Text by Patrick Bell.
Today we have a gallery of Jeeps as they were used by the people who owned or operated them. They were and are versatile vehicles, which is a big part of their popularity. Maybe some of these will trigger some memories.
The notes on the lead image said “’48 Willys Day 1”. It was a CJ-2A with a tow bar, worn street tires on the front, snow tires on the rear and spare, and what appears to have been a Wisconsin license plate used from 1968-1972. The young man at the wheel looks like he was having fun on a nice summer day.
In the background was a 1964-1966 Chevrolet C10 Fleetside, and a box van that may have been based on the 1969-1974 Ford Econoline judging by the rear hub cap and the little of the cab I can see. They were pretty common in that era.
A couple of ladies were using a CJ model likely for a resting spot. I cannot image them riding there for very long as one bump would bounce them out. It is difficult to date one of these from the rear. It only had one tail light, with a pair of marker or signal lamps added to the upper corners. The license plate was an Oregon style first issued in 1956, and it had a 1962 tab in the right upper corner. My best guess would be a 1946-1949 CJ-2A or a 1949-1953 CJ-3A. On the right edge was the right front corner of a 1955 Buick Super or Roadmaster.
Here was a color coded, well equipped camping rig that was set up at the base of a mountain range seen in the background. The tow rig was another one that is difficult to date from the side. It was either a 1952-1955 Station Wagon or a 1956-1964 Utility Wagon, the same vehicle with a name change.
It looked like it had a heavy load, and part of it was the 14′ or so boat on top that was loaded via a one or two man loader hinged on the rear bumper. The camp trailer was an 18 to 20 footer of unknown brand. It had a propane stove and heater, single axle, and a storage box built on the bumper. It was leveled, and I see a water and electric hookup on the “101” pole. The lady was setting up an outside table to go with the two lawn chairs.
In the trees on the left may have been a 1955 Plymouth, and on the right was a green 1959 Ford Custom 300 along with a green camp trailer.
Three people in the front seat would be quite cozy in one of these. It was an Universal CJ-5 from the early 1960’s with a half fabric top. The State of Washington was its home, where it was registered in Kittitas County, which is in the central portion. The year was 1963, but those were forever plates updated with stick on tabs that I think were used only on the rear plate. The vehicle looked in very good condition other than a little dirt. The tires were matching and worn the same, so it was likely close to new.
And another side view of either a 1952-1955 Station Wagon or 1956-1964 Utility Wagon that was taking a break at a Mobil station called “Pike’s”. There was a photographer in the lineup with his equipment ready for a subject. The Jeep had a roof rack, spotlight, and a rack mounted Jerry can for extra fuel. To the left was a 1951 or 1952 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe, and a Chevrolet Advance Design pickup or its GMC equivalent.
Art’s Dune Tours is a Provincetown, Massachusetts business that was established in 1946 and appears to still be operational. The tour vehicle was either a 1954 or 1955 Station Wagon, or a 1957 to early 1960 Utility Wagon. It was dressed up with custom two tone paint, a spotlight/mirror combination, and a hood ornament. The green Massachusetts license plates were used in 1961/1962 and 1966, and apparently street tires worked better in the sand.
The pink structure had the look of a motel or small apartment building, while the Jeep was a 1946-1949 CJ-2A with perhaps an aftermarket top, an auxiliary light on the bumper, and a leaky front wheel seal. It looked well loved, with mismatched tires and a rattle can paint job that was ahead of its time with a flat look.
“Johnny Jan’s Atlantic” makes me think this was a gas station shop vehicle who did some snow plowing as well. Google Street View says that address is in Richfield, Ohio, but from what I can tell Atlantic was never in Ohio. So that is as far as my detective time and abilities go. The rig was a 1949-1953 CJ-3A with a new looking top, and the man at the wheel wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
This image was dated 1967, but no other information was provided. Since the red Jeep was not dirty, it looked like an excursion that was about to get underway. From the left a 1946-1946 CJ-2A with a pipe front bumper and a top frame. Next was a red 1963-1965 Universal CJ-5 with the Tuxedo Park III or IV option, tow bar, winch, and wide wheels and tires. The Tuxedo Park option was interior and exterior trim, such as the chrome bumpers and hood/windshield hinges. Also available beginning in 1965 was the “Dauntless V6” with 225 cubic inches and 160 horsepower. Next was an International Scout with a tow bar, full hardtop with roof rack, and a third Jeep was barely visible behind the Scout.
