Even before the Nipponese flak on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into the midst of World War II , the landrover ’s service with the Allied forces was bring in it almost fabled . This fact was not lost upon the astute Ward Canaday , Willys - Overland ’s chairman and principal stockholder . The fresh new range of a function that Willys had been vainly seeking with the Americar was being reach to the company on the proverbial atomic number 47 phonograph recording .
look forward , Canaday began to visualise the jeep in the postwar mankind and to deal that visual sensation with the public . To get the ball roll , he lease a well - know artist , I. B. Hazelton , to do a serial of 24 painting depicting the landrover in a variety of setting .
Jeep Image Gallery
Still , the most effective advert the jeep received during the warfare years came at no cost to its manufacturer , in the form of news program releases . A human interest story from oversea , for illustration , was accompanied by pic showing some GI ’s with their jeep , helping an English farmer by pull his mowing machine , slant , and loader .
On the other side of the human race , extensive reportage was given to the jeep ’s part in lay underground cable’s length linking widely separated airfields in Australia . The implications for possible postwar civilian use of the jeep were too obvious to call for editorial comment .
In December 1943 , George W. Ritter , vice president and universal counsel of Willys - Overland , was require by Alabama Congressman Carter Manasco to offer advance selective information regarding the niggling quarter - tonner ’s possible transition to civilian life . Ritter was only too well-chosen to obligate .
One might logically have anticipate that such a request would have come from a example of Willys ’s home United States Department of State of Ohio , rather than someone from the inscrutable South . However , Congressman Manasco happened to chairman the committee that was contend with postwar pre - planning .
In a lengthy and detailed answer , Ritter state that although his companionship was highly enthusiastic about the postwar potential of the jeep , to be fully desirable for civilian use the military model would want considerable modification . Among the testimonial he outlined for the Manasco Committee were the following :
Ritter went on to point out that an decent connection of armed service facilities would be required if the jeep was to be fully workable for civilian use . inexplicit here was the admission that Willys - Overland ’s prewar dealer organization was sparse , badly - equipped , and certainly not trained in matters pertaining to the landrover . What was need was a brand new dealer connection , with well - trained staff office and an adequate stock of spare constituent .
uphold to the next page to instruct more about the postwar function jeeps occupy .
For more information on Jeeps, see:
1945 Willys CJ-2A Jeep
Popular Sciencemagazine foretell in the August 1943 issue , " Cash Prizes for your ideas on Peacetime Jobs for Jeeps . " The money call for was almost ludicrous , even by the criterion of the time . First pillage was $ 100 ; second , $ 50 ; third , $ 25 ; and five prizes of $ 5 each .
Even so , there were virtually 1200 entree . " So numerous and so meritorious were the ideas submitted , " declared the editor , " thatPopular Scienceincreased the act of prizes from eight to 11 and let in 11 honorable mentions . "
Based on the replies they welcome , the editors concluded that " the jeep ’s advantage for its part in winning the war is potential to be , for the most part , a lifetime of work down on the farm . "
More than a third of the respondent , include the winner of the $ 100 First Prize , " thought the proper postwar place for the jeep was on the farm , where its chores would take in about everything now perform by man , brute , or machine . "
success of the top awarding was R. W. Radelet , of Vancouver , British Columbia , who put forward an elaborate drawing of landrover per spring a multifariousness of chore in a rural scope : pulling implements such as the mower , rake , harrow , or plow ; serve as a stationary force source ; act as a weak delivery vehicle or as personnel transport ; and even serving as the nucleotide for an extension weapons platform from which tree diagram might be sprayed .
State agricultural section and college and university from coast to glide prove a nifty interest in the peacetime possibility of the versatile slight machine . Washington State University even bring out a 20 - page monograph distinguish various farm uses for the military variation .
Other experiments took place in a variety of forest , farm , government , and industrial configurations . Again , it was a price free packaging bonanza for Willys - Overland as the company prepared for the rebirth to a peacetime saving .
Hitler ’s suicide on April 30 , 1945 , was follow on May 2 by the surrender of Germany . Now the full effect of the Allied warfare effort could be turned against Japan . Although few people were then mindful of the existence of the atomic bomb ( and even those few probably die to fully apprize its enormous destructive potential ) , it was obvious that the end of the war was within sight .
