My Ford jeep -- WWII and Military Jeep Stories

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Date Posted: 14:23:00 11/04/04 Thu
Author: Jon Kent
Subject: My Ford jeep

Back in the days of my youth, the mid 1960's, I was looking for a first vehicle to own. I had grown up with a love of the wartime jeep, due to the many movies it was seen in, and also seeing them on the English roads-they just looked so INDIVIDUAL compared to Landrovers and Austin Gipsies which were at that time the only competitor 4x4 offerings in the UK.
I found one for sale in Cambridge, owned by an undergraduate.
Me and a friend travelled to Cambridge one spring sunday and the seller drove us around Cambridge in the black painted wartime jeep with non standard top. It was in rough condition but we had some beers and I was hooked. I loved the slow revving but powerful sounding engine,the roar of the radiator cooling fan, the commanding view, the, even way back then, vintage feel, as one sat with splayed legs and the big steering wheel close to you.
I bought this Jeep and over the next few years sweated blood and tears to put it back into perfect wartime condition. The motor was rebuilt, painted to look pristine. The gearbox I rebuilt, and purchased a brand new transfer box in greaseproof wrapping. My mother, long dead now, repaired all the interior canvas, seats, etc. The chassis was stripped, and repainted in orginal olive drab, as was the body which I had removed to weld up and make perfect as neccessary. Many, many trips were made to parts suppliers in and around london-those were the days when a select band of dealers held stocks of original WD (War Department) parts bought on the Government Surplus market.
The great day came when I, aged 22, fired up the engine, and later that day, took the perfect looking Jeep on it's first post restoration road trip. Me and my brothers felt like kings of the road as the Jeep took us all over the local country roads and then further afield to the coast.
I still remember that the Jeep seemed to be a magical vehicle like no other. I would toil at work, impatient for the weekends when I could once more use my beloved Jeep. I used it in London, very much 'swinging London' in those faraway 1960's, and remember sunny saturday afternoons going down Kings Road, Chelsea, the Jeep filled with attractive girls, and us all feeling like we ruled the world, so happy were we.
Its now 2004, and the Jeep has long gone,first replaced by a Triumph TR3A sports Car and since then by many other cars, but I still dream of that Jeep-it was my true love. I go to military shows, hoping, so far in vain, to see once more the Jeep I so loved. I am 58 now, but will never forget that Jeep.

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Replies:

Re: My Ford jeep -- Brian French , 21:40:53 11/17/04 Wed