Norman D. Landing

6,889 · June 9

8 hours ago, Mr_Flibble said:

I'm still in the market to replace my current daily driver. I'd love to own a (classic) pick-up.
Alas, the disposable income and savings are going to take a big hit with a new kitchen coming in September.
Better to continue saving up I guess and maybe buy fewer vintage cameras 😅

I spent D-Day / Saturday hiking in the Ardennes, around the rock formations of Sy with a fellow shutterbug.
Unfortunately the storms from the days before had blown over quite a few trees and washed away some sections of the path.
....it was an adventure, to say the least....

I can feel your pain. We are almost winding down a complete interior repair/remodel/update on our house. So collecting funds have been reduced for a while now.
However over the weekend I spent a grand total of $5.00 US at a garage sale. I bought two January 1945 copies of The Stars and Stripes, and for you vintage car buffs, a 1967 yardstick sales promo for a local Chevrolet dealership that still happens to be around. I actually love old yardsticks. I imagine you have meter sticks over there?
I was amused by the article about the Tiger tank vs a Garand.
mikie

June 9

Mikie,

I was hoping that you would post this over here! Notice how they refer to George Frank (from Detroit no less) as a "Peep" driver and not "Jeep" driver. It is also neat to see an actual period reference of Peep".

OD

17,447 · June 9

.

Funny BUT Scary . . . . . . . . . .

My 1973 girlfriend Miv sent me an email today, she had taken one of her images from when we dated and added movement to it using Ai. Unfortunately

it appears to be using a disallowed format so it won't play on the forum.

She then sent me an Ai clip of me taken around the same year sat in my first Jeep, it's the only image I have of that time, however pausing the Ai clip I now have several more images of myself and the Jeep that NEVER really existed. !!!! 🤔 😂 😂.

Notice the branches of a tree under my arm in the first photo appear to morph into a large steering wheel as the images move along, also my jeans never had worn creases down the front !!!! an Ai interpretation, but I am pleased that it captured how slim I was back then.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 09 June 2O26.

..

6,889 · June 9

2 hours ago, Just an Old dude said:

Mikie,

I was hoping that you would post this over here! Notice how they refer to George Frank (from Detroit no less) as a "Peep" driver and not "Jeep" driver. It is also neat to see an actual period reference of Peep".

OD

I’ve been wondering about that “peep” since I first saw it but keep forgetting to look it up. Thought it was a typo?

mikie

June 9

28 minutes ago, mikie said:

I’ve been wondering about that “peep” since I first saw it but keep forgetting to look it up. Thought it was a typo?

mikie

Nope. Not a typo. There is/has always been a debate about the origins of the name "Jeep" (which Willis copywrote in1943) as to whether it evolved from "Peep" which a number of GI's called it based on the small vehicle size or from the FORD GPW designation. GPWs were sometimes referred to as "GPs" and "Jeep" could have evolved from that. It was just great to see it in print!

OD

17,447 · June 9

46 minutes ago, Just an Old dude said:

Nope. Not a typo. There is/has always been a debate about the origins of the name "Jeep" (which Willis copywrote in1943) as to whether it evolved from "Peep" which a number of GI's called it based on the small vehicle size or from the FORD GPW designation. GPWs were sometimes referred to as "GPs" and "Jeep" could have evolved from that. It was just great to see it in print!

OD

.

Peeps and Jeeps.

Over the lifetime of this thread I have posted about the use of Peeps and Jeeps several times, I have tried to search for the posts I made, but failed to do so. One was for a wartime magazine and there was an article in the magazine stating that the word Peeps was used for what we now call Jeeps and Jeeps were half-ton Dodges.

Another post I added was a 1940 / 1941 period film about serving in the US Army and the film related to the initial training period and they had a studio mock-up of a vehicle representing a ' Jeep ' but it was verbally called a Peep, again I can't find this post, some of the searches need to be word specific otherwise it draws a blank.

