Our broadband home router was down most of Wednesday. I checked for outages, but none were reported. Eventually, I contacted support. Support could find no issues, so they scheduled a tech to come this morning. Then, mysteriously, the router connected properly around 6pm. We’ve had no issues since (so I cancelled the tech).

No pics provided. Sounds more like a 1946.

https://vermont.craigslist.org/cto/d/orleans-1947-willys-jeep/7509659858.html

“1947 3 on the column shift
Very good restored condition Vintage vehicle
Original Engine
No rust underneath
Missing tailgate hinge
Needs backseat
Runs very well.
New battery”

More updates later today. I need to get outside and get some work done this morning while it is still relatively cool.

It should hit about 100 degrees today here (which isn’t bad compared to elsewhere in the US), so I’m going to work outside this morning. I will do updates later today.

I read this book over the last two days. I highly recommend it (thanks to Bill for suggesting it). It’s a compelling read about the factors surrounding California’s Camp Fire in 2018, the one that tore through Paradise, California. The author approaches the story from the view of some of the folks who lived through the events, which makes the story that much more effective.

Has a variety of mods. Has on overdrive.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/378176780968170/

“1947 willys 4×4 with chevy 350 v8 runs and drives 3spd with overdrive 9k winch new tires asking 6200 obo”

That was a quick first half of 2022! It seems like it was just January…. Just this update today, as I will be busy installing some final trim on the guest house so the trim can be painted (see the bottom pics).

Our highlight from the Fourth was a short visit by Cowboy and Donna on their way from Illinois to the ocean. Cowboy accompanied Russ on our 2017 trip to Alaska and we’ve remained good friends since (as all the trip participants have). Somehow, I got no pics of the four of us!

However, to help them spot our place, I drove Patterson to the front of the property: It made for a couple good pics. 

Our lowlight from the Fourth was watching the dry hills a few miles to the south of us catch fire from idiots shooting illegal fireworks over the dry Horse Heaven Hills. I’d estimate the fire line was roughly 2 miles long. This morning, this section of the hills is black; thankfully, the fire(s) are extinguished.

On another note, I was surprised on the 3rd to see this CJ-3B sitting in our neighbor’s field across the road. This is the first time I’ve seen the 3B at their place. They were shooting at something, presumably marmots. I’ll find out more about the jeep when I next see them:

Finally, Ann decided it was time to paint the guest house, so I’ve been enlisted to finish up the exterior window trim (for some reason this was never completed). Here’s a before look at the rather bland colors:

Here, the red color is mostly completed, giving it much more of a “barn” feel. The dark blue will be replaced with white.

My new fuel pump arrived for Patterson, so I tossed the old one (which was a glass bowled hand-me-down from Chris McKay back in 2017) and installed the new one. Of course, the new one didn’t work. So, I did the usual over a period of a few days:

I checked the lines, I recheck the lines. I rechecked the rechecked lines.
I checked the clamps on the line. I installed different clamps.
I checked the cam for a groove or signs of it being worn (none that I could feel),
I reinstalled the electric pump to double check the lines and to check there was enough gas (there was and it worked).
I pulled the new pump and hand pumped it with some gas in a container (to prime it). It pumped by hand fine. I reinstalled the new pump, but no luck.

So, I pulled the old pump out of the trash (which had worked fine until late last year), reattached the fittings, and hand pumped some gas out of a small container (that worked).

With the old pump primed, I reattached it. The pump is now working.

That was a lot of work for little progress!!

There won’t be any updates until Monday morning. Today and tomorrow are the estate sale. And, of course, it poured all day on Friday and into this morning until about 4am. So, we decided to section off half the shop with tarps. Thankfully, we’ve had some family help. Meanwhile, the stuff we did pull outside is covered in tarps and popups. There is little doubt Ann and I are questioning our decision to do this… we just hated throwing away or moving this stuff, once again.

Thankfully, the rain has stopped and skies are clearing, so it is time to get back outside. We need to be ready in two hours. Wish us luck!

Rob is hoping to find the following items for his CJ-2A. The closer to North Carolina the better, but he is willing to ship for the right items. Email him at rob @ humblerootslandscaping.com (remove spaces around the @ before emailing him). If you’d like him p#, comment below and I will email it to you.

