Are these rumors true? |
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clarkmichael1956
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2012 Location: Candler, NC Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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I am trying to see if I can research thru the Circus with my serial number if they can actually identify which float was built on my chassis. The marine plywood is from the firewall back, so the plates and dash are all there with fenders, windshield, hood. This is going to be a breakthru if I can narrow it down. Wish me luck
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CJ2A 26305 / Michael Clark Plankowner - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69
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clarkmichael1956
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2012 Location: Candler, NC Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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I FOUND IT!!!! I found my CJ2A which was owned by Ringling Bros.!! After phone calls and looking at old paperwork my dad had, this picture is of my 1946 CJ2A in August of 1947. Mine was manufactured early in 46, and the note which was stowed away in my fathers papers, which I vaugely remembered, stated that this jeep, my jeep was the "Lilliput" float, which was discontinued in the mid fifties. One of Ringling Bros. Lawyers bought the jeep, and had a boat builder, build the plywood body onto the frame. My father build this lawyer a home in Cashiers/Highlands, NC in the early 60's, and my dad bought this jeep from him! This is unbelievable that I have researched it back. Thank you to everyone who helped with this.
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CJ2A 26305 / Michael Clark Plankowner - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69
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WVCAHILLBILLY
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 18 Aug. 2011 Location: Mosquito, CA Status: Offline Points: 625 |
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Congrats!! Knowing the history is fantastic.
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Joe
46 CJ2A 29385 Gumby "We shall pass this way on Earth but once,if there is any kindness we can show, or good act we can do, let us do it now, for we will never pass this way again."Stephen Grelle |
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WVCAHILLBILLY
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 18 Aug. 2011 Location: Mosquito, CA Status: Offline Points: 625 |
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Joe
46 CJ2A 29385 Gumby "We shall pass this way on Earth but once,if there is any kindness we can show, or good act we can do, let us do it now, for we will never pass this way again."Stephen Grelle |
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WVCAHILLBILLY
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 18 Aug. 2011 Location: Mosquito, CA Status: Offline Points: 625 |
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Joe
46 CJ2A 29385 Gumby "We shall pass this way on Earth but once,if there is any kindness we can show, or good act we can do, let us do it now, for we will never pass this way again."Stephen Grelle |
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Tom in RI
Member Joined: 07 May 2009 Location: RI Status: Online Points: 1124 |
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Thats probably one of the most unique jeep owner history stories I have ever seen/heard. Will your restoration bring it back to its original Lilliput style? Re-creating the village is going to take some work.
Welcome aboard.
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54ball
Member Joined: 01 Dec. 2010 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 68 |
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Welcome,
I want you to have fun and enjoy Jeeps but here are some things to think about. The story is very neat but.... As far as collector value is there any here? Was that Jeep ever used as a "Jeep" not a float, by the circus? If so wheres the proof? Is there any value in a replica 2012 made Lilliput float? If the frame is bad, the main link to the circus has been lost. In my opinion, I think it's not practical to go back as a float. I feel the same for the plywood body. Going with a good body on the frame may be a consideration if Ringling Brothers actually used that Jeep as a Jeep. There is no proof that they did and if the frame is not usable: it's a non issue. Without the frame, all that's there is parts of the cowl, front fenders,engine and running gear. Honestly, it's a good supply of spare parts with a neat story. If I were you I would strongly consider finding a more complete Jeep and using the "circus Jeep" as parts. Good Luck. |
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jeep(jep)n.[ Creature in a comic strip by E.C.Segar]a small rugged automobile of WWII
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scoutpilot
Member Joined: 30 Dec. 2008 Location: Asheboro, NC Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
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My friend, I must politely take exception to what you wrote. Is not Ringling part of American History? Is not the Jeep as well? You are aware of the location of Lilliput, are you not? The three way tie-in make this jeep a collector’s item. Especially since he was able to acquire the provenance for it. To the circus, its value was as a small vehicle they could adapt to their need for capitalizing on a then extremely popular movie and thereby gaining inestimable good will and superb advertising during their parade through the town. My friend, have you ever attended a Ringling parade? Did it not stir you deep inside? Have you ever attended the circus? Did not your young, fertile imagination run wild? As a child, did you not, at some point, dream of running off to join the circus?
Collector value? Let’s see. There are collectors of circus memorabilia. There are Collectors of “The Wizard of Oz” memorabilia. There are collectors of Judy Garland memorabilia. And there are collectors of Jeeps, in all their roles. Practicality? I think he has a wonderful find that could very well return a tidy profit.
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clarkmichael1956
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2012 Location: Candler, NC Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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I appreciate all the interest and discussion my find has created. I am sure there are as many opinions on here as there are members, and all are knowledgable needless to say. I am not planning on restoring it as the Lilliput float, I am going to replace the rotted frame tho, saving the engine, front end, rear end, plywood body, hood windshield and drive train. I never saw it as the Lilliput float, that is part of the jeeps history tho, my history is with my father driving this jeep when I was young, killing my first rabbit, and placing it in the floorboard of that old jeep, cutting firewood and hauling it out in that jeep, and learning to drive and having my first actual date in that jeep. That is the memory I am going to restore, and the Lilliput history behind it is a great piece of nostalgia to pass on with this jeep to my children. It was exciting and rewarding to find out the history of this jeep, but the real history is between myself and my memories with my deceased father, and that is what I am striving to preserve.
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CJ2A 26305 / Michael Clark Plankowner - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Offline Points: 9611 |
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clarkmichael1956: BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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scoutpilot
Member Joined: 30 Dec. 2008 Location: Asheboro, NC Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
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You will have something to tie it back to its history, won’t you? Photographs, documents, you know. Provenance. Don’t forget a picture of your dad and you with the Jeep.
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clarkmichael1956
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2012 Location: Candler, NC Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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CJ2A 26305 / Michael Clark Plankowner - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69
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clarkmichael1956
Member Joined: 20 Sep. 2012 Location: Candler, NC Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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CJ2A 26305 / Michael Clark Plankowner - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69
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