Roll Call for the New Year..who is still here?, Enough Partying, back to jeeping!!

[F Bill]

Hey guys, we 've been awful quiet lately.....I'll take the high road and assume everyone has been busy with family obligations, shoveling snow, and eating some incredible Christmas dinners. (I know I had some awesome prime rib myself )

It is a new year and time to get back to work on our little section of the jeep world...so...Who is still with us? What ya working on? what do you have planned for this year?? And remind us what ya got for a DJ jeep! Kinda a reintroduction thread, if you will.


I'll start...They call me F Bill and I'm from the middle of Texas... I started with a stripped down Surrey that had a toyota rear axle installed, and since have bought several DJ parts cars, even going to New Orleans for a certain Katrina Victim. THis year I hope to get the original Surrey together in some sort of resemblance to an unrestored running DJ. If I am lucky I should get one more of the DJ projects together , also not a restoration, but more of an assembly of enough parts from enough jeeps to make one runnable and driveable. Hopefullyu after that I can unload my extra DJ project parts and pieces on someone more equipped financially than I to put them together.

I also need to finish moving everything from my old place in NY to my new place in Texas....I can't count the times I reached for a tool only to realize it was in NY....I spent my Christmas break up there, moved 8 jeeps (sold 6 of them) and two big trucks off the property in a week, and brought about half of my tools back to TX. Moving is EXPENSIVE.

In TX i only have a 1.5 car garage at the house, so that is another project that is in the works this year....gonna need to upgrade the electric to run a welder and compressor, and I need to add on a bunch. We will see if I can get enough cash together to do that.

Somewhere in the middle of all this renovation and moving, I sure would like to go on a trail ride in Colorado....so I need to get my 2A or my Pintojeep in trail ready condition.. Dang, I need three or four of me. And of course I will still be driving the escort truck all over this country following a 13 axle trailer carrying wind tower sections. (And maybe visiting some of you guys too!)

Don't let me be the only one here on this board....What's your story?

[Bill Brown]

Bill Brown here. We keep our Surrey in the Florida Keys. I've owned collector cars of one type or another since my 1st model A coupe hotrod in 1953 and I've got to say I have NEVER had the positive response to any of my cars that I get from the Surrey down in the Keys. It's the perfect car for tooling around town.

I bought the Surrey in my hometown Coshocton Ohio, the man I bought it from had purchased it in south Florida and brought it north for his daughter to drive around town while she was in high school. Not running when I got it so I put it into our trailer and took it to our restoration shop. I told my guys that I didn't want a full restoration - just get her running and make it safe and reliable because I wanted to take it down to the Keys. A week later I was in the shop and the guys had the body off the frame and on a rotater, the engine was out to an engine shop for rebuild, and the frame was completely disassembeled, sandblasted and painted. I guess I tought them too well but I am very happy with the results.

[colin]

Hi Everyone,

Colin here, and I'm still alive and well. January is auction month on the Phoenix area, so have made a couple of them. No Surreys or DJ3As at any of them this time around. but a couple of Jeepsters were sold. Have been keeping our cars running, and now is a good time of year to drive open cars here. Too hot in the summer. Our 60 Sureey is now celebrating its 2nd anniversary as an Arizona resident..much better than Massachusetts, and like Bill Brown says, The Surrey gets a lot of attention. Our Cj3A is running well and I now have the correct windshield for it, just have to get the rubber and glass and paint, put it together and the 53 CJ will look all original. Our 48 Jeepster has been neglected, but tidied her up over the weekend as well as our 60 Corvette. Ken Neeb from Elmore Ohio (owner of one of the Gold and White 1960 Surreys built for the Auto Shows) was out for the auctions and came by this morning and spent several hours visiting and taking pictures to use as reference in putting his rare Surrey back together. He special ordered the fabric for the top, seats, side curtains and spare tire cover from Oregon last year, so he is anxious to get back into working on the Jeep. Glenn and I have been in nearly daily touch and he has come up with some neat old Willys advertising and press releases from the 50s. Bruce and I have also been in touch.

Hope you all had a safe holiday season and a better New Year. FBill, anytime you are in the Phoenix area, let me know, I'll buy you coffee.

Colin