So here's another use of the word ' Jeep ' as used by Minneapolis Moline for vehicles they built for the army, so it's still ambiguous where the term originated from to become synonymous with the Second World War Jeep as we call it today.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 09 June 2O26.

..

June 9

General,

As always, another brilliant post! It's 1800 hrs here in Detroit and I just learned something I hadn't seen before so I guess I can go to bed now (my Mom used to say "that you can't go to bed until you learn something new every day"). Now, as for the "Chicken & the egg"...

OD

6,889 · June 10

3 hours ago, General Apathy said:

.

Peeps and Jeeps.

Over the lifetime of this thread I have posted about the use of Peeps and Jeeps several times, I have tried to search for the posts I made, but failed to do so. One was for a wartime magazine and there was an article in the magazine stating that the word Peeps was used for what we now call Jeeps and Jeeps were half-ton Dodges.

Another post I added was a 1940 / 1941 period film about serving in the US Army and the film related to the initial training period and they had a studio mock-up of a vehicle representing a ' Jeep ' but it was verbally called a Peep, again I can't find this post, some of the searches need to be word specific otherwise it draws a blank.

So here's another use of the word ' Jeep ' as used by Minneapolis Moline for vehicles they built for the army, so it's still ambiguous where the term originated from to become synonymous with the Second World War Jeep as we call it today.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 09 June 2O26.

..

Interesting vehicles. Even if you posted about Peeps a week ago, it would be debatable if I would remember it today. My memory was never all that great but between long Covid and my concussion, it is getting terrible recently.
The first thing I think of about peeps are the traditional Easter marshmallow treats. They come in all shapes and colors, but the original were yellow baby chicks, “peep peep” ! Kids love them, but one piece has enough sugar in it to send me into a coma.
mikie

17,447 · June 10

18 hours ago, Just an Old dude said:

General,

As always, another brilliant post! It's 1800 hrs here in Detroit and I just learned something I hadn't seen before so I guess I can go to bed now (my Mom used to say "that you can't go to bed until you learn something new every day"). Now, as for the "Chicken & the egg"...

OD

.

Hi old dude and everyone.

apologies I failed to post the full text from the Minneapolis-Moline advert where it refers to World War One use and again in 1938 prior to the ' Jeep ' being invented, but not called a Jeep at that time but 1/4 ton truck, the use of the name Jeep came later in the war.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 10 June 2O26.

..

9,053 · June 10

On 6/1/2026 at 10:51 PM, Johan Willaert said:

Today I drove the Jeep to Creully, Normandy, France, to recreate a photo I took back in June 1984.

In 1944 the village of Creully was home to Field Marshal Montgomery’s headquarters and also the BBC radioservices on the continent.

On our first visit to Normandy for the 40th Anniversary in 1984, I took a photo of my dad driving my Jeep just below the village castle and today 42 years on I asked a friend to take a photo of me in the same location in the same Jeep.

The roads have been resurfaced and some roadsigns and poles have been replaced but the junction is still there and the castle and church spire can still be seen behind the trees in the background.

The 1984 photo was of course taken with a standard camera of the era and my iphone takes photos at a wider angle than back then and the Jeep has been rebuilt two times since then but it was so good to be back in the spot where I spent time with my dad who sadly passed away ten years ago this Summer.

Great memories….

Returned home safely after 10 days in Normandy last week... I took around 750 photos so too many to post all, but here's another Then & Now...

Pictures were taken at the intersection of the D514 coastal road from Omaha Beach towards Grandcamp/Maisy and the smaller road leading to Pointe du Hoc, where C,E and F Companies of the 2nd ranger Battalion scaled the cliffs to capture and destroy the German gun battery on D-Day.

