David EilersNovember 23, 2021

Early 1970s Photo Includes My Father

Chris Holmes posted this photo to the PNW4WDA Facebook group the other day. The first thing I spotted was the brown jacket worn by the man to the right of the group; it's the color of the Wandering Willys Jeep Club. Looking closer, I realized that guy was none-other than my father! Apparently, he had taken part in the shuttle of special needs kids into the Woodland Park Zoo in North Seattle.

Looking more closely, I realized that the front of our CJ-5 was pictured just to the right of Dad's back. one tell-tale sign is the horseshoe welded to the front of the winch plate. Given the jeep pictured was before Dad's topsy-turvey roll down the hill at Icicle Creek outside of Wenatchee (summer of 1974 or 1975), this photo was likely taken in the early 1970s.

4 Comments

mikeNovember 23, 2021 at 10:06 PM
Wow Dave, that's cool, tell us about the CJ5, what year, engine, etc.
1. David EilersNovember 24, 2021 at 3:02 AM
  Mike, Good question Mike: It was about a 1962 CJ-5 (I have the serial plate somewhere in the shop). I think by the early 1970s he was running a chev 327 (it seems he tried out a couple different V8s, but I don't remember those details). I don't know if he had the full cage installed yet as of this pic, but I doubt it. His cage wasn't installed long before he had his fateful series of rolls down a hill in 1974 or 1975. ... I've updated and reposted the story of his roll down the hill: http://www.ewillys.com/2021/11/23/dad-rolls-his-jeep/
clark kentNovember 24, 2021 at 1:57 AM
OH MY GOD ? IS THAT A FORD BRONCO IN THE PICTURE ?? --- lemme tell ya , in the old days , we used to call them " BOUNCING BRONCOS " because they had coil spring front ends -- not desirable -- i hated em -- BUT , FAST FORWARD TO YEAR 2021 , NOW THEY SELL FOR OBSCENE MONEY !!! -- A FIX R UPPER FOR 40K ?? -- THIS MUST BE PLANET BIZZARO ?? -- CALL SUPERMAN ???
neal jungNovember 24, 2021 at 6:28 AM
my father didnt drive jeeps after ww2 -- he drove a 50 pontiac catalina , we drove from virginia , my home state to CAL-I-FORN-IA , cross country , like okies -- stopped at the great salt lake for a float -- bucket of blood saloon in virgina city , nev , for some sarsaparilla -- then on to the GOLDEN STATE -- pops later bought a 57 mercury commuter wagon , two door , push button auto trans , then a brand new 65 corvair monza 110 4 door , we took it to baja that year , great in the hot desert , didnt boil over , san felipe was a sleepy little fishing town then , dirt streets , women cooking churros ~ on 55 gallon drums -- carta blanca and tecate cerveza. After my sister got drunk and crashed the monza , pops got a 1968 chevy caprice wagon , it had the works , 396 MkIV big block , turbo 400 slushbox , astro air , 3 seats , hideaway headlights , we took it on vacation to WASHINGTON state numerous times , towing an aristocrat low liner trailer , usually camped at mt rainier national park , or over at belfair state park on the hood canal -- pops was stationed at bremerton navy yard in the 50's , i remember the constant rain , barack type houses -- uss missouri was docked there , toured it several times - i liked the memorial site on it it where doug mac arthur and the japanese signed the instrument of surrender , big brass plaque. Pops then got a new 1974 dodge dart swinger , hahaha , what a name , SCHWANGER !! , had a little flower ornament by the name -- it was an ok car i guess , 318 v-8 , auto-trans - 2.79 rear axle , highway gears , no air , first year for electronic ignition , would stall on the freeway at 65 mph , very dangerous , i replaced the ignition module a few times , the schwanger went for 300,000 miles before he retired it , sold it to two prostitutes in stockton , it was later abandoned on the streets of hollywood , we got the tickets -- we had two buicks in between , a 65 skylark 4 door , v-6 225 , auto. I later took the 225 out for a jeep and installed a 300 v-8 , what a great conversion , so simple , just dropped in - i think i got the 300 v-8 from our 66 skylark , ma got hit by a drunk driver broadside , she wasnt hurt , but the good old 66 buick was totalled , hence donor vehicle -- then for some reason pops got a 99 saturn sl-1 -- oh my god , didnt even ask his mechanic son before buying it , bought it at a car dealer , just got ripped off on the price , 14k , 5 years old , 40K on the clock -- looked like the oil had never been changed -- i went down to the dealer and threatened em , they threw the keys back at me -- the dealer was later arrested for fraud -- it was a dodge dealer , the owner knew frank sinatra , probably a mobster. Ok , that was pops last car , when he turned 92 , he stopped driving -- i later ended up with the saturn , i love it , its on the ranch here , what a great commuter car , i can drive to another state for shopping , for pennies , it must get 35 mpg ? runs perfect , only has 61k on the clock now , ice cold air , auto , paint falling off , my kinda car -- all my willys jeeps stay on the ranch , hubs locked , why drive them when you can drive a SATURN ?? R.I.P. POPS !!