UPDATE: Colin estimates 1949 on this brochure, figuring there were new forges installed for some 1950 products.
I won this odd ball item as part of a 3-item auction where nobody else bidded! This twenty-eight-page Willys-Overland Forge booklet provides some background and highlights about the company’s forging process. My guess, based on the last page, is that Willys-Overland was attempting to find corporate customers that needed parts or other items forged, suggesting that the forge may not have been running at full capacity making jeep parts. There’s no date on this, but my guess is that this was produced around 1950.
Excellent history of the Willys Overland Forge. Many photos of the steering knuckle supports and those are the pieces that make up Planadyne front suspension on the two wheel drive station wagons, panel deliveries and Jeepsters from 1946-1953. The knuckle support connects the upper A-arm at the top and the transverse front spring at the bottom, with the kingpin connecting to the backing plate and hub assembly. So Dave, your estimate of being around 1950 is probably pretty close, maybe closer to 1949 as Willys got new presses for bodies about that time frame.
Colin,
1949 sounds good to me based on what you note. Have a Happy New Year!
– Dave
6-7 years prior the forge was at full cap 24-7 no doubt.