SAVING HISTORY
The Indo-Canadian Jeep Club’s membership roll might be small, but their combined collection of wartime workhorses certainly isn’t
The club doesn’t have a website, regular meetings or a lot of members. But it sure has a lot of fun. The eight enthusiasts from the Indo-Canadian Jeep Club attending a summer car show south of Vancouver had a barbecue going and picnic lunch laid out. They shared soft drinks and animated conversation as they sat on lawn chairs.
An amazing array of restored wartime Jeeps and trailers were parked in front of the men. The quality and detail of these restorations seemed flawless. Many of the Jeeps were fully equipped with army gear and some armaments. Many were towing military trailers that were loaded with equipment and appeared battle ready.
Most of the Jeeps and trailers have been restored in home garages with club members swapping their knowledge and expertise.
“All the farms in India have these Jeeps,” says Kam Mann, owner of an immaculate 1943 Ford GPW. “They were like part of the family. We would never sell our Jeeps.”
The Willys MB and Ford GPW commonly known as Jeeps, short for General Purpose, were highly successful off road-capable military utility vehicles built in high numbers to a standardized design from 1941 to 1945.
It was the world’s first mass-produced four-wheel-drive vehicle with an estimated 650,000 put into service.
The Indo-Canadian Jeep Club roster may not list a lot of members but it does have a lot of vintage military Jeeps.
Romy Swatch owns:
1942 Ford GPW
1943 Willys MB CDLV
1943 Ford GPW
1944 Willys MB
1947 Willys CJ2A
1950 Willys M38
1944 dump trailer
1950 M100 trailer
Yadwinder Sohi’s collection includes:
1942 Ford GPW
1945 Ford GPW
1949 Willys CJ3A Kam Mann owns:
1943 Ford GPW
1942 Willys slat grille
1944 Bantam trailer
Sukhvir Riar has
1953 Willys CJ3B
1952 Willys M38
1942 Willys 6X6
Other members have a single collector Jeep, and they include Tejinder Tatla’s 1950 Willys CJ3A, Jatinder Sidhu’s 1953 Willys M38A1, Sandeep Dhillon’s 1944 Willys MB, Sukhi Padda’s 1947 Willys CJ2A, Pinda Dhaliwal’s 1942 Willys slat grille, Harrish’s 1947 Willys CJ2A, Hardip Mangat’s 1945 Ford GPW, Al Hiavach’s 1942 Willys slat grille, Butta Johal’s 1948 Willys CJ2A, Pamela Farmer’s 1971 M151, Karam Batth’s 1945 Willys MB and 1955 M100 trailer, and Harpreet Takhar’s 1949 Willys CJ2A.
Long-distance trucker Sukh Riar, a giant of a man, towers over his 1953 Willys CJ3B, representing the first year of this civilian Jeep model that was built up to 1964. He is now restoring a 1942 Willys 6X6.
“I spent one year alone rebuilding the chassis,” he says of the 6x6. “There are only two of these in the world, so I have to research everything to make the restoration as authentic as possible.”
He does all aspects of the restoration himself, including the welding and painting.
Romy Swatch, with eight restored military Jeeps, along with matching trailers, has a wide array of wartime memorabilia, including armaments. He shows one of his Jeeps with a decommissioned submachine-gun mounted in place and has a Howitzer, hand grenades and other field artillery — that can’t be triggered.
“I have dreamed of Jeeps since I was very young and had toy Jeeps to play with,” he says of his childhood in India. He came to Canada in 1993 and started working in a Subway restaurant. Three years later, he bought the franchise. He now has 11 restaurants.
He says the giant Indian steel company Mahindra began assembling Jeeps in 1953. But there were many wartime Jeeps left in Europe that ended up in India.
Swatch has been able to buy his eight Jeeps locally. His favourite models were built from 1941 through 1943, with the 1941 slat grille model featuring straight upand-down grille bars topping the collectible list. It marks the start of production for wartime Jeeps.
“We all know each other and help with the restorations,” he says of the group dedicated to the restoration of military Jeeps.
He researches authenticity with books and manuals and his restorations are done professionally by a shop in Aldergrove. He has so many Jeeps in his garages that he is now seeking more storage.
When asked when the Jeep collecting will end, he says: “It’s just beginning. I’m looking at a package deal right now with two Jeeps — a 1942 model and a 1953 — which are two of the most collectible models.”
Alyn Edwards is a classic-car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. Reach him at aedwards@peakco.com
Driving.ca