Our final image was a close to new looking 1965-1967 Wagoneer with the same vintage Minnesota license plate. It was a well equipped rig with a boat on top and a small pop up camper trailing behind. It was plenty for a small family on a cool spring day.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Attached is a picture of an Atlantic station in Painesville, Ohio, which is about an hour east of Johnny Jan’s, which is in Cleveland. The year is 1956. At some point in time, Atlantic merged with Richfield to form ARCO, which had some stations in Ohio in the 1970s. The attached picture is classic because it shows a Sohio station also. Photo credit is due to Dave Gelinas.
Pete and Eric – Thanks for the additional information!
The Atlantic Station referenced on the CJ-3 (Johnny Jan’s) was actually in Parma, about 10 mi. north of Richfield. Same Broadview Rd., but the addressing isn’t continuous. The gas station closed down sometime in the 1970s, and it was a car-repair place for a while, and then became a dry-cleaners, which it is today. The building is still identifiable as a former gas station.
That featured Jeep with its “Snow Plowing” sign brings back memories because back in the 1970s when my parents first moved to the suburbs, they hired a guy to plow their driveway, and he used a white CJ-5. I remember the Jeep looked small with that big plow attached, and the driver worked amazingly fast. The little jeep was very maneuverable in driveways. My folks only used that guy for a few years before starting to shovel their own driveway, but I remember as a kid thinking the plow guy was fun to watch.
Growing up in the distant suburbs of NYC in the 60’s and 70’s, our neighborhood “plow guy” also drove a well-worn CJ-5. He weighed about 300lb, so the poor Jeep had a pronounced list towards the driver’s side. Not that our family ever utilized the plow guy’s services — with 4 boys in the household, it was expected that the driveway and sidewalks would be shoveled completely clean by the time that my dad returned home from work at 5:30.
Nowadays, most of the Jeeps I see appear to be driven by young women and Jeep bro’s complete with a lineup of rubber ducks on the dashboard. If they were ever going to try to use their Jeep to plow, there’d probably be ducks flying everywhere in the cab. In the meantime, today’s plow guys all seem to use gigantic Ford, Ram, and GM diesel pickups.
In summer of 1970 I worked on a farm in New Hampshire and the owner had a true WWII Jeep, painted battleship gray. He let me run into town with it to pick up supplies when needed. I was 20 and basically an idiot (still am?) so one day at a light (THE light…small town!) revved up the mighty Willys Go-Devil 4 big-time and popped the clutch, whereupon a U-joint promptly broke. So took some baling twine laying in the back, tied it up, put it in 4wd, locked the front hubs and drove it back to the farm, about 7 miles, in “Jeep fwd”. Once back had to tell the boss, highly embarrassed of course, however he proved to be most understanding and kindly didn’t mention that only a nit-wit would do something dumb like that. Great guy and have loved old Jeeps ever since, and even restored a CJ-7 rust bucket (258 6 cyl) around 1996.
He was an interesting guy and also had a 1963 2 stroke SAAB 96, (fwd made sense in rural NH and they had dealers!) which I also drove and fell in love with, so much so that I bought a ’67 as my first purchased car in 1971.
I grew up in the 50s-60s and Jeeps were popular with the kiddos as well. A sample of those I still have:
As usual, your commentary bespeaks your acuity of seeing features to tell the story. Thanks.
Thank you Thomas!
Lovely pictures take me back to my childhood .
I was _so_ sure my first car would be an ex military Jeep but I never did get one .
-Nate
Can’t let a Jeep post go by, on another site, I’m known as Mr. Jeep, as I rarely miss a post on a Jeep. Jeep is “The Greatest US Vehicle”, according to a well written book by Patrick Foster. Living in Wisconsin, Jeeps were synonymous with anyone, from roadside assistance, to having the driveway plowed. I knew a guy with an old military Jeep and a plow, and the plow was raised by a hydraulic jack in the cab! No fancy hydraturn either, you got out and turned the plow, by hand! The Jeep , I feel, is the most patriotic US vehicle you could have, and why when I moved to Colorado, a Jeep was paramount. I looked at several, including a ’65 CJ with a very rare O/D, but “settled” for a ’91 YJ Wrangler, and I love it. Jeep went virtually unchallenged in the 4×4 biz, until the Scout came along, and cut the sales of Jeeps in half, I bet. The ultimate nail for Jeep, was not the Bronco, but the Toyota Landcruiser. The young mans smile in the 1st pic tells it all. For many, the Jeep was the 1st vehicle they drove. We owe a lot to these vehicles, as we wouldn’t be free without them. Amen.
Lacking only a photo of an old pickup truck. . . I humbly submit a photo of a ’75 J10. I owned this while I was stationed at Fort Bragg NC. The snow suggests the photo was taken during a visit to my parents in Wisconsin.