On July 31 the government contract with Ford ended , and the jeep reverted exclusively to Willys - Overland . Thirteen days earlier the company had dramatically announced its first peacetime theoretical account , the CJ-2A.
A demonstration was keep back that day , for the welfare of the press . Charles Sorensen , frailty chairwoman by then of the Willys - Overland panel of directors , host the event at his New Hudson , Michigan , inquiry farm .
The CJ-2A was easy enough to distinguish from the MiB . headlight were seven inch in diameter , or else of six . There was a tailgate at the backside , and the spare tyre was moved to the right-hand side . An automatic windshield wiper replace the handwriting - operated number on the passenger ’s side . There was even a remote petrol filler . ( On the military model , the tank was located - like that of the Model T Ford - under the posterior ; and the number one wood was forced to disembark in fiat to take on fuel . )
Other , less obvious modifications were fundamentally those advise by George Ritter to the Manasco Committee , back in 1943 . Gear ratios were changed so as to help low - focal ratio lugging , as well as to increase highway speed .
burning chambers were redesigned for greater pulling power , and radiator shrouding was improved in the stake of better cooling . The flesh was reinforced for great rigidness . The batch was strengthened , and a in high spirits - capacity generator was used .
Several concessions were made to the number one wood ’s comfort , something Ritter had evidently leave out : Springs were weaken a bit , more effective shock absorbers were tally , and new and more well-situated stern were installed . Though the landrover still did not offer a car - corresponding ride , it was certainly better than the MB .
show on to find out how jeeps were put to use on the nation ’s farms .
Farm Use of the Jeep
Like its Army twin , the civilian landrover was a bare bones fomite ; but a act of desirable option were available at very reasonable prices :
By far the most expensive " extra " was a hydraulic lift , priced at $ 225 . Perhaps the most decisive accessary was the belted ammunition - driven regulator . control from the instrument panel , this equipment permitted the regularisation of engine speed from 1,000 to 2,600 rpm in increments of 200 revolution .
These improvement and additions made the jeep all the more suited to civilian uses . fit in toPopular Science , " tests with the new modelling indicate a free burning drawbar pull of 1,200 Sudanese pound may be achieved , with taciturnity for grades and irregular soil conditions . On the main road the jeep will pull a trailed load of 5,500 pounds with adequate reserve power for extortionate grades . "
Power still come up from Barney Roos ’s long-lived L - head " Go - Devil " locomotive . The wheelbase was 80 inches , and the CJ-2A was as childlike to service and repair as the wartime megabyte had been . Best of all , for those lucky enough to be capable to purchase one in 1945 , the jeep was a deal at $ 1,090 – plus $ 46.53 Union excise taxation .
The civilian variant was an unqualified success , incorporating all of the modifications outlined by George Ritter to Congressman Manasco ’s committee – and more . A. Wade Wells described it as " The first vehicle to combine the basic role of the tractor , scant truck , passenger conveyance , and independent force unit , " adding that " the newfangled jeep not only operated all form of agricultural implements but perform innumerous farm tasks in which stationary power was required .
" As a public-service corporation car , it sped across cow grazing land , up hills and down gullies with the same effortless comfort its military prototype had expose on the battlefield . It treat , hauled grain , pull the record and harrow , filled a silo , jactitate wheat , and , in ecumenical , performed virtually every farm job requiring either mobility or power .
" It was no test model of the peacetime landrover which was demonstrate in New Hudson in the demo before the press , " Wells continued . " The vehicles which observers catch and operated represent patient and diligent inquiry , the end merchandise of numberless experiments not only with the military jeep but with the car ameliorate for agricultural and industrial use .
" For example , in Florida , models of the peacetime landrover had been used to harvest orange and grapefruit . In this case , its commodious size enabled it to pass between two tows of trees with low - hang limbs under which large trucks could not go .
" In Arkansas , the improved jeep proved extremely effective in the Elmer Reizenstein orbit , need in its stride the dam and levee which pass over the sphere in irrigated lane .
" In Washington and Oregon , forest rangers found the civilian jeep ideal for rough terrain otherwise untouchable , and an ideal transportation for crews of men , tools , and other supplies .
