t’s first 5 years are as told to me by my Father and Grandfather.

This jeep was purchased new by my grandpa’s neighbor, Ernie Shaw, from LaPlata Motors in Durango Colorado, in1965. Ernie had bought the jeep as a tool to heard cattle and to use around the farm, but soon discovered that his blue healer and his old ford tractor were much better suited for the job so it mostly just sat for the first 5 years of its life. Then in 1970 my grandpa, Albert Mayer, traded Ernie a car he had for the jeep, with the intent of using it for camping trips in the high country. However, by then my aunts and uncles were mostly grown and gone and the camping trips remained just another plan that didn’t work out. So again it just sat up in my grandpa’s barn for another 5 years. These are my earliest memories of the jeep, as kids my sisters and I would get in it and pretend to drive it as it just sat there and collected dust. Then in 1975 my grandpa gave the jeep to my dad, William Mayer. (Dad ran a successful business from 1969 until 1984, specializing in building high performance propane powered engines and LPG conversions.) As a 10 year old boy I remember the day that we started the old jeep and I actually got to drive it…. for real this time! Lol. We drove it around the back 40 acres that day and then drove it over to dads shop. (about 500 ft from the barn, lol) I remember washing and waxing it, and how it shined like a diamond. Despite already being 10 years old, my dad distinctly remembers the mileage on it being at only 2168 miles. This was the first 10 years of its life.

Then dad, just as every other vehicle we ever owned, converted it to LPG and for the first time it its life it was finally used as intended! For the next ten years, our family used it for exploring old mines and charting abandoned logging roads in the high country all around southwest Colorado, with several camping trips up to Cascade Creek or Havaland lake each summer. So many wonderful memories were made of all the great times we had! These 10 years where the prime of its life, and this old jeep had finally fulfilled its intended purpose. Then in 1985, my dad gave the jeep to me. I was just 20 years old then, and being young and dumb, I wanted to do all the typical 4×4 mods, jack it up, put big tires on it, and of course, stuff a big V8 in it. Well, dad would have none of it, (Of which I am so thankful for now!) so we just did a few minor things to make it more user friendly. We replaced the shocks and the blower motor for the heater and gave it a tune up. We also found a “new old stock” speedometer for it as the original one had quit working. (When we changed it out the old speedometer showed a little over 15,000 miles on it, however the new speedometer didn’t work either. (It still shows 0 miles) I did drive it a few times, mostly prospecting up in the LaPlata mountains east of Durango. While I loved owning it, with big dreams and a new family, work time took priority over play time and once again the jeep just sat. Between 1985 and 2007 I did uncover it, and renewed the tags a few times but for the most part it was just wrapped in canvas and spent the winters covered in snow, and the summers buried in pine needles. And then once again, it just sat, essentially untouched and neglected, from 2007 until 2022… 15 years.

During these years I had relocated to Oklahoma and eventually retired in Arizona. But in 2022 we needed to sell dad’s house and move him into a nursing home, so I decided to bring the jeep from Durango, down here to Arizona. The canvas had rotted away and the elements had pretty much taken its toll on the original upholstery as it was cracked and brittle. The original removable soft top that it had had on it all those years caught the brunt of it and while it protected the interior as much as it could, it was ruined and had to be thrown away. During this period it also acquired many areas of surface rust, (nothing deep or pitted) mainly under the windshield, on the frame, bumpers and tow bar. The tires were flat and of course the battery was toast. But believe it or not, the tires still held air and the fluids were all up, so I put a new battery in it and even after sitting untouched for 15 years, it started on the first crank! So in 2022 it began a new chapter of its life.

Here in Yuma, I was just going to store it (It is very difficult for me to get in and out of, and drive it due to my handicap) and give it to one of the grand kids, but no one seemed very interested in owning an old jeep. But we had a couple of friends we had met while we were traveling, Rich and Judy, that being snowbirds would come down to Yuma to spend the winter months. Rich, a retired marshal, and his wife Judy loved exploring the old ghost towns, abandoned mines and old stage coach routes that are all around Yuma, so we decided that I would keep it tagged and insured and he would get it ready to use, do all the maintenance and most importantly, just enjoy it! He replaced the tires, changed out all of the fluids and replaced some of the stuff that had not weathered so well, like the top. I keep it stored here at our place under the carport and they take it out to the dessert with them while they winter here in their 5th wheel. They were able to use it for the last two seasons, and even had the old original upholstery replaced last year. Its been good to see it get a new lease on life and became useful once again! They were able to travel all over the area, thoroughly enjoying themselves and it never once faltered or left them stranded.

Unfortunately due to health reasons, they were unable to use it this season and their future trips to Arizona are currently up in the air. I just can’t watch it sit and just rot away again, so we talked it over and decided the best thing to do was to sell it to someone that would enjoy it, and keep it going to another generation of off road enthusiasts. Thank you for allowing me to share its story with you and I sincerely hope you take a chance to own this little piece of history. Use it as it is, dependable and fun, or restore it to its former glory, its up to you.

Okay… other than all the cosmetic stuff you can see in the pictures, here is a list of the other issues it has that I know of:

The vacuum operated windshield wipers can be very slow at times, or even stop. They’ve always worked that way and really only happens when your pulling a hill and you have your foot in it.

When you first turn it on, the heater fan motor is is making a squealing noise again.

The original gauges in the new speedometer are not hooked up, but the aftermarket oil pressure, water temp and amps gauges work just fine, but the speedometer still does not work. And as far as the actual mileage goes, I am estimating it high at 20000, I’m guessing it’s probably lower than that. This is based off of what all my dad has told me, the miles I estimated driving it myself, as well as the last two years of use by Rich and Judy.

While there are no fluid leaks, there is evidence of seepage around most of the seals and gaskets. Hey, its 60 years old, being 60 myself, all my seals and gaskets ain’t what they used to be either, lol,

The shut off valve on the tank could be adjusted or replaced, as its hard to turn.

The swing away spare tire and Jerry can rack needs adjusting. It works fine, but it can be difficult to lock and unlock. There’s really no reason to open it, just thought id mention it.

The left front tire has a slow leak and drops down a bit over the summer months.

My dad said that he kept the original gas tank and carburetor; I looked everywhere but couldn’t find them. I’m sure there are others out there if you every wanted to switch it back to gasoline. Which by the way, if you have any other questions about it that I can’t provide an answer to, especially about the LPG System, we can always ask him. He’s 85 now, and he has his good days and bad ones, but he’s still pretty dang sharp! And if you choose to restore it, I;m sure he would love to hear about it and see pictures of the restoration…. as would I :)

Also just FYI… after the first 2168 miles, it was switched from the straight 30 weight detergent oil to Amzoil 10-40 full synthetic and had always been on that up until Richard changed the oil a couple of years ago and I had him switch it over to Mobile 1. The transmission, transfer case and diffs were also switched to synthetic about that same 2000 mile mark and are still synthetic.

That’s everything I can think of, hope this helps.

Thank you,

Michael Mayer

Cena: $7 500

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