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1954 M-170 Mesa, AZ **SOLD**

• CATEGORIES: Features, M-170 • TAGS: , This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: **SOLD** was $16,000. They may take $20,000 for both this and the project (shown in the post below). 

Per Joe-in-Mesa: “Jun’s dream was to restore/finish the M170 project as the new MASH jeep due to it’s rot-free body, then outfit it with all the ambulance gear, canvas and medical supplies.  This would leave a buyer with a “leftover” solid, running M170 to sell or do the body work or just enjoy for off-roading fun in a stretched jeep.”

“Fully Outfitted M170 Field Ambulance. June 1954. #11414. 24V.
Includes all stretchers, medical box, field operating table, and tons
of medical related equipment.
Starts, runs, stops. Good tires. Solid running gear. Drive anywhere.
$2,400 of recent outer canvas and canvas seats from OD Cloth.”

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2016 Marana - Jun with M170

2016 Marana - Jun M170 MASH Display

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It’s Official …

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

No looking back now; It’s official (with only five days to spare before our final contract expired). The World Headquarters of eWillys has been upgraded from a cramped bedroom-sized office to a full-on shop on five acres (and of course a house, too .. well two houses and an apartment).

So, other than some videos and a few jeep listings when I have some time, I’ll be busy doing other things.

We are located just outside of Prosser, Washington, which isn’t where we were aiming (Walla Walla is where we’d hoped to land), but the layout and potential of this place should serve us well.

We won’t actually start moving into the house for a few days until the previous owners leave. They are painting their new place, so needed extra time to finish it up. The former owner of the Wilgus house was a life-long employee turned manager of Les Schwabs (and knew Les as well) and seems to know all kinds of goings-on about the area, so he’ll be a good resource.

But wait … I hope to have another, unexpected surprise for Monday morning. For now, here are a few pics:

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Yes, it is only photoshopped onto the building (at this point).

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The building to the right of the shop was a mother-in-law building house (requiring a special county variance). Now, it is considered a “shed” with a bathroom, thanks to a overzealous county employee (long story). Anyway, it will be Ann’s sewing retreat and guest “shed”.

Here’s an overhead shot. As you can see, we have a nice chunk of pavement for a meet-n-greet (or a really long game of basketball).

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The back half of the property is full irrigated. Last year they grew hay. We probably won’t do much with it this year, except maintain it (and test out the jeeps back there).

We’ll have some better pics once as we get settled.

 
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Prince Phillip’s Hearse Land Rover Design

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Bill shared this story of Prince Philip’s design for a Land Rover customized to become a hearse.

Read the full story here: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56771164

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WWII Video of US Troops in the Pacific

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This video shows a few jeeps acting mostly as ambulances.

 
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1944 Video of Paris Parade

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

There aren’t many jeeps in this video, but the sea of soldiers marching is pretty impressive.

 
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1943 Article on the Ford GPA SEEP

• CATEGORIES: Features, GPA (SEEP), Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This March 23, 1943, article on the “Seagoing Jeep” was published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram Evening edition.

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1944 Video “War Devastates Reich Towns”

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Thanks to John once again for finding this news real. A variety of jeeps make their appearance.

Per John, “L/S devastated German town of Hurtgen. M/S of American soldier suffering from trench foot limping past the camera. Various shots of the soldiers eating a long awaited meal. M/S American jeep racing through Linnich to escape shells, the roads are littered with dead German soldiers. L/S as tank backs into building. Troops run for cover in the streets. M/S as church steeple collapses after being hit.”

 
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Early 1950s Ramsey Winch Brochures

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

These brochures are part of an early Ramsey booklet of brochures.

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This is Ramsey Bulletin 108-A, Underslung Model 200 winch:

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This is Ramsey Bulletin 109-A, Underslung Model 600 winch:

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Late 1948 America’s Most Useful Vehicles Brochure

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Artists/Drawings, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: There’s another of these brochures on eBay for $44.95 (plus $4.68 shipping).

View all the information on ebay

This 1948 jeep family brochure was likely produced in late 1948, as there’s a reference to an upcoming expectation “in early 1949” within the text. Outside of that reference, there’s no date stamp or form number. I’ve only seen few of these pop up for sale on eBay, so I snagged this one right away. I believe it represents the earliest and most complete (in pics and text) listing of the full line of jeep models for the civilian market (it lacks any military models and business-focused models, such as the Package Delivery Vans).

