This is a brand new item with free shipping. I looked for interesting knobs when I built Biscuit, but eventually settled for a tractor one. The seller has a variety of branded knobs also: http://stores.ebay.com/LOST-IN-THE-50S
"For years, I have had bidders ask me about a suicide steering wheel knob that would be good for real heavy duty use on trucks, fork-lifts, tractors riding lawnmowers and will work for handicapped drivers.
WELL I finally found one that will fit the bill for all of these uses and more. This top quality steering wheel knob is constructed from heavy-duty aluminum and steel. Ball bearings give it a smooth turning action and the tough mounting brackets provide a very strong hold on the steering wheel when installed properly."
I am proud to announce that "Finding Virginia" is now for sale at CreateSpace. It has been the culmination of a year's worth of writing and editing (and 46 years of living). Please shamelessly encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to purchase this book. Give it as a present to your spouse (really, they will enjoy it), your kids, other jeep lovers, car lovers, or whomever you know. It is also useful for filling spaces in bookshelves.
What's the book about? It's about jeeps, love, the history of the jeep, love lost, the San Juan Islands, my dad's health fight, how to get kicked out of college, how to grow up in a jeep club, how not to sail, how to get stuck in the woods, cooking, my thoughts on a variety of subjects, and the reasons why I started eWillys.
Who's the target audience? Readers of eWillys are first and foremost the target. People who like adventure and travel should enjoy it too. Women especially enjoy the 'love' story aspect. People who are frustrated with the economy will, I believe, relate to my frustrations with it too.
The book can be ordered through CreateSpace and, later, through Amazon, though Amazon pays me less. The price is $18.39. If you want a signed copy, I will need to order some books, sign them and then mail them to you. You can email me for more info -- d@ewillys.com and put "signed copy" in the subject line. These will cost a little more due to the cost of me shipping to you. I will take a check or paypal as payment.
I am willing to both sign books and attend signings. I can even bring Biscuit if necessary, depending on the weather and distance.
I may not be the smartest cob in the corn patch, but one thing I do know, it shouldn't require gloves to start a M-677 Forward Control Jeep. But, I quickly learned that Steve's FC isn't your ordinary vehicle. It really does require gloves, because it has a manual choke. And by manual, I mean he uses his gloved hand. Ordinarily, I like this bit of ingenuity, but after a couple rotations of the engine, fire exploded out the carb, making all four of us -- me in the passenger seat, Steve in the driver's seat, and Jeff and Mitch in the rear spots where there should have been a rear bench seat -- nearly jump out of the vehicle. Fortunately, Steve had everything under control. I could tell this by the way he immediately pulled off the glove and beat out the fire with it. No, this wasn't a ride in an FC; it was a ride more akin to Mr. Toad's Excellent Adventure. :-)
It all started with Mitch stopping by the house this afternoon to join me on a drive in Biscuit to Tacoma to drop by the FC Get Together. I neglected to mention to Mitch that this was Biscuit's first drive on an interstate. I figured it wasn't that important. Given the confidence he already felt in the jeep after it wouldn't start right away (loose positive cable), I figured we'd test it on the interstate before I mentioned the 'Hey, did you know this was the first time I've driven Biscuit on an Interstate?' factoid. Fortunately, Biscuit behaved well throughout the journey.
Upon arriving at the FC Event, Mitch and I were warmly greeted by Blaine, Steve, Dave and others. Mitch already knew several people as he owns a couple FCs, more for property decorations than actual use I think as they remain future projects -- a status held by many FCs it seems -- but none-the-less beloved by him. But, whom am I to talk, as I have plenty of future projects of my own ....
Not long after arriving, Blaine and I enjoyed some fun trading war stories from the relationship and dating fronts. Between the two of us there were plenty of "what was I thinking" and "should it really be this hard". Once we finally dissected the female pysche and concluded we had no chance against such formidable opponents, he suggested I take a look at a flat fender model jeep he made in his early teens from cereal boxes. It was pretty cool, so he has promised to send pics (don't forget Blaine!).