The first photo was taken in June 1989 and the second one last week in June 2026, so 37 years between both photos.
Back in 1989 it was just a small T-junction with a gravel/dirt road leading towards the gun site where you had to park in the grass.
Over the years a roundabout was installed at the junction to make traffic more fluent; the road towards the site was resurfaced, parking lots were installed and paths were fenced off near the bunkers....
The location of the intersection itself has remained pretty unchanged, but I too was amazed to how much more greener the entire area has become.
The house in the background still stands...

1989-2026: same Jeep, same driver, same location

9,053 · June 10

Took this photo below WN62 on Omaha Beach...

So Grandpaw, what did you do in the great WW2? ;-)

9,053 · June 10

On 6/4/2026 at 12:30 PM, earlymb said:

Hi Johan,

thanks, that would help!

Here's the drawing of the body bolts on the early MBs and GPWs, taken from Batisti's book
This is what I fitted on my 42 GPW with the exception that the GPW takes two spring loaded bolts on the transfer case crossmember.
Also below a photo of the bolts I used, a set made with bolts from Jemax, Batisti and Augum Parts, the latter is no longer in business

9,053 · June 10

Visited a couple of militaria fairs and didn't really buy much but this brass model of the B17 bomber caught my eye and I couldn't resist buying it...
Wingspan is about 12 inches and that thing is heavy!!!
Maybe not WW2 but definitely old and it displays well in the Air Corps corner of the War room...

9,053 · June 10

While the churchyard of Sainte Marie du Mont just off Utah Beach is always packed with vehicles and people during commemoration week, I still manged to take this photo of my Jeep in front of the church.... Photo was taken on Friday 5th June 2026

Second photo shows my 1942 Huffman US Army bicycle in the same location in June 2024
That photo was taken by Kenneth Nishiyori with a 1940s Speedgraphic camera

9,053 · June 10

That'll buff out.... Photos taken at the Camp Texas Vehicle Camp near Crassville, Normandy

9,053 · June 10

Joe's Motor Pool, a British based manufacturer and dealer of Jeep parts, brought several rarities to its Normandy HQ at Hiesville.

There was a line-up of different Jeep prototypes, including a Willys MA ( I spotted a second Luxemburg owned one on the road ), a Bantam BRC40 and two 4-wheel steer Ford GPs..., along with a GPA amphibian.... Also they brought a very early production Ford GPW in unrestored condition.... All of these were driven to France from England...

9,053 · June 10

I met up with Ron Fitzpatrick from G503 at Grandcamp on Sunday.
Ron is the creator of the G503 forum, G503 Jeep Parts and the G503 Facebook page and has thus created a worldwide community of Jeep owners...
G503 was the US Government's vehicle model number attributed to the Jeep

17,447 · June 10

.

Hi Johan.

I have mentioned it before but back in the 1970's on our tours through Normandy we found several four-wheel steer Jeeps abandoned on farms and sadly did nothing about it,

not highly desirable back in the 1970's , now part of the holy grail of Jeep models.

I suppose a four-leg steer would be a cow is that right 🤣

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 10 June 2O26.

..

17,447 · June 10

.

It's that darn Ai again

But this time it's created a photograph I didn't make at all at the time.

About 1972 I attempted to do some serious hill climbing in my Jeep to try and reach the peak of one of the UK's highest hills. About a third of the way I slid on the loose shale and became stuck in some boggy ground, I tried for some time to get unstuck but in the end I realised I needed help. I walked back down into the valley in the hope of finding a friendly tractor owner, or four wheel drive owner, instead I passed a camp of Boy Scouts and taking a chance I proposed to the scout leader giving the boys some exercise and something to do, along with a monetary donation to the scout association. Long story short we all climbed the track until we reached tha Jeep and with a lot of tugging and pushing freed the Jeep, at which I took the better part of valour and decided to admit defeat and descended the way I have come. It was never attempted again.

Now in 2026 sat having coffee this morning with a friend he offered to attempt an Ai image of anything I wanted, I thought of the day back in 1972 of the Jeep ascending this hill, a hill I have climbed several times in my life, the first when at a mountain climbing school in my final year at school and the last time about five years ago. The Jeep is not mine but an Ai representation image, and the mountain path is a true depiction of that route, at the time I was wearing normal civilian clothes and not a uniform as shown.

