Summer is the time people head out onto the sand dunes or the sandy beach in their Jeeps. Here are some of the old and new photos we've collected of CJ-3B's in the sand.
Our summer 2007 cover photo for The CJ3B Page was shot on the beach at Weston Super Mare in England by Derek Goard. Ros Woodham was driving John Carroll's latest project, the "Beer Truck."
John says, "So-called because that's what we'd been drinking when we decided to save the derelict truck from a farm in Scotland, rather than use it for spares! It's based on the LWB CJ that appears briefly in Sahara.
"It has Hotchkiss M201 wheels and front fenders, Viasa windscreen, and 1991 Mahindra CJ540 LWB tub, chassis and Peugeot diesel. Willys MB back panel, M38A1 dash panel, recovery eyes and tow hitch. CJ-2A seats, and repro MB wheel. Converted to LHD with CJ-2A steering box and track rods. NATO-spec headlights, repro Model A taillights, and hood blocks made to measure (from dimensions on The CJ3B Page)."
A side-view photo shows the Beer Truck name painted on the windshield, and Ros demonstrating the use of the ventilating windshield as a glass table (100K JPEG) on which to set your hat or your map (or a couple of beers.)
See also a photo taken on a summer drive (150K JPEG) near Emley, West Yorkshire, and if you need to be reminded about what lies ahead when summer is over, see an earlier photo of the Beer Truck in the snow (160K JPEG).
Another CJ3Beach Page cover picture; this wonderful shot dates from 1960, and shows a Police Jeep patroling a beach on the North Sea near The Hague, Netherlands. Behind the wheel is Cor Dijkema, the Hague Police officer who first proposed the use of Jeeps as beach ambulances. Thanks to Jan Hogendoorn who scanned the original black & white photo, which I colorized for the cover of The CJ3B Page.
See more details in Police Jeeps of The Hague, Netherlands.
Here's an item found by Keith Buckley some time ago, and always fun to look at in the summer. My hand-tinted color version was also an early cover illustration for The CJ3B Page. It's supposed to show President's Red, offered on Jeeps for the first time in 1955 -- but don't rely on it for paint information.
The photo is from a May 1955 article (130K JPEG) in Willys Dealer News headlined "Teensters Call 'Jeep' Real George For Picnics."
Pavel Seidel posted this photo of his CJ-3B on the beach at Playa Barranco in Venezuela. Obviously the Jeep is set up for some serious fun, but we don't have any details on it.
Keith Buckley sent this photo (right) with a note:
"Ever wonder where CJ-3B's go to retire? This one used to belong to Jim Marski, but ended up on Nantucket Island as of June after being temporarily equipped with tires/wheels to cope with the deep soft sand."
And talk about tires for the sand! Tom McHugh scanned the cover (left) of the July 2001 issue of Tripower, the newsletter of the Pacific Northwest 4WD Association. The photo is courtesy of T.C.'s Offroad in Kent, Washington.
Obviously sand drags are popular on the west coast; Wes Kibble sent this photo of a CJ-3B named "Lickety Split" that was raced by Darrell Curl in BC and the PNW in the 80's. As Wes says, "Sweet looking machine!"
As of early 2009, Dave Strickler is the new owner of the earliest known CJ-3B with an OB54 serial number. Dave lives on Cape Cod, so his Jeep is likely going to spend plenty of time on the beach.
Bill Loomis in Elkhart, Indiana had nothing but sand dunes on his mind when he built this custom rig. He calls it his "CJ-3B" but says, "It's a glass body on a custom-built frame, with custom-built long travel suspension, a 215ci aluminum Buick v8, Chevy Turbo 350 trans, narrowed Scout 44 front, CJ-5 44 rear and Dana 18 transfer case. It has Jaguar headlights and a Corvette tilt steering column, along with hundreds of custom mods. I've had it 10 years and figured out Jeep stands for 'just empty every pocket'."
Roberto Rodetti provides a good view of the Dunlop AT2 31-10.5-15's on his 1954 CJ-3B. He says, "They give me great performance on tarmac and sand, but while mudding I prefer to use them with chains; they make the Jeep unstoppable." See also a view from behind (60K JPEG) of the Jeep attacking the dunes near Roberto's home in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Thanks to all the contributors. See also some CJ-3B's in beach movies, and my '59 3B Making Tracks in the Sand. -- Derek Redmond
Return to the Index of Unusual Photos on The CJ3B Page.
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