I especially like the illustrations. The discussion of the different factory divisions at the back was interesting, too. Including the covers, the brochure is 26 pages.

Photos Photos Photos Photos Photos

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1953 Video of Yakima’s Jeep Road-eo From British Pathe

• CATEGORIES: Features, Racing, videos • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

John found this 1953 version of the Yakima Jeep Rodeo, pronounced by the British narrator as “Row-day-Oh”.

 
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1946 Photo of Jeep Packed with People

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This April 03, 1946, photo from the Spokesman Review shows Dave Zimmerman and his band/radio show ensemble stuffed into a jeep. With a Detroit transit strike raging, a borrowed jeep was the only way to get everyone to their radio show gig.

According to this page, Dave Zimmerman was a long time announcer at WWJ in Detroit. He hosted a popular radio program called Coffee Club and was on the air for Detroit’s first television broadcast from the 47th floor of the Penobscot Building.

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1964 Test and Articles About Jeeps Sprouting Wings

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

In May of 1964 newspapers across the country shared the news of the Army testing out an idea where v-shaped flexible wings were attached to vehicles such as jeeps, allowing them to be pulled behind aircraft and flying to their destinations.

I tried to find photos of the jeeps with V-wings, but I had no luck. There is this example of the Army testing the v-wing concept they called a “Fleep”, which may use a similar flexible v-wing.

Ryan RV-8 Fleep Final Report 1964 US Army; Rogallo Wing Aircraft from Jeff Quitney on Vimeo.

This first article appeared in the May 10, 1964, issue of the Press Democrat out of Santa Rosa, California: 1964-05-10-press-democrat-santarosa-ca-jeeps-sprout-wings

This second article was published in the May 12, 1964, issue of the South Bend Tribune, out of South Bend, Indiana:

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1946 X-Raying of a Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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This is a real X-ray of a real jeep developed as a life-size image. Life Magazine, March 25, 1946.

In 1946 the wiz kids at the University of Rochester, NY, and Eastman Kodak built the world’s largest radiograph, one that could create an X-Ray photo of a large machine, say a jeep, which is precisely how they tested it. In the jeep’s case, the team used the million-volt x-ray machine to create a radiograph 12′ 1″ long by 4′ 1″ tall, or large enough to contain a life size jeep. The larger goal was create the ability to X-Ray large machinery.

The February 8th, 1946, issue of Rochester Democrat Chronicle shared the story:

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The next month, Life Magazine also ran the story, this time with a copy of the X-ray photo (seen at top):

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The jeep’s hood number is 20200556

 
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Before the Jeep: Bantams & the Cola Wars

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This story doesn’t relate much to jeeps, but theOldMotor website published a piece of Robert Cunningham about that tells the story of Bantam’s effort to participate in the cola wars. However, their effort to patent a carton-shaped truck capable of carrying six packs of beverages was interrupted in the summer of 1940 by a shift in priorities towards the new BRC recon vehicle (aka the jeep), along with the advent of WWII.

https://theoldmotor.com/?p=184427&fbclid=IwAR0loA7Y_2FC3xJhXYx_dFcVMBLy9lfQNF8B6hPWHnwQJfFDa02WVzNfT8I

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Warn Dimpled Summer Hubs Storrs, CT eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Parts • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Ted’s got these dimpled Warn summer hubs for sale. The dimpled versions are the second gen summer hubs; the first were the waffle style. The OEM green container is particularly rare.

View all the information on eBay

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“Willys Jeep CJ2A CJ3A Early Column Shift CJ3B CJ5 Warn Summer Hub Universal Jeep. Condition is “Used”.
This is a very nice set of Willys Jeep Warn brand Summer Hubs with original carrying case.These Summer Hubs were a very popular aftermarket item introduced by the Warn manufacturing company and used to help eliminate uneven tire wear,wear and tear on front axle joints,differential gear bearings, Pinion and front drive shaft.

Basically, these Summer Hubs made the Willys Jeep Two Wheel Drive when Four Wheel Drive wasn’t needed for long lengths of time. They would be installed very easily be removing front drive flanges and mounting hubs.They would also give the jeep better gas mileage.

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FC-150 Narrow Track Cuff Links on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Still Available. Buy-it-now price is $99.99.

