Jeep Body Rust Repair

How (not) to import a stainless-steel Filipino Jeep

The year was 1984. The place was Manila, capital of the Philippines. I was there to conduct a formal sit-down interview with President Ferdinand Marcos at Malacañang palace. It was to be a wide-ranging interview on foreign affairs, political insurgency and democracy in Asia.

The interview was moving along well when the president was interrupted to take an important phone call. At that moment, I happened to look out the window and see the most unusual vehicle parked in the palace driveway. It got my attention not just because of the way it looked but because of the way it gleamed.

"Mr. President," I asked, pointing out the window to the street and the shining car below, "What is that?"

He smiled. "Oh," he replied, "would you want one?"

It was a completely handmade, stainless-steel, four-passenger MacArthur-style Jeep. Everything was steel--the body, the seats, the roll bar.

I told the president I couldn't accept it as a gift but that I would be happy to purchase one. Marcos called in an aide and, in an instant, ordered one built for me. Before I knew it, I was the proud owner of this curious car.

I wrote out a check for the car, about $9,000, which included the frame and the body only. No engine, because I was convinced that it could never enter the United States and pass EPA requirements. Then came the shipping, another $2,500.

Four months later, back in California, I received notice that my shipment had arrived in San Pedro and that I needed to go pick it up.

U.S. Customs had never seen such a car. Agents didn't know what it was. They assumed I was a car importer and in the automobile business. I was presented with a U.S. Department of Transportation crash-test-requirements manual and told when I was going to be scheduled for a hearing. A hearing? I tried to explain that I had just bought a body and frame as a collector. They wanted me to crash the car as a prototype, convinced I was trying to import new cars to the States.

I tried to plead my case, but Customs agents were unmoved. Next, I was told that the car was going to be impounded and I had to post a $30,000 bond. I was given no choice. I could appeal, but that process could take years.

For the next three years, I appealed and nothing happened. The car sat in some Customs warehouse. At least it didn't rust.

During that time, Marcos was ousted from power and was living in exile in Hawaii. I got the first interview with him after he fled Manila. And during that interview, he asked, of course, how I was enjoying his Jeep.

Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair « Automotive Best Sale

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