Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival: Parade and Show

[Haggis]

This weekend the Clan made a short hop south to the first annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival. This event was held in Butler PA, the hometown of the Bantam Car Company. You know, the originators of the original light reconnaissance vehicle the one that was later to become known as the Jeep. So in celebration of the Jeep's 70th anniversary the town of Butler held a big Jeep blow-out.

Friday night was the Jeep parade. The organizers hoped to have the longest Jeep parade ever held and they sure delivered. The official count by the Guinness World Record folks was 1106 Jeeps, but there must have been twice that number of Jeeps scattered around town. The staff had to close the registration because of the over whelming number of Jeeps. There just wasn't room enough for everybody.

The parade was to start a 6:00 pm so we showed up around 5:00 and found a nice spot in the shade to await the Jeep Horde.

The parade came our way about twenty minutes after the start time, starting with the oldest Jeeps and working through the years from oldest to youngest. I have never seen so many flat fenders in one place in my life, nearly a hundred of them from GPW to civilian flatties. Next came wave after wave of CJs, Jeepsters, Forward Cabs, Kaisers, Commandos, FSJs, more CJs (of the 5, 6, 7 & 8 varieties), YJs, XJs, ZJs, MJs, and then the tidal wave of TJs and JKs. The Nukizer was there and some really tricked out Jeep corporate customs. We saw license plates from every state imaginable including Hawaii and Alaska. I've been to a lot of big name car shows (like the Goodguys and Buick Nationals) but this was the coolest car cruise I've ever seen…it was simply Awesome.

Well enough words on with some pics…

Here they come…

 

[Haggis]

The Parade marches on...

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The Parade went on for hours. My daughter Allison said I was only allowed to drool over the Jeeps that were uber-cool. I drooled a lot. :drool: We walked the whole of the concourse through downtown Butler, about a mile long, but when we left around 9:00 pm the announcer called over the PA system that Jeeps were still lined up for two more miles awaiting their chance to join the cruise. Freakin' unreal…the whole crowd was diggin' it!

Pics from today's show later. :elkgrin:

 

[GPER]

That is too cool, thanks for sharing.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Fan-freakin'-tastic!!!!!!!

oh.... Oh..... OH MY!!!!!!! Jeep porn!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!! I will have to add that to my bucket list as an event to attend someday! Do you have a lot of pictures you could post? I'd really love to see more, LOTS more!!

 

[jeepdreamer]

By the way... any info on the black trailer pulled behind the black JK?

 

[Haggis]

Here ya go..

:elkgrin:

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I just want to add that this was one of the best events I've ever been to. It's really hard to believe this is their first year as the event was run very well. the only thing I think they overlooked was the overwhelming participation. They were not expecting the volumes of people that gathered for the event. But they handled it well. The gathered throng was a friendly bunch, I got to BS with a wide variety of cool folks. every single one of them was having a great time. Even spent some time chatting with one of Quigley 4x4 Van conversions head guys. We bumped into my ExPo Buds BigAl and frankinjeep while there and it was great to shoot the breeze with those guys. So the ExPo had some presence there, unfortunately for the ExPo it was the A.R.S.E.S group that was representing...:elkgrin:

Next years event will be August 10th to 12th. Maybe we can get an ExPo contingent set -up in the Parade. :sombrero:

 

[Haggis]

By the way... any info on the black trailer pulled behind the black JK?

Yep! I talked to the owner for quite a while at the Jeep Show on Saturday. The owner is originally from Ontario and this is where he picked up this M101. They widened the fenders, built a rack/framework for the canvas top and a buddy of his stitched up the canvas top. The fender wells are Linex-ed as well as the interior of the tub. This is his backwoods fishing trip set-up. The back rack is for his camp stove and has a cutting board insert for filleting fish. On the fender wells are Arctic Cat ATV accessory mounts that he uses for different roll-out set-ups. He has plates with the mounting brackets made up to mount coolers, extra jerry cans, and stuff like that. It was one sweet trailer. It gets the geaars in my mind working....:ylsmoke:

 

[jeepdreamer]

thanks for all the feedback! I'm likely going to be either in Afganistan or still here in Germany for the next couple years but this show seems a must do. I have a 50s era Bantam civy trailer that will be getting a make over whenever I make it home. Been making really slow progress on my expo scrambler but hopefully, someday, I can use the combo of CJ8/Trailer to wander around to events and avoid the hotel bill. I tried googling the name ( northland customs??) on the side of the trailer but didn't see anything. I really like the top made out of OEM-like material!
I chuckled at the pic of the M151... While technically a "Ford"... wondering what he's doing with all the TOW missle canisters when there isn't a launcher mounted? heehee! And no reference to your photo skills but that has to be the least interesting pic of the Newkizer I've seen. Something about that angle that makes it just look...wrong? Like the chopped top is to low..? shrugs?? That M38 sure is yummy looking though!!!

 

[Haggis]

snip...that has to be the least interesting pic of the Newkizer I've seen. Something about that angle that makes it just look...wrong?

Well when your jammed in with a crowd of thousands and have about .08 seconds to snap a shot before the next Jeep rolls in to obscure your target ya get what ya get. :sombrero:

I've decide I hate the Nukizer. Sure it's a truck I would like but Jeep refuses to produce it or something similar. They'll parade it and around to tease people but then only offer a body kit for a model (the JKU) to make a faux Jeep truck. I think I'll start throwing rocks at this thing and similar teaser vehicles every time I see them. And if that doesn't get Jeep Corporates attention, maybe I'll start throwing rocks at the Jeep staff parading this around until they build a real Jeep truck. :costumed-smiley-007

 

[BigAl]

So the ExPo had some presence there, unfortunately for the ExPo it was the A.R.S.E.S group that was representing...:elkgrin:

Awesome:elkgrin::elkgrin::elkgrin:

We had a good time. They did a great job for a first time. The WWII encampment was neat. I will be taking my jeep next year. I hope they add a swap meet.

 

[Haggis]

Here's a few pics from the Show...

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[njjeepthing]

I was there all weekend as well, I was working the Hyline Offroad booth. I agree for a first year show it was pretty awesome. Next years should be even better.
:Wow1:

 

[Booner]

We live near Butler, about 1/2 mile down the road from Butler County Community College (where the Jeep parade started). The turnout for the event was amazing, both Jeeps and spectators. We participated in the parade, the Jeep trail ride through Moraine State Park, the Jeep Playground, and the on-site trails at the Butler County Fairgrounds. The event was a great success, and was enjoyed by everyone I spoke to. The organizers are already discussing next year's event, should be a good one .

 

[squint]

So cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[jim65wagon]

I loooove this one!:drool::drool:. I like this way better than the Nukizer. The waggie with the flamed trim is sweet too.