This two-page ad was published in the August 1954 issue of Fortune Magazine. It’s titled, “How Willys Versatile Vehicles Help Your Management Cut Costs”.
Features Research Archives
VEEPSTER Builder’s Guide and Assembly Manual
This 48 page VEEPSTER Builders Guide & Assembly Manual was listed on eBay the other day. It’s a detailed document on how to build a VEEPSTER with the kit supplied by Sun Valley Autotech. There’s no date on it. Learn more about VEEPS, Scamps, VEEPSTERs and eVEEPSTERs here.
Glenn M. Rogers, Morrison, Newgren Snowplow
UPDATE: This is an a rewrite of a couple different brochures to document the snow plow and scraper relationship between the Glenn M. Rogers Company, the Morrison Railway Supply Company, and the Newgren Company.
I believe Morrison manufactured the Snowplow and Scraper based on a Rogers design and the completed item was marketed through the Newgren Company. As I’m no expert on these plows, or the relationship between these companies, this is all conjecture based on the brochures.
Here are several different brochures through the years and a couple Sno-Dozer data plates at the very bottom. This first brochure shows the Glenn M. Rogers company marketing the snow plow. This 1948 brochure does not mention the Morrison company.
In this brochure, also from 1948, it appears Newgren is offering a Roger’s plow setup that’s been combined with Monroe hydraulics (with three different hydraulic options no less).
There’s no date on this brochure, but in it Morrison is now credited with the manufacturing of the Rogers design, with Newgren still marketing the package. There’s no mention of the hydraulic options. I am leaning towards this being a circa 1949 – 1951 brochure. This brochure may have introduced the “Sno-Dozer” brand name.
June(?) 1952 Ad for the Hydraulic Lift on eBay
This ad appeared in the June or July 1952 issue of Country Gentleman.
August 1960 Jeep News
Like the April issue, this issue includes a variety FC and Surrey images.
The March 1956 Issue of Popular Science included a small story of a CJ-2A with a Gutter-Vac installed. It was used in Washington, D.C.
Early 1940s Turner Specialized Equipment
UPDATE: Thanks to Mark we have some background information on the Turner Manufacturing Company: https://www.statesville.com/opinion/o-c-stonestreet-a-closer-look-at-mr-c-h-turner-and-turner-manufacturing-company/article_d376cc29-de76-591c-bcad-62e719909ca6.html.
I’ve also added to the post with some wood working equipment that was also offered by the Turner Manufacturing Company of Statesville, North Carolina.
The Turner company offered a variety of other wood options as well according to the Special Equipment brochure index:
As the original post indicated, Turner produced hay balers as well.
This turner hay baler has some similar elements, but isn’t example the same:
El Jebel Jeep-atrol License Plate on eBay
This is really cool … expensive, but cool. Thanks to Steve for sharing it with us.
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“This listing is for one Vintage EL JEBEL JEEP PATROL Denver Colorado License Plate Topper Attachment. It is in very good condition with original paint.”
1957 Jeep Ads in the Saturday Evening Post
After Willys Motors found it’s groove in 1956, the marketing department continued its Saturday Evening Post ad-a-month pace throughout 1957. The company used the same triple-pane style of ads as it had in 1956, the exception being a two-page, color, introductory ad for the FC-170. Marketing also reused some content from the previous year, but combined that older content with information about the FCs.
For example, the first triple-pane ad, in February of 1957, was very similar to the the June 1956 ad, except that it included an FC-150.
Here are the next four ads for 1957 in the Post:
In July, Willys Motors, as they did for the FC-150 in December of 1956, ran a full-color two-page ad for the new FC-170:
The remaining four ads for 1957 are shown below:
After Willys Motors near-montly ads in 1957, I expected to find similar advertising the following year. Instead, I could not locate any ads in the Saturday Evening Post over the course of 1958.
1947 Advertisement “Jeep Speeds Up Construction” on eBay
No month or journal name for this ad.
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“Type: This is an original 1947 print ad, we do not sell reproductions.
Year Published: 1947
Format: Black + White
Size: 8.0″ W x 10.5″ L”
Canfield Wrecker Plates **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Shane spotted these rare Canfield Wrecker Plates on eBay.
“CANFIELD TOW BAR CO. TOW TRUCK METAL BADGE EMBLEM NAME PLATE VINTAGE RARE. this was on a wrecker boom from a jeep when it was common to use jeeps as tow trucks. they are in good condition a few minor dings(see pics) for there age, they measure 12″ long and 4″ high. looks like the model no. is C450L and serial no. is 9204.”
Ads in the 1954-1956 Saturday Evening Post
Prior to the Kaiser buyout, Willys-Overland was a regular advertiser in the Saturday evening post, with ads appearing almost monthly from late 1941 (after winning its military contract) up until 1952.
From 1952 through 1954, the focus of the advertising shifted to the new Willys Areo line of vehicles, abandoning jeep advertising in the Post almost entirely.