1. A half (or possibly full) cab for a CJ-2A in good shape.
2. Some 1950s 10 spline hubs. He currently has later model Warn hubs, but hopes to find something earlier to better reflect the age of his CJ-2A. Examples of what he is looking for include Early Dualmatic (lever-type), Early Cutlas, Early Warn, Free-Lock, Kelly, or Husky hubs  are what he is hoping to find.
3. Finally, he’d love to get a Capstan winch (complete setup), but understands how rare such an item is.

Ann and Zollie

On Tuesday, we lost internet for the entire day, so I just took the day off the computer.

Well, that was part of the reason. The other part was that on Monday it rained all day, so Ann, the dogs, and I enjoyed some quiet time listening to the rain. It was a good day to decompress.

However, our 13-year-old elderly dog Zollie did not enjoy it quite as much. He struggled on and off most of the day, coughing and spitting up some phlegm. Despite his medication, his failing heart seemed to be failing a little more than usual. Eventually, we went to the animal hospital, hoping that whatever Zollie was fighting was something that could be cleared up, but it was not to be. While his will and attitude were very much intact, his body was failing him. He had life left in him, but he’d be in pain and uncomfortable. So, we held him as he was put to sleep…

In 2010, before I entered Ann’s life, she was living in Omaha and on her own after her ex bf chose to date their babysitter (awkward). Between her already existing PTSD and that tumultuous event, she decided to get a PTSD service dog.

She had always been a big-dog type of girl, but her lingering injuries meant she could only handle a small dog. After searching, she found herself at a Humane Society kennel where she spotted a tiny dog with a big attitude, a foo-foo shitzu-pomeranian mix, exactly the kind of dog she never thought she’d own. The precocious little pup was keeping the rest of the other dogs in the kennel under control and at bay. She liked his toughness and confident attitude, so she took him home.

Zollie at Four Corners. He was always patient with his Momma’s photography.

Her new dog’s role was to help calm her when she she felt her anxieties building. So, she named him after a drug with a similar purpose: Zoloft; but altered it slightly to Zollie.

When I entered the picture in 2011, Zollie was already a well-trained and well-behaved little dog. He could sit through a movie at a movie theatre without making a peep. He could fetch her inhaler on command. If you made the whistle sound of a bomb falling he would duck under the nearest chair (one of Ann’s favorite tricks and a reflection of her sometimes-sick humor). He was so well mannered that you could put him in the front yard and he wouldn’t wander away, even if dogs walked past the yard. He travelled well and rarely complained.

Zollie, Ann and I going camping in 2014. He really didn’t like camping (dirt, fires, slick camper floors …)

I wasn’t all that interested in having a dog when I met Ann. And, she warned me that Zollie hadn’t liked her last boyfriend. So, I think we were both surprised when Zollie and I bonded right away. Though he could be a little jealous when Ann and I kissed, he seemed very supportive of our relationship.

Zollie was a “pretty” dog, often mistaken for a female. The natural shape of his mouth always made it seemed like he was smiling whenever he opened it. He also had a very precise sense of time [by the end of his life, he seemed to know exactly when 6am (food and meds), 2pm (meds), 5pm (dinner), and 8pm (meds) was and he kept us on track by sitting in the kitchen and grunting when it was those times].

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Barry discovered that there was a variant of the “4-in-1 Jeep” campaign that used the term “4-Purpose Jeep”. It appears the term only appeared in newspaper ads (I have not extensively confirmed this). Here are some examples.

From the May 19, 1946, issue of the Beatrice Daily Sun Newspaper (Beatrice, Nebraska):

From the June 12, 1946, Issue of the South Alabamian (Jackson, Alabama):

From the May 12, 1948, issue of the Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Illinois):

From the May 03, 1951, issue of the Valentine Newspaper (Valentine, Nebraska):

Ann and I spent yesterday moving more stuff from Mom’s place to our place. We have one more load to go, so we will be back there around the 12th. Mom’s place goes up for sale on April 15th and, most likely, will sell within a week. Hopefully, the sale of the property marks the ending of a transformative three years that began with Dad’s passing in 2019. Even without a pandemic this would have been a strange time for us, but add that and other external happenings and it’s been a crazy few years!

Speaking of changes, we have a couple contractors coming this morning to bid on a couple projects, so no updates today. There will be updates Wednesday.

TJ shared this unusual-bodied jeep. It certainly could be an MB.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3064870103786809

“Custom built body on Willys Jeep frame with Willys MB block with matching head. Check photos. No Title. Not running. Have tons of parts.Great and unique project. Lots of time and money. Shoot me an offer. Feel free to ask questions”

Updates continue to dribble out, so sorry about that.