Soon, everyone's attention turned to the repair of a fuel line. Most of us gathered around the FC-150 like a bunch of lookie-loos. Some of us pressed against the front windows looking at Jeff install a fuel filter to provide cleaner fuel to the carb. You'd think with our goofy smiles we were kids all lined up , leaning on a glass counter trying to decide on the flavor of ice cream we wanted; it was a pretty funny site, not lost on the folks behind us snapping pictures. Of course, I was at the glass too, staring inside the cab when the repair was declared successful. Mission complete, now for the next challenge.
The next challenge didn't take long and came in the form of Steve's M-677 that sports a 289 Pontiac (?). You'd think I could tell you what the engine was because, due to the lack of an engine cover, I was staring right down at it, with the fan blade just a little ways away from sending me to the hospital. Fear not, for it was all part of the adventure I told myself.
As mentioned, there was fire, but Steve got that fixed and we were on our way. It turns out that a V8 powers a M-677 really well. As Jeff and Mitch held on in the back, Steve showed us that the old truck still had life in it, accelerating pretty quickly despite a flat spot in the carb. As Steve chauffered us, passersby were injuring their necks, craning them as they wondered what type of unearthly vehicle it was. As for the passengers, I don't think any of us stopped laughing the entire time. For Mitch and I, it was only our second FC ride ever and, at least in my case, the best one! So, many thanks to Steve for taking the time to give us a ride.
Shortly after the ride was over, Mitch and I headed back for Biscuit's 2nd time on the Interstate. We had fun and look forward to next year's get-to-gether. Apparently, it will need to be at a new location, so if anyone has any ideas for next year, please send them to me.
Oh yeah, the Get Together lasts through Sunday, so you still have time to check it out if you are in the Seattle area.
Below: This was before we all lined up to 'help' fix the gas line problem.
And last, but not least, is Steve's fire breathing M-677. The ride was quite literally a blast! Thanks Steve.
Yesterday morning, SteveK asked to know more about the Bobcat products. Were they race products or something else? The terminology is so second hand, that I thought everyone knew it by now. I decided to send him a link to an article I thought I had published about Fred Weis and the Bobcat body from the February 1970 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine. It turns out I never published that article!
So, I'd like to publish (perhaps I am republishing it) to better explain the Bobcat body and products. At the post's bottom I've included a number of additional examples and information about the Bobcat. Then, on the next post, I discuss the Bobcat & Parkette fiberglass body histories.
Note the Cascade 4x4 club sticker on the hood.
At some point, Fred Weis sold the business and H.C. Van Wagner got a hold of the it. He continued to produce bodies. It's his business card that remains embedded in one of the fenders on Lost Biscuit, which has a Bobcat Body.
The history of the Bobcat bodies gets murky after that. A few bodies may have been produced into the 1980s, but I have no documentation on that. What I can say for certain is that the molds were split into at least two groups. I co-own one group of molds (both Bobcat and Parkette molds). The other molds are in Rochester, Washington, the last I heard. See more photos of the molds, along with a few pics of fellow Alaska Or Rust'er Rob Stafford, here
CJ-3B floor mold on the left, Parkette racing shell body in the middle, CJ-3B body mold on the right.Inside of Bobcat mold.
To the best of my knowledge, there's been no accounting on the number of Bobcat bodies sold and other parts sold. However, they are still raced and driven in the Pacific Northwest. The fiberglass design by Fred Weis has been proven to survive racing (crashes), trails damage, and street use. To see all examples of Bobcat hoods and bodies sold over the last decade, use this link.
EXAMPLES AND MORE INFO ON BOBCAT BODIES:
As I have mentioned a few times, I grew up in the Wandering Willys Jeep Club. In 1971, the club lead an effort to record all the members from Clubs in Region one of the PNW4WDA (there are 7 regions total encompassing Washington, Oregon, and Idaho), their names, addresses, phone number, jeep types, jeep names, their jobs, and assorted other info. As far as I know, this was the first and last directory of its type created.