" On a New York farm , the peacetime jeep maintained equilibrium in hard hillside ploughing . Here , the4 - wheel drivewith the front wheels pulling leave in the necessary increase surface adhesive friction . "
At the Doughoregan Manor farm in Maryland , a prize location for factory - patronise tests , Wells observed a jeep attached to a three - segment , heavy - duty , spring - tooth harrow . A team of two leaden draft Equus caballus would have been required to pull the implement .
Yet the jeep was able-bodied to do the job , go at a speed of four miles per hour , 10 time of day a day , without overheating the locomotive . Indeed , the farm manager found that the power of the jeep engine to provide high torsion at low rpm ’s actually exceeded that of the tractor , especially in driving slow - motion machinery such as weewee heart .
One of the better features of the postwar landrover was an optional regulator tally to the engine , so that sudden change in the cargo , such as might result from bike twisting , could not have the locomotive revolutions to go beyond an satisfactory terminal point .
Keep reading to learn how the jeep fared outside the agricultural sector .
1949 CJ-3A
The jeep ’s usefulness was not bound to the farm . On the golf course , it commit gang lawn mower at a lively speed , resulting in a solid savings in man minute . Its pumping ability made it a preferent with ruralfirefighters . An air compressor fitted at the back made it suitable for spray blusher . Like its wartime twin , it could tow aircraft into position and perform other aerodrome tasks . And an optional winch extended its usefulness even further .
By November 1945 , Austria ’s Steyr autoplant was turn out " winterise " jeep – military jobs fitted with a Steyr - machinate envelopment to protect their occupants from the atmospheric condition . yield was 25 per 24-hour interval .
Meanwhile , Willys - Overland was lodge in pull up off whatMotor Trendhas described as " the commercial coup d’etat of the ten and perhaps the one C by simply registering the [ landrover ] name as a trademark of the Willys - Overland Corporation . "
The CJ-2A remained in production until 1949 , by which time the base price had risen to $ 1,270 – about the same as a Chevrolet half - ton pickup . But early that year the 2d postwar Jeep appeared : the CJ-3A. ( By this clip , the name " Jeep " had become a registered stylemark of Willys - Overland , so henceforth the name will be capitalize . )
almost identical in appearance to the CJ-2A and offered at the same price , the 3A may be tell by its one - slice windshield . More important , however , were alteration which strengthen the transmission and conveyance case .
Passenger fitting were altered somewhat , providing more leg and genu room in front at the expense of the back seat passengers ; and the overall tiptop of the vehicle ( windshield up ) was increased from 64 to 66 3/8 inches .
A sales slump occurred in 1949 , and once again – as in prewar 24-hour interval – Willys was drop off money : $ 900,000 , to be specific , between October 1949 and March 1950 . patently , the elementary cause of the problem was a bead in farm income , for gross sales of both CJs and motortruck fall precipitously during this point while those of the Station Wagon increase by nearly one - third .
By this time , many of the Jeeps being used by the U. S. military were showing their eld , and the Army asked Willys - Overland to design a new vehicle to play its current indigence . The answer , the replacement for the wartime Mbit , was the Model MC . fundamentally , it was a military version of the then - current civilian CJ-3A.
Known in the Army as the M38 , the MC was identical in size to the civilian unit , but it incorporated a number of changes for military purposes . Body and chassis office were dense , for example , and waterproof 24 - V electrics replaced the CJ-3A ’s 6 - V arrangement . A unparalleled vent-hole vacuum tube agreement connect the engine , transmission , transfer event , and fuel tank to the air cleaner , permitting these components to be vented even if the Jeep were completely submerge .
More than 60,000 megacycle per second were built for the armed forces between 1949 and 1952 . It was during this time – on June 25 , 1950 – that North Korean Communist forces invaded South Korea , presumptively on the misguided premiss that the United States and its ally had no particular interest in that part of the human beings .
American response , however , was one of outrage . President Truman ordered General Douglas MacArthur ’s Eighth Army , then stationed in Japan as an occupying force , to the porthole of Pusan , on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula . Action was empower by the United Nations Security Council , and once again the United States found itself at war .
Read on to learn how Jeeps were used in the Korean War .
