Me and my '62 CJ-5 - "Ed"

First dubbed "Ed", it is now affectionately referred to as "The Willys". Here is it's story...

In July of 1988, I was excited to get my drivers license & my first vehicle.

Due to some juvenile delinquency, I lost the privilege of inheriting the old family station wagon ('79 Plymouth Volarie w a 4 speed & slant 6).

Having about $1000 saved up, I set out to buy a Jeep. I had seen them a few times tooling through the local neighborhood woods, where we rode motorcycles & such. I don't exactly know why I chose a Jeep as a first 'car'. but that's what came out of my mouth when a best-friend (Phil) asked me what kind of car I was going to get.

Phil took me to look at the first one I found in my price range. Everyone told me not to buy the first ting I looked at, but you know how well reasoning with a teenager goes. I landed it for $800. It ran & came with a soft top & plow.

My father was wise enough to insist that I NOT drive it home, despite the seller swearing it was road worthy. We tow-dollied it home with his '87 two-tome blue 4WD Ramcharger (4 wheeling with that Ram was some of the influence on me getting a Jeep). The brake line on the '5 blew out in the driveway at home, as we were moving it around. Thank God for my fathers wisdom!

The Jeep had served alot of plow time in New York State. It seemed to have received some sort of love/restoration years before I got it. Diamond plate rockers, wagon wheel rims, & such were in place, just rusted, & worn out now.

I soon discovered the floors were totally shot & that led to removing them all & hiring the local 'blacksmith' to fab up some floors & install a frame mounted rollbar-- on my father's insisting.


Here it is, less floors, plow fames, etc-- ready to go see the blacksmith - July '88

As can be seen-- the most important first mod to any teenager has taken place-- the stereo was installed (in the glove box) & the speakers are in place! Never mind that it barely has brakes & there are no floors to speak of...








At the blacksmiths (his name was Jim Hogan, he claimed to be Pattons personal blacksmith during WWII), getting floors & the roll-bar.


Just getting home from the first ride. Sometime in August, 1988. We took it down to Somerville, to 7-Eleven.


Fall, 1988 The first thing another best-friend (Art- the guy sitting in the back of the photo above) insisted on doing was painting the rims. It's amazing what clean wheels do for a rusty vehicle! All the tires are mix-matched H-78-15's from a local junkyard. The engine smoked terrifically - burning a quart every 100 miles. After a while I got sick of buying new oil & started using Phil's fathers used oil -- he had gallons of it in the garage & it was free!







Somewhere in this time-- I lost all power in the engine. It would idle and start fine, but had no power. It almost seemed to happen overnight. I had a little more trouble than usual getting up a particular hill (Steel Gap Rd) one day and the next day it was dead.

Compression was in the 80's across all 4 cylinders. So my father suggested a simple rebuild. I don't remember how I got it out or back in, but I know I changed the rings & valve springs. It ran alot better after that!

NOTE - to install the new rings & pistons, I needed to purchase a ring compressor. I was NOT happy about this extra expense. I have to say that I still have that same ring compressor & have used it MANY times. It WAS money well spent. This was certainly not the last time that I bought a tool, thinking it was a waste of $$, but turned out to be $$ well invested.

 

My folks were kind enough to buy me a Whitco "Rough Rider" replacement top for Christmas of '88, from J.C. Whitney. At the time, that was one of the only places to find anything for Jeep vehicles. My friends & I used to spend hours pouring over those catalogs.

I had dreams of taller gears, V-6 engines, etc, but $$ was tight. I could barely afford the fuel. On occasion we'd pull in & buy $0.66 worth of gas, because that's all we could scrounge together. With gasoline costing $0.80 a gallon, that $0.66 would make the needle move enough & allow us to get home. The look on the attendant's face (we still can't pump our own fuel here in NJ) was priceless.

