FIRING ORDER

Flat be the fenders

I’m old, but even through the brain fog of age I remember getting close to a flatfender for the first time. It was my grandfather’s ’51 CJ-3A and it grabbed and held my attention.

My grandfather, Billie B. Brubaker, served in the U.S. Army as a motor pool sergeant and this took him to the Philippines and Japan. In 1946, after returning from Army service, he began working at a Cities Service station (it later became a Citgo) in Rockford, Illinois, and he eventually purchased the station. In a newspaper story published when he left the business after 26 years, he noted that he purchased the 3A in 1951. “From 1946 to 1951 we shoveled tons of snow by hand, ” he recalled. “Then, in 1951, I bought the first snowplow-equipped Jeep used in Rockford, and that made snow removal less than a back-breaking chore. ” He went on to say that he had to travel to Elgin, Illinois, to purchase the new 3A, which was equipped with a blade for plowing snow. Cost: $1,300.

I spent a lot of time at that service station when I was a young lad, and his 3A held my attention for hours. It was different, even from other vehicles of that era. I recall inspecting it in great detail. It wasn’t a toy, it was a tool for my grandfather, and he used it as such.

I’ve been around flatfenders many times since then, including a memorable trip from Michigan to California towing Sean Holman’s “new” fully restored Go Devil-powered ’51 CJ-3A. That machine, dubbed Project Colonel Mustard, made several appearances in Four Wheeler.

And it’s worth mentioning that Sean recently acquired a Ford GPW flattie from his uncle. It had been parked in a container for over a decade. Sean dug it out, dragged it home, and got it running. Not only is the flattie a cool machine, Sean has a history with it. Back in the early 1990s it was the first 4x4 he drove. Sean’s uncle owned it since the late 1960s and it has an odd-fire V-6 and dual fuel tanks. You can see more about it by punching in @oddford on Instagram.

A few years ago, I was stumbling around on a trail in Utah when an MB came along. It blew me away on visuals alone. That MB, I would learn, is owned by Jeff Petrowich (the gent behind Classic Jeep Tops, classicjeeptops.com). His MB is a droolworthy mix of modern and vintage. It’s a “’43” that has a 3A frame, a 4.3L Chevy V-6, an SM465 five-speed trans, a Dana 18 T-case with custom gearing by Jeff (which he says gives the MB a crawl ratio of 153:1), a Detroitlocked Dana 30 front axle with alloy ’shafts, a Detroit-locked Dana 44 rear axle, disc brakes, power steering, a stealthy rollcage, and much more. It’s an incredible melding of old and new, and if you want to see more of it search “jpetrowich” on YouTube.

Flatties are great. They’re fun little 4x4s whether they’re bone stock or modded, and we’re excited to include some flatfender content into this month’s issue of Four Wheeler.

Do you wheel a flatfender? Did you previously own a flatfender? Are you working on a project flatfender? If so, drop me an email at the address below and tell me about it and please include a high-res photo.

Q Jeff Petrowich has injected his rig, which he calls Bam Bam, with modern tech like power steering, disc brakes, a fuel-injected V-6, and much more.

–KEN BRUBAKER

KEN.BRUBAKER@FOURWHEELER.COM

PHOTOS: KEN BRUBAKER

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