One of the advertisers was Fred Weis with an ad for Bobcat Fiberglass bodies, complete with the watermark logo of a bobcat (which I didn't notice until I scanned the ad).
Here's the business card of H.C. "Van" Wagner that's embedded in my Bobcat body's fender. Wagner took over for Weis at some point.
Here are some Bobcat Products:
This is Fred Weis' Jeep when listed for sale around 2009. It's been sold a couple times since then.
This picture shows a youthful Roy Williams. He worked with Fred on some of the bodies. Fred gave Roy the first lightweight racing body he produced, seen here on Roy's race jeep. Roy raced all over the northwest, Montana, and Canada during the 1970s,
One of the most readily identifiable Bobcat products are the Bobcat hoods. Besides the standard flat hood, Fred created the readily identifiable and unique Bobcat hood.
This photo shows what the rare Bobcat Tear Drop hood looks like. I've only have two examples. Rob Stafford has an original tear drop hood that I have seen, but apparently still need to photograph.
Below is an uninstalled body that was for sale years ago. Note the wide rim around the rear edge of the body. Also, the step doesn't cut in to the body at the end and there are no drain holes by the step. In the top right pic you may notice that the rear fender tops are attached to the rear of the body at slightly different heights. Mine are worse. And, I've seen worse than mine. The cowl also appears very flat, which causes problems when mounting a windshield. The gasket doesn't seat tight.
Bobcat outer shells were sold without the floors to some racers, as seen here on a body sold in 2008:
This photo shows a Bobcat tailgate on a jeep for sale in 2014:
Here's an example of the body that I purchased in 2008 (just to get the fenders), which was a light body Bobcat racer. Note the much wider edge (maybe 2" wide). This body was hacked up a little bit, but repairable. (more pics here of it). I resold it.
Finally, we have Lost Biscuit's body. I traded a set of axles for a beat up Bobcat body. It needed many repairs, so I decided to restyle it similar to a Parkette body with side stripes. You can see the entire rebuild process here.
It was sometime around mid-summer of last year (maybe earlier) when I started the project to place 'Lost Biscuit' on the hood of my jeep. It took a little longer than expected, but I finally did it. First I had to decide which font to use. Fortunately, I got some very helpful input along the way from Dexter (thanks) and eventually decided upon the Marker Felt font. Okay, that was pretty easy.
Now, how to get the name on the hood. After hmming and haaaing over how I wanted to attach the name (hand drawn, stickers, stencils, pay someone else ... ), I finally decided I would do it myself using paint. But, I knew my freehand drawing and painting skills froze around the 2nd grade, so this wasn't something I could improvise. Since I had no immediate solutions, I decided to put the project on hold (which explains the delay).
One day this past December I was watching American Restoration on the History Channel. The American Restoration show is a spinoff of sorts from the Pawn Stars show and follows various restoration projects from Ricks Restoration out of Las Vegas. In one of the episodes, called Buttered Up (you can view it here), Rick restores an old popcorn machine.
To repaint the front of the popcorn machine, the painter used a technique that dates back centuries called pouncing. Pouncing? My ears perked up!
Pouncing? Never heard of that. As usual, my computer was on my lap so I instantly googled pouncing. I learned,
Pouncing is where pounce -- loose graphite or charcoal -- is rubbed through a series of small holes punched in a paper pattern to transfer the design to an item to be decorated
Well, I thought that would work for Biscuit's name. After some more research, I found out that quilters use pouncing for some stitch patterns. So, the next day I hit some quilt stores. As you can imagine, the conversation went something like this,
"Hi, I'm here because I want to paint a name on my jeep," says I.
Blank stare from cashier, "what do you need?"
"I need stuff for pouncing" says I, remembering now that I probably had not shaved, maybe, not even showered, and most likely wasn't quite dressed like customers they normally help (however, to my credit, I didn't have on my garage jeans).
Another blank stare, "you want to do what?" I think she even had her finger ready to dial '9' (and then '1' '1')
It turns out, not everyone knows what pouncing is, even at the quilt stores. Eventually, after visiting a couple quilt stores, I found what I needed (you will see my pouncing supplies in a picture below).