We are still working steadily on the master bedroom. I am hoping to be finished with the trim by Saturday, but little things keep delaying us (ex: Ann got a flat tire two days ago, which caused me to use up half-a-day getting it changed and fixed). Once that is done, we can redo the TV/study room (which is currently our bedroom). I hope to get all of the phase one interior changes done by the end of Feb. Phase II will be the remodel of the master bathroom (this summer or fall?). Phase III will be a major remodel of the common rooms of the house, but that is probably a year+ away.

I am also busy documenting the various issues with my sister vis-a-vis mom’s estate in case my sister goes through with her recent threat to sue the estate. The crux of the issue is that my sister doesn’t believe the horses, which she inherits and which my parents bought and owned (and she rode, trained and cared for), have any value to the estate and that she should be gifted them free and clear of the estate distributions. Given my parents put six figures into the horses over two decades, and the fact they own them 100%, the horses do indeed have value to the estate and, thus, part of my sister’s inheritance should include some value placed on the horses. Since she knows this means she will get less cash from the estate, she believes this unfair and is very upset about it (even though the current plan is to give her the horses at half the market value to recognize her contribution to their value, but she refuses to have any conversation about this). Ugh!

We are still awaiting a date for Ann’s semi-emergency gallbladder surgery, but our local hospitals are very busy with COVID patients, so we aren’t sure when she can get in. At this pace, it will likely be an emergency procedure at some point!

Perhaps the best news of the year is that I have the shop heater running … oh boy, does it warm up the shop quickly!!!

Vernon asked about the heater. It is propane powered (we have a 1000 gallon tank). It is connected to a thermometer on the wall: :

Jim’s selling this M-38A1 body. Note that the first M-38A1 was produced in 1952.

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/pts/d/valencia-us-marine-corps-willys-kaiser/7425045178.html

“I have decided to buy a new Philippine made reproduction body for my U.S.M.C. Military Jeep Project.

So I am selling my Original U.S. made Willys M38A1 or Cj5 Military/ U.S.M.C Jeep body tub as used by the United States Military from 1955 until 1982.

These Jeeps bodies are getting very hard to come by and becoming very collectible, they go for a nice chunk of change when finished.

I am including the flooring patch panels and hat support that I bought intending to fix this tub floor.

Also included are both front fenders, the hood, a M38A1 grill and a M38A1 dashboard all steel parts.

I am also including a steel hardtop and doors made by KOENIG Co. Model 508 use by the military for colder weather aka ( ARTIC CAB ).

All parts for a 1955 – 1972 Military M38A1 or Cj5 body restoration.

Will sell parts separately.
Price is negotiable.
May have other part available.
Will post photos soon.”

UPDATE 12/05: Sorry there haven’t been many updates. I’ve been catching up on the home front in Prosser. Now, I am back in Seattle for a couple days. We’ve made good progress with mom and she is testing out her new home today. Hopefully, it will work for her. 

================

UPDATE 12/02: (oops, put the wrong update-date on this) We stayed with mom through yesterday (Wednesday), then returned home. On Tuesday night, I started coming down with what I believe is some kind of flu (tested negative for covid), so thought I should go home. Ann followed me home a little later. Meanwhile, my aunt found mom a 24/hour elder-home run with a limited number of tenants run by a nurse that is just a few minutes from my aunt’s house; it sounds like a nice place for mom to stay for a while. It is by no means cheap, but they take and accompany her to doc appointments and offers a doctor that will make visit the house. All this will relieve huge burdens on all of us. 

Several times during the past few days mom didn’t know where she was. When I brought her back from the hospital on Friday (and I won’t get into how difficult it was to get her into the truck at the hospital), I wheeled her into the house, then the kitchen. She slowly stood up with my help and using her walker, then shuffled towards a back glass door that leads to the back deck. I asked where she was going. She said she was trying to figure out how to get into the house. I said we were in the house. She then asked how she could get to the kitchen. I told her we were in the kitchen. Eventually, she got her bearings. But, these moments of confusion, of having no idea where she was at while in her home of 55 years, happened multiple times over the past few days.

Today, I feel better, but don’t feel 100%. So, I’m on bedrest.

=========================

(11/30/2021) Our quick 2 day jaunt to Seattle on Friday has turned into much longer stay. So, things remain on hold on the jeep side of things.

