Landing Jeep continues its improvements thanks to the students of Lamballe high school

In the corner of a high school workshop, a Willys Overland Jeep looks out of place. A visible engine on a shiny chassis: an 80-year-old lady has undergone a transformation in the past year, thanks to the patience of 27 road transport vehicle maintenance students. Proof of his rediscovered youth, since November, the one we nickname Lucky has regained his freedom of movement. He “goes forward, backward and turns” again. Mechanics professor Sylvain Goaster puts his money where his mouth is: he starts the Jeep’s engine, which, after a minute of controlled heat, shuts down.

Broken, repaired and then put back together

It didn’t win. When he arrived at the workshop in March 2022, Lucky was a little rusty. The property of the Museum of the Resistance of Saint-Marcel, in Morbihan, has spent only 30 years there. So, the first step at the beginning of the school year: the students began to break the machines. This involves preparing a list of parts to be replaced, and making a repair estimate. The car, in particular, is cracked and must be replaced.

The next step: to reassemble everything. “It’s a basic machine, it’s easy to make,” insists Alexy, a 16-year-old student mechanic. Perfect for learning and practicing. In September 2023, high school students are responsible for reassembling the clutch, brakes, gearbox, engine… Two months later, the first success: the Jeep turns around and makes small trips. “It’s true,” agreed another student, “seeing him start, motivates you for the future!” »

The new battlefield: body work

What remains to be done? After the mechanical phase, students begin to rehabilitate body work. Sand everything, instead of rusty elements and paint … But also, buy equipment to restore the Jeep to its original appearance: speedometer, lights, windshield wipers, spare wheel, for example. “We are trying to bring back the spirit of March 1944,” says Sylvain Goaster. The date it left the factory in Toledo, Ohio in the United States.

“It gives meaning to the history we teach them”

These two pieces of information are the only ones held by a mechanic in Jeep history. Was Lucky involved in the Mortain attack in August 1944? Did he fight in the East? Or was it broken in the port of Arromanches? “We don’t know,” explains Professor Sylvain Goaster.

Even if other students are now trying to uncover the old lady’s past. “I started research to find out if the car landed in Provence or Normandy, by watching a lot of movies,” says Vincenzo, 17. “Maybe Lucky was part of the French units during the Landing,” says the first grade student.

The interest shown by the students in this project is one of its achievements, says Sylvain Goaster and fellow professor of literature and history-geography, Imane Benaouda. “It gives meaning to the history we teach them. »

As for Lucky, once repaired, it will be used to guide visitors to the Saint-Marcel museum in the former maquis of Morbihan. The end of the project is expected by 2025.

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