Easter, 2008...

It was last Easter 2008, at 21th March, when my chap Juantxo suggest me to do a small trip to Roncesvalles, at the mountain zone of Navarra, nears the border with French Basque country, or "Iparralde".

So, and with the intention of visiting the area, we take the road and after pass away Erro and Meskiriz, my friend who was driving his own car, realizes that at one of the workshops surrounding the area, there was an ol´4x4. At first look and as he was driving, he thought it was a Land Rover series I, the 50s version, and when I saw the car I found an ol´Willys CJ3B with a strange hard-top quite similar to that of the Land Rover Minerva. We keep on the road as we had thought to check another ol´wreck that was sitited at the area, and which existence was confirmed some days ago my a good friend.

After visiting this one and found a Willys-Viasa CJ6 jeep (the Spanish long version of the CJ3B), we decided to come back to the workshop and try to contact the owner of this, before go to meal and perhaps visiting the "Colegiata de Roncesvalles", quite well known because its relation with the "Camino de Santiago" ( http://www.roncesvalles.es/ ). And so we did, and introduce us to the man at a local bar, shaking hands with a friendly chap. I told him that I was (or I´m...) trying to restore a Willys CJ3A model (check http://thejeeperwarehouse.blogspot.com/ ). I asked him (with no intention at all of buying the vehicle!) if he was interesting at selling it...Oh, Lord! What I did! Yes, he told me that at firs he thought to use it for hunting (a sport quite extended in the are, specially for pigeons) or to use it as hobby-vehicle. But now, he hasn´t enough time to repair it, so he gave me a prize for the vehicle and a home-made ("bubba") trailer.

And well, I was the rest of the day thinking about his propposal...he prize was quite affordable and he told me that the only point to check of the vehicle was the brakes, before go to the TUV (the Technical Inspection of Vehicles). Curiousy, it has been the first time I didn´t check at all a vehicle! Yes, I trust in the owner´s word and I was quite supported to buy it by my friend Juantxo.

And so, next Saturday at 11:15 am I called him and bought the jeep!















And some pics of the "bubba" trailer...