted and had been heavily painted in UN white.

It has been sitting around in dry storage for many, many years, recently I was toying with the idea of putting front & rear PTO winches on my 110 Land Rover just for the hell of it so I got out the Ramsey and started to clean it up. As I cleaned it up I found it to be in very good condition but I noticed on the ID tag that it was rated at 3500lbs so I started to do some research into this model winch. From what I can gather they are quite collectable so maybe someone on this forum may know a person/collector looking for this model winch, or is it something i should list on Ebay

The ID tag is as follows
Ramsey Winch Mfg Co Tulsa Okla, Model 50, Capacity 3500, Serial Number 9317.
It also has the Bronze engage/ disengage lever.

model-50-winch-1 model-50-winch-2 model-50-winch-3

Continue reading

 
To Top

August 1961 You Can’t Hide From the Facts Hippo? Brochure

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This August 1961 Jeep Family brochure called “You Can’t Hide from the Fact” featured a hippo trying to hide behind a small tree. It’s not clear to me why they used all the cutesy animal references during this time period. This is Form No. DM61-08.

1961-08-jeep-family-tree-pic1 1961-08-jeep-family-tree-pic2 1961-08-jeep-family-tree-pic3 1961-08-jeep-family-tree-pic4

 
To Top

Buffalo Turbine Sprayer/Duster

• CATEGORIES: Features, Parts, Unusual This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Tim wrote me to say he’d found some of these sitting unused outside his place of employment. Unfortunately, there was too little left of them or they were too far gone to restore. The ones they had were powered by Wisconsin air-cooled V4 engines. They also had stainless steel tanks for liquid usage. He was able to take photos of  a complete one before they disassembled it. The company that made that sprayer still exists. http://buffaloturbine.com/ The sprayers look very similar too.

buffalo-sprayer-0 buffalo-sprayer-1 buffalo-sprayer-2 buffalo-sprayer-4

Continue reading

 
To Top

A Jeep on Rails at the Australian War Memorial

• CATEGORIES: Features, Museums • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Thanks to Leigh for sharing some photos from his visit to the Australian War Memorial:

Jeep on Rails 3 Jeep on Rails 2 Jeep on Rails

Original Post (03/19/.2011) Greg’s found these image at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. A little more research yielded a few stories and additional pics at the Australians-at-War websiteYou can see other Jeeps on rails used in Australia at G503.com.

Continue reading

 
To Top

Fourteen Jeep Adventures 1940s-1960s

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I’ve been compiling a list of jeep adventures. These are just some that I’ve documented. There’s  few more to add to the list, but this is good for starters. If you know of others, let me know.