(01/05/2021) Maury shared these super cool FC-150 narrow track cuff links. They are priced at $99.

View all the information on eBay

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“Very Rare Vintage late 1950’s / early 1960’s Silver Willys FC-150 Cufflinks in Tarnished but Very Good Used Condition. Stamped “NB” and “STERLING” on the inside surface of both backings.

The Jeep Forward Control is a truck that was produced by Willys Motors, later named Kaiser Jeep, from 1956 to 1965. It was also assembled in other international markets. The layout featured a cab over (forward control) design.
The Forward Control models were primarily marketed as work vehicles for corporate, municipal, military, as well as civilian use. Regular pickup box beds were standard, but customers were offered a large number of “Jeep approved” specialized bodies from outside suppliers. These ranged from simple flatbeds to complete tow trucks, dump trucks, and fire trucks. The vehicles were also manufactured under license in India and Spain.

My Father obtained these cufflinks while working in fleet sales for Willys in the Caribbean and Central & South America in the 50’s and early 60’s.”

 
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VW Brasilian JEG Berlin, Germany Auction

• CATEGORIES: Features, International, Unusual, VEEP (VW Jeep), Scamp, Others This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

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TJ shared this rare offload VW-based Brazil vehicle with 4WD that’s up for auction. It’s located in Brazil, but shipping is available to Europe. There are ton of pics of the Jeg that’s up for auction along with pics of related brochures.

https://getyourclassic.com/item/jeg-brasilian-vw-jeep/ (or read this Samba ad)

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“In the 70s, VW Brasil tried to join the Brazilian army with the VW VEMP. Two prototypes were created (one 4X4 and one 4X2), the car was created entirely in straight and simple lines for easier maintenance.

The engine would be 1600 already used by cars of other VW models. After the project was rejected for political reasons (cars with a rear engine would no longer be accepted by the army) the two prototypes ended up being used internally by the factory.

Continue reading

 
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1947 Willys-Overland Motors “A New Concept” Document

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Documents, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

I missed out on this fascinating document yesterday on eBay. My high bid of $52.50 wasn’t quite enough, but at least we have pics of the entire document.

It’s not clear to me who the audience was for this document. The fact that it mentions the upcoming trucks suggests to me it was published in early 1947, prior to the introduction of the trucks in the summer of 1947. Maybe the document was for shareholders? Maybe it was for dealers (or prospective dealers)?

Titled “A NEW CONCEPT OF AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION“, the document makes the argument that prior to WWII the automobile was a luxury item for most folks. As such, bigger, longer, and faster, along with yearly innovations, were necessary to attract consumers with disposable income.

However, after the war, argued Willys-Overland in the document, the automobile would become a critical part of everyone’s everyday life. As such, offering consumers an affordable vehicle, one that didn’t change dramatically every year and one that cost less to maintain, was a the vision that Willys-Overland planned to follow. This meant simple vehicles that responded to customer needs, along with lesser tweaks to each model to insure the company could keep costs down (don’t have to redesign dies, fewer factory shutdowns for model changes, etc).

So, the company’s production ideas meant simple designs catered to consumer needs rather than the latest streamlined designs. That makes sense as a strategy; but, in regards to the DISTRIBUTION portion of the document’s title, I could find nothing stating how the company’s strategy would change the distribution side of things. This document probably would have been more accurately titled, “A NEW CONCEPT OF AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION”.

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Seabees Photo

• CATEGORIES: Features, Museums, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Gayland shard this photo posted on the Navy Seabee Museum site that features Seabees working on a jeep and some other vehicles. The Navy’s Seabee website has done a good job of organizing its digital collections based on multiple factors (time period and location in most cases).

If you haven’t ever visited the museum, it’s located in Port Hueneme. We had a chance to visit back in 2014 while it was undergoing updates. I’m sure it’s even better now.

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1956 French-Canadian Ad From Kaiser-Willys of Canada on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, How To, International • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Maury spotted this jeep-family ad from Kaiser-Willys of Canada.

View all the information on eBay

“1956 Canadian Kaiser Willys print ad Jeep Universal, Wagon, & Pickup. Original magazine advertisement measures 7 X 9.5 inches (approx.).”