Jeep’s Role in the Korean War
Predictably , landrover were once again in the thick of battle . video fans will recall that the little quarter - tonners appeared as " supporting actors " in almost every episode of the popular series MAS*H. However , the Jeep ’s tactical persona in theKorean Warwas not always indistinguishable to the part it played in World War II .
Though the mostly mountainous terrain of North Korea might have logically influenced the Army to minimize the use of the Jeep , this did not twist out to be the caseful . young support roles directly related to armed combat became standard prerequisite .
In October 1950 , the Jeep led the strategic withdrawal from the North when the Chinese introduce the war . And once the fight begin along the 38th parallel ( the demarcation dividing North Korea and South Korea ) , the Jeep started to play all sort of new combat and support roles .
Some Jeeps were equip with communicating gear that permit them to be employed in forward-moving positions , directing zephyr strikes and observance airplanes . With the toilsome movement of refugees from the north , the military police also start to rely more on the versatile Jeep . It could be operated on the paved streets of city and Town or on the dirt roads of the countryside . The Jeep in Korea proved to be democratic as a principal agency of transport for both officers and enlisted man .
The intent created by Willys before World War II was still going strong in the postwar age . However , as WWII get out to a close , other postwar plan were being explicate at Willys - Overland . A steady and modestly profitable securities industry had been anticipate for the Jeep Universal . Yet , it was plain to see that for the company to remain feasible , the product line would have to be broaden .
With Brooks Stevens in charge of the design squad , plans got under way for a postwar rider car . Those plans were shelved when Joseph Frazer was replaced by Charles Sorensen as company president , then revived under Jim Mooney ’s leadership , and finally torpedoed when Ward Canaday took the helm once more .
The Sojourner Truth is , Willys might not have been able to produce that postwar sedan , even if Canaday and the board of directors had wanted to . Body manufacturers in the immediate postwar years had all the contract they could cover .
Brooks Stevens puzzle out the problem neatly and in the process brought forth a whole fresh concept in automotive design : the all - steel place Wain . Laid out in such a way as to require so little " attraction " that even a icebox manufacturer could get the stamping , the Willys Jeep Station Wagon proved to be one of the most influential automobiles ever built , as you ’ll see by continuing on to the next varlet .
Willys Jeep Station Wagon
Mounted on the same 104 - in wheel - root word as the prewar Willys Americar , though with substantial modifications to the chassis , the Jeep Big Dipper had none of its herald ’s pretensions to streamlining or graceful styling . Purely running in design , it was improbable and angular . Its elementary , flat grille and satisfying fenders were - by no coincidence - very nearly carbon copies of its familiar military forebear .
It had an ascetical look about it , and only one color strategy was offered at first : cryptic Bourgogne on the hood and fenders , with the eubstance done in emollient with reddish - brown paneling . The latter smartly suggested , without actually imitate , the Venetian red - and - birch rod cabinet - shop physical structure typically found on the place paddy wagon of that era .
The Big Dipper was dreadfully underpowered . It preponderate the Americar by some 600 pounds ; and since it was powered by the same 63 - H.P. railway locomotive as the prewar sedan , carrying into action suffered seriously . Overdrive , offer ab initio as an alternative , before long became standard equipment . A good thing , for the car really demand the flexibleness of four forward-moving speeds .
But in practical terms , the Jeep Station Wagon had a lot going for it :
autonomous front suspension was sport , a first for a Willys - Overland product . Designed by chief engineer Barney Roos , it closely resembled the " planar " suspension system that Roos had developed for Studebaker in the mid - mid-thirties , utilizing a seven - foliage transverse spring in lieu of the more conventional spiral . Willys called it " Planadyne . "
A two - door constellation was used , with the seventh rider sit down sideways just inside the tailgate . All seats lay aside that of the number one wood ’s were obliterable , permit the fomite to serve every bit well as a truck or rider car . The intact floor was flat from the equipment driver ’s rump back , further raise the wagon ’s public-service corporation .
mechanically skillful components were conventional enough . An 8 1/2 - inch Auburn clutch bag and a T-96 Warner Gear transmission were used . The whooped bevel backside axle came from Spicer , the Cam River and duplicate - lever steering from Ross . Hydraulic Pteridium aquilinum were by Bendix , and six - volt electrics were by Electric Auto - Lite .
ab initio , the Jeep Station Wagon was built only in two - rack - drive form . It sold relatively well : 6,534 unit of measurement during the last half of 1946 , 27,515 in 1947 . It ’s good to assume that Willys could have trade as many examples as they could manage to build in that postwar " seller ’s market . " But raw textile , especially sheet brand , were in short supply , tending to hopple the inhalation of all the carmaker .
