No question about it, Jeeps are built to be hard-working vehicles, but at this time of year it's hard not to think about the fun part of driving a Jeep. Here are a few photos showing some of that fun.
Dan Morgan takes a crowd for a ride on an old logging road near Talihina, Oklahoma. Dan's '62 3B is mostly original, with the addition of a Ramsey 8000 lb. PTO winch. The Jeep has spent its whole life in Oklahoma, and Dan is the third owner. Take a better look at Dan's back seat (250K JPEG) which provides lots of space and a good view for passengers.
Gene Troxell's '54 is seen in the huge Eldorado National Forest in California in 2008. Offroading by motorized vehicles in Eldorado is now prohibited, but there are 1800 miles of marked roads and trails in the park.
This shot was the winner in an August 2010 "high velocity" photo contest at Gizmodo.com, the Gadget Guide.
Chuck, the photographer, commented: "Canon 50D, F/14, 1/20sec, ISO100. This photo was a team effort. It was shot in a field a few miles from my home. Dad was driving the Jeep (1954 Willys) and my wife was driving our truck. I was laying in the bed of the truck holding the camera as near to the ground as I could reach. I set the camera up to shoot in high speed mode with servo focus and just snapped away since I couldn't see the screen or through the eyepiece. After a few different settings this one worked the best. It was difficult to match the speed of the vehicles and the bouncing as we went over off-road obstacles. All three of us had a blast."
Gizmodo's editor noted: "The chunky, utilitarian Jeep design mixes with the perfect sharpness of the photo in a wonderful way. When you notice that the wheel and grass are a blur, it almost seems impossible that the vehicle is in such excellent focus. Beautifully executed shot. Also, I want your dad's Jeep."
Does anybody know whose Jeep this is?
Anieca Grimes takes her dad's brand new CJ-3B for a spin in Houston, Texas in this photo apparently taken in 1965. The summer of '65 was shaping up to be a lot of fun in Houston, including the Beatles hitting town for two concerts at the Sam Houston Coliseum in August.
Chet Couvillon He says: "While going through some old photos, I discovered this one. My grandfather purchased the 3B brand new, and here is one of the first pictures of our Jeep -- the lady in the photo is my mom. The Jeep I rode in as a child and learned to drive on as a teenager will soon be listed in my name as soon as we get a replacement title (we can't find the original)."
Chet completed a restoration of the Jeep in 2010.
Back in 2000, Del Francis wrote: "I know you guys must envy the sleek, racy hood scoop on my Jeep, but you don't know the whole story. The guy I bought it from had made it himself to hold his hot dog forks, it even had a basket inside. I am sorry to say that I threw it away. I know a lot of 3B'ers would probably kill for a reproduction."
Paul Jarvis of California describes his Jeep, seen in this photo from the year 2000: "I have a '53 CJ-3B body mounted on a '72 -'75 CJ-5 frame. I have a healthy 351W with a T-18 and spring-overs on Ford 9" front and rear with 488's and air lockers. I am currently running 38" Swampers which seem to work well in most applications.
"Last year on the Stag Run in Oregon we had 250 rigs participate which was our largest turnout."
Frank D. Gough II in Tennessee found and bought this Jeep in the late 1990's, and it took a while to figure out how to get it out without hurting the fruit trees around it. See also a side view showing the steel hardtop (20K JPEG).
Frank braved the blackberry thorns to find the serial number 57348 108108, which indicates it's a 1963 model (see the Serial Numbers page.)
I did a double take when I first saw this photo. It looks like some kind of a Jeep alright, but more like an amphibious GPA than anything else. Turned out to be an upside-down CJ-3B, belonging to Jim Sammons.
Jim says, "That's my CJ-5A Tuxedo Park in the background, '66 model. It doesn't much look like a Tuxedo any more. It's been camoed and all the chrome painted over. Still has the shifter on the column though. I had the tub turned over on the 3B to do the seal welding on the bottom, as I built the tub myself."
See also the tub right side up (30K JPEG).
Thanks to everybody for the fun photos. Have a great summer. -- Derek Redmond
Return to the Index of Unusual Photos on The CJ3B Page.
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