1965 Keiser Willeys Jeep, CJ5, 4 wheel drive, off road,

1965 Jeep CJ

As told to me by my Father and Grandfather.

This jeep was purchased new by my grandpa's neighbor, Ernie Shaw, from LaPlata Motors in Durango Colorado, in1965. Ernie had bought the jeep as a tool to heard cattle and to use around the farm, but soon discovered that his blue healer and his old ford tractor were much better suited for the job so it mostly just sat for the first 5 years of its life. Then in 1970 my grandpa, Albert Mayer, traded Ernie a car he had for the jeep, with the intent of using it for camping trips in the high country. However, by then my aunts and uncles were mostly grown and gone and the camping trips remained just another plan that didn't work out. So again it just sat up in my grandpa's barn for another 5 years. These are my earliest memories of the jeep, as kids my sisters and I would get in it and pretend to drive it as it just sat there and collected dust. Then in 1975 my grandpa gave the jeep to my dad, William Mayer. (Dad ran a successful business from 1969 until 1984, specializing in building high performance propane powered engines and LPG conversions.) As a 10 year old boy I remember the day that we started the old jeep and I actually got to drive it.... for real this time! Lol. We drove it around the back 40 acres that day and then drove it over to dads shop. (about 500 ft from the barn, lol) I remember washing and waxing it, and how it shined like a diamond. Despite already being 10 years old, my dad distinctly remembers the mileage on it being at only 2168 miles. This was the first 10 years of its life.

Then dad, just as every other vehicle we ever owned, converted it to LPG and for the first time it its life it was finally used as intended! For the next ten years, our family used it for exploring old mines and charting abandoned logging roads in the high country around southwest Colorado, with at least one or two, sometimes even three camping trips up to Cascade Creek or Havaland lake each summer. While all of these trips were within about 30 miles of the house, lots of wonderful memories were made of all the great times we had! These 10 years where the prime of its life, and this old jeep had finally fulfilled its intended purpose. Then in 1985, my dad gave the jeep to me. I was just 20 years old then, and being young and dump I wanted to do all the typical 4x4 mods, jack it up, put big tires on it, and of course, stuff a big V8 in it. Well dad would have none of it, (Of which I am so thankful for now!) so dad and I just did a few minor things to make it more user friendly. We replaced the shocks and the blower motor for the heater and gave it a tune up. We also found a “new old stock” speedometer for it as the original one had quit working. When we changed it out the old speedometer showed a little over 15,000 miles on it, however the new speedometer didn't work either. I did drive it a few times, mostly prospecting up in the LaPlata mountains. While I loved owning it, with big dreams and a new family, work time took priority over play time and once again the jeep just sat. Between 1985 and 2007 I did uncover it, and renewed the tags a few times but for the most part it was just wrapped in canvas and spent the winters covered in snow, and the summers in pine needles. And then once again it sat, essentially untouched and neglected, from 2007 until 2022... 15 years.

During these years I had relocated to Oklahoma and eventually retired in Arizona. But in 2022 we needed to sell dad's house and move him into a nursing home, so I decided to bring the jeep from Durango, down here to Arizona. The canvas had rotted away and the elements had pretty much taken its toll on the original upholstery as it was cracked and brittle. The original removable soft top that it had had on it all those years caught the brunt of it and while it protected the interior as much as it could, it was ruined and had to be thrown away. The tires were flat and of course the battery was toast. But believe it or not, those tires held air and the fluids were all up, so I put a new battery in it and even after sitting untouched for 15 years, it started on the first crank! So in 2022 it began a new chapter of its life.

Here in Yuma, due to my handicap, I was just going to store it and give it to one of the grand kids, but no one seemed interested in owning an old jeep. But we had a couple of friends, Rich and Judy, that we had met while we were traveling, that being snowbirds would come down to Yuma to spend the winter months. Rich, a retired marshal, and his wife Judy loved exploring the old ghost towns, abandoned mines and old stage coach routes that are all around Yuma, so we decided that I would keep it tagged and insured and he would get it ready to use, do all the maintenance and most importantly, just enjoy it! He replaced the tires, changed out all of the fluids and replaced some of the stuff that had not weathers well, like the top. I've stored it here at our place and they have taken it out to the dessert with them while they wintered here in their 5th wheel. They were able to use it for the last two winters, and even had the old original upholstery replaced last year. It got a new lease on life and became useful once again! They were able to travel all over the area, thoroughly enjoying themselves and it never once faltered or left them stranded.

Unfortunately due to health reasons, they were unable to use it this winter and their future trips to Arizona are questionable. I refuse to let it sit and just rot away, so thank you for allowing me to share its story with you and I sincerely hope you take a chance to own this little piece of history. The only other issues I know of are that it has some minor surface rust, the vacuum operated wipers are very slow, the heater fan motor is not working again and while there are no fluid leaks, there is evidence of seepage around seals and gaskets. Use it as it is, dependable and fun, or restore it to its former glory, its up to you.

• Make: Jeep
• Model: CJ
• Doors: 2
• Year: 1965
• Mileage: 20000
• VIN: 83051866311
• Color: Blue
• Fuel: LPG
• Transmission: Manual
• Interior color: Blue
• Drive side: Right-Hand Drive
• Vehicle Title: Clean
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