Here's the synopsis of this project.
1. Design and Print the template. Then, since I didn't have a good awl, I created my own awl out of tape, a chopstick and a long push pin.
2. Next, I attached the template to a piece of cardboard. Then, I poked holes around the outer edge of all the letters.
3. With the letters outlined, I tested out the template on different materials to make sure it worked. It turns out pouncing is pretty easy!
4. Selecting paint was the next step. So, I visited my local art supply store and explained to them what I wanted. They directed me to an Acrylic Titanium White Tube from Windsor Newton. Along with the paint, they also suggested an acrylic spray on sealer and finisher from Americana. I took the paint home and tested it on different materials. At first, I didn't like it, because it wasn't as smooth as the typical oil based house paint I had expected. Instead, it had texture like a canvas artist would want. But then, after staring at it a bit, I warmed to the texture, because it gave the name a hand generated feel.
5. Yesterday, with the weather a little warmer, it was time to paint the name. I got out my template, my paint, and my pouncing supplies. I taped the template to the hood and prepared to pounce.
Over the course of my tests, the technique I found most successful for pouncing was not tapping the pouncer, but rather dragging it slowly across the holes. This kept the paper from popping up and blurring the dots underneath.
The pouncing equipment consists of a pouncer with a 'handle' on one side and a soft side on the other. There's also a plastic container that can hold pounce. Lastly, there is the white chalk.
6. Now it's time to paint. I put three coats on each side. This image was taken after the first coat.
This is after three coats.
There is still some small edges that need cleaning up. Once I do that, I'll spray it and hopefully that will protect it!
I spent the last couple of days working on the firewall. This is obviously a key element for assembling other items, such as the steering, brake/clutch pedals, gas pedal, etc.
I should begin by noting that we have a new name and theme for the jeep: LEFTOVERS. It's a food-ish theme that kind of goes with Lost Biscuit. I like that it isn't a particularly serious name. And, it seems appropriate given I am scavenging two former racing jeeps, but a few parts off of Biscuit, as well as some other random parts.
I saved the original firewall from the yellow-bodied jeep, but it wasn't in the best shape. I also wasn't sure if I wanted to use it anyone, because my firewall area includes several rollbar tubes that aren't present in the yellow-bodied build. Here are some pics of it on the old jeep (btw, I've been terrible at taking pics during this build):
I felt the deciding factor would be how well a template I planned to create for the firewall would overlay the old firewall. If close enough, I'd make the old firewall work (again, leftover theme).
Below is my really fancy paper template (I won't be using the aluminum cover over the gear box .. I was just experimenting with that).
The first thing I realized was that I would need to split the old firewall in two halves in order to install it and have it fit over the roll bars. Once I was reasonably happy with the template, I laid if over the firewall (no pics of that), only to learn that I would need to flatten most of the existing firewall and rebend it; not an easy task!
Fortunately, the other day I bought a 20-ton press from Harbor Freight (I needed it to fix a neighbor's plow). I used the press to press the bends relatively flat. Then, I cut the firewall in half and began the process of re-bending the firewall to the specs I needed, then cutting out areas to fit one over the roll bars.
Here's an example of the passenger side after the top part was was bent flat:
Another obstacle I had to consider was the distributor at the rear of the engine. I needed room to be able to remove that if necessary. Here's a pic of the two haves bolted to the crossmember I made from spare square tubing. It's not perfect, but it will look alright once I get the paint off of it and clean up everything else. Besides, it will be hidden under the cowl.
With the cowl in place, I began playing with the steering column. I never liked the way the steering column in the original green-black jeep wiggled. The yellow jeep had a much more solid setup, so I will try to use it. It will need a new steering wheel, as that was damaged when the yellow jeep was wrecked.
Next up will be getting the clutch/brake assembly attached, build the bracket for the clutch slave cylinder, build the covers that go over the center portion of the firewall, and add a few attach points along the side for the firewall. Still plenty to do!
