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Odd Jeep Printers Block on eBay

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

This block depicts an oddly shaped jeep (?). It almost looks like a jeepney.

View all the information on eBay

“Vintage Printing Letterpress Block
The block of wood is approximately 4 inches by 1.6 inches. 0.9 inch thick wood.
If you need exact measurements, please let me know.
Subject matter is:
Jeep or similar vehicle with things on the roof.
There is a sign also that shows which way Canada is.
I haven’t tried to polish this up or anything but it probably could become shinier if somebody decided to do that.
Some of the pictures where it’s clearer or shinier is because of how I positioned the lighting in the room.”

jeep-printers-block

 
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No updates Tuesday

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

Well, I’d planned to do updates, but the weather was perfect for sanding and patching the race body’s big holes with fiberglass (and smaller holes with fiberglass putty), so that took priority. I might be able to have all the body prep done by tomorrow evening.

With the highs around 90 degrees, it’s not too hot, so this week is perfect for prepping and painting the body and front clip.

 

 
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Initial Color: Kubota Orange

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

After one of the nicest April, May and June I think I’ve ever experienced, our summer highs in the 90s have finally arrived. However, work goes on when it can.

We have settled on a temporary color, Kubota Orange. It’s the rattle can color that we think looked the best. I don’t want to do a nicer paint job just yet, because I don’t want to take the time right now to get the body and front clip completely smooth (in case I want to do the mounts differently). Instead, I want to get the jeep running, so that I can test the anchor points to make sure they hold like I hope they will and that the front clip doesn’t rub on the body.

Yesterday I made four of the six front clip mounts, with the final ones to be made today. Here’s the orange on the fender (only two coats). It’s a little darker in person.

2023-07-08-orange

 
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Zombie Kittens

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

When we first got the new kittens last March, we couldn’t get them fixed due to both of them having respiratory issues. Unfortunately, once better, we couldn’t book their spay appointments until July 6th. This wasn’t ideal, but what we didn’t know was how unideal it would be, because for the last month one or the other kittens has been in heat, and meowing, and wanting to go outside, and just little terrors in general.

So, we’ve been counting down the days until the spaying would occur. Finally, on Thursday, we took the girls into the vet.

At day’s end, we expected to receive weary cats ready for sleep and rest (we both have had cats in the past). According to the vet, we needed to keep the cats quiet, keep their cones on their heads (so they can lick their sutures), and limit their food. We were even optimistic when picking them up at the vets, because the techs said how loving the two cats were … hmm … yeah … right.

Instead, as soon as we arrived home and let the cats out of their travel, they became little hellions. We struggled, but successfully got the cones on their heads. Immediately, te supposedly docile and “loving” cats began writhing on the floor, which caused the cones to come off in seconds. And, as soon as they got loose, they were running around like they’d never had surgery. There was no “keeping them calm” .. their pupils were dilated, they obsessed over their food (which eventually we had to hide), they became obsessed with a milk bottle plastic ring, which for literal hours they both chewed and knocked around and carried places.

After recognizing that these two felines were high as kites and feeling no pain and obsessively focused on whatever they wanted, it became clear we needed a new plan to protect their sutures. So, I raced to the local Walmart to pick up baby onesies, which Ann then cut and roughly fitted over their bodies.

These two cats wanted nothing to do with the onesies and, moreover, it caused them to walk and fall over like their were super high. We eventually had to put a harness over one of the cats in order to keep the onesie on her body. Still, they attempted to wriggle out, so one of us at to watch them at all times.

Ann ended up sleeping with the cats in the cat room; however, the next morning she told me that the cats didn’t sleep. In fact, it wasn’t until the afternoon on Friday that they finally slept (as seen below).

2023-07-07-cats

‘Get cats’, they say; ‘they will be so fun to have around’ they say … hmmmph.

 
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Vintage Military Jeep Birthday Card on eBay

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

This children’s card includes a punch out jeep and soldier.

