I drove it 20,000 miles in the first year! Me and my best friend drove it everywhere. I drove it to school the next year as I decided to do the Leaving over again to get a better pass in some subjects. It was quite a sight to see a jeep loaded with crazy schoolkids turn up in those days.
In 65-66 I trained to be a teacher. I had no idea that they would send me to the country, but they did, sending me to a godforsaken place called Caroona Aboriginal School (now near huge, contentious coal mining leases) But then it was the back of nowhere. I taught the Kooris for a couple of terms there. All the cockies' sons drove Torana XU-1's, passing me at about 100 MPH.
I was considered eccentric to have a jeep then. I was sent in the next 3 years to several other country schools, including Lightning Ridge, Coolah and Boggabilla. Little did I know that I was sent to those places because the district inspector knew I had a jeep! The road to the Ridge was black dirt, and when It rained, the road turned into an impassable quagmire for about a week, causing a rush to the Co-op for supplies before they ran out. One drizzly day I drove a couple of miles to the junction of the Oxley Highway and drove round in circles, churning up the road till it was a bog, then drove quickly back to town. Next I heard that the road had become impassable.I chuckled.
I used to drive back to my home in Sydney for the school holidays ,Distances of between 260 and 480 miles. Racing along the country roads for 6 -8 hour stretches at between 55 and 60 MPH, I used to wear miners earplugs, a fur lined flying jacket, balaclava and plastic bags taped round my shoes if it rained.
After 4 hours the oil in the transmission gets so hot and watery that there isn't the drag and you can get 60 out of a jeep up hills and down. I used to catch most others in their FB Holdens on the hills, only to be overtaken again on the straights.
I hardly had a minute's trouble with it apart from the fact that the intermediate shaft almost wore in two on the first year and stranded me at school, and again in 1968 on the way home from Caroona, the little round flap from the choke plate was ingested by the engine while driving in the night, in freezing weather, between Ilford and Capertee. It bent an exhaust valve only (so I thought). When the valve was repalced, the engine ran fine. It was only in 1990, when I decided to rebuild the engine, that I discovered that the rings and lands in that cylinder were broken. It must have been that incident did it, but it ran fine all those years.
Back in Sydney from 1971 I drove the jeep until I got an old Vanguard and drove the jeep infrequently. it's been like that till recently, when the jeep bug bit again and I've started fixing it up again.
I've still got it. It's had numerous clutches, gearbox repairs and transfer case intermediate shafts. I've repaired rust in the tub three times, painted it about eight times, always a different shade of O.D. I got my first dead flat O.D in 1970, when my brother got conscripted to go to Vietnam. He "liberated" several tins of Vietnam era O.D, which I painted the jeep in for the remainder of the 70's and 80's. It's cost me some money in rego. Imagine 50 years at about $700 a year. I've done, in all, 200,000 miles in it over the years.
I guess I'll never sell her. my daughter wants it, so she'll get that one.
Here's some pictures of my jeep from the past.
1.Caroona 1968
2.In sandhills (now gone-sand mined away) at Kurnell !963
3.Behind oil refinery at Kurnell 1963
4.On Seven Mile Beach at Gerroa 1964
5.Parked next to Vietnam era Australian designed International vehicles at Mascot Airport 1970
6.Parked near Coolaburragundy river, 1969
7.Coolah, 1968. Had to share this road with timber jinkers loaded with logs!
8.Spot near centre at top of picture on road is jeep.
9.Site of Black stump Inn 1969
10.Site of original Black Stump Inn. Nearly got bogged as wheels became too big and jammed wheelwells.
11. Jeep on Coolah- Coonabarabran Road.1969
Nice pics, great story!
