Features Research Archives

To Top

Merry Christmas, 1983!

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

Merry Christmas (eve) everyone!

I must have seen this commercial when it aired back in 1983, but I don’t remember it. I guess I had other things on my mind? I graduated in the summer of ’83, for which my parents bought me the first jeep of my own (I’d driven Dad’s CJ-5 for a couple years), a patched together, blue, modified CJ-3A with a Buick V-6 and T-15 for $1500. I spent the summer cruising around in it, then the Fall driving it to my first (and last) quarter at a community college, before pretty much flunking out (I just didn’t care about college at that point).

Instead of college, I traded labor for a rundown, hacked together racer, took that apart, and started building what would become my first project jeep. Too young, dumb, and stubborn to fail, I got a part time job cooking and used those meager funds to cobble together a custom jeep over the subsequent year and a half.

 
To Top

December 1961 Jeep News

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

The December 1961 issue of Jeep News was only six pages, but still packed into a few interesting items. In the center column of the front page you can see the California Association of ‘Jeep’ Clubs had already come up with rules for jeeping on publics lands. Here in the PNW, we’ve seen a small contingent of folks doing stupid things that ruins it for everyone else. Such is life. Also note the bottom of page one showing the two giant billboards. I’ve never seen pics of these.

An article on page two references a 28-page two-color booklet titled “Your Ten Major Retail Markets”. That’s not one I’ve seen. Anyone else run across it? There’s also a reference to a Fleetvan comparison brochure. You can see pics of that here: http://www.ewillys.com/2016/03/29/1961-fleet-van-c…brochure-on-ebay/ (Not sure if I have a copy).

Page three contains something really unique: An Army FC-170 with a camper! The FC camper, an Army FC-170 with a Stahl bed, and an Army Traveller wagon were all headed to Alaska. Page three also has pics from a Billings, Montana, Rough Riders Jeep Club road event.

Page five and six contain a variety of stories, with several photos of FC-170 Fire trucks. Page seven shares the story of a New Jersey firm that operated pizza delivery wagons. Anything you can add to that story Mike?

1961-12-jeep-news1 1961-12-jeep-news2 1961-12-jeep-news3 1961-12-jeep-news4

 
To Top

Photo of GPW From Warbird Website

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

John shared this neat photo from the Warbird Website. You can even see the Ford tires on it. I tried to find the hood number (20145236), but it appears the G503 search has changed. Maybe someone else can have more luck determining if it is in the database.

gpw-on-warbird-website

 

 
To Top

Photo of Elvis & Bazooka

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

Mark shared this image of Elvis holding a Bazooka posted to the Armory Life website. Even more interesting, this M-38A1 has a rare defroster mounted on the windshield.

m38a1-elvis-bazooka

 
To Top

February 1959 Jeep News

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

UPDATE: This was supposed to publish Friday morning, but didn’t for some reason… just discover this Friday night!

This eight-page February 1959 issue of Jeep News begins with a recap of the 1960 Chicago Autoshow, where the all-white jeep lineup on display was called, by some industry veterans, the most attractive commercial display at the show. Page three shows several different FCs adapted to various speciality tasks.

Page four and five share a report and multiple images from the auto show. There’s also a reference to two films played at the show. One was Jeep Frolics, a video shown in the post below, and another video showing a wide variety of tasks jeeps could perform (not sure which video this might be).

Page six contains an article about Warn’s successful hub sales. the article estimated that by 1959 there were 135,000 jeeps using Warn hubs. Page seven covers the use of jeeps in Detroit’s underground salt mines (also captured in pics from this post). Page eight features several stories, including another example of a custom FC camping unit.

1959-02-jeep-news1 1959-02-jeep-news2 1959-02-jeep-news3 1959-02-jeep-news4 1959-02-jeep-news5

 
To Top

Jeep Frolics from 1958(ish)

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

Willys Motors featured this Jeep Frolics film at the 1959 Chicago Autoshow, as explained in the February 1959 Jeep News. It features color clips from the Jeepers Jamboree out of Georgetown, California, ‘Jeep’ Roadeo racing from Yakima, Washington, and the ‘Jeep’ Endurance run staged at Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. According to the Jeep News issue, the film was a popular attraction at the auto show.

 
To Top

Jeeps in the Detroit Salt Mines

• CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: More on the Detroit Salt Mines from this February 1959 issue of Jeep News.

I saw a reference to jeeps in Detroit’s salt mines on Facebook. After a some research, I found a few more images. The salt is used exclusively as road de-icer.

detroit-salt-mines-truck detroit-salt-mines4 detroit-salt-mines3 detroit-salt-mines2

truck-detroit-salt-mines

https://ephemeraldetroit.blogspot.com/2015/06/salt-city-beneath-detroit-booklet-1971.html

 
To Top

August/September 1958 Jeep News

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

UPDATE: A version of this issue was previously run in Oct 2020. I’ve improved the pics and added a little more detail to the introduction.

Here’s another six-page issue of Jeep News for the months August and September, which is followed in the post below by a special four-page “MAVERICK” Extra edition for the month of September.

Page one includes a short article about the US Post Office purchasing ninety FC-170s, all with power tailgates, which could mean that if you find an FC-170 with a power tailgate, it might have been a USPS jeep. Of the ninety, sixty-two had snow plows. All were stake bodies and painted red, white and blue.

Page two is all dealer-related info. Page three is mostly devoted to the Mile High ‘Jeep’ Club’s second annual ‘Jeep’ Endurance Run at FairPlay, Colorado.

Page four shows off a pretty neat truck, set up for fishing and camping. Also on page four, under “1943 Military ‘Jeep’ Vehicle Stars in Big Portland Rose Parade”, the article shares a little about the jeep and the parade. However, the jeep that’s pictured is actually an M-38. I can only suspect that the wrong photo was added to the article?

Page five has a misplaced headline for the Jeepers Jamboree (story on page six), when the story is actually about Meyer snow plows and other equipment (headline on page six). Page six is devoted to the Jeepers Jamboree.

1958-08-09-jeep-news2 1958-08-09-jeep-news3 1958-08-09-jeep-news4 1958-08-09-jeep-news5

 
To Top

September 1958 Jeep News Maverick Extra

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

This September 1958 four-page issue of Jeep News is devoted to the Maverick show.

1958-09-jeep-news1 1958-09-jeep-news2 1958-09-jeep-news3

 
To Top

1962 Press Photo of CJ-3B Fruit Fly Sprayer on eBay

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

This June 16, 1962, photo shows Dick Burke setting up a fruit fly sprayer on a CJ-3B.

View all the information on ebay

1962-06-16-fruit-fly-spraying-cj3b-1

1962-06-16-fruit-fly-spraying-cj3b-2