Old Jeep Memories
Here's a great story by a former CJ-V35/U owner. David Garneau writes
about his experience with a V-35 in the 1970's.
It has been about 30 years now since I had that old jeep. I don't have
record of the serial or hood numbers any longer, and don't believe any
pictures exist of it. I remember I found it in Marlborough, Connecticut
sitting next to a garage where it had been for several years. I don't
remember what I paid, but $200 comes to mind. It was still fully marked
as a US Navy unit, and painted that Navy bluish grey color. It was in
very good condition, complete, very little rust, and I had it running
in short order. I kept it about a year (more or less) and never
registered it, but just snuck it over to the abandoned RR tracks in
East Hampton, Connecticut where I lived at the time, and drove it on
the old RR beds. I sold it, and a 1965 442 Oldsmobile, to someone that
kept a warehouse full of old cars at a closed factory in East Hampton.
He moved everything to another closed factory in Colchester. I
don't know where he went after that, and damned if I can remember his
name.
It had only two seats, a rear mounted fuel can, was 6 volts, and had a
little generator between the seats that was shaft run. I think it had a
tailgate, but as I remember, it was bolted shut and didn't open. I
remember it being waterproof because I drove it across a 4-5' cranberry
bog once (teenager). I got it going and as it got deeper I was sitting
on the back of the seat, holding the steering wheel with my feet. All
that was sticking up out of the water was some of the windshield and
the snorkel. I remember looking back and seeing a "V" in the water
behind me like a big duck was swimming, and hoping like hell that the
pond didn't get any deeper, and there wasn't any trees in there!
Thankfully the bottom was solid enough, and it popped out the other
side, and I was too much of a skirt to go back that way, so I took it
through the bushes and up the embankment to the road where I could get
back to the RR bed.....Damn kids :) Only in a Jeep, right?
Don't hold me to the details, as it was 30 years ago, and I was a
teenager, but those details stick out in my mind. I very much
hope that it still exists in good condition, as when I had it, there
was no body damage, very little rust, was as a complete unit,
everything worked, and it ran like a top. I had no idea they were
so rare! I'm amazed to find that so few of those jeeps were made.