Most of the time, you don’t find much in the way of usable parts on a vehicle that went up in flames, but that doesn’t stop wrecking yards from making a go at selling a few parts before the Crusher eats the burn victim. Here’s a Vietnam Era military Jeep truck that may have a few salvageable bits and pieces.
This one appears to have had a small-block Chevy transplant at some point.
We had some fires in the mountains near Denver over the summer, so it’s possible that this truck got roasted at that time. Or it could have been one of those electrical-fire-that-spreads-to-fuel deals.
It appears that a fairly serious ceiling-mounted heater system once lived here.
Plenty of beefy suspension and driveline stuff that appears intact. Will any of this stuff fit Jeep Gladiators?
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Hey Editor, bring Paul N back! Bring back the Paul, Bring back the Paul!!!!
It was already announced, by Paul, that he is taking time to get back to his real work…renovating/rebuilding a home. No CCs for quite some time.
Forget building houses; I’m building my own CurbsideClassic web site; it will be up in a couple of days!
I bookmarked the e-address. So far when I check it, I just get a login box and then a 401. Just keeping us out untill all the curtains are hung or is something broken on my end?
Steve; Curtain will be pulled open very soon.
Oh, even better…my mistake then.
An old friend in Missouri has two Jeep J-10’s. Both are in about the same condition, but at least they both run (kinda). Murilee, please find something that actually RUNS!
My best friend in high school worked for a farmer as a “farm hand” during the summer. The vehicle he was given for carrying out jobs around the farm was an old Gladiator pick up. Tough as nails but so beat up he had to hold the transfer case lever in 4LO to actually get 4WD bouncing across the fields.
Yeah, Dan, that pretty much sums up my buddy’s Jeeps. I detailed these in a post some time ago, but his 1980 he bought new, it rusted out so he converted it to a flat-bed(!) and had to rework the roof ’cause the little overhang was gone. Now it’s “streamlined”! He replaced the motor twice. It’s an adventure to ride in it, as I always fear for my life when I visit him when we’re in town! The other is an 80’s-something Honcho someone gave him. It had so much caked mud in the bed it was actually full of flourishing weeds! I told him to grow some corn back there to at least make it productive! We got it running last summer after shooing away numerous mud-dobbers – even inside the air cleaner! It moved under its own power for about 30 feet then stopped ’cause the brakes locked up. There it sat. Eventually he got it moving again. A hot, humid day cooled off by beer and many laughs! Two old geezers acting like teenagers back in the 60’s! This is a guy who can do just about anything with a car or anything else and has the tools to do it and we’ve been friends for almost 46 years, ever since his family moved into our old neighborhood. When me, he and his brother get together, look out!
Mr. Martin
For variety, how about some “Project Car Hells” sometime?
Nifty
I’m glad i’m not the only one that finds this burnt out thing strange.
Are they’re any old cars in Denver that are running?
Yes, there have been at least five this year:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/author/murilee-martin/
It’s a shame to see an old Buck-And-A-Quarter destroyed like that. I always wanted one.
That said…there’s not much in common between those and the civilian J-series trucks besides the fenders and hood. The engine was the Willys experimental overhead-cam mill, that needed more in development than Kaiser-Jeep was willing tp put in. The transmission, if I recall, was physically separate from the engine, tied to the transfer case halfway down the driveline. The axles have a 6:1 ratio or thereabouts, making the thing a gas pig and limiting speed to about 60. And the frame….never seen it, but to morph a 3/4 ton pickup chassis into a 3000-lb military truck, surely required additional bracing.
Ah, rest in peace, you Jeep you. Kaiser, we barely knew ye!
Are they’re any old cars in Denver that are running? I get the same thought. Think I’ll move there, as the morning and evening rush hours should be non-existant as opposed to I-75 through Cincinnati! Colorado cars, it appears, are all in junkyards up on blocks or burnt out!
That depends if your commute includes the concrete canyon of chaos called I-25.
There are plenty of old cars on the road, but there are also lots of easily accessed junkyards near the city center.
Love the photos Murilee. I find there’s something particularly evocative of flaking paint, rust and decay. They remind me of the ‘Urban Exploration’ forum photos where people get into abandoned buildings and photograph them.
Love the shot of the half-charred caduceus. It’s now my desktop background.