In the spring of '89, the closed & repaved/improved the main road (Newmans Lane) we took to school (Bridgewater East). Instead of taking the long way, we would cut through the woods & save 10 minutes or more. The trick was there was a decent size stream to cross (Middle Brook). Well one particular morning, after a night of heavy Spring rain, we had to make a decision. I knew Middle Brook was going to be high, but figured we'd decide once we got to it, weather or not to cross it. When we got there (about 7:30 AM) it was movin' (right to left) & deeper than anything I'd ever driven through. As usual, we were all chattin' on the CB's,and someone said to go for it. (they weren't there, and they didn't see what we looking at). So, with a little apprehension I eased the front wheels into the water. They disappeared, but I continued forward. Then my brother (who is riding shotgun) starts yelling about the water coming in. I look over & the entire lower window on the soft door is under water & water is coming around the door & flowing into the Jeep. I thought to myself-- 'go for it!' and fully engaged the clutch-- we moved forward, but also sideways (as in downstream). My heart sank and a lump suddenly developed in my throat. I couldn't remember what the bank was sloped like, just downstream of the exit that we had intended for, but decided it was worth a try to get up it. As it turned out, it is steep and all roots. So we just bumped into it. At that point, I knew we were in deep $heet. We started howling on the CB telling everyone that we were floating downstream & headed for death. Fortunately we got someone who was running late (they had not yet gone over the hill) and they said that they would g to the high school & round up a few trucks to come pull us out.

In the mean time, somehow the F-head kept running, but barely. There were fumes coming up through the floor & my brother was getting sick from them. We had backed away from the bank, but any movement of the wheels just pushed us further downstream. I knew that the stream got deeper just a little bit further down and that if we got pushed there by the water, we were in for a bad time. With the water pounding us on the passenger side like it was, I figured it was a good idea to get it parallel with the current, so there was less sail area for the water to push on. I finally got it pointed downstream & we waited. As we were sitting there, for what seemed like eternity, the water kept rising. At first, we had to keep our feet on the seats. Before long, we had to squat on the seats. I forgot to mention that it was still raining cats-n-dogs.

Ultimately, my buddies showed up with ropes., chains, & people. They had comadeered a crew of friends to come help. The priciple at school had ginven them permission to round up who they needed. Funny thing, no adults showed up.

Anyway. we ended up chaining the Jeep to a large oak tree. We then tied a rope through my brothers beltloops & the plan was for him to walk himself to the bank while holding onto the chain. His first step into he water ripped him right off the chain & he was swung on the rope towards the shore. Scary! Then it was my turn. I didn't even try holding onto the chain, after seeing the force the water had. My plan was to hold that rope & try to keep my head above water. As soon as I stepped off the door sill of the Jeep, it LUNGED up at at me-- swinging on it's chain pendulum, as I was on my rope, towards the shore & me. It was ****ED AT ME! Fortunately it's chain was longer than my rope & I got to shore faster than it did-- my buddies tearing me out of the water.

We all watched as the Jeeps wheels skipped across the stream bed & it floated up to the bank. Thank God we thought to secure the Jeep!

We all gathered ourselves up, went back to the house, changed & got to school. We were the talk of the school for weeks. For years afterwards, I'd get "are you the kid who drowned his Jeep on the way to school" from total strangers (usually my classmates younger siblings)

My friend Joe went back to the Jeep during his lunch-break & took a bunch of photos.



the crossing is just on the other side of the tree, that is on the left of this photo.


The leaves on the CB antenna show how deep the water was at one point.


Interior



All day folks asked me how I was & said that they were gonna help recover it. We pulled it out afterschool with a crew of 15 people or so & Garys fathers 4WD Chevy Dually.

Back home, with the rescue crew



That night I pulled the plugs, drained the fluids (about 15 gallons of water -- two dishpans full- in the crankcase. surprisingly, there was no water in the fuel tank), & pulled the plugs.

After changing all the fluids & such, the Jeep fired right up & ran better than ever! We went wheeling and crossed the same spot that weekend.







Summer of '89.






The '5 & '7-- August '89
The Willys was barely running when I took this. I had just spent alot of time & $$ on it. A rebuilt Carter was it's ultimate demise. The float was cracked when I got it & despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the ole to seal. Thus it was constantly flooding the engine & washing down the cylinders. That new set of rings & had installed were now toast.

I ended up parking it in my parents back yard & covered it with a tarp for 3 years or more. Without their understanding, there is no way I'd have it today.




the CJ-7 was my vehicle for getting back & forth to school in Rhode Island (New England Institute of Technology in Warwick). That Jeep has a thread of it's own - HERE

 

Re: '62 CJ-5 - "Ed"

Soooo.. skipping through going to school in Rhode island, moving home & bumming around for the summer of '91. I got a job as a painter & finally had some $$ to burn on the ole Willys.

First things first-- pulled the engine & rebuilt it!

I am not sure how-in-the-world I got it out without pulling the grille & fenders off, but I did!


