LarrBeard
08-12-2019, 09:12 AM
The 2019 Toledo Jeep Fest was everything it claimed to be and a bit more.
My friend Heath decided that he wasn’t going to let me drive the ’48 Truck to Toledo. Even though it was a two hour drive, he worried that it would get bugged up, or it might rain, or … it might have some mechanical issue.. . So, we loaded it into his closed trailer and off we went to Toledo. And, since the return trip might also be buggy, or wet or whatever, he insisted on coming back for us on Sunday. Now, that is a friend.
It was a totally uneventful trip and getting set up in the arena was quick. A nice lady offered us drip pans because old trucks tend to dribble on the floor. I asked for two because I can be a bit untidy in a couple of places.
Saturday was the parade. As we listened to the parade organizers, we thought they were expecting about 950 registered vehicles, but the last minute folks who broke line and joined the parade probably made over 1200 vehicles in all. My wife, who stayed by the hotel to watch, said that it was two solid hours of Jeeps going by two-by-two; kind of like watching Noah load the Ark!
I had bummed a ride with BMorgil in his just finished 1950 Emerald Green CJ-3A. It is a beautiful little CJ. This was the first time on the road for “peeJ” and as with every old Jeep there are things you just have to drive it to find out what needs to be done next. He had an idle problem that he describes in his post about the parade. We made the parade route OK, but there were three sets of eyes on the temperature gauge. It just kept climbing. At one point I made the comment, “OK, it looks like it’s settled down.” The back seat machine gunner/observer said “Yeah, it’s pinned!” At a halt in the parade, we popped the hood and sat a metal coffee mug under the front to keep it open a bit and that might have cooled it off a needle’s width. We made it to the end without anything boiling over or spewing, declared victory and headed for the Sea Gate Center to the arena show.
I was surprised that there were not more “Senior Trucks” on exhibit since this was the year of the Senior Truck to celebrate the new Gladiator. There were several eye-popping restorations though. The Omaha Orange “Sunrise Stock Farms, Jonesborough, Tennessee” truck and the grey and white wagon were immaculate restorations as was the ‘63 Traveler wagon. The ’48 was “oohed” and “ahhed” over and the ladies just could not keep from caressing the fenders; “It’s so smooth..”. One lady wants to find some nail polish that color. It has such a big head now that it will hardly fit back in its’ car barn! (Oh, by the way - it was the Most Senior of the Trucks there.)
Everyone needs to say a big “Thank You” to Jerry Huber for organizing the event. I told him that I knew that from his side it was a never ending job of herding cats and chickens, but from our side it looked like everyone knew exactly what was going to happen next.
My friend Heath decided that he wasn’t going to let me drive the ’48 Truck to Toledo. Even though it was a two hour drive, he worried that it would get bugged up, or it might rain, or … it might have some mechanical issue.. . So, we loaded it into his closed trailer and off we went to Toledo. And, since the return trip might also be buggy, or wet or whatever, he insisted on coming back for us on Sunday. Now, that is a friend.
It was a totally uneventful trip and getting set up in the arena was quick. A nice lady offered us drip pans because old trucks tend to dribble on the floor. I asked for two because I can be a bit untidy in a couple of places.
Saturday was the parade. As we listened to the parade organizers, we thought they were expecting about 950 registered vehicles, but the last minute folks who broke line and joined the parade probably made over 1200 vehicles in all. My wife, who stayed by the hotel to watch, said that it was two solid hours of Jeeps going by two-by-two; kind of like watching Noah load the Ark!
I had bummed a ride with BMorgil in his just finished 1950 Emerald Green CJ-3A. It is a beautiful little CJ. This was the first time on the road for “peeJ” and as with every old Jeep there are things you just have to drive it to find out what needs to be done next. He had an idle problem that he describes in his post about the parade. We made the parade route OK, but there were three sets of eyes on the temperature gauge. It just kept climbing. At one point I made the comment, “OK, it looks like it’s settled down.” The back seat machine gunner/observer said “Yeah, it’s pinned!” At a halt in the parade, we popped the hood and sat a metal coffee mug under the front to keep it open a bit and that might have cooled it off a needle’s width. We made it to the end without anything boiling over or spewing, declared victory and headed for the Sea Gate Center to the arena show.
I was surprised that there were not more “Senior Trucks” on exhibit since this was the year of the Senior Truck to celebrate the new Gladiator. There were several eye-popping restorations though. The Omaha Orange “Sunrise Stock Farms, Jonesborough, Tennessee” truck and the grey and white wagon were immaculate restorations as was the ‘63 Traveler wagon. The ’48 was “oohed” and “ahhed” over and the ladies just could not keep from caressing the fenders; “It’s so smooth..”. One lady wants to find some nail polish that color. It has such a big head now that it will hardly fit back in its’ car barn! (Oh, by the way - it was the Most Senior of the Trucks there.)
Everyone needs to say a big “Thank You” to Jerry Huber for organizing the event. I told him that I knew that from his side it was a never ending job of herding cats and chickens, but from our side it looked like everyone knew exactly what was going to happen next.