It was a long day of driving yesterday. I dropped off the motorhome in McKenna, picked up a truck there, stopped by my parents to grab some chains and help out mom. Then I made a quick trip to North Bend where Mitch Carter lent me his trailer (BIG THANKS to him). Next I drove to Pasco to pick up Ann. After that, we hit the road, driving over the very dark pass in pouring rain at about 50mph …. couldn’t see a damn thing! Eventually we broke free of the rain and arrived in Missoula in the wee hours of the morning. Robin, I’ll text you later today. Let’s meet after we pick up the jeep if that works.

SLAG is now available! I want to thank everyone that helped make this book possible, from its inception through the research and writing, to the proofing. Many people aided me along the way. While I always hoped I could create something like this, I was unsure it would ever happen.

This final version differs from the version I published in limited form two months ago. The title has been altered slightly to (hopefully) position it more accurately. And, I have divided the book into two parts, to better reflect the shift from Anton Eilers and the competitive environment of mining and smelting to Karl Eilers, his years with the smelting trust and his eventual showdown with the Guggenheims.

One reader of the book pointed out that it was a complex read, but then noted that if a person wants to understand some of the real history behind America’s Industrial Revolution, this is a must read. I hope many others feel that way as well.

These rims are on Ted Jordan’s Bantam Trailer.

He writes, “I have a couple of Wheels on a Bantam T3-C Trailer that I was hoping some of the military guys might recognize and help me identify. The Wheels are def military (I think) as the original coat of paint is olive drab. They are a solid disc looking type wheel, but unlike the civilian type we’re used to seeing on the 45 and early 46 CJ2As. The tires are also a mystery and was told by a military collector he believes they weren’t made in this country . They are 6.00-16s and are marked MALOYA  Switzerland Type M. Another friend says he thinks he may have seen this type rim on a Military Searchlight Trailer but wasnt sure.

Continue reading →

Clean after two loads to the dump.

1. I spent the past week cleaning up my parents’ garage, opening up the ceiling, removing cobwebs, fixing insulation, and hanging seven new light fixtures (found 4 foot 3-light florescent light fixtures for only $10 a piece with working lights!). With the book done and the garage cleaned, I can get to the business of completing Biscuit.
2. One thing I still need for Biscuit is a Buick (or GM/GOP) scattershield. Anyone know of one for sale? eBay and Craigslist has been a bust.
3. That DJ-3A in Montana popped up on Craigslist again. If the floors are solid, Ann and I have decided to get it. Our goal is to get it running and worry about everything else later. If everything goes as planned, we’ll take our jeep to Montana next week, rent a trailer, and bring the jeep back.
4. This weekend Rob Stafford invited me to Overbored’s PNW4WDA jeep race in Ethel, Washington. So, I’ll be staying in the camper there for a couple days (Ann will be in Spokane, so it’s just me). There will be racing Saturday and Sunday. If you ever wondered about jeep racing, come by and say hello (I believe visitors can get in for $10 or so).

Steve discovered these 11″ canvas bags from Harbor Freight were an inexpensive solution for storing his tools under his DJ-3A spare tire. The first photo shows the bags. The second photo shows them under the tire.

Merlin at Hanson Mechanical broke the news of a new L-134 (not rebuilt) being tested. Read all about it here:

Left to -right: Me, Todd, Chris’ son Gabe (peeking out from behind Todd), and Chris.

Those of you that follow Chris McKay’s (aka Minnesota Chris on eWillys) on his Vintage Jeep Parts Facebook group know that he and his brother Todd (aka Idaho Todd) swept through Colorado the other day, leaving few rocks unturned in their search for jeep parts. Based on their loaded trailer, I doubt there is much left in Colorado, except maybe some left-threaded lug nuts and a rusty axle or two. After they finished, they beat a path for Todd’s home in northern Idaho. There, they hoped to get a newly acquired Tuxedo Park running.

It occurred to me that having Todd and Chris at the same place made it a great opportunity to meet them both, so we arranged a get-together on Wednesday.

I arrived before noon, just in time to see them trying to get their Tux Park to run. I might not be the best engine guy, but even I could see that they were having success. The evidence was everywhere, especially the fire and smoke coming out of the tail pipes! That’s more progress than I’ve made some days. As they worked on it, they filled me in on the jeep’s back story.

Todd (left) and Chris (right) fiddling with the carb.

Apparently it had been running-when-parked CJ-5 that had been sitting in the driveway since Nixon was in office … okay, maybe that’s an exageration, but it had been a while. Despite its long slumber, the brothers managed to get it running in Colorado just long enough to drive it onto the trailer. Once they got it too Todd’s place, they drained the gas-turned-rusty-varnish and tried to get it running better.

As I looked on, I felt they had everything under control. They even had a plan of action in case the jeep caught fire (push it outside, towards my Grand Cherokee!).

They are certainly men of action! As they worked, I took more of a supervisory role and spent some time with Todd’s father-in-law, a man they affectionally call Dad. He told me stories of jeeping the Pismo sand dunes. He also dispensed some useful tips. For example, after we watched a plastic cup melt from holding gasoline, Dad asked me if I knew that peeing into a foam cup melts it? I did not know that! That bit of wisdom became a running gag between him and I for the remainder of the day.

As we talked, the Tux Park belched more smoke, shot fire, and cleared itself of hairballs. Boy the McKay brothers sure know how to make starting a jeep exciting!

Once we’d had enough fireworks, we decided it was time to eat some lunch. But, before we did, Todd wanted to show off his round-fender collection.

You might notice that these jeeps look quite a bit alike. To help differentiate between them, Todd and Chris use a code. It’s based on the year of the jeep and either the place they bought it or the person they bought it from. This is a useful code, since combined the brothers have bought and sold about eighty jeeps. For example, Chris’ 1959 CJ-3B is called 1959 Ken. This differentiates it 1958 Ken, another CJ-3B that involved a Ken. See how clear that is? Seriously though, what it does for them is provides a story or memory for each jeep. They like their jeeps to have history and each one had its own tale. Continue reading →