UPDATE: I was surprised to recently see a 1953 ad for a Farm ‘Jeep’ in the Nevada State Journal (March 05, 1953, pg 9). Remember that the Farm ‘Jeep’, along with the ‘Jeep’ Tractor, were models produced mostly in 1951 and 1952, along with a line of jeep implements.
As you can see from this timeline reproduced below from the CJ-3A.info page, there were very few Farm ‘Jeep’s produced at all and none in 1953, though a handful of CJ-3B Farm ‘Jeep’s were made (see CJ-3B page for more info on the 3B version). So the use of the ad is curious.
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Originally Published May 12, 2020: Each of the brochures has consecutive form numbers, from FS-514100 to FS-514105. The brochure below included extra digits at the front: FS-4 FS-514102.
Dave,
I think the Farm Jeep Tractor is one of the great remaining mysteries of early Willys history. The question is why on earth would you feel the need for a product that lacked the very features that would make anyone think about buying a Jeep for the farm. Gone are the multi-purpose road-worthy advantages that made up (at least somewhat) for the Jeep’s lackluster performance as a tractor.
Bob Westerman’s article http://www.cj3a.info/cj3a/farmjeep/fj.html is a good starting point if you want to learn more about the tractor. I’ve been staring at this brochure for years, trying to address the “why” question. Bob’s suggestions for “why” are good ones, but it still leaves me asking “What were those guys drinking.”
Barry,
I agree. Based on the literature and ads I’ve seen, the Farm Jeep/ Jeep Tractor seems to be the last (desperate?) product push geared towards the farming community. After that, the marketing push seems to be more towards utility and industry, especially after Kaiser gained control.
– Dave
I found some old disc harrows on the pig ranch — i’m going to use them to grade the road — or try — drag them behind the cj-6 — then maybe use them for tilling the soil — plant some more sagebrush ? — the hippies in town love sage ( and crystals ) — well I don’t know if they are real hippies ? — I didn’t see them on haight street 1967 ? — new age pseudo hippies ? — religious nuts ? — cult members ?? — who knows ? — I found buddhist writings etched into the lava 12,000 feet up mt. ****** — no bigfoot sightings yet — did spot the big fellow over on the eel river 1985 , very frightening — yes , this is now willys jeep center of the universe — see you at base camp ??
Odd that the Jeep tractor had no oil filter! The conditions on a farm should have made it a standard feature. Like Barry said,what were those guys drinking!
Doers anyone know if there are any surviving jeep “tractors” out there? It does seem an odd choice but maybe they were trying to bring the price down?
mark june 5 2024. i have the 42 nd. farm tractor cj3a off the assembly line.
I always found the jeep tractor “odd” too. Seems likes lights and gauges and such made it stand out from other tractors of the day.
I can’t see giving up the versatility of being able to jump in and “go to town” with the jeep tractor. Unless the savings made it significantly less than a 8N ford it just dont add up.
We used a 50′ -3A on the farm, but mostly for handling hay wagons and grain barges. Used for hay raking in an emergency but the turn radius was not good… but got by. Nicer to drive, as we did not have cab tractors. About as good as the 8N or TO-20. We did not have a PTO but can see where using as a stationary power unit for Auger or Elevator would have been handy.