How often have you wondered as you browsed the racks of calendars in the local shopping mall in December, why there were calendars with photos of vintage tractors, and calendars with Corvettes, but nothing featuring the vehicle which is the perfect combination of those two -- the Willys Universal Jeep?
Well, for 2007 a Classic Jeep Calendar finally arrived. It may not be available in the mall, but it will be on sale at Jeep events and online. Each month of this glossy, full-size calendar includes a big, high-quality photo and a bonus piece of original Jeep literature.
All of the categories of Willys Jeep vehicles are included, but flatfenders are certainly well represented, appearing on five of the twelve months. CJ-5 fans might feel shortchanged, but Mike Peters' M38A1 is here to represent the early dog-eared Jeeps.
From my perspective, the best page shows John and Phyllis Ittel's 1953 CJ-3B with Stratton 3-point lift and posthole digger. This restoration made its public debut at the 2006 Spring Midwest Willys Reunion and quite rightly attracted a lot of attention. The piece of literature included for that month is instructions on using the posthole digger.
The relatively rare Forward Control Jeeps score two spots in the twelve-month lineup, and both of them are spectacular examples: Craig Brockhaus' 1957 FC-150 with Watson Towboy wrecker, and Dan Devries' four-door M677 military FC.
Kevin Banonis' red Gladiator and the 1971 Hurst Commando owned by Rod and Luana Schneider are the late-model vehicles included, from the Kaiser era. They aren't Willys, but they are certainly classics.
Fans of the Fire Service Jeeps section of CJ3B.info will enjoy the page with Mark and Jill Smazik's 1958 Commando fire engine posed beside the 1945 Howe CJ-2A belonging to Art and Darlene Gloss.
This is a calendar that will look as good hanging in an office or kitchen as it would in a garage. Hopefully if it finds enough support it will become an annual item.
See the most recent year and previous editions of the calendar reviewed on CJ3B.info. -- Derek Redmond
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