Stripped & ready for the machine shop. January '92




I somehow got in with the guys at Densons Mobil in Martinsville. The manager at the time had a side business of flow testing & porting heads. He talked me into letting him work the head & block. He then recommended his friends at Hoffman Machine (apparently they were famous in NASCAR for their tool steel wrist pins?) for the rest of the machine work. They balanced the rotating assembly, fit the new .030 over pistons, etc.

I assembled the engine,left it on the (borrowed -- thanks Greg!) engine stand for over 2 years while I attended The North Bennet Street School in Boston (NBSS)-- studying Cabinet & Furniture-making

Assembled & ready for mothballs


_______________________________________________________



After graduating NBSS I took the summer of '94 off & committed myself to getting the Willys back up & running. It took all summer- 3 months of nearly every day work. I got Lyme Disease in there too...

Drivetrain out. I had painted/rebuilt the front end the previous summer ('93), I think.


I found it was easier to work on this way-- I was able to roll it around myself-- tipping it on the drivers side or passenger side, as needed.


When Mr. Hogan installed the replacement floors, he put the crossmember right up to the transfercase brake drum. There was no way of even lowering the drivetrain, let alone sliding it out. He also welded the floor riser (from the front to rear floors) directly to the frame. I ground out all the welds & re-used the materials to utilize the factory body mounts.


All welds were done with the old Lincoln 225 buzz-box.


I removed the aluminum diamond plate in order to cut out the rusty parts & make for a clean install


done. What I did not factor in, only to find out later, was the gas tank filler height. The work I did raised the floors an inch+, so now the under-seat tank did not fit very well at all.

 

Re: '62 CJ-5 - "Ed"

New rear pannels & a used 'Willys" tailgate. It was the purchase of that tailgate (my fathers idea/insisting) that led me down the path of restoration of this Jeep.


Undercoated with Westleys brush-on Rubberized


Roller! - painted the leaf springs, axles, etc...


The 44 looks so nice with that red cover!



Somewhere between then & this photo, I picked up a BEAT CJ-6 from Gary (of the creek-rescue crew - the one with the dually). I did get it started before I took it apart, but it blew more smoke than a mosquito control truck & the exhaust system dripped oil.

IT was also VERY rotted out. But I did keep the drivetrain, assorted parts, and the half cab.

Here s the drivetrain, ready for cleaning. I needed the t-case because Mr. Hogan had drilled a self tapping screw into the case & it now leaked oil out of that hole. Looking back, all that it needed was to be tapped & a bolt put in it.


The two transmissions. My original case was shot-- the front countershaft thrust bushing had spun, thus causing the trans to slip out of second gear when engine braking/going down hill. This spun bearing also ate the machined surfaced seat. I mixed & matched the least-worn parts & put the rest in storage. Sold most of them on eBay last year. It's amazing who needs Jeep parts. I shipped them all over the world!


Ready for paint


My father is more of an electronics guy than a mechanic. I pulled a fuse block from an abandoned car in the woods (Chevy Chevette) and he came up with a harness for the Jeep. Thanks Dad!!!


Dad working under the dash as I am getting the engine ready for install.


going in


Oh the nitty-gritty details! I sure wish I could drive it AND keep it this clean


getting ready for start-up


The head-tuner friend of mine suggested I look into getting the oil pressure up before cranking it over for the first time. I had the brilliant idea of attaching the F-head oiling system to the 258's system. I am not sure how critical it is, but it worked!


ready for bodywork/paint


One of the first long-distance roadtrips in the Fall of '94 (the first was up 206 to see Art & his family in Strawberry Lake). This trip was more than 100 miles round trip. My girlfriend at the time & I took it to see a historic house in South Jersey. We took all backroads & kept it under 45. Slow & cold, but fun!

 

excellent! Keep em' coming!

 

This next installment are the 'enjoying it' years. I did very little mechanical work to it once the rebuild was done. Just maintenance & little upgrades here & there. Notice though that it doesn't get 'wheeled' anymore. That's what the newer Jeeps are for.





Took it on a long distance road trip (2+ hours each way) to Collinsville, Ct (one of my old haunts) in '97. This was just a little while after I got the Warn Overdrive for it. There is no way I'd even have considered a trip like that without it.


back at Joes' Quarry- one of the last times I was up there. It's all Somerset County parkland now...



the next shots are somewhere around '99-2000-

With the 32" TSL's in it-- these were mu wheelin' tires for the CJ-7. Just wanted to see them on the '5.


