| Description: |
This was a last minute, fun event! I was
surfing the 'net and came across a Willys Tech event that one of
our members who recently passed away had started two years
ago. Joe VanSlyke was our "CJ" guy who knew
everything about the civilian variants of the Willys-Overland
vehicles. This was the "First Annual Joe VanSlyke
Memorial" event held at a ranch in Carmine, Texas.
Having rebuilt the carb on the jeep just a few days prior, I
figured this would be a good 'trial' event to sort out my first
rebuild!
I posted a notice of the event on the club website to see if
any other mil-vehs would show up and on Saturday morning, headed
out trailering the M38A1. I drove East to Carmine and right
to the ranch where the event was to be held. There, I met
Rick Stiver and Dan Breaux, and was immediately welcomed into the group. There were
many Willys vehicles there including the pickup truck versions and
panel van versions. Most had been converted with small block
engines but there were a few exceptionally restored or maintained
'original's' in the group.
After a short period, about 6 of us headed for Burton, about 6
miles away. Over the dusty and bumpy gravel roads we went to
arrive and be staged. Much like other events, we waited for
what seemed to be forever and the parade finally started at
11:00am. After a delightful 3 block parade, we headed back
to Carmine for a fantastic treat of smoked fajitas, grilled
jalapeno's and brownies.
Around 4pm, it was time to load the jeep up and head back to
Austin. Overall it was a fun event and the civilian side of
the Willys owners has just as much pride in their vehicles as the
mil-veh owners do. |