The biggest event for me in 2019 was Dad's passing; he had a good run. Last year at this time he was pretty sick; so, we knew what would happen, just not when. Now, this time, it's Ann's mother who is in that same situation. We know what's going to happen, but not when. It's just that time of life for us.
Dad in the foreground, a few days before his death. Me in the background grabbing some zzz's. Yep, I was a big help!
EWILLYS:
I mentioned last year that eWillys, as we know it, might change in April of 2020. I have pushed that date back to January 2021. My goal with those changes is to free up more of my time for other projects. Moreover, during this last year, it feels like prices have really skyrocketed on 1940s-1960s jeeps of all types; the variety of jeeps feels like it has declined as well. Deals are less frequent, which means providing daily content has become more difficult.
On top of that, it's getting more of a challenge to find new content for 'feature' posts. I've built a pretty substantial collection of brochures/magazines/books/misc and, from that, have been able to generate new content over the years. But, there are fewer and fewer items on eBay that I don't already have, so locating rare items takes more time and money. For example, I know there are other mid-1950 Willys News magazines that remained undocumented and more than twelve mid-1950 Globetrotter magazines (maybe as many as twenty of them) that would be of interest to everyone. But, I'll keep at it.
Currently, there are 53,726 posts on eWillys. While I will add approximately another 4000 posts this year, I also plan to be cutting much of the dead weight throughout the year; these are posts that provide no useful insights, modifications, or other aspects that might be interesting to me or readers.
2019 TRAVEL:
For the first time in seven years, we didn't take an eWillys trip that lasted longer than a month. Dad's illness (and frequent trips to Seattle) combined with tight finances kept us around home. On the positive side, the summer in Pasco was perfect temp wise––like Goldilocks porridge, not too hot and not too cold––so I spent a good deal of time pouring through Ernie Pyle's old columns next to our garden-pond area (Ann's flowers and plants were beautiful this year).
Summer 2019 Backyard courtesy of Ann (well, she selected the plants, while we dug).
I found Ernie's account of pre-WWII America fascinating (he traveled all over the US between 1935-1941). Then, when he finally got the chance, he traveled with troops from the frontest of the front lines to the most removed troops far in the rear performing critical, but often forgotten, roles. I believe his columns provide a comprehensive, perhaps unequaled look at why the behind-the-scenes military operations are so important to fighting conflicts.
The one major two-week trip Ann and I did manage to accomplish was a fast trip to Pennsylvania and back during early July, to deliver Rusty the DJ-3A to its new owner. We were very lucky to leave after the rains finally subsided in the Midwest, but before the heat arrived on the East Coast. It was a wonderful to be on the road again, even if it only lasted two weeks.
Rusty the DJ-3A all ready for his trip east in July of 2019.
LOST BISCUIT: As for work on Biscuit, that's come to a halt again. Time is proving difficult to find, and will so for at least the next year. So, I plan to sell Biscuit (and all the trimmings); I just hate to see it sit there. Meanwhile, I'll keep Patterson and fix some of his small issues. Then, in two years, I'll have the money to buy another flattie.
2020 TRAVEL:
In March, we plan to have a 'most excellent' time at the FC Roundup in Phoenix. It's the final one, so it should be great. My son Karson plans to travel with us, at the minimum, down to Phoenix. While down there, we will spend some time with Joe-in-Mesa and his WWII jeeps and travel to meet Drew Norman at his Jeep Farm.
Pic from the 2019 FC-Roundup
The rest of our trip is ill-defined, but it's my goal to head to Dallas to meet several relatives and also Fort Worth to finally meet long-time reader Gayland. There's at least one other reader I hope to connect with near Dallas. After that, I'd like to make a quick trip down to meet Barry Ogletree, a visit I've had to put off for several years. From there, I hope to travel north to Denver, where I need to do some research for my next book. How much Ann and Karson will accompany me depends on their flexibility.
That's my updates. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!
