Gazing over the more than 50 restored vehicles at The Jeep Guy Museum in Fillmore sent my mind racing back to 1980. I was rocketing down a forest road in northern Wisconsin, splashing mud over my Jeep’s military-green hood as its rock-hard tires churned through a water hole. Soon, I had come to a standstill, my 1967 vintage CJ5 with a Buick 225 V6 lumbering through a bog up to the frame in muck until my bumper-mounted winch came to the rescue.

Oh, how I wish I still had that CJ in my fleet today. The Jeep Guy himself, Zach Harkness commiserated with me. Now the owner of a well-curated collection of vehicles, he holds similar regrets about the only Jeep he ever sold – a 44 military model. It was his very first, as well, and he sold it to the son of a Park City miner.

A fixture of the Jeep-building community in Utah County for decades, Harkness has been collecting for about 15 years. Then, six months ago, he strategically targeted Fillmore to show them off. He found a large metal building just off I-15, hauling his collection down to build displays. He opened in May.

---

---

It is simply an amazing collection!

Entering the museum you are transported back to World War II. In 1941, the newly-christened Jeep MB rolled out of the Willys-Overland factory in Toledo, Ohio. The lightweight 4×4 vehicles made their way to the front lines of wars around the world (640,000 would eventually be produced).

---

---

Gripping enlargements of WW2 photographs adorn the wall around a showpiece 1941 MB with a slat grill. Above it, a photo documents an array of hundreds of MBs lined up in a parking lot with GIs standing alongside them – maybe even capturing the image of this particular Jeep. Adjacent to it, a 1945 MB is sporting a few bullet holes in the body, evidence of its action in the war.

With Jeeps from 1941 to 2023 on display, there’s a rainbow of colors and body styles. Each one shares the Jeep’s well-known ruggedness, and they are all anxious to tell their story. 

After the War, Willys used its wartime knowledge and the public intrigue with lightweight vehicles scurrying around battlefields in newsreels to create the CJ line – civilian Jeeps. From the CJ2 to an exotic 1948 Jeepster to the modern-day Wrangler, Jeep has been synonymous with outdoor adventure for 80 years. 

It’s a brand that represents a sense of expedition, freedom, and going places you never thought possible. Oh, if these Jeeps could talk.

But they can!

While Harkness and his wife had no museum experience, they sure knew how to tell a story. Each of the 50+ displays includes an interpretive message that outlines the vehicle itself and, more importantly, its life story and the circumstances of its rescue.

There was the 1953 Arctic-equipped M-38, rescued from Salt Lake City after a long career in Alaska. The 1989 Wrangler Laredo Zach’s grandfather used to pull behind his RV. A 1948 CJ-2a, with just 23,000 miles but stuffed with rocks, sticks, and mud into every crevice when it was rescued in recent years. Tucked into the lobby was a 1964 Surrey Gala, likely the only original-color pink version left.

The other aspect they all share in common is that each of them still runs!

I found myself poring over each display sign, soaking in every memory. But I kept gravitating back to the 1941 MB with the slatted grill.

Car museums are about stories. It’s the sculpted body lines of a 1953 Corvette thundering down a country road. Or the vision of a Porsche 911 screaming around tight European mountain switchbacks.

Somehow, though, these boxy vehicles that weren’t the least bit aerodynamic or sexy, have every bit of their allure today, some 83 years later. Just listen to the story told by every one of the vehicles in The Jeep Guy Museum.

DETAILS

Getting There: The Jeep Guy Museum a simple 2 hour, 20 minute drive from Park City, down through Provo Canyon to I-15. Simple enough and you won’t need a Jeep to get there.

Hours and Fees: Open Thursday through Sunday (check times, with early closing on weekends). Adults $18, Kids $8, Seniors $12. Allow 60-90 minutes for a visit.

Dining: Cluff’s Carhop Cafe is a fun stop on the north end of town (closed Sunday), or The Eatery (open Sunday) on Main Street downtown.