  1. Bantam BRC in 1940: The earliest documented trip occurred September 29th, 1940. That was the day the very first jeep—the original Bantam BRC constructed in only 49 days—was driven 270 miles from Butler, Pennsylvania, to the testing ground in Holabird, Maryland. It was an amazing accomplishment given the newly designed vehicle had been barely assembled, let alone tested.
  2. Wolf Blint in 1945: Near the end of World War II, Wolff Blint escaped fighting on the eastern front by driving across Europe to Paris. He documented his story in his memoir, By Jeep To Freedom. The book is out of print and difficult to find.
  3. Soldier and Bride Return from Europe circa 1945: An unconfirmed event, the story unfolds with a U.S. soldier marrying a woman in Europe following WWII. Somehow, he is able to secure a jeep. Together, the pair drive to a port in France or Germany, have the jeep shipped to America, and then drive the remainder of the route to the man’s hometown in Illinois.
  4. Ben Carlin in 1948-1958: In 1948, Australian Ben Carlin began a trek around the world by heading east over the Atlantic Ocean in a modified 1943 Ford GPA (a jeep made to float over water) named ‘Half-Safe’. Over the succeeding ten years, Ben and Half-Safe traveled 50,000 miles over a period of ten years. His exploits filled three books, each book covering his voyage in different ways. Half-Safe can be seen in action in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Gqi-RlbO0
  5. Helen & Frank Schreider in 1954-1955. Helen & Frank Schreider first jeep ended in a failed attempt to cross Panama in a Willys wagon when their jeep was beat to death as they drove across a long train trestle. For their 1954-55 attempt, they purchased and customized a Ford GPA, naming it La Tortuga. Starting in Alaska, the pair traveled all the way to South America. Subsequently, they wrote a book called 20,000 Miles South: A Pan American Adventure in a Seagoing Jeep From the Arctic (A nearly identical version is published under the name La Tortuga). They also filmed some of their trip and toured the United States giving lectures about their experiences.
  6. Three Boy Scouts Travel 44,000 Miles in 1955: Dubbed Operation Pineapple, three Sao Paulo Boy Scouts—Hugo Vidal, Charles Downey, and Jan Stekly—drove from South America to Alaska and back as part of their effort to attend the 8th World Scout Jamboree in Canada. The CJ-3B Page has an excellent overview of their trip.
  7. Dorothy Rogers & Louise Ostberg in 1955-1956: Dorothy and Louise were two college professors from New York who met while traveling in Europe. They successfully circumvented Africa in a jeep wagon. Dorothy later wrote a book about their adventure called Jeopardy and a Jeep.
  8. Joe Ceurvorst in 1956: Joe wrote a book called Africa in a Jeep about driving around the northern part of the African continent.
  9. Roy Follows and Noel Dudgeon in 1958: Joe and Roy were two Colonial Police officers fighting Chinese Communists near the end of the Malayan Emergency. Ready to head home, the pair bought a Willys MB in February of 1958, then begin a long journey home full of obstacles, broken parts, encounters with unfriendlies and more. Their tale from Singapore to the United Kingdom unfolds in their book about the trip: The First Overland: Four Wheels and Frontier.
  10. Jack & Doreen Shakespeare in 1958: Jack and Doreen drove their early wagon from Australia to England. Lucky for us, they filmed their trip. You can relive their adventures on youtube.
  11. Helen and Frank Schreider in 1960: Ready to his the road again, Helen and Frank rebuild a second Ford GPA that they use to float the Ganges River in India. Their five month 1960 India adventure from the mouth of the Ganges to its source filled forty-two pages of the October, 1960, issue of National Geographic.
  12. Helen and Frank Schreider in 1960-1961: On the heels of their India trip, the Schrieders, again with National Geographic support, tackled the breadth of Indonesia, a 17,000 island archipelago, going to places and completing a trip that few, if anyone, has replicated. Their 4,000 mile trip lasted a year. Their ability to shuttle between islands and over land took them to places no vehicles had gone. Helen and Frank wrote two subsequent articles for National Geographic (May 1961 & August 1962) and a second book, the Drums of Tonkin: An Adventure In Indonesia. They went on to work regularly for National Geographic, though their jeeping days ended.
  13. Harold Stephens in the mid-1960s: Harold drove around the world in a CJ-5 and Toyota Landcruiser. He wrote about his experience in Who Needs a Road? Harold went on to become a travel author.
  14. Dorothy Rogers & Louise Ostberg in the mid-1960s: In the late 1950s, Willys Motors introduced two Forward Control jeep trucks called the FC-150 & FC-170s. Dorthy and Louise thought the latter would make a great vehicle to tour the world. So, they bought one and set off on their second major jeep trip. Dorothy later wrote about their experiences in Highways Across the Horizon.
 
To Top

Willys Overland Mechanics Binder on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

There’s a bunch of information inside this. I’m not sure how much jeep information there is or not.

“Purchased from an estate sale of a Vietnam veteran that was a mechanic there…as the story goes. This binder is in very good condition for it’s age. No breaks or signs of visual wear. It is packed full, as seen in the last picture, of all different types of service type manuals from the mid 60’s to early 70’s as best as I can tell. There are some Willys, Chrysler, Ford, Jeep, Renault, Chevrolet, tons of other service information. So much information that would be impossible to list it all. All pages are also in very good condition. Very interesting piece of history!”

View all the information on eBay

willys-overland-mechanics-manual1

willys-overland-mechanics-manual2

 
To Top

1943 Photo of Jeep Being Loaded into Curtiss Commando on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Usually we only see these photo from the outside of the jeep.

“You are bidding on an original press photo of Reno NV US Air Borne Troops Load Jeep in Curtiss Commando. Photo shows US Air Borne Troops Load Jeep in Curtiss Commando plane. Photo measures 7.25 x 9.75 inches and is dated 7/29/1943.”

View all the information on eBay

1943-07-29-loading-jeep1

1943-07-29-loading-jeep2

 
To Top

1943 Photo of a Slat Grille on the Beach on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

“1943- Willys MB jeep rolls off a landing barge and onto a specially built wire net road at an Atlantic coast training base for Army and Navy amphibious forces. Photo measures approx. 8″ x 10″”

View all the information on eBay

1943-06-17-slat-grille-beach1

1943-06-17-slat-grille-beach2

 
To Top

1955 Photo of Mail Jeep Dispatcher

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, DJ-3A, Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

According to the CJ-3B Page, the Post Office experimented with several different types of jeeps for mail delivery. However, finding photos or history of these jeeps has proven difficult. Last week I acquired this awesome photo stamped December 18, 1955, showing a DJ-3A with a hardtop, no tailgate, and no sides to make entry easier.

