Peter Pearson provided these pictures and the story behind an award-winning French champagne called Jeeper:
"Armand Goutorbe had a vineyard in France before World War II. During the war he was a hero, but he was injured badly and after the war could not get around his vineyard any more.
"Faced with ruin, he approached the French government and asked for a Jeep, as it was the only vehicle that could do the work and ferry him around. At the time all Jeeps were for the military -- no civilian use was allowed -- but in his case as he was a hero the government let him have a Jeep. In honour of this little car he named his first post-war champagne Jeeper Champagne. It is still made and is excellent stuff. Not only that, but the back of the bottle carries a picture of him and one of his beloved CJ-3B's."
The first Oscar-Mayer Wienermobile was built in Chicago in 1936, and the newest versions continue to tour the world today. The 1958 version, the first built out of fiberglass, might be of some interest to Jeep fans. According to an Interactive History of the Wienermobile, "In 1958, a futuristic, bubble-nosed Wienermobile, designed by the late Brooks Stevens of "Excalibur" fame, added buns for the first time. This was one of the smallest and most unique, as it was built on a Willys Jeep chassis. Stevens' design had a tremendous impact on the Wienermobile. Its influence is visible in the next three generations of vehicles."
It is not certain what Jeep chassis was under this Wienermobile. The inclusion of a photo of a CJ-3B on the Kraft Foods website suggests that it was a 3B, but in fact this is simply a stock Willys photo. The fact that Brooks Stevens designed the FC-150 Forward Control Jeep on a CJ-5 chassis two years earlier, suggests he may have drawn directly on that experience for this project.
Thanks to Eddie Frederick. See also a Wienermobile pedal car (60K JPEG), photo by Thomas Miller from the Petersen Auto Museum.
Alex Houle sent this photo he took on Victoria Day (24 May) 2000, in Dorval, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. Alex says, "I have known these people for several years and have been to their home several times to talk Jeeps. They live in Lachine and are famous for these Jeeps. The late-50's CJ-5 is hers, and his is the mid-50's 3B. They have owned the CJ-5 since new, and she uses it as her daily driver. It is quite a common site to see her driving around with the Jeep full of kids. As you can see, when they go out they both go in separate Jeeps. On Victoria Day I happened to pull into the mall and I had my camera with me, so they graciously let me take some photos of them."
See also a rear view photo (60K JPEG).
Bart McNeil writes, "I've never seen a CJ-3B on the front page of a newspaper so when I saw this in the Oneonta Daily Star I thought I would send you this picture of a modified '57 CJ-3B. The day this picture was taken I actually saw this 3B as I drove through Oneonta, NY. I dutifully pulled over and examined it. It appeared that the entire tub had been replaced, with the exception of the grill. There were tool indents on the passenger side and the only "WILLYS" stamping was on the grill. The craftsmanship was very good as the owner, Tim Marmel, is an auto-body man.
"The reason for the large Molson umbrella is that the cargo area was full of sound equipment (speakers etc.). It had a nice Harrison heater under the dashboard. He had removed the headlights and parking lights and covered over the holes. It was certainly more modified than I was interested in, but it was nice to see someone put a lot of care into their CJ-3B. As I left it started to rain and this photo was taken shortly thereafter. As usual I didn't have my camera with me."
The photo was published in the Oneonta Daily Star on June 14, 2000.
Thanks to all the contributors. -- Derek Redmond
Return to the Index of Unusual Photos on The CJ3B Page.
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