How We Spoil Our Jeeps; Now and Then
Guys, I have to laugh at us when I consider the difference in how we treat our Jeeps now and how we treated them “back in the day”. Let’s keep in mind that Jeeps were intended to be tools to get things done and we used them in every way imaginable. Now that we’ve gotten a lot more miles on us (like our Jeeps), we treat them like they never expected to be treated.
As examples – think of how we worry about treating them mechanically. “Back then”, if there was enough oil in the pan to keep the gauge up – we ran with it. If it needed oil, just about whatever we could find went down the fill tube. I can remember taking a gallon of oil that my boss had just drained out of his ’59 Pontiac to use in the last flathead in the ‘48 truck. He protested “That’s used oil”. I replied “Its’ only got 3000 miles on it and it won’t last all that long anyway”. (It was using oil really badly). Now, we ask questions about needing zinc additives missing from modern oils to protect the lifters in our engines.
Back then, anything went when we were loading stuff to haul. The truck hauled scrap metal (bent, sharp, rusty), dirt, gravel and sand. I remember that a load of sand would clean most of the rust off the bare spots in the bed. Now the bed is Rhino-lined, but the grand-kids have to take off their shoes to ride in the back. (Oh yeah, it takes a soft brush and several clean rags to get the dust out of the texture of the liner).
Last of all, we pamper our Jeeps ‘way too much when we wash them. Even if we take them to the mud, we clean them up as we never did before. “Wash a Jeep?” Those words didn’t go together. At best, a fire hose and a fresh water washdown. (Well, Captain (O5 Navy Captain) Miller’s - jeep did get a nice bath, even if it was a motor pool Jeep).
Washing a Jeep meant finding a clean puddle after a rain and driving through it - at least until the floor boards leaked too badly. At least one of us drove his M38 into the South China Sea – a real washdown. Now, we wash them with a “Finish Conditioner” – go ahead and laugh – my wife does. The “Automotive Finish Conditioner” I use smells like baby shampoo – no joke. After I finish giving the truck a good cleaning, my wife says that both the Jeep and I smell like a baby’s bottom. Is she poking fun at us?
And, to finish off – I don’t use a paste wax now; it leaves white stuff in metal folds that just won’t come out unless you get on it with a soft toothbrush. In 1965 I would be happy after wiping it with an oily rag to kill the chalky finish to make it shine; today in its third life I use something with “nano-wax molecules”.
Why do we do things like this?
Because we can.
Because our Jeeps are old – almost as old as we are and maybe we treat them the way we do because, way down deep – that’s how we want to be treated. But, when you stop at a light and the guy in the big White or Kenworth leans out his window and hollers “NICE JEEP” – you know it’s worth it.
Jeep On guys.
And, on this Memorial Day remember it's not "Happy Memorial Day", its a solemn day to remember and honor those men and women who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have in this country today.