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“Vintage Gibson Punch Out Fun Army Jeep & Men Boy Birthday Unused Card & Envelope. Card Is 4 5/8″ X 16″ Opened Up. Gibson Play Card.”

punchout-military-greeting-card1 punchout-military-greeting-card2

 
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Photos from the 1970 Ridge Runners Jeep Race

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

UPDATE: Tom just shared this Google view of how the site looks now. The indents of the oval track can still be seen. He added, “The Pin is in the center of the Mud Race Track. The camp ground is in the trees on the right. The view is looking south

jeep-bowl-google-earth

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Tom shared these images from the 1970 Ridge Runners Jeep Race. There’s a couple video clips of the 1977 race just below this one.

Tom added a few historical details I didn’t know, “the Ridge runners had a camp ground on the south side of Ahtanum Creek about half way between Wiley City and Tampico. They rented the land from a guy whose last name was Herkey. The Mud races were held there every Memorial day weekend. You had to ford the creek to get there.”

The pack hits the first water hole

Notes: The pack hits the first water hole

The leaders plow through the mud and another splashes in

The leaders plow through the mud and another splashes.

Plowing through the mud

Plowing through the mud

2 jeeps drowned out

2 jeeps drowned out

Spectators on the hill sitting on their jeeps

Spectators on the hill sitting on their jeeps

Spectators

Spectators on the hill

 
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Video Primer on the Mitsubishi Jeep

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

Bill shared this video overview of the Mitsubishi jeep history.

 
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Roger’s New Howe FC Firetruck

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

I HAD planned on doing posts for this morning, but yesterday we discovered water near our water tank, which soon lead to discovering one of our pipes (in a wall) was leaking. So, holes were cut in the wall and leak verified (at copper corner piece joint). Several hours and one trip to Home Depot later, I was able to get everything fixed (thank goodness for push joints). Whew.

In lieu of updates, we’ll celebrate Roger Martin’s newest acquisition: A 1960 Howe-modified FC that was formerly in the Toledo Firefighters Museum. It run and drives and is in great shape! Congrats Roger!

1960-fc-firetruck-roger-martin2

1960-fc-firetruck-roger-martin3 1960-fc-firetruck-roger-martin4 1960-fc-firetruck-roger-martin5

 
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Body Mounted, Front Clip in Progress

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

I am typing this while recovering from a wasp sting that caused my right hand to swell (it’s been an odd health year for me!), which sent us to the local doc-in-a-box to get some steroids, which in turn helped reduce the swelling (after 24 hours). I’ve never had a reaction to a stinger like that, so it’s a bit of a surprise!

Last week I finalized the body mounts. Hinges attach the body to the back of the frame in two places. Two single bolts with large washers hold the mid section of the body to a plate on the roll bar. And, two bolts through angled aluminum hold the bottom front portion of the cowl to an angle piece on either side of the body. On the upper portion of the sides of the cowl some rubber taped to the inside of a bracket keep the cowl from shifting back and forth.

The front clip is proving a bigger challenge than the body. First, I had to cut out part of the the driver’s rear-side portion of the front clip because it was too narrow and hit the side of the body. So, I am creating a form and will lay some new glass down (along with patching a few other places).

Then, once the hood fits properly, I will have have to build special mounts for the front clip. The goal is to reduce the stress on the hood, as these things are often mounted with quick release setups that allow the body to flex, making it more prone to breaking and cracking and/or rubbing on the body.

Here are a few pics:

I decided to to throw a couple blocks (made from some of my grandfather’s wood) onto the hood that are a nod to the original hood blocks, but will also tie in a frame underneath the hood to help support and mount the front of the hood.

2023-07-02-racing-body2 2023-07-02-racing-body3

You can see part of where the hood is cut out. The form will allow for the new portion of the hood also down fender to flare outward more (or that’s the plan). 2023-07-02-racing-body4

 
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UFO JeepRod in Roswell, NM

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

During a roadtrip with family, Mike spotted this unusual jeeprod with a UFO topper on it, cruising in Roswell, New Mexico. The plates indicate the rig is from Texas.

roswell-nm-jeeprod8-lores roswell-nm-jeeprod9-lores