Despite some sketchy weather this Memorial Day weekend, I still managed to get into the hills. Sunday proved to be the best day, so I chose to head out of Boise on 8th street again -- otherwise known by me as trouble road. You see, every time I've headed out that road, something has happened (one time, the fan stopped working .. last time, I broke the fender and almost got stuck near the hill top). This trip was no exception.
Fixing my Carb
First, let's talk carbs. I thought I had gotten the carb running well, but hesitation problems continued over the past week. By Friday of this week, I was getting ticked off at not being able to floor it and go -- instead, I had to accelerate slowly.
My solution: find a Carter/Edelbrock manual and get instructions. Sure enough, I found one online that described my problem. What I thought was the result of too much fuel was actually a problem of too little fuel. So, I increased my primary jets to .86. I also re-routed my PVC valve into the base of the carb. Those two changes made ol' Lost Biscuit much much happier. Nothing like reading the manual ....
Now, onward and upward until ...
So, with the carb functioning correctly, climbing out eighth avenue into the foothills went smoothly. As usual, I checked my gauges frequently, especially my temperature gauge. So, it was quite a surprise when I looked down and saw that the temp gauge had lept to 260 degrees! SHIT! I pulled over immediately and shut down the engine. I jumped out to lift the hood to let the engine cool more; however, much to my surprise it turned out the engine was holding down a ready-to-explode radiator hose. As soon as I lifted hood, the hose separated from a connection tube and a geyser that could be seen from Yellowstone NP let loose. If I wasn't so pissed off, it would have looked pretty cool.
So, there on the trail I sit scratching my head. After letting things cool just a bit, I quickly found the cause of the problem -- a wire had come loose at the base of the fan relay that was part of the original connection. So, I spliced around that loose connection and the fan started working again.
Now, how to get some water into the radiator? I had a total of one bottle of water on me, so I poured that in; unfortunately, I needed another 20 bottles or so. That's when lady-luck arrived in the form of a puddle around 20 feet behind me -- I think it was the only puddle along that entire road.
So, I took my bottle, gathered water from the puddle and filtered the muddy water through a shirt. After many trips back and forth, I got the radiator filled, cringing the entire time. But, I figured it would work until I got it home to drain and clean it.
Now, onward and upward for real ...
But I was sure about one thing in particular ... I was getting to the top of that road this time! And I did get there, all the way to the ridge road --- finally! Once I got to the top, I was having too much fun, so I just kept going and exploring. And so, here are some pics from the trip.
First is a composition of images taken from the 'road' that ran along the mountain ridge.
On the north side of the ridge there is plenty of green, while the south side is pretty brown.
Here's a bunch of sheep munching along the hillside.
I wanted to make sure I can get through the snow. Without a winch, I don't want to get stuck.
Finally, near the top of the highest mountain, too much snow filled the road to allow passage. So, I have to save the very highest roads for some warmer weather :-)
And here is the view looking west of this road. You can just make out Bogus Basin road which carves upwards to Boise's ski area, Bogus Basin.
And yes, once I arrive back home, I immediate drained the engine of water and flushed it with additional water. I also changed the way the fan relay was mounted and simplified the wiring so that the damn fans won't ever shut down again!
Doug contacted me tonight. He and some friends will be making a trip up to Idaho City to do some Jeeping. I drove above Idaho City last year in Biscuit and there are some fun places to explore. I only got lost once. Below are the details. Btw, take the bear and mountain lion and heard wolf warnings serious!
"There are a few Willys owners here in the Boise area who are taking a trip this next Saturday, Oct 15. Several of us met up about a month ago and made the trip to Idaho City. We had 2 CJ3Bs, a M38A1, M37 and M35A3, it was really cool. This will be our second trip and the last one for the year.
If there is anyone interested but cannot make this trip, they can contact me at: willysjeepcj3b@gmail.com and we will get them added to our email list.
Old Jeeps and military vehicles: join us for a drive on the Boise National Forest, Saturday, October 15. Travel will be on public roads in and around Boise N.F. Family and friends welcome.
