This 2A has been beautifully restored by members of the West Fargo Fire Department in North Dakota.
Bill Wheeler photographed an early Howe CJ-2A fire engine owned by Art Gloss, at the Spring Willys Reunion in Wasau, Wisconsin in May 2001.
A restored 1948 Howe conversion with Barton single stage 500 GPM pump is on display at the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix, Arizona. It was apparently originally purchased by a private farm in Wisconsin; see a detailed history and description of the Jeep in What's New at the Hall of Flame.
Here's a beauty of a CJ-2A, still in active service as of 2002. Brushfire Unit 4726 is a 1947 Jeep belonging to the Mumford Fire Department in New York state. It has a 350 GPM front pump and 110-gallon tank, and the MFD describes its mission as "grass fires/inaccessible areas/water supply."
This 1947 CJ-2A is from Milk River, Alberta. Purchased in 1949 after a church fire, its last fire was in 1993, just before it was restored. It's shown on display at the 1997 Antique Fire Apparatus Muster held by the Calgary Firefighters Museum Society. The racks for rolled hose on the front fenders are an unusual feature. Photo courtesy Gordon Church.
The builder's plate on the Jeep reads, "Genium, Willys Jeep Equipment, Model S1, Sterling Machine & Mfg. Co. Ltd."
Jan Morrison has provided some background on Sterling Machine & Mfg.: "This company was located in Owen Sound, Ontario. Between 1945 and 1950 they produced fire trucks for Canadian customers using designs licensed from American Fire Apparatus Company of Battle Creek, Michigan. The trucks were marked Sterling Machine & Mfg., but were identical to those produced by AFA in Michigan for the US market.
"AFA's parent company was American Marsh Pumps, also of Battle Creek
MI. They opened a Canadian division and manufacturing facility in
Cambridge ON in 1951. It was called American Marsh Pumps Canada Ltd.
Starting with the 1951 model year, they produced AFA trucks in Canada.
All the trucks built by the Canadian division are marked with chrome trim saying "American Marsh Pumps (Canada) Ltd. Stratford Ontario". The US trucks were plated for American Fire Apparatus Co. The US parent company was sold to new owners in 1960, and they closed the Canadian operation in 1965."
Another Sterling conversion was this former West Vancouver F.D. CJ-2A, later used as a prop for films and television shows in Vancouver. According to Shane MacKichan, its original American Marsh 300 GPM pump was removed when it was restored.
A well-worn but basically complete CJ-2A (apparently "Old No.1" of some department) is squeezed in with the collection of fire engines at Willys America in California. See a rear view photo (70K JPEG) also by Bill Brennan.
Willys CJ-2A serial number 1161701 belongs to Tremaine Cooper, who says, "It was used at a hunting and fishing club in Pennsylvania from new until 2002. It has 2,300 miles and original (faded) paint. All the fire gear including all nozzles, both ladders etc. are still with the vehicle. The '48 inspection sticker is even still on the windshield."
Thanks to Gordon Church, Bill Brennan, Bill Wheeler, Tremaine Cooper and Dale Jonas. -- Derek Redmond
See more CJ-2A's in Fire Service Jeeps on The CJ3B Page.
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