Hi all,
It�s a pleasure to be reunited with my �50 CJ3A and �51 Bantam trailer after having them stored outside my brother�s barn for 4 years in Pennsylvania. In spring of 2012 my family picked up our life in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and relocated for work to the tiny, remote community of Gustavus, Alaska, population 400 people and 600 moose. The only way in or out is by small plane or ferry.
When my wife and I made the decision to move (we�re both park rangers) I glumly resigned myself to having to sell my 3A project, but my wife said �We can bring it with.� Well�.., moving a family across the continent to the edge of the wilderness took its toll and we decided to store the jeep at my brothers place 100 miles north from our Virginia home. I still recall with joy, the day I drove it along the back roads of the Shenandoah Valley and into PA to store it. It was a fun farewell journey.
So there she sat at my brother�s, with minimal attention year after year. Still, I hung on to those five words �We can bring it with�. Each winter when I had time to fly back and retrieve it, I looked into it, but the logistics and cost got in the way. Finally, this winter, I did it � flew to Washington, DC, caught a ride to Gettysburg, put in fresh fuel, charged the battery, started her up � not bad for having been run only a handful of times in 4 years. I rented a truck and flatbed car carrier,- loaded the jeep on the flatbed, the Bantam trailer in the truck, along with the requisite miscellaneous pile of jeep parts and accessories, then set off to drive across the USA to Bellingham, Washington, There I unloaded the jeep and trailer from the Uhaul, and drove them onto the Alaska Marine Highway (AKA Alaska State Ferry) for the 3 day trip to Juneau (crossing my fingers that it would start and drive off the ferry when we go there!). Once in Juneau I hopped the final leg, one-day ferry to my home, Gustavus. Two weeks after I left home I have a CJ3A and Bantam T3C Trailer projects again.
So�.. I�ll try to post periodic updates on the life of a jeep up here. I�m not planning a full on detailed restoration, but to keep her running and earning her keep, as well as looking proper. I�m looking forward to sharing stories about it as well as seeking advice on those mechanical mysteries that always come down the trail with an old jeep.
-JB