Trip plan: Depart from Reserve St. alongside Fort Boise City Park in downtown Boise at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Travel up Shaw Mtn/Rocky Canyon Road #260 through the foothills to Robie Creek/Clear Creek Road #261, then Grimes Creek Road #364 to #307 and take 307 into Idaho City. Todd lives on the Hwy. 21 side and will be meeting us at the jct. of #260 and #261, so anyone coming from that side can do the same. Idaho City has a long and interesting history.
Here’s a link to the C of C website. http://www.idahocitychamber.com/ Gas and grub at Idaho City, then backtrack to Pine Creek Road #366 .
If time and weather permits, we’ll go up Pine Creek Road to Shafer Butte, circle Bogus Basin Ski Area, get on #275 below Bogus and take it back to Rocky Canyon Road. Total distance, including the Shafer Butte section, will be approx. 100 - 120 miles. Elevations will be between 2500’ and 7500’. Highway 21 is nearby in case you need to leave early.
Maps? There are many roads in this area, some public, some private, some with travel restrictions. The Forest Service office on Overland in Boise (next to Walmart) has two types. There are black and white “Motor Vehicle Use Maps”, one for each of the 5 ranger districts on the forest. They’re free, get all 5. They contain info on this year’s travel restrictions. You’ll need the Mtn. Home and Idaho City maps for this trip. They also have a large, color “Travel Map” for $9. It’s over 10 years old but gives a good overview of the entire forest. Todd, who lives in the area and travels it often in his 3B, has noticed that the forest maps aren’t always complete, so he uses topos too.
A final note: Todd also reminded us that he’s seen bear and mountain lion and heard wolves while travelling in this area. There was a mountain lion attack near his house last week.
Rich & Paul (aka R&P) on the left. John and me on the right.
Today is out last day of travel and visits. Tonight we will stay at Ann's aunt and uncle in Vancouver, and tomorrow, we head directly home.
Ann and I spent the morning with R&P 4WD. In the evening I visited with Herm (AKA Herm the Overdrive Guy) and his son Marty Tilford. In between, Ann's uncle lost his grandkids dog (still missing), so we spent several hours looking for the dog. On the plus side, I got to know her aunt and uncle's neighborhood really well!
Our drive from our motel in McMInnville to R&Ps location in Oregon City, Oregon, took about an hour. What surprised Ann and I about the drive through the rolling landscape of small farms was the large number of wineries in the area. We both agreed that there seemed to be more wineries, more signs for wineries, and more tasting rooms than both Sonoma and Napa combined! Or, maybe we were just thirsty?
Figuring it wasn't quite time to drink, we landed at R&P thoroughly sober and ready to look at parts! Rich and Paul, who started R&P in the 1970s, and John, who joined them a few years ago, greeted us warmly. R&P provides a variety of drive train services, including tranny/tc rebuilds, axle builds, brake products and more.
After some pleasantries, we dove into their newest items. They recently developed a bolt-on dual master cylinder installation kit especially for trucks and wagons. They had a nice demo until to show us how the adapter attached to the frame:
They also demonstrated their new tow bar adapters and their disc brake kits. R&P was even kind enough to donate a disc brake kit for testing on Biscuit, so I'll be doing a full write up on that when install them (thanks guys!).
Next we got a tour of their garage and parts area. Not surprisingly, there were a bunch of different axles, transmission and transfer case gears and more. Ann faced the biggest challenge during this portion of the tour as she'd put on a dress so she could enjoy the sun, not realizing she'd be inside a garage (though I'd mentioned this fact to her . . . ). She's a good sport and did her job taking photos, risking grease spots on her dress at every turn.
We also spotted John's CJ-6, which is undergoing some work at the moment. It seems he's as busy as I am, which explains the state of both of our jeeps.
After that we wandered outside to look at a few more jeeps. Each of these has a variety of upgrades to meet the challenges of northwest jeeping. One update that really interested me was the vintage Offenhauser Buick V6 valve covers in the CJ-5. They got my attention. Boy do I have valve cover jealousy.