The half cab needed a bit of attention-- new windows, the rain gutter was rotted out all around, and the interior ceiling was rusty from condensation. I ended up putting a radio in it as well-- overhead console mounted. I also removed the roll-bar at this time. I didn't want to have to cut slots in the bed-cover to allow for clearance of the rollbar. Also, with the top and windsheild down, it just looked plain goofy. The bed cover was fabbed out of 1/4" aluminum diamond plate. It was pretty cool. Ended up trading the top & doors to Walcks 4WD. I just got sick of putting in on & off and the rattle they make!

It was also about now that I got rid of the bald 215- 85 - 16's & sprung for some vintage rubber. The knobby tires were tube-type 6.50 x 16 "Fireston Knobbys" from Coker Tire. GREAT Traction in the snow & such. A bit noisy, but I wear earplugs no matter where I go with this thing, so that doesn't matter. They do sound cool-as-h3ll!



A couple of random shots





out on Rout 78 West, playing on the dirt piles. just before Rattle Snake/ RVCC exit--


Plowing some snow- I plowed with this thing ALOT. I made some significant $$ with it. At one point, I had almost 30 driveway accounts. It was a blast. Folks paid me to play with my Jeep! This little bugger never failed me-- running for 8 - 10 hours straight sometimes.


hanging with my brother & his girl (she took the photo)-- Bound Brook Dunkin Doughnuts on Rt. 28



a few of The Great Willys Picnic's I attended. They were up on top pf Camleback ski area. That is about a 2 hour ride for me. As can be seen, the front clip of the Jeep is looking great from here forward. I stripped the hood, grille, and fenders down to metal & took them over to Maaco for the $100 spray. 1 coat of poly has lasted almost 10 years now. It looks a little funny, I know, but it certainly looks better!

not sure of the year on this one

2002?

2003? Some summers I take the plow frames off, some not.



Sometime around 2003- found a full hardtop in the junkyard. I know the owner, so I got a killer deal on it. I ended up selling it, again for the same reasons as getting rid of the half cab. Switching them out between winder & summer is a PITA, and the rattle like crazy! It sure looked great!

It was around then that I added the Solex carb. It already had a Petronix in it.




Cookie waiting to go to work. One of my favorite feelings is driving this Jeep with the windshield down. 2004 (?)

I was driving it any nice day we had. Sometimes it was for weeks on end. About this time I got a set of J-2000 D44 axles & took the brakes off of them. I now have the larger (12"??) drums up front-- what a HUGE difference! The great thing is they just bolt right on-- no mods.

 

quite the saga! can't wait to read 'the rest of the story'... as they say.

 

Thanks!

hang in there-- it's coming!

Scanning & saving the photos is TIME CONSUMING. UGH!

It is worth it-- I've never put it all down like this before. Very cool to see.

 

Awesome to see a long term project like that! Turned out looking great!

 

More random shots-- notice that the Knobbys are showing some wear and that all that road salt is catching up with her.

The spray paint finish on the tub isn't holding up, either.



It was about now that I stated looking for a new tub. I landed a "Texas Jeep" through the For Sale section here on EarlyCj5.com. The seller had lived in and bought the jeep in Texas. He then relocated to Virgina & brought the Jeep with him. It was a bit more of a project than he wanted. He was able to find a good runner in Virgina & so chose to sell this one. It was in Newport News, Va. A nice weekend road trip away! So I secured things with the seller, borrowed my buddies pickup & trailer, & headed down to Virgina with my wife.





I ended up selling the running engine to a fellow EarlyCJ5.com member. It ran great-- no smoke & plenty of power. If anyone knows how it turned out for him, please post up!



Under the tank was rotted out & the bed was replaced sometime before. So I made a patch pannel for the tank & purchased / installed a replica bed floor


If you have OEM Jeep chrome wagon wheels like these that are in great shape-- sell them on ebay-- I got some good $$ for these!




I picked up some Classic Enterprises rear pannels to replace these.

The fenders were perfect, the hood & grille were hacked up in a past motor-swap.


If you are planning any body pannel replacement- This tool is PRICELESS!!!


as it tuned out, the frame was in amazing shape as well. So now the frame & body wait in my garage for the start of the next major restoration. that one will (ideally) be the last! Here's the last shot I have of the chassis assembled. The axles were sold and the trans/t-case are stashed in a dark corner.




the knobbys & vintage rims were replaced with a set of 16's I used on the CJ-7




It was also about this time (2009) that I started building a new engine with the one I got from the junkyard. I overheated it going out to the Willys Picnic in 2002 (I didn't believe the gauge). Well, that overheating cracked the block and the performance has been getting worse ever since.