Although a true story and event, it does feel a fraud resorting to an Ai image for something I never photographed.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 10 June 2O26.

..

17,447 · June 10

.

Repairing a Jeep today

On Sunday a local friends Jeep stopped working whilst we were taking part in the Carentan military vehicle parade on Sunday afternoon. We tried a couple of quick fixes which made no difference so I took off the metal tow bar I carry for such emergencies and towed him into the town centre carpark where all the other vehicles had stopped for the public to walk amongst. I lifted the hood of his Jeep and returned to my vehicle for my tool bag. As I returned it was like bee's round a honey pot, several other French vehicle owners had all descended to offer their thoughts and help, so it happened to start again, and we headed for home once the majority of vehicles left also. Half-way back to his house it completely stopped again, and I had to do a second tow a short distance to his house.

I went around with tools and a spare condenser this morning, he had a new set of points so under instruction he removed the old points and condenser, and fitted the new ones, leaving me to set the gap of the points, using my fingers to flick the points open I commented that the return felt very weak, upon taking a further look the sprung-metal that acts as the spring was completely missing, however I set the points with just the copper connection in place and it fires immediately without any hesitation and runs really well but maybe not trustworthy with the sprung-metal spring missing.

However he is ordering new points and condenser which we will fit when they arrive. Condensers are very often the problem when the ignition system breaks-down.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 10 June 2O26.

..

June 11

Once had a complete power failure on our MB during "The Final Thrust" - 2nd Armored trip in 2016.
Took Adam Urbanski the whole of 2 minutes to diagnose the problem being the condenser in the distributor, and I think it took him even less time to replace it with the spare I had with me.

2,124 · June 11

17 hours ago, Johan Willaert said:

Here's the drawing of the body bolts on the early MBs and GPWs, taken from Batisti's book
This is what I fitted on my 42 GPW with the exception that the GPW takes two spring loaded bolts on the transfer case crossmember.
Also below a photo of the bolts I used, a set made with bolts from Jemax, Batisti and Augum Parts, the latter is no longer in business

Hi Johan,

thanks, that will be of great help! 😊

I see that no spring washers were used but all bolts had pal nuts; I'll see how many of those pal nuts I have left and if they fit. I have received my order of UNC nuts & bolts in what should be the various correct sizes from an online general (non-MV) hardware supplier that actually has a decent selection of UNC/UNF for reasonable prices (metaalreus.nl). As usual, I will remove any modern markings.

13 hours ago, General Apathy said:

.

Repairing a Jeep today

On Sunday a local friends Jeep stopped working whilst we were taking part in the Carentan military vehicle parade on Sunday afternoon. We tried a couple of quick fixes which made no difference so I took off the metal tow bar I carry for such emergencies and towed him into the town centre carpark where all the other vehicles had stopped for the public to walk amongst. I lifted the hood of his Jeep and returned to my vehicle for my tool bag. As I returned it was like bee's round a honey pot, several other French vehicle owners had all descended to offer their thoughts and help, so it happened to start again, and we headed for home once the majority of vehicles left also. Half-way back to his house it completely stopped again, and I had to do a second tow a short distance to his house.

I went around with tools and a spare condenser this morning, he had a new set of points so under instruction he removed the old points and condenser, and fitted the new ones, leaving me to set the gap of the points, using my fingers to flick the points open I commented that the return felt very weak, upon taking a further look the sprung-metal that acts as the spring was completely missing, however I set the points with just the copper connection in place and it fires immediately without any hesitation and runs really well but maybe not trustworthy with the sprung-metal spring missing.

However he is ordering new points and condenser which we will fit when they arrive. Condensers are very often the problem when the ignition system breaks-down.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 10 June 2O26.

..

