While the original Bantam Reconnaissance Car (BRC), known as the Pilot, was destroyed during Army testing, a painstaking 3,500-hour recreation of the Pilot was built by Duncan Rolls of Longview, Texas, between 2004 and 2008 and it will be on display during the Fifth Annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival from June 12-14.
The BRC will be joined by the Bantam BRC-40, Willys MA and Ford GP, early jeep (actually “truck, 1/4 ton, reconnaissance”) models along with a Willys CJ-2A fire truck and Ford’s amphibious GPA, sometimes called a “seep.”
The Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival is organized by the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau and a group of Jeep enthusiasts. It celebrates Butler’s role as the birthplace of the jeep. (See Curtis Redgap’s Bantam Jeep article)
The Festival will take place in Downtown Butler and at the Butler County Fairgrounds along Route 422, just west of Butler. Organizers hope is to create a premier annual event that attracts Jeep enthusiasts from more than 25 states and Canada.
On Friday, June 12, festival organizers are hoping to beat their own Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Jeeps. In honor of the 75th anniversary, plans call for the first 75 Jeeps in the parade to each represent one of the 75 years of production.
For more information about the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, visit the event’s website http://www.bantamjeepfestival.com.
As read on: http://allparnews.com/index.php/2015/03/original-jeep-to-appear-at-75th-anniversary-bash-28124
Monday, March 23, 2015
Original Jeep to appear at 75th Anniversary Bash