The donor Jeep was one that had spent it's entire life working at The Plainfield Country Club. It came into my buddys junkyard & he said I could have it (we barter, as well). The odometer had less than 30K miles on it, and upon disassembly, I believe it! The engines cylinders barely needed a honing. the transmission gears were perfect. What a score!

I ended up porting the exhaust passages. I was always so happy with the power of the first professionally ported block, I hoped to replicate it with this one.



the other un-orthodox mod I made to this engine is a full-flow oil filter system. The partial -flow system has always bugged me. I was told years ago that a full-flow was not possible. Maybe I just wanted to prove them wrong..

I achieved this by drilling through the castings & int the oil passages. I then put a plug in the original oil passage form the oil pump, where oil comes into the block. So now oil flows out of the pump, through the remote filter, and back into the block. All the fittings & lines are atleast 3/8" I.D. I had started a thread on it HERE
Exploring the passages

 

more oil pump madness




testing. after priming it, I was able to get 20PSI by tuning it by hand, with a screwdriver

with a drill turning it at about 100 RPM


here's how it looks installed. I'd rather it all be hardline, but until I can install the filter ON the block, I'll keep the hose. there is now a checkvalve on the line coming out of the pump. The fitting on the OEM filter canister were drilled & tapped for 1/4" NT and again, all the fittings are atleast 3/8" I.D.



This mod is working great, thus far. I have 30+ PSI at idle and 60+ at 2K RPM.

I am getting ahead of myself-- here are the engine rebuild pics. We ended up getting stock size rings & pistons, stock bearings, & I reused the cam & lifters. Replace the timing set.



there's something sexy about this shot...




The head is the same one the porting expert did 20 years ago. I rebuilt it (again) a few years ago. I was having issues with that crack in the block and wanted to try & get away with not having to replace the bottom end. So I had the head milled flat & had them take .010 off of it to increase compression alittle. I wish I'd had more take off. One day...

 

Some wiseguy left a half dozen of these on & around the Willys as it sat in the driveway through the engine swap.chainsawguy



My father helping me (again!) on the old Jeep. here we are pulling the old engine in October of last year. I think he enjoys it more than me! oh, and now we have a third generation in there-- LIFE IS GOOD!



While the engine was out, I figured it was good time to replace the failing (leaking heavily) master cylinder. The old one was put in back in '92!


Upon dissection of the engine-- I was bummed to find the camshaft was eaten at #3 exhaust lobe. That cam & lifters were relatively new. I had replaced them together when seeking a litel more power out of the F-head a few years ago.


Other damage:
Note the three cracks


Burned exhaust valve & seat-- KEEP YOUR VALVES ADJUSTED!! I got lazy because I knew this one was getting replaced soon.




Love this shot. These are the balanced rods & crank from Hoffman machine. I was hoping to re-use them in this rebuild, but time did not allow for it. I'll keep them just in case...


Sooo... Dad was up again (they are now in North Carolina) for Christmas & that was perfect timing for getting the new engine back in.



Gotta love the peep-hole to confirm everything is going smoothly.




One last thing- the header downpipe was OEM and paper thin from rust. The rest of my exhaust is stainless steel, so I set out to make this final part stainless as well. I happened to be saving a hunk of pool ladder and a stainless union for just the occasion. What I didn't have was a stainless flange. A quick trip to the local Metal Supermarkets and an hour in the shop solved that.

 

All I can say is..... wow! Your thread has me inspired to go tear into my old Heep and get it back to mint condition again. I'm loving the pictures, good job!!!!

 

I recently swapped out the electric wipers. I acquired them from the CJ-6 purchase & rant them since the big restoration in '94. they were always temperamental. I had given up on the vacuum wipers soon after acquiring the Jeep back in '88. It was time to give them a second chance.

A new vacuum/fuel pump was purchased form Walcks a few years ago, and a little TLC on the small collection of vacuum motors turned up some surprising results. These things work great! A video of some bench testing I was out in some heavy rain last night and they work as well as the electrics. The clicking noise, the slight variance in speed (depending on engine vacuum) , and the look only act to enrich the OEM/stock experience of this Jeep.

For anyone who cares, here's a list any significant modifications/deviations from the OEM/stock form of this Jeep.