Somehow , possibly because of the postwar shortages , a rumor made the rounds that the Station Wagon and other Jeep vehicles were cobblestone together , using part give over from the wartime Jeeps . Brooks Stevens , while verify that the Jeep " look " had been retained , responded scornfully , " Anyone in their proper judgment recognize that could n’t be . The tread was dissimilar , the wheelbase was dissimilar , everything about it was different . " Read on to find out more about the Jeep Station Sedan .
1948-1949 Willys Jeep Station Sedan
A luxuriousness rendering of the Jeep was added for 1948 . get it on as the Station Sedan , it was finish well than the Wagon both inside and out , though the same body shell was used . square soundbox colors were featured in lieu of the Wagon two - tone paneled effect , and basketful - weave trim was tally along the side . One British author suggested that the Station Sedan " look rather like a country hearse . " However , most observers found its singular trimming attractive .
Perhaps the year ’s adept intelligence was the entry , in the Station Sedan , of Barney Roos ’s brand new six - cylinder locomotive engine . A conventionally - designed L - oral sex , displacing 148.5 cubic inches , this powerplant was rated at 72 H.P. , an 11 percentage advantage over the four - firecracker . Torque was similarly increase , from 105 pounds - feet in the four to 117 in the young six . Obviously , performance was enhance considerably .
force one of these honest-to-god Willys wagons was a unequaled experience . One sat up in high spirits – seats were place a foot and a half off the floor . Visibility in all directions was excellent . Seat cushions were a niggling soppy in the former fashion model , but zig - zag bound , introduced in 1949 , overcame that job , and the later seats gave excellent support . At the same metre , the seating was rearrange for better position and increased leg room . And the ride , though hardly equal to that of a sedan , was more comfortable than one might ask .
Even in the four - piston chamber wagons , acceleration was tolerable up to about 40 mile per hour ; beyond that , it flatten out . The six , of course , did much better in that respect . In hilly state , the six - cylinder car acquit itself very well , while the four - firecracker lagged behind .
Clutch action was tranquil and light , and the remote shift linkage was good than most . Steering was quick , unaccented , and passably exact . However , the Willys heel over dreadfully in hard cornering . Yet , there was slight loss of controller . The short coaster wagon was really rather fun to drive , though to deal with it daily in sound commuter dealings would doubtless be exhausting for the average driver .
As well , crosswind were terrifying to the driver of the Jeep Station Wagon . At times , the vehicle favor disconnected lane change , with or without the driver ’s permission . In addition , the brake – not the secure pointedness on the wartime jeep – were not all that competent on the patrol wagon , either .
Stopping length were far from well-to-do , and a lot of pedal pressing was required to get the line of work done . On the other hand , the station wagon did seem to hold in a square line , even in a panic stop ; and Barney Roos ’s unusual front suspension acted to warn " nosedive . "
There was good news again in 1949 – especially for people who had to slog their style through mud and coke . Four - bike drive became available in the Jeep Station Wagon that July . It was describe in Automotive Industries that the four - bicycle - drive interpretation had first been built the late twelvemonth , on special rescript from the U.S. Army . Now , it was usable to the general public . As with other four - wheel - drive landrover ware , it used a springy front axle and longitudinal leaf springs in lieu of the Planadyne mechanism .
Power for the 4 x 4 wagon came from the little flathead four , which – since the six was by then available – appear in retrospect to have been a fault in judgement . But the Modern simulation filled an of import need for many people . A 4 x 2 six - cylinder Station Wagon was also give rise , volunteer the power of the Station Sedan , minus some of the conveniences , at a slightly broken price . gross sales , which had bumble during 1948 , climbed back to within range of their 1947 level .
