This beauty was taking up a lot space in Paul’s shop when I stopped by. With the seats down, the interior is huge. I really think you could put a queen-size mattress in this thing. I’m especially fond of the paint job.
“The International Harvester Travelall is a model line of vehicles that were manufactured by International Harvester; four generations were produced from 1953 to 1975. Derived from the International light truck line, the Travelall was a truck-based station wagon. One of the first competitors to the Chevrolet Suburban, the Travelall was a forerunner of modern people carriers and full-size sport utility vehicles. As International withdrew from light-truck sales, the Travelall and pickup truck lines were discontinued after the 1975 model year, followed by the Scout in 1980.” (Wikipedia)
Author Archives: Steve Mays
Farming with a Willys Overland Jeep farm tractor
This promotional video (almost 25 min!) illustrates just how hard Willys was pushing the CJ series as a farm (and industry) tool.
“Now it’s a Truck… Now it’s a Tractor… Now it’s a Runabout… Now it’s a Mobile Power Unit.”
“Willys claimed the Jeep could “pull a 5,500-pound load on the highway at a good speed.” The company also claimed the Jeep could “do the job of two heavy draft horses operating at a speed of 4mph, 10 hours a day, without causing the engine to overheat.”
Can’t find a date on this film but probably late 40’s or early 50’s, so would have been shown in movie theaters.
Dogs of March
With Barb in Florida for 10 days, the dogs had to make do with time in her chair.
At 5 months+, Jessie finally starting to calm down a little. But the urge to bite the hand that feeds you is strong.
When the coveted Barb Chair is taken, Jessie makes do with a nearby place in the sun.
When the Alpha Dog returns, it’s all aboard!
“Perceived safety”
UPDATE: After a little more thought and some measurements, I cancelled this order. These straps look kind of cool but wouldn’t make me any safer.
When I purchased the Jeep there were a couple of vintage seat belts tucked under the seat. Maybe from a 70s era Chrysler? They were ugly and didn’t look safe so I removed them.
After riding around in a vehicle with no doors, seat belts seemed like a sensible idea so I purchased a set. (Paul called them “perceived safety.”) After struggling to install them I decided I did NOT need seat belts and put them back in the box. No turn signals, no seat belts! Then I started seeing photos and video of military era Jeeps with “safety straps.”
Looks like they might keep an old guy from tumbling out of the Jeep and I’ll settle for that. And in the event I’m surprised by a German patrol, I do NOT want to fuck with a stuck seat belt latch.
“Is my Jeep trying to kill me?”
A much better “drive” video than mine. Favorite line: “You drive this with the anticipation anytime, anything on this road is going to kill you.”
The United States of Dumb
As a nation of people, the United States is just too stupid to survive.
Fox News
“The commercial arm of a right wing political movement, specializing in strategic resentment and aggregated grievance in the attention economy, while behind the scenes it tries to be a kingmaker and party boss, riding the tiger of manipulated rage.”
— Jay Rosen
Jeep: Plugging Holes
Previous owners of the Jeep had added some switches that no long switch anything, so I removed them. Leaving some unsightly holes. (first two photos)
The black rubber grommets didn’t look bad but there was still a little camo paint left so…
Sloppy paint job but after the Jeep gets some hot sun this summer, I’m hoping for a nice even fade.
Jeep: Tracing Wires
My beloved Land Rover has spent the last day and night outdoors to make room for the Jeep. A temporary move, I promise.
There are a few mystery switches on the Jeep so I decided to see if I could trace the wires back to something no longer needed.
There’s a real rat’s nest of wires behind the dash and I might –or might not– try to tidy up.
In the photo below you see holes where I removed switches for the windshield wiper (I’m going manual, baby!); the rollbar lights; and a cigarette lighter. I’ll plug the holes with some nice rubber grommets. I traced a wire from the master toggle back to the brake lights but can’t seem to make those work.
I pulled the access cover to get at the brake fluid cylinder. Didn’t have the nerve to go further. Hard to believe folks kept a close eye on brake fluid levels.
While crawling around under the Jeep I noticed oil dripping from one corner of the oil pan (?). Paul thinks this might be a matter of retorquing the bolts which might have loosened up over time, or the gasket could have shrunk a small amount.
Jeep: Test Drive #2
In this 3 1/2 min video I take the Jeep for another drive, getting used to a new shifting pattern and the overall ride. My Land Rover cruises comfortably at 40-45 mph, I don’t think I’ll be pushing the Jeep much beyond 35 mph. Have to make sure the brakes are working properly. Currently, I really have to stand on the brake to stop. Once I’m sure I can operate safely, I’ll take the Jeep onto some city streets.