Here's another look at some of their jeeps:
We also took a look at a few of their projects.
After our exploring the R&P shop, the guys Kindly took us out for lunch. Yum!
With our bellies were full from lunch and a temperature of 85 degrees (pretty high for this time of year in Portland), we drove north across the Oregon-Washington border.
As we crossed the Columbia river and entered Washington State (exactly six weeks after we left it), Ann got a message from her uncle: "Can you help me find the dog?" It turns out Uncle Bob and Aunt Debbie, who live in Vancouver where we planned to spend the night, had been watching their grandkids and their new dog, Bradley, who'd been a shelter rescue. Despite Aunt Debbie telling Bob not to let the dog off the leash, Bob wanted to train the new dog, so he'd unleashed him for a moment. Bad idea. Bradley took off into the woods. Since we had some extra time before meeting with Herm, we offered to help.
Bradley had only been missing a few minutes when we arrived at the Fohl household. We immediately began to troll the neighborhood with it's parks, tall trees, underbrush, and windy 1970s suburban developments.
Ann and I split up to cover more ground. She wandered through a local park while I cruised the nearby junior high and high schools. It was at this point that I realized how awkward this could prove to be. I'm some middle-aged man slowly driving through school parking lots asking young boys and girls if they'd seen a lost dog. Even worse, had somebody asked, I couldn't exactly describe the dog, since I'd never seen it! The words "stranger danger" kept cycling through my head . . .
Thank goodness for Herm and Marty, because after searching for two hours, I got a call from Marty letting me know they could meet with me. Though I had to leave Ann behind to continue the search, I couldn't drive away fast enough!
Herm's CJ-5 with a a few M-38A1 goodies on it. The hood has special louvres that Marty made. Herm says it really does help cool the engine. He runs terra tires on all four wheels.
Many people know Herm on the web by his internet name of 'Herm-the-overdrive-guy'. While he's definitely a go-to-guy for overdrives (for servicing or for purchasing new or rebuilt ones), he also supplies many more products and services than that. He's been involved with jeeping, jeeps and parts for decades and can has earned a wealth of knowledge from that experience.
I asked Marty why his dad painted the trannies different colors. I figured there might be a system. If there was, Marty said he didn't know it.
Herm and his son Marty gave me a peak 'behind the curtains' of his home-based operation, which allows him to be around his family. One good reason for working at home is that the business keeps him very busy. He says he can work on larger items like transmissions in the afternoon, then in the evening have a seat at his work bench, turn on the tv, and rebuild overdrives. He says he's thought about retiring, but he loves what he does and doesn't know what he'd do if he retired.
Always nice to have a few parts hanging around. Lots of cleaned parts ready for sale.
He also continues to develop new products, several of which he explained to me. He was very excited about them. He feels he has an opportunity to fill some small vintage jeep drivetrain niches, to satisfy needs for which there are currently no solutions. Since I didn't explicitly ask to share those ideas, I won't get more specific here.
Herm's got a few winches for sale, too.
Unfortunately, because I abandoned my wife to the dog search, I didn't take too many photos. It's too easy to get talking and forget to take them. But, I'll make sure to bring her along next time so we can get an updated photo of Herm, Marty and I. Meanwhile, I did take a photo of the home made Elk/Porl bacon that the Tilfords gave me [Ed Note: this was great tasting!]
This is some elk/pork 'bacon' that Herm and Marty gave me. Parts are all fun to look at, but you know me and food. I can't wait to try this!
So, thanks to Herm and Marty for taking the time to meet with me. And, many thanks for the elk/pork bacon. We'll eat that for breakfast with some North Coast duck eggs. :-)
For those wondering about Bradley the lost dog, the story ends happily. The search was given up while I was gone. The grandkids were told the dog was lost and they were sad.
But, don't despair, because at 10pm, as I was going outside through the garage, I spotted a dog peering around the corner of the house. It was Bradley. He'd found his own way home!
Tomorrow we head home for some rest. All this 'vacationing' has worn me out!
