JEEP A LABOUR OF LOVE FOR THESE BROTHERS
They are identical twins and have a shared interest in military history. Their father was in the military reserve and loved wartime collectibles. Family friends were military vehicle restorers and collectors. Cameron and Sean Black were 11-year-olds and in Grade 6 when a 1943 military Jeep came into the family.
The old Jeep had done more than a million miles, had spent decades in use on a Washington State farm and popped up on Craigslist. A price of US$2,500 was settled on, friends in the military vehicle club helped trailer the Second World War relic across the 49th and the young twins became focused on the restoration of the 75-year-old Jeep.
Back in the day, the WillysOverland company won a design competition for a General Purpose vehicle (GP, or ‘Jeep’). Between Willys and the Ford Motor Company, 634,569 Jeeps were produced for the war effort between 1939 and 1945. At the peak of production, the factories were turning out a Jeep every 90 seconds.
Wartime Willys and Ford Jeeps were all manufactured according to the specifications in the original Willys-Overland design so that parts would be interchangeable. There are fewer Ford-built Jeeps than Willys models and they are more collectible.
The Jeep owned by the Black twins, who are now 16, is a Ford. The little workhorse Jeeps remained popular after the war so Willys continued production of what was named the CJ (Civilian Jeep) series.
Over the past five years, the boys have restored the vehicle with bodywork, new paint, mechanical repairs and other upgrades — largely in the carport of the family home in Port Moody.
They have taken the engine apart, rebuilt all the components and, in doing so, taught themselves mechanical skills.
Last year, they studied mechanics in their Grade 11 auto shop at Port Moody Secondary School.
“We blew a head gasket and had to fix that,” Cameron says.
“Then we had to the starter apart six times. The last time, we had to weld it and it finally worked.”
From the age of around 13, they’d sit in the Jeep and pretend they were driving it, patiently waiting to be old enough to drive. That day has come, and the twins have learner’s licences and can drive the 74-year-old military vehicle on public roads as long as their mother is in the passenger seat.
“I can drive a standard, but I don’t know how to drive the Jeep,” says Melanie Black, a systems analyst with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. “The gear shift is too complex and all backwards with its four-wheel drive system.”
She’s proud of what her twin sons have accomplished: “The restoration has been a good thing for them to do. They are not spending all their time in front of the television or playing video games. They are learning good skills.”
Sean and Cameron keep busy researching all things military and collecting military memorabilia. “They know every detail about the Jeep and a lot of other military items,” their mom says.
Over the past year, the twins have entered their restored Jeep in parades, car shows and military vehicle displays put on by the Western Command Military Vehicle Preservation Society.
The Jeep will be part of a large military vehicle and memorabilia display on Saturday, June 24 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Cloverdale Legion. The show is sponsored by the by Canadian Military Education Centre. There will be a pair of military Jeeps from the 1980s on display — one of them pulling a 105-millimetre howitzer. Alongside will be several half-track military trucks and a World War Two CMP (Canadian Military Pattern truck) pulling a 70-pound cannon.
Organizer Dean Fraser says the most unusual military vehicle to be displayed is one of the largest historic combinations in the province. Called a Foden, the giant eight-wheel flat-deck truck carries a 40-ton mine thrower called a Shielder.
“This Shielder has serial number 1 of the 29 built in Britain,” Fraser notes. “It was brought to Canada along with the huge truck that carries it for use in the film industry.”
As for the Black twins, Cameron has now bought his brother’s interest to become the sole owner.
Sean has his sights set on a historic military vehicle of larger proportions.
He wants to restore a World War Two-era ambulance to display alongside the Jeep he helped put back on the road.