Readers of The CJ3B Page will be pleased when they see that Bob Christy's restored 1953 Willys CJ-3B is the first high-hood to become a cover model for 4Wheel Drive Hardware's Vintage Jeep parts catalog, on the Winter 2011 edition. Here's Bob's story about how he won the honor. -- Derek Redmond
I have been taking my Jeep to the Spring Midwest Willys Reunion in Mason, Ohio for two years now. 4WD Hardware had some representatives down there handing out catalogs and keychains and such. I have posted information on their website about upgrades, and since the original 4WD Hardware store is only an hour away from me, I got there several times a year to purchase things, and go to their yearly show.
Anyway, the representatives from 4WD hardware that were at the Spring Reunion got a chance to see my 3B in person. I got an e-mail back in late June or early July asking me if I'd like my Jeep to be on the cover of their Vintage Catalog. I thought it was a joke at first until I called the person who e-mailed me, and he confirmed it.
We spent a month or so playing phone tag and deciding where to shoot the photo. 4WD wanted a vintage location to go with my Jeep so I scouted a few locations and we ended up agreeing on shooting it at the Hartville Elevator in Hartville, Ohio. I spoke with the owner of the business and he was happy to have us come and do it there.
The shoot took a couple of hours. The guy from 4WD could not have been nicer. As a photographer, I kept a close eye on what he was doing, and felt bad for him because of the horrible light we had to deal with at the time.
It's a real honor to be on the cover of their catalog, and it's pretty much the dream of everyone who restores a vehicle to have it featured in a print publication. As a bonus, the honor came with a $500 gift card to spend at 4WD Hardware. I bought a few maintenance items, some brake parts, a steering box rebuild kit for a future rebuild, a new steering wheel, and parts to rebuild my brake pedal to get rid of the slop. Also as an added bonus, I hooked 4WD up with Bill Norris and Kevin Banonis and they managed to sell quite a few of their Holy Toledo! Calendar for 2012 to them. -- Bob Christy
Congratulations to Bob from The CJ3B Page! And note that as of November 2011 4Wheel Drive Hardware is currently offering a free Holy Toledo! Calendar for 2012 with the purchase of their rubber floor liners for your 1972 or newer Jeep. -- Derek Redmond
See also the article about Bob's Jeep on 4WD's website.
And on The CJ3B Page, see Bob's full story of restoring his Honeymoon Sweet 1953 CJ-3B.
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