Mike and Ken Visit SJ History!

editor's note: this whole story is pretty much an exchange of email taken off the original listserv as it existed at the time.

Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 12:31:17 -0700
Originator: jeep-fullsize@zynet.com
From: Michael Baxter <74172.1164@compuserve.com>
Subject:  The LAST Wagoneer & the Jerrari
John Meister writes:
>> Who owns the GW?  Is it in the museum?  Who built the Jerrari? <<
 The Last Wagoneer was donated to the National Automobile Museum by Chrysler
Corp. maybe the 1st decent thing they ever did for the sj!
 the whole story starts back in the 50's. some of you may or may not know
about the late william f. harrah. he started buying antique cars in the 50's
and by the 70's had amassed the world's most extensive collection. it was
housed here in sparks (sister city) in three huge warehouses for years and
years.
 harrah, who owned harrah's hotel & casino in reno, south lake tahoe and
atlantic city, operated his collection at a loss each year. the collection was
open to the public. he charged a very reasonable entry fee but, his overhead
was pretty steep with all the craftsmen he employed to restore & maintain the
cars in the collection. there were over 1,500 cars in the collection.
 well, the jerrari was built for harrah to use to commute the 60 miles to s.
lake tahoe in winter time. i really don't believe that it was ever used for
that purpose. it is in better than show room condition.


 Ken Wetherall and the Jerrari

 Harrah passed away and the family sold everything to Holiday Inn. After
awhile, Holiday Inn decided it couldn't justify the collection due to it's
operation in red ink and announced they would auction it off. A bunch of heavy
hitters in Reno got together and raised enough money to buy about 300 of the
best cars in the collection before they went on the block. They formed a
non-profit group and opened the National Automobile Museum here in Reno. The
Jerrari was one of those cars.
 After struggling for a number of years, the Museum has finally paid all it's
debits and is starting to work on re-acquiring some of the cars that were
auctioned off.
 So, the Museum is financially healthy and the last Wagoneer & the Jerrari
will be right here permanently.
 The sign is a little bit misleading on the Wagoneer. It says "the last model
produced" and not the last vehicle produced plus it says that it is a '91.
 There is a program at the museum where people in the community adopt a one or
more of the cars. I believe it means you become responsible for the car's
upkeep. Dusting, waxing, etc. Both FSJs are adopted but, if either one of them
ever gets orphaned, maybe I can adopt it/them in the name of the group? I'll
have to ask my friend who is on the Board of Directors of the Museum.
 I'll also see what I can do to get the sign changed on the Wagoneer. It would
be nice if it indicated that that was the very last Wagoneer built and that it
is really the only '92 FSJ in existance.
 Michael Baxter



From: Michael Baxter <74172.1164@compuserve.com>
Subject: The Jerrari revealed & the last GW found
 Now, the moment everyone has been waiting for! We went to the National
Automobile Museum to check-out the Jerrari.  The Jerrari is a beautiful Tawny
Orange '77 Wagoneer with a 4.4 litre V-12 Ferrari engine, 5 speed Ferrari
tranny and a Quadra-Trac transfer case. The claimed top-speed is 140 MPH but,
I'm not sure anyone ever drove that fast.


The JERRARI Wagoneer



The JERRARI Wagoneer

 We went just to see the Jerrari. When we walked around corner were the
Jerrari is normally parked, parked in front of the Jerrari was a familiar
Hunter Green 1991 Grand Wagoneer. Ken immediately said "Hey, that is a Hunter
Green Wagoneer." He wrote down the VIN number on a piece of paper and
confirmed later that it was indeed the last Wagoneer produced.


The Last Wagoneer
 We have video and pictures on the '67 Panel, the Jerrari and the last
Wagoneer forthcoming.


The '67 J-100 Panel Truck


The '67 J-100 Panel Truck



 Ken & Mike - The clowns under your FSJ in the parking lot.
 -- Michael Baxter at 74172.1164@Compuserve.com