Dan Pagel, one of Fitzgerald’s buddies, sent along some photos of this jeep-like vehicle he spotted in the weeds behind the Quincy copper mine in Hancock, Michigan, now a tourist spot in which you can take guided tours of the mines.
We’re guessing it’s some sort of purpose-built vehicle, possibly for entering the mines for personnel and equipment transport, but we don’t know for sure because we’ve never seen anything like it.
Full-floater axles indicates some heavy hardware underneath.
The “Ensign 100″ decal on the side of the hood (and repeated on the rear flanks) appears to be the only clue to the jeep-thing’s identity, and Fitzgerald only discovered that Ensign 100s indeed were purpose-built vehicles built on a custom frame over GM axles and with a body made of quarter-inch steel. Deutz two-cylinder air-cooled diesel engines powered the 100s through five-speed transmissions. Beyond that, we got nothin’. A quick check of the Quincy mine on mindat.org reveals that the mine operated during three periods: 1848 to 1931, 1937 to 1945 and 1947 to 1968. We’re guessing the vehicle comes from the latter half of the third period.
So, any old miners out there who can fill us in? And just how did they get away with using a grille so similar to Jeep’s seven-slot grille?
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