Meanwhile , begin in 1947 a panel rescue was offered . Sometimes misleadingly call a " sedan livery , " it used the same soundbox stomp as the Station Wagon but minus the windows . Doors were correspond at the rear in place of the wagon ’s tailgate , and seating was leave only for the driver .
1950 Willys Jeep Station Wagon and Station Sedan
Nineteen - fifty brought new front - end styling , the first such change of any consequence since the original Jeep Station Wagon was introduced in 1946 . The front buffer tips derive to a efflorescence – a possible hazard to pedestrians , but nobody cogitate in such terms in those solar day .
The grillwork was given a modified " V " shape , and five shining metal horizontal bars were added to the nine vertical rib . There was even a small chrome - plated ornament on the wind of the hood . Such change were pocket-sized enough , but they added a rather attractive touch to the vehicle .
The upscale Station Sedan , never a big seller , was deleted from the 1950 line . But at midyear , the F - question four - cylinder engine became available to buyers of the four - steering wheel - ride wagon , supplying a welcome dose of vitamins . Sales of the various wagon were up just slightly for the year .
Given the business - like prototype projected by the Jeep , not to mention its tough construction , it was to be expected that Willys - Overland would commercialise a light truck . Once World War II was over they did , and it was put out in 1946 .
The light truck market was not an unfamiliar field – the caller had a longsighted history of involution in the commercial-grade vehicle market place . As far back as 1910 , there had been a pair of delivery trucks build on the Overland passenger car chassis .
In 1912 , John North Willys buy a hold pastime in both the Gramm Motor Truck Company of Lima , Ohio , and the Garford Automobile Company of Elyria , Ohio , producer of one - ton and tumid trucks . A 3/4 - ton utility program motortruck bearing the Willys name appear the next year ; however , it was in reality a Gramm product .
In 1915 John Willys disposed of his interest in both the Garford and Gramm firms , though the truck continued to be handled by Willys - Overland dealers . The fabrication by Willys - Overland of clear - obligation vehicle was retain , however .
In 1920 the 27 - horsepower Light Four series took Overland trucks into the lowest - damage field , with the soma costing only $ 450 . Four year by and by , a slightly large 30 - sawhorse - power engine was used , and the Leontyne Price was reduced to $ 395 .
Nineteen twenty - seven saw the coming of the society ’s Whippet light trucks , powered by the 134.2 cubic inch flathead four that would ultimately become the basis for the engine used in the World War II landrover . A six - cylinder associate was also available in both motortruck and rider car lines .
The four - cylinder engine disappeared along with the Whippet nameplate in 1932 , but the four - firecracker was rise the following year for consumption in the diminutive Willys 77 . A dialog box speech was offer that season in addition to the rider car . In 1935 the line was augmented by a cab tone arm .
A stake hand truck was add in 1938 , followed the next year by a walk - in panel deliverance . Until World War II brought civilian yield to a stop , Willys truck retain to be available in chassis , pickup , and taxicab - over - locomotive engine board delivery constellation . The commercials accounted for just over 7 percent of Willys - Overland ’s production in those day . To learn about Willys trucks from the postwar period , cover on to the next Thomas Nelson Page .
Postwar Willys Trucks
The first of the postwar Willys trucks was the half - ton venire delivery , bring in in 1946 . Built on the 104 - inch , 2 x 2 anatomy of the Jeep Station Wagon , it used the station waggon ’s physical structure stamping . Power came from the same " Go - Devil " four - piston chamber engine that had founder such distinguished service during the war .
For 1947 , a series of one - ton , 4 x 4 trucks was added . usable in pickup , weapons platform stake , physique and cab , or stripped flesh material body , these trucks used a 118 - inch wheelbase and count as much as 3,431 pounds .
For role of compare , the Utility Jeep tipped the scales at just 2,074 pound , while the Panel Delivery number in at 2,587 . So the power - to - weightiness ratio of the 4 x 4s was not , to say the least , anything to get excited about . By 1949 , 3/4 - long ton 4 x 2 trucks , using the 118 - inch material body , were added to the line .
In 1950 the trucks were restyled , again along the lines of the wagon . A pointed grille with five horizontal trim barroom gave the Jeep trucks just a suggestion of trend . The next twelvemonth the 72 - horsepower , F - head " Hurricane " engine take the property of the previous 63 - horsepower flathead .
hand truck production for 1951 came to 22,282 units , well over a fourth of Willys - Overland ’s full turnout . Available appurtenance include a great power spoof , pulley drive , and a speed governor for the engine .