Mom wasn’t taking her LASIX regularly, which led to absorbing water and puffing up. So, not long after we arrived, we were off to the hospital. She stayed two days there, where they managed to get her fluid levels down, but even with lasix and Spiro (short for another drug that helps eliminate water build-up), her heart isn’t keeping up. So, we have her on some bed rest in the hopes we can lower some of the new swelling (not as bad as she was Friday).

Making predictions on how this will play out is difficult. But, one of the best pieces of wisdom we got from one of Ann mother’s doctors was that if the patient’s health decline is over months, the patient likely has months left; if the decline is over weeks, she likely has weeks left; if the decline is over days, she likely has days left. We believe we are well into the weeks category and will plan accordingly.

One the interesting note I read the other day was from a hospice nurse of 6 years, with also 9 years of ICU experience. She said that often folks who are about a month away from passing will imagine seeing or talking with loved ones who have passed or beloved pets, I found it an interesting read, one that’s been consistent with our experiences: https://people.com/health/hospice-nurse-goes-viral-on-tiktok-for-talking-about-patients-final-moments-before-death/

UPDATE: It looks like the seller pulled the jeep from the auction.

Bill shared this auction for a 1947 CJ-2A “Bandito” edition. Based on the video, I think the seller was being sarcastic about it being a “Bandito” edition. It comes with an illustrated “Frito Bandito” on the side of it (the mascot for Fritos from 1967-1971 and voiced by none-other-than Mel Blanc).

View all the information on eBay

“Here we have a good ‘ol 1947 CJ2A. This one came off of a farm in Colorado, where we were lucky enough to find it sitting.

Like most of these old jeeps, it does have some rust, but this one is not rotted away to nothing like so many you see, this one still has a lot to work with. The frame is solid, and the drive train is all there. As you can see – it has been converted to a later valve in head engine, and they added a hood scoop to accommodate this. The scoop could be modified pretty easily to look a little better, but this was pretty common. The engine fires up and sounds great, runs very well. It doesn’t get hot, or leak, and carries good oil pressure. The oil line that goes to the oil pressure gauge did spring a leak, so I pinched it off.

This jeep does go into gear and try to move, but it seems like it is stuck between two gears or stuck in neutral, I’m guessing it’s something pretty simple, as these are very basic to work on.

As you can see in the pictures, this is the extremely rare and highly sought after “bandito” edition. I tried to find the story behind this, but unfortunately it was lost to time. The dash has wood over it, but original steel dash is behind the wood. Has a really cool Austin Healy shift knob! I’m guessing this old jeep could tell some stories! This vehicle will be sold with a State of Kansas dept. of revenue antique bill of sale, I will help with whatever you need if possible.”

Out of the frying pan and into the fire…..

Unfortunately, having helped my mother-in-law through hospice in September, we won’t get much of a break as now my mother’s health has declined to the point that we have to make other arrangements for her. So, we’ll be doing regular runs over to Seattle to give my aunt a break from the daily care of her, while, also readying her new apartment and clearing the house as best we can.

Meanwhile, against our recommendations, and knowing mom’s health was in decline, my sister chose to put her house on the market in September. She just closed on her house this week and is moving to Texas, abandoning our mother after my mother supported her horse hobby (profession?) for more than 25 years so she can “make a name for herself”. Mom is devastated by my sister’s decision. She is currently in OKC attending a horseshow, because somehow that is more important than caring for mom. Needless to say, there has been quite a bit of family drama….. ughhh.

So, once again, updates may be somewhat become sparse, likely lasting into the New Year.`

UPDATE: Still Available.

(10/14/2021) This 3B was probably a cool rig back in the day given the paint job. It’s got some 4Wheel Parts branded Selectro hubs.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/566203147954684

“Very solid body good running gear just has been stored for years”

UPDATE: Still Available.

(05/22/2021) Has a variety of updates. It’s listed as a 1945, but has M-38 attributes.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/522645282259787

“Willys jeep , Chevy 350 , competition cam, electronic ,ignition , Shimed gears, New gauges stainless steel Dash, Newer electric harness, New tires, Warner winch, extra fuel tank in rear, New ball joints in front, disc brakes and back.runs great”

Not sure how much value is here.

https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pts/d/fort-collins-rat-rod-willys-jeep-project/7386530848.html

“WILLYS FLAT FENDER RAT ROD PROJECT
rolling chassis with air bag suspension
set up for Chevy inline 6 and TH350
8.8 rear end out of a crown vic with disk brakes
Ford front axle and spindles disc brakes from speedway
new radiator
new reverse corvair steering box
rebuilt TH350
1975 chevy 250 inline 6 with four speed out of a pickup”