- .010 milled engine head w/ rounded throttle body bore
- smoothed exhaust ports in block
- Solex Carburetor
- Accel Supercoil
- External fuel pressure regulator w/ gauge - set to @2PSI
- 'Bored out" oil bath air cleaner. The wad of metal wool was removed & a cone-type air filter was fitted in the housing. This gave a noticeable horsepower gain!
- Electronic ignition- had a Petronics and upgraded to the OMIX electronic distributor
- High output (gear type) oil pump
- Full-flow oil filter using modified OEM external filter housing & filter
- Warn O.D.
- Front 1/2 Ton brakes (12"??) off of a full-size Jeep pickup. Rear brakes are stock.
- Steering stabilizer
- 6x16" steel rims with 215-85-16" radials
- relocated fuel tank utilizing '71 CJ-5 under-bed tank.
- Monarch Road Machine Jeep Hi-Lo s hydraulic Pump for raise/lowering the plow
- 6' Western manual-angle snow plow with Western frames. Upper has custom light mount assembly
- full 1.75"-2" stainless steel exhaust.
- full rod-end linkage on the OEM clutch linkage design.
- 1969 Chrysler/Mopar alternator w/solid state external regulator (made by tough-stuff)
- sealed engine cooling system with catch can
- single speed/modern heater motor upgrade (motor has ball bearings!)
- full instrumentation in dash- vacuum, voltage, ammeter, oil pressure, and 6K tachometer
- front tow hooks
- custom rear towhook/back up light mounts
- late model (??) T-90 shift tower with back-up light switch
- Warn vintage locking hubs
- Nissan Pulsar low-back seats with home-built replica OEM style seat frames
- custom 'internal' spare tire brace
- home-built replacement floors & hat channel
- home-built wiring harness w/ Chevy Chevette fuse box
- aftermarket ABS plastic heater plenum, defroster duct, and glovebox (glovebox has an internal light)
- internal floor lighting
- boxed in front frame head
- relocated rear view mirror w/night dimming flip
- stainless steel drivers side mirror & arm
- Stainless steel hood latches & hinges
- stainless steel hardware primarily used throughout the Jeep

 

Very cool! I love the detail.

 

thanks for all the praise, folks!

 

your persistence is amazing...

the documentation is impeccable...

if i didnt have to WORK... i would read it all over again...

im signing up to follow THIS one....

 

wow... thanks!

 

Somthing that was kinda neat & gave me some national exposure..

We are near NY City, so a automobile modeling agency, Cooper Classics, is a member of our club forum (NJJC). They occasionally poke their head in and say they are looking for such & such type of Jeep. I almost had my rockcrawler CJ-7 "The Barnacle" in a bikini shoot a few years ago, but somehow the event fell through...

Well, in November of 2010, I got a request from Cooper Classics to take the Willys to a photo event at Fast Ashleys Studios, in Brooklyn.

They paid me about a half-weeks pay for the day. It was quite a peek into the industry.

I was planning on driving the Willys into 'The City', but alas, a fouled tank was not going to allow me to do so. SO I borrowed my neighbors trailer & towed it in with our 4-Door JK-- The Trail Yacht...

Some pics from the day, and the end product-- The cover & first few pages in of the Sacks 5th Avenue Spring 2011 catalog-- Pretty Cool!




First round of photos was in a side studio-- they use these to catalog the 'model'. I guess they figure they are paying all this $$ for studio time & the models ,that they might as well get some reference for potential future projects???


The main shoot was in a studio that had a 'water stage' setup. It was an elevated platform that was rubber lined & then flooded, so that there was 1-2" of water on it/ The perimeter of the surface had a 'moat', that was about 14" deep.


they spent the majority of the time playing with the lighting. Apparently there were some serious BIG WIG photographers on set. I just sat back & soaked it all in. Totally amazing...


The finished product... see what's missing??





The entire day was such a novelty for me. I just couldn't get over the idea that all this attention was being given to my rusty old Jeep. I was laughing to my self about it all day. I mean, this thing is far from a show queen! The tailgate is about ready to fall off and the rust above the wheelhouses lets all the heat out.

I mentioned my disbelief to the head-guy. The guy who made sure EVERYTHING went smoothly. He said something like' Oh no-- your Jeep is PERFECT. We saw so many Jeeps that were too shiny, too nice. No one would believe that they were actually used/ went 'off-road'. It is JUST what we were looking for. Something with alot of character".

I was pretty stoked after that- chalk another one up for - 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!'

 

one more photo-- this one of the fleet.