A Craigslist Find 1947 Willys CJ-2A is a Former Movie Star

In September 2017, I saw a Reno Craig’s List ad for an orange 1947 CJ-2A. The seller had acquired the Jeep upon the passing of his stepfather. He recalled that the Jeep was purchased in approximately 1994 from an individual his step father knew in Reno, NV. After purchasing it, he repainted her orange and she just sat in the yard for 23 years. The Jeep was never registered in Nevada and the California title was still in the previous owner’s name. He added one other bit of information, which is the reason for telling this story. She had been in a movie but he had no further details. After looking the Jeep over, I struck a deal to purchase her for $3,200.

On October 8^th, the seller delivered the Jeep. While unloading the Jeep, the seller recounted the story about the Jeep being in a movie but again had no further information as to which movie. Along with the Jeep came a 1968 California “Pink Slip” in the name Philip L Nielsen, 3415 Nielsen Rd., Santa Rosa, CA.

Within a few hours of delivery, I was on my computer trying to see if I could locate Mr. Nielsen. After only thirty minutes of searching, I found a phone number for a Philip Nielsen in Idaho. The phone rang and a Mr. Nielsen was on the line. I asked if he once owned a Jeep. He did. I asked if he once lived in Santa Rosa. He did. I had found the individual who owned my Jeep from 1968 to 1994.

In 1968, Philip Nielsen was looking for a Jeep. He came across an individual who had one for sale a distance away from Santa Rosa. Philip and his son got a ride from a pilot friend of his and flew to the location where the individual had the Jeep. Philip recalled a long cold drive back to Santa Rosa in the Jeep with his young son.

In the early ‘70s, Philip was working at the Santa Rosa Airport. A movie crew came to the airport to shoot “Steelyard Blues” with Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda. The scenes at the airport focused on a WWII Catalina PBY that the cast was attempting to make fly again. One of the scenes involved the cast sneaking on to a fictitious Navy base to steal parts from another PBY. In the scene they needed a Jeep for one of the guards to drive. They asked Philip if they could use his.

At the time, the Jeep was painted red. For the scene, they painted her grey using a water-based paint. Before the paint set, a fog set in and the paint ran. They hastily repainted the Jeep again with regular paint with the agreement that they would pay to have the Jeep painted over. Also, the seats were recovered with white vinyl.

After wrapping up, the movie tried to renege on its agreement to repaint the Jeep. Philip had some harsh words with the producers and it was agreed that they would honor their obligation.

Philip writes:

I don’t have any records to show that it was in the movie, might be able to find a couple of people that knew about it. Everything I had burned when my home burned. The body shop in Santa Rosa that painted it after the movie was owned by Otho Sichel and Julio Faraudo, both of whom I knew. Otho was killed in a plane crash and do not know if Julio is still alive. I think the shop was called Sichel Faraudo Body Shop. After checking, it appears that there are now two shops, one Sichels, probably his brother Darrell as I don’t believe Otho had any kids, the other Faraudos, as below. Again, I can only hope you enjoy that Jeep as much as I did.

Steelyard Blues just happened to be shown on TV just a few days after talking to Philip. It is an unusual movie characteristic of the odd anti-establishment movies of the time. I watched it all the way through just to see if there was a Jeep in the movie. For about five minutes towards the end, one appears on screen. It is a CJ2A. Information about the movie can be found on the internet at the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com) and pictures of the Jeep in the film at the Internet Movie Car Data base (IMCDB.org).

Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Micah Wellman

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