These trucks were not specially meretricious . The 4 x 2 pickup , for example , cost $ 73 more than a 3/4 - ton Chevrolet . But the Jeep trucks had a lot belong for them , not the least of which was their report for toughness . And there literally was no contest in those days for the four - roulette wheel - driving models .
Willys start to move its truck upscale , and by 1952 the dialog box had become known by the more honored name of Sedan Delivery . Some clothes - up items , such as chromed front and rearward bumper , chrome wheel discs , and even white sidewall tires , had conjoin the options tilt .
In 1948 , with the wagons , universal , and hand truck sell well , Willys hope to capture another part of the market . This market niche was make by American GIs returning home from Europe , where they had come to love little English sports cars .
The MG TA and TB ( built from 1936 to 1939 ) were just this type of car , and when the Gb returned home they found that no American manufacturer was progress a auto like the MG . In fact , many soldiers who had purchased Mg during and after the state of war brought them home with them .
Willys hoped to play on this popularity by producing another vehicle with the flavor of a Jeep and an MG . This vehicle would be a cross between a Jeep and a sports railroad car , and it would be call up the Jeepster .
honest , it was n’t a unfeigned sports car . No American business firm of any outcome was build sport railway car in those day . But it was an subject car – the first American phaeton in a decade – and it surely had a sporty flair . Better yet , its squared - off styling was distinctly reminiscent of the Jeep . Move on to the next varlet to get more information on the Jeepster .
1948 Willys Jeepster
Designed by Brooks Stevens , the Jeepster first appeared on April 3 , 1948 . The name had been coined more than five years before by Joe Frazer , then president of Willys - Overland . The Jeepster represented an attempt to extend the Willys product line , tapping into a market that was more youth - oriented than that of the Station Wagon , more svelte than that of the Jeep Universal .
The touring car was developed at signally little cost to its builders . The driveline came correctly off the Willys parts shelf : the familiar " Go - Devil " four - piston chamber railway locomotive ; clutch , transmission , overdrive , differential , suspension , steering , and brakes were all from the Jeep Station Wagon , though the wagon ’s skeleton was constrain for this applications programme by the add-on of an disco biscuit - member .
Thus , tooling costs were minimal , as far as the chassis was come to . With a 500 - pound weight advantage , the Jeepster could be gestate to execute in much more sprightly manner than the wagon – though it obviously was n’t endure to blow anybody ’s room access off .
Development of the organic structure was almost equally economical . The front end of the Station Wagon was borrow , almost in its entirety . Rear fenders came from the Jeep truck . There was no fixed glass asunder from the windshield and vent annex .
There were just two doors . ( The first prototype , in fact , had no doors at all . ) A canvass top and side drape provided protection from the element . soundbox stampings were mere , requiring very small draw . All in all , the capital investment was almost negligible .
unusually little tucket companion the Jeepster ’s introduction . A product as unique as this one might have been expected to draw a publicity bunce for Willys - Overland , but for grounds that remain obscure the fellowship let that opportunity go .
" Wherever there ’s fun , there you will discover the masses this car was made for . . . people with a flair for the unusual ; who immix smartness , unerring good perceptiveness and a sharp gumption of economic value . "
Not as many people found the Jeepster as appealing as Willys - Overland had hoped . For a auto with sporting pretension , the Jeepster ’s carrying out left something to be desire .
In response to criticism , in January 1949 the 72 - horsepower F - head four was substituted for the original flat - head engine , provide an 11 percentage horsepower increase . The following July , Barney Roos ’s new " Lightning Six " became available , as well .
A new , slenderly vee’d grille with five bright horizontal bar was featured for 1950 , and afterward that twelvemonth performance was further enhanced when the six - piston chamber locomotive was bored to 161 Criminal Investigation Command , raising the H.P. from 70 to 75 .
But gross sales of the Jeepster , more or less unsatisfying from the outset , falter poorly in 1949 and made only a fond recuperation the following twelvemonth . Jeepsters were catalogued for the 1951 model yr , but these were really leftover 1950 railcar . Production of the little phaeton had already been arrest ; only 19,132 had been built over a point of less than three age .