1955-12-18-dj3a-usps-mail-dispatcher1 1955-12-18-dj3a-usps-mail-dispatcher2

Then, on eBay, this brochure has been available for a couple months. There’s no date on the brochure itself, but the seller claims it is from 1955:

1955-jeep-disaptcher-mail-flyer

Both documents show what appear to be the same hard top and same side cut body, but the jeeps in the photos aren’t quite the same. Unlike the top jeep, the bottom jeep has the same hubcaps as the early DJ-3As, but has custom parking lights. The top photo has the side mirror on the right side, while the bottom jeep has the rear view mirror on what would normally be the driver’s side. The seats are colored slightly differently. So, are these two jeeps both experimental models?

What surprises the DJ guys the most is that we weren’t aware the low cut body was available as of late 1955. None of the marketing materials show that body as an option in 1956, as this early brochure demonstrates:

1956-dj3a-four-page-dispatcher-brochure-lores-2

So, the search for information about early dispatcher mail jeeps continues. Anyone have more photos or information about these early post office jeeps?

 

 

 
To Top

The Gippsland Vehicle Collection in Australia

• CATEGORIES: Features, Museums This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Leigh shared some pics and information from his visit to the Gippsland Vehicle Collection in Maffra, Victoria, Australia, which is about an hour or so east of Melbourne.

He writes, “The first photo shows a 1956 (this could be earlier due to shipping/conversion times) Willys 6-226 Truck. Fifteen vehicles with this configuration were introduced into the Country Fire Authority (Victoria) that year. The 6-226 was fitted with a BSA 17 LP Pump and 180 gallon (800 lit) tank.

1956-gippsland-fire-truck

At the time, the Willys was the only small four wheel drive truck capable of carrying a water tank of this size, however even with an output of 105 hp (70 kw) it struggled in steep country with its relatively high first gear. On loan from the Fire Services Museum of Victoria http://fsmv.net.au/

Next is a 1943 Ford GPW depicting a vehicle from the 234th Medical Co. of the 4th marine Div. that served in the Pacific during WW2.

1942-gpw-gippsland-museum

This is a Ford GPA with Australian Army Markings.

1943-gpa-seep-gippsland-museum

 
To Top

General Supply & Hesse Compressor History

• CATEGORIES: Features, Industrial-Welder-Generator This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Thanks to Brett, I’ve added some photos of a later model General Supply V4 (possibly a Ford V4) at the bottom of the post. 

Rick Webb shared what he knows about the history of General Supply Compressors & Hesse Compressors. His father Paul Webb played a principle role in the compressor’s development. I’ve included pics below to show how much alike they looked.

For reference, this is a General Supply GS-250 Compressor powered by an L-head. More pics here:

gs-260-compresser1

Contrast the one above with this one, a Hesse Horney Compressor powered by an L-head. More pics here:

cj3a-hesse-hornet-air-compressor2

Rick began, After reading information on youtube and the forums it seems as though there are a lot of questions concerning the hesse hornet and the gs-260 air compressors.I don’t claim to have all the answers however I can shed some light on the development of these units.

My father, Paul Web, lost his dad at the young age of 24 and took a job at the General Supply and Leasing Company in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1951 as a delivery driver. A division of the McDowell Tire Company, General Supply sold tire changing equipment.

When he took the job he met a man by the name of Dick Roberts who was an engineer. They soon hired a man with the last name of Simes (pronounced “Sims”) whose first name I do not recall.Simes was from Arkansas and was a self taught mechanic. He could not read or write, so they taught him to sign his name so he could cash his paycheck. He never used a torque wrench; however when his engines were tested his torque specs were spot on. Continue reading

 
To Top

1959/1960 Any Time Jeep Family Brochure

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This Any Time, Any Where, Any Job Jeep Family brochure is undated. Given the Maverick show reference, I’d guess this is 1959 or 1960.

1959-family-brochure-anytime-anywhere-anyjob1
1959-family-brochure-anytime-anywhere-anyjob2
1959-family-brochure-anytime-anywhere-anyjob3
1959-family-brochure-anytime-anywhere-anyjob4

 
To Top

1943 Photo of Ford GPA, GPW, and Command Car on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, GPA (SEEP), Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Note the caption’s name for the jeep is peep. The name jeep is assigned to the far right Command Car.

“1943 Press Photo Ft Knox KY armored 14 ton truck, all purpose car & a jeep. This is an original press photo. Photo measures 8.5 x 6.75inches. Photo is dated 05-21-1943.”

View all the information on eBay

1943-05-21-gpa-mb-truck1

1943-05-21-gpa-mb-truck2

 
To Top

1950 Photo From South Korea on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Hard to find many press photos from Korea on eBay.

“1950 Press Photo South Korea Cpl William A Shuey, Pfc John Mauldin & jeeps. This is an original press photo. Photo measures 9 x 7inches. Photo is dated 07-24-1950.”

View all the information on eBay

1950-07-24-mauldin-shuey-korea1 1950-07-24-mauldin-shuey-korea2