In the video, Hugo Vidal, one of the scouts that made the trip gave his take on the life-changing event some 65 years later.
I can't understand him in Portugesuse, but it is a fascinating story for any Jeep diehard. I haven't been able to get the video to translate from Portugese to English
the scouts were given this Willys CJ-3B for the adventure, through the efforts of J.B. Versteeg of Willys Brasil, who was involved in the Scouting movement and had met its founder Lord Baden-Powell at the 1929 World Jamboree in England
Between northern Colombia and southern Panama are the ancient swamps of the Darién Gap, impassable to vehicles. But Pan American Airways came to the rescue with a DC-4. With rear wheels and roof rack removed, the Jeep was loaded with only 2 inches of clearance, and flown to San José, Costa Rica, where the guys enjoyed the friendship of Costa Rican Scouts.
Shortly after leaving San José they faced the biggest shock of the trip; on a muddy wooden bridge the Jeep slid off into a ravine and turned over. But the steel hardtop possibly saved their lives, and the Jeep suffered only minor damage.
After the Jamboree, the guys drove back across the border to Toledo, Ohio, where they visited the Willys factory. They were still planning continue to Alaska, and the engineers at Willys found the 3B to be in perfect mechanical condition.
They visited the Warn factory, which produced the free-wheeling Jeep system. Seeing an opportunity, Hugo decided to manufacture the system in Brazil. Talking to Warn executives, he obtained the license to manufacture and redesign the device.
read the rest of the trip at https://wj55.org/Stories/Operation_Pineapple.php
or https://www.allpar.com/threads/operation-pineapple-scouts-crossing-the-americas-in-a-1955-jeep.237318/#post-1085245731 which has other details not found elsewhere.
The scouts had to raise funds for the year long trip, and found that Brazilian car parts companies were eager to trade parts and sponsorship money for the international publicity (70 years later and here I am helping at that!)
The Jeep had used several tailpipes and eleven tires, but except for a shock absorber (whose rod bent after getting airborn), no Brazilian part was replaced.
The total expense recorded for the trip was USD $641, a figure far below the actual costs, due to services and lodging provided free because of the nature of the achievement.
This is a great story, and it must have been the adventure of a lifetime for those 3 scouts.
ReplyDeleteI tried to use YouTube's automatic translation subtitles, but as usual, they were worthless. I have a Google Translate app on my phone, which will translate text with the phone's camera. It worked pretty well to translate the Portugese subtitles in the video.
cool tech usage!
DeleteLove this history! Thanks for bringing this to us.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I'm glad I can still find stuff like this, that I haven't learned of yet, haven't posted about yet, and that gets a good response from sharing it on this blog
DeleteThe footage of Hugo the video above with the Canada/Alaska scenes was shot by during our trip to Alaska in the summer of 2017. Hugo, at that time 84yo, and his son Fernando joined our group of 11 jeeps and 23 people on a wonderful trip we called "Alaska Or Rust" from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks over the course of a week. Even better, my wife and I got the chance to travel an extra two weeks with Hugo.
ReplyDeleteHugo loved to tell stories and had a lot of them to tell! He spoke three languages fluently (English, Spanish, and Portuguese), traveled all over the world, was well-read, and had a wide variety of life experiences. He was kind, thoughtful, energetic, and jolly.
I first learned of him in 2015 while doing research for my vintage jeep website eWillys.com. But, I figured he and his fellow travelers were either deceased or quite elderly. So, imagine my surprise in early 2017 when I receive an email from Hugo himself asking, so very politely, if he could accompany our Alaska Or Rust troupe on a return trip to Alaska. His offer to join was a turning point in our trip planning; our attitude went from "we are going to Alaska" to "we are going to make sure Hugo gets back to Alaska".
Personally, Hugo and I connected right away. One of the strange connections we had was geographical. One their return trip from the Alaska, the boys stopped at Arthur Warn's house in Renton, Washington, which is also my hometown (though I wouldn't be born for another 9 years). The first night the boys stayed there, according to Hugo, Arthur and his wife gave up their bed for the boys to sleep in it. Hugo and Arthur hit it off, to the point that they made an agreement for Hugo to build and sell Warn-designed hubs in Brazil. That business plan became the launching pad for Hugo's company, AVM. And, as a testament to Arthur and Hugo's friendship and honor, they never had a signed contract. It was a handshake deal up until at least Arthur's passing.
I could go on and on. We had hoped to join him for a trip around South America, something he promised to plan with the help of Jeep Brazil, but I suspect his health turned as I haven't been able to get in touch with him since 2018.
I will always treasure our brief, but wonderful friendship. You can read more about Hugo's very special 84th birthday with us here: http://www.ewillys.com/2017/08/02/tues-aug-1-feliz-aniversario-hugo-vidal/
David Eilers
eWillys.com
WOW! I was just adding to this post, because Newspapers.com was just opened for Ancestry.com customers, and I just clipped a 1955 Louisianna newspaper article
DeleteDang, How'd you find my post on this so fast?
Is there a video in English of Huho telling his story? Neither I nor anyone else speaking English can get a simple translation without the lifehack Marc mentioned using his phone and Google Translate
Say, it's been years since I have been to eWillys.com, due to spending more time adding content to my blog than getting time to read sites throroughly, or often, for my own enjoyment.
Thank you very much for your long comment, sharing your experience of meeting a guy who made history... this hobby sure is a great thing huh!?!?
Jesse, a reader let me know about this post and, of course, I couldn't help but comment on it. (I rarely have time to follow blogs or forums either, so I can relate). These days, I only post every other day (if that) and am focusing my attention on my jeeps, including a racer I am rebuilding.
DeleteI posted a link to a subtitled version of the video here: http://www.ewillys.com/2018/12/28/fca-brazils-video-of-hugo-vidal/
Hugo also wrote a book that was published in 2018. It shares some of his stories from his 1956 adventure. You might be able to find a copy through Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/flashesdeumaaventura/ .. here's my copy of it: http://www.ewillys.com/2018/10/26/hugo-vidal-has-published-his-book/
Like a lot of life, blogging seems to be 80% drudgery and 20% cool stuff. Without eWillys I would have missed a lot of cool opportunities and missed meeting people from all over the world (with Hugo a prime example). The vintage jeep folks have been awesome and supportive throughout the years. I am hoping to begin hosting an annual event at our new place, but that likely won't happen this year.
- Dave