Work continues on the beast during the spring of 2005 - welding brackets, replacing broken bolts, figuring out what things are... such as realizing that it has an electrical system with positive ground. This vehicle also has an unusual parking brake arrangement - a drum that stops the driveshaft instead of both rear wheels. At some point the drum assembly was removed, and the banged-up mounting remains. While it is true that a handy tree trunk will work as a parking brake, there are times (such as during winching) that a functioning handbrake would be helpful. It's on the "to do" list.

The wheels had been painted white over their original rust-red coloration (one of three available colors, including harvest gold and forest green). I wirebrushed them down and repainted all-purpose black to match the rest of the jeep. I found some great replacement tires from Wallace Wade in Texas - original-style non-directional treads (NDT's) freshly made, with tubes.

Given that Bob was an avid Scout, it was only fitting that this become an automotive merit badge project vehicle for Berkeley Boy Scout Troop 24. Here are some of the lads after a morning of inspecting brakes, changing oil, and replacing a headlight.

Finally, after a full winter and spring of work, nature called for the jeep to return to the mountains from where it came. Built-in tow hitch had to be upgraded, but it pulled up US 80 to the high sierra quite neatly. The jeep was happy once again to be frolicking in the dirt, winching trees, and getting stuck in the snow on July 3 (Lola Montez Lake road, 7,000 feet on a north-facing slope).