Jérôme Bignon lives in France and owns a Jeepster "Comando" (that's how they spell it) manufactured in Spain. He sent along these photos which I thought were worth another "Jeeps in Spain" page.
Translated from French, Jérôme comments, "My Jeepster is equipped with a hardtop which I have removed. I drive it in the southwest of France near Toulouse and on trips into Spain. The summer in this part of France is very hot, and when it rains (it is rare) I put on a poncho!"
"The Jeepster was built in Spain by VIASA and then EBRO, from about 1974 to 1982. There were two models, a convertible and a hardtop.
"The Spanish convertible (seen in the brochure photo at left) is different from the American C101 version, because the soft top is the same size as the hardtop, while on the C101 sport convertible the top is shorter with a trunk behind."
"The gasoline-powered version used the Hurricane engine, and there were two diesel versions: one with the Barreiros two-litre C-65 of 65 horsepower (Spanish manufacture) and the other with the Perkins engine of 72 horsepower.
"My Comando is equipped with the 4-cylinder Perkins diesel with a gearbox with four speeds plus reverse. It cruises at 105km/h (or 65 mph) and consumes 12 liters of diesel for 100km (approx. 19.5 miles per US gallon.)"
This photo shows Comandos in the final stage of assembly in the VIASA factory in Zaragoza.
Jérôme says, "The Jeepster was originally built on the frame of a CJ-6 Jeep (the long version of the CJ-5). It's very pleasant to drive -- I have also a 1956 M38A1 so I can recognize the difference!"
"My Jeepster carries TT Hankook RT 01 tires, which enable it to climb trees! The only problem is that the car is a little long so that on slopes it sometimes touches a little. With four large brake drums it slows down well."
"The 1982 hardtop had the extended plastic roof (I wouldn't want to say 'bathtub'!)"
Thanks to Jérôme Bignon for the information and photos. And thanks to Jaime Gomis for this photo of EBRO's final hardtop version, designated HDI, in school bus livery! -- Derek Redmond
Elsewhere on the web, see the website of the Club Jeep Comando de España.
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