Hi Ken,

unfortunately modern repro ignition-related parts like the coil, condenser and spark plug wires are often of sub-standard quality. I don't know how the isolation of the latter held up for almost 90 years, but for the other parts NOS or at least OEM from known manufacturers is probably the best way to go. For condensors best option other than NOS or OEM might be a Bosch as used for 1960's-70's VW's, although these probably need some work on their mounting tab to make them fit the distributor.

I have new JMP wires and I guess I'll see how these hold up, but my coil is a French 6V Marchal and while not identical to an original one it is of good quality and certainly more reliable than most new repro's. I'm not sure what make my condenser is but that too is a real 'automotive' part. I will have to check what other old parts I have that will be usable for a jeep, as my father had been playing with cars since the 1960's and kept a lot of small parts.

17,447 · June 11

1 hour ago, earlymb said:

Hi Ken,

unfortunately modern repro ignition-related parts like the coil, condenser and spark plug wires are often of sub-standard quality. I don't know how the isolation of the latter held up for almost 90 years, but for the other parts NOS or at least OEM from known manufacturers is probably the best way to go. For condensors best option other than NOS or OEM might be a Bosch as used for 1960's-70's VW's, although these probably need some work on their mounting tab to make them fit the distributor.

I have new JMP wires and I guess I'll see how these hold up, but my coil is a French 6V Marchal and while not identical to an original one it is of good quality and certainly more reliable than most new repro's. I'm not sure what make my condenser is but that too is a real 'automotive' part. I will have to check what other old parts I have that will be usable for a jeep, as my father had been playing with cars since the 1960's and kept a lot of small parts.

.

Better parts could be made . . . . . .

hi earlymb, one of my UK long term Jeeping friends was talking to the CEO of a company that make condensers, he asked why they keep failing with such rapidity, the response was because they are made to a price that people will pay, we COULD make better quality ones but consumers want cheaper prices. I notice that one French Jeep parts suppliers are offering condensers at two different prices almost admitting that they stock two different qualities.

A London Jeeping friend was over here last week with other friends touring in six 1970's Triumph cars, he did a total nut and bolt rebuild on his Triumph and encountered similar experiences with various parts. He tried several new manufacture brake master-cylinders and ended up having his old one bored and re-sleeved with stainless steel, he said that braking systems should be made to work not made to look as if they will.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 11 June 2O26.

..

17,447 · June 11

.

Restoring Original Salvaged Carburettor.

While finding a couple of surplus spare salvaged parts for a friend I re-discovered this rare early carburettor float chamber with eight patent numbers AND the rear spur on the float chamber as evidenced in all the early WWII Jeep manuals. I finally had to time to re-jet it today with new old stock spare jets, and will be fitting it Saturday when I have more time.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 11 June 2O26.

..

17,447 · June 11

On 6/9/2026 at 7:27 PM, mikie said:

I can feel your pain. We are almost winding down a complete interior repair/remodel/update on our house. So collecting funds have been reduced for a while now.
However over the weekend I spent a grand total of $5.00 US at a garage sale. I bought two January 1945 copies of The Stars and Stripes, and for you vintage car buffs, a 1967 yardstick sales promo for a local Chevrolet dealership that still happens to be around. I actually love old yardsticks. I imagine you have meter sticks over there?
I was amused by the article about the Tiger tank vs a Garand.
mikie

.

hi mikie,

could you please post a legible enlargement of the text in this piece about FDR's SS patch, very interesting to actually see mention of it in a wartime dated paper, a rare patch

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 11 June 2O26.

..

Sign In

Norman D. Landing

Recommended Posts

mikie

Just an Old dude

General Apathy

mikie

Just an Old dude

General Apathy

Just an Old dude

mikie

General Apathy

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

Johan Willaert

General Apathy

General Apathy

General Apathy

Mr_Flibble

earlymb

General Apathy

General Apathy

General Apathy

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Activity

Staff