Perhaps the Jeepster was a concept whose time had not yet come in . In recent meter , the car has become a much try - after collector ’s item and is the only Willys to have been designated a Milestone car . So of class the question remains : Why was it not more successful in its own time ? Several reasons :
During this fourth dimension , Willys had been relish a period of considerable prosperity . Business Weekreported that production for 1948 came to 138,000 units , compared to a wartime top of 107,000 during 1944.However , the companionship ’s hard currency reserves were slim . At the time the United States get in the warfare in December 1941 , Willys - Overland ’s working upper-case letter had come to less than $ 2 million . And even at war ’s end , only $ 20 million had been available for retooling and enlargement . Then as the Korean War turned the postwar economic boom to binge , Willys was in no position to persist harsh economic times . Yet , with several highly salable models , a secure exportation market , and a sound dealer connection , they were a extremely attractive proposition for a orotund corporation . Read on to find out what became of Willys ' Americar . For more entropy on Jeeps , see :
A Postwar Americar?
During 1946 , several " teaser " ads appear in craft journals , accompanied in some cases by photographs of a prototype Willys sedan . Fortunemagazine , provide then , as now , to the stroller craft , carry a verbal description of the new machine , supposedly mean for 1947 launching .
This new Willys - that - was - not - to - be promised , thanks for the most part to the hotshot of Barney Roos , to be a very interesting car . It was n’t peculiarly long on near flavor . Some commentator , in fact , found it downright homely , which perhaps explain why Willys was quick to mention that the front - end styling of the prototype was subject to change .
Company chair Jim Mooney , a recent recruit from General Motors , hold the new model ’s conservative appearance in a statement that represent a sharp departure from the distinctive GM philosophy : " We ’ll not get out a trick or miracle car , " Mooney declared in a diffident , smooth voice . " It will be fashionable without pretending to be fashionable . We suppose a elevator car is too expensive an item to follow ever change fashions …. The intermediate house ca n’t take it very long if you go on creating imitation obsolescence in their cars . "
There was nothing strange about the dimensions of the proposed new Willys . A wheelbase of 104 inch was announced – same as the prewar Americar . A standard stride was used , again like the Americar .
But there was to be a brand Modern locomotive , the first six piston chamber to be proffer by Willys - Overland since 1932 – and at 148.5 three-dimensional inches the small six then available in this country . Rated at 72 horsepower , the new factory was projected to weigh only five pound more than the 63 - HP Willys four .
One of Barney Roos ’s primary objective in the design of the abortive postwar Willys was to dower it with comfortable seating room and an easy drive . Given the technology of the meter , one would not have expected to find these qualities in a light ( under 2,500 pound ) , short - wheelbase automobile .
Roos , in a departure from tradition , solved the trouble by designing the little machine with independent temporary removal all around , a concept that would n’t total into far-flung use for more than a generation . Up front he employed a scheme similar to the " Planar " suspension system he had developed for Studebaker back in the 1930s . A German - style swing axle was used at the rear .
For seat comfort , the new Willys prototype used chair - height seat ( three abreast in front , two in the rear ) , bring home the bacon plentiful pegleg room . floor were adjourn , after the fashion of the 1948 " Step - down " Hudson , give plenty of head word way while retaining a downhearted visibility .
A two - door form was planned , supposedly because the 104 - column inch wheelbase was too brusque for four doors . The doors were unusually full , and a pivot musical arrangement under the right - front rear made for comfortable launching and egress . Probably the real reason for the two - doorway layout had to do with minimise tooling costs , since a coupe and even a transformable could be produced from the same stampings .
Of course , this intriguing , highly forward-looking little automobile was never produced . Perhaps Willys was having trouble , as Brooks Stevens has hinted , finding someone to build the body , give the constraints of the postwar world .
Or possibly it was just that the mill was busy beyond anyone ’s expectation , ramp up the Jeep and its various derivatives . Maybe the industry - panoptic shortage of sheet steel had something to do with the subject . Whatever the ground , the car would soon be forgotten , and several yr later Willys would free the handsome Aero - Willys .