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Florida Senator Claude D. Pepper in BRC-40 and His Campaign Jeep

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, MB, Old Images, Unusual This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE II: Somehow I missed this second version of the Senators with Charles Payne driving down he steps on May 20, 1941:

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PHOTO CREDIT: Florida State University’s Digital Repository https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu%3A154424

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Published March 28, 2021: Here’s another, earlier jeep photo, including a dedication by Charles Payne, related to Senator Claude Pepper in a Bantam BRC-40. According to the Florida State University Digital Archives, Senator Robert Reynolds is driving the jeep, Senator Claude Pepper is in the passenger seat, and Charles Payne and Harold Crist are seated in the back. The photo is dated May 1941.

https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu%3A117598

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Also, according to a June 02, 1968, column by Larry King in the Miami Herald, there was a video taken of Senator Pepper riding up the steps and it was to be shown on TV on June 30, 1968. I was unable to find the video on the internet.

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ORIGINALLY POSTED DECEMBER 09, 2012: This pictures tells the tale of Senator Claude Pepper‘s bid for re-election as a Senator from Florida in the 1950 race.  Like his jeep, Senator Pepper’s campaign crashed that year as well.

PHOTO CREDIT: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/36090 CAPTION: Addressed to George Smathers from his friend Carl L. Hahn, an accompanying note says, “Here’s what is left of the Pepper machine in Palm Beach County – Souvenir of your successful 1950 campaign.”

The accident led to a lawsuit against the driver and Senator Claude Pepper. The appeared in the August 04, 1950, issue of the Palm Beach Post:

1950-08-04-palm-beach-Post-claude-pepper-accident

 
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1945 “Sno-Jeep” Suits for Children

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This unusual ad appeared in the December 18, 1945, issue of the Poughkeepsie Journal. I guess marketers figured adding the “jeep” name to most anything was a good bet for increasing sales?

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1943 Jeep-O Clubs

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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This pledge for Jeep-O club drivers was published in the July 07, 1943, issue of the Leaf Chronicle out of Clarksville, Tennessee. This pledge appears to have been unique to the Clarksville area.

In April of 1943, the Kiawanis Club of Anniston, Alabama, started the Jeep-O Club, an effort to alleviate the transportation problem facing soldiers by pledging to give rides in their vehicles to soldiers who needed one. It was an early Uber system, only with volunteer drivers.

It’s possible the Kiwanis Jeep-O movement got is name from the previous November’s Jeep-O gram movement in Texas.

This photo shows an actual Jeep-O stop. It appeared in the April 15, 1943, issue of the Huntsville Times:

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By May, the Jeep-O club idea had already spread to 22 states:

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A couple months later, in the July 07, 1943, issue of the Leaf Chronicle out of Clarksville, Tennessee,  the paper reported how a Jeep-O club was staring up there: Continue reading

 
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1946 Testimonial from Service Station

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Documents, Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: The other day I realized that the jeep in this photo from a collection of early jeep information published in 2014 looks very similar to an illustrated jeep that appeared in a 1947 newspaper ad. Here’s the image and it’s associated testimonial:

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Here’s the advertisement from the June 3, 1947, ad published in the Sullivan Daily Times, out of Sullivan, Indiana, that highlights the ability of the jeep to be an efficient, low-cost option as a road-service vehicle.

1947-06-03-sullivan-daily-times-indiana-service-station-jeep-ad-lores

 
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2015 Story About “1941” Willys MB

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jerry shared this 2015 story published in AutoRevolution about a 1941 Willys MB that is “Almost 100% original. Some stuff has been removed but very little has been replaced. A couple of needed mods have been made, but nothing substantial”. Hmm … challenge accepted.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/1941-willys-jeep-built-on-second-day-of-production-still-runs-as-a-work-truck-102729.html

Upon inspection, the jeep fails the “almost 100%” original claim. For example, the spring hangers are not original, but as I looked closer at the frame I realized that when someone put a newer CJ chassis underneath the jeep, they never removed the frame-mounted CJ-shock mount (visible just in front of the rear tire on the frame). In addition, the rims and rear axle are incorrect. My guess is that this body is sitting on a newer chassis and powertrain of some type.

Given the drain holes are blocked, I blew up the photo to check out the back and it sure seems like there’s tailgate lip sticking up along the rear. Yet, this does have the cutout in the body for the vertical shock mount, so this may be an original WWII body that’s had a tailgate added? I just can’t tell either way for sure. .

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