In February of 1954, one ad for the Willys wagon was published, the only jeep-oriented ad of the year. However, the title of the ad was “The Common-Sense Car that Leads a Double Life”. So, even that ad was as much a “car'” ad as a “jeep” ad.
Given how similar the above ad was to the Willys Makes Sense campaign of 1951, It’s clear that even under the early days of Kaiser’s management, the advertising for the Willys/Jeep line had yet to be changed. That probably explains why no more jeep ads appeared in the Saturday Evening Post for the remainder of 1954 (and Willys Aero ads ceased after June of 1954).
Then, on January 8, 1955, Willys Motors published a two-page splash with an ad for it’s new model: The CJ-5.
Subsequently, Willys Motors’ advertising in the Post waned again, absent throughout the remainder of 1955. It’s advertising in the Post remained dormant until mid-1956.
On June 16, 1956, Willys Motors published “Gets there … works there … anywhere!”. The ad also appeared to have introduced a new slogan: ‘Jeep’ VEHICLES BY WILLYS KEEP AMERICA ON THE MOVE (that was used by the company at least through the end of 1957 .. I haven’t check past that yet).
Once again, jeep ads started appearing on a regular basis. On August 4, 1956, the ad, “Gets there … works there … anywhere” was published:
Willys Motors continued advertising monthly with the same three-pane theme. These were the next three ads:
On December 29, 1956, the final Post issue of the year, Willys Motors interrupted its three-panel campaign to introduce readers, in a two-page color ad no less, to the new model of jeep: the Forward Control ‘Jeep’ FC-150.
As well see in a future post, the company continued an almost monthly advertising campaign through out the following year of 1957.
1941 Article Introducing the Air-Borne Battalion
This September 18, 1941, article in the Petoskey News-Review introduced readers to the new Air-Borne Battalion. The new battalion would be trained in air landing operations and include two rifle companies. One of those two companies would be equipped with riflemen on bikes (40), motorcycles (140), and jeeps (105).
March 1948 Ad W-O Brings Farmers 4-Wheel-Drive Power on eBay
This ad, “Willys-Overland brings Farmers the advantages of 4-Wheel-Drive Power”, was published in March of 1948 most likely in a farm magazine (based on other ads the seller was selling).
August 1945 Farm Journal Article “What About The New Farm Jeep?”
It reads more like a press release than an article. Given its timing in conjunction with the release of the CJ-2A, it most likely was.
The cover image:
1942 Postcard “I’m Leaving on Leave”
4 Photos of Family and Later Model CJ-2A on eBay
This auction is set of four negatives showing a family and a late model CJ-2A, determined by the stenciling on the tailgate which didn’t appear until around August of 1947.
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“HERE ARE FOUR B&W NEGATIVES THAT LOOK LIKE THEY WERE TAKEN ON A FARM. LOOKING AT THE CLOTHES GUESSING 1950’S. ON THE JEEP YOU CAN SEE WILLYS AND 4 WHEEL DRIVE. THESE MEASURE 2 3/8″ X 3 1/2″.”
Chris notes that this photo is reversed, as the spare tire is shown on the driver’s side.
1955 Willys Motors Mailers
When I first completed the post on the early brochures and mailers created by the Kaiser Willys marketing team, I didn’t have a complete list of mailer examples. Below is what I believe to be the completed list:
Here’s an order form from 1955. At the bottom of the order form is a list of mailers, but the mailers lack form numbers.
These are the mailing brochures, but without identifying form numbers, I am not 100% positive these are correct …..
Farmer and Ranchers Best Investment: Whatever You Grow for Profit
Earth Moving Equipment:
Power Producing Equipment:
Jeep-A-Trench:
Service Station (Mr. Service):
They Go Through: Form W-1765
Postcard of Joe’s Super Service Station Hillman, MI on eBay
Nice shot of Joe’s Super Service Station in Hillman, Michigan. The photo features a jeep truck and a CJ-3A that could both be from the same year.
April 1960 Jeep News
This issue of Jeep News is interesting in that the whole middle section focuses on the rise in jeep clubs. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but rather simply a list of clubs in contact with Jeep News, with a heavy emphasis on western clubs.
Note the CJ-6 hardtop on page 7. It’s a custom top built by Koenig. I don’t have it in my records, so keep a watch for it. It’s probably still out there somewhere, most likely still in Texas. Note also the scale model FC-170 giveaway and certificate with each FC-170 purchase on page 2.
1955 CJ-3B Brochure
This 1955 brochure form W-201-5 highlighted the CJ-3B as part of the advertising standardization push by the Kaiser Willys marketing team.
Introducing the Jeep Surrey
UPDATE: Here are a couple more articles introduction the Jeep Surrey. The first one notes that women will like it for its fashion while men will like it for its fine engineering. I’m less convinced that the term ‘fine-engineering’ should be applied to any of the DJ-3As.
The second was widely disseminated in various arrangements and reminds us that “A similar model, the “Jeep” Gala, was introduced to the export market early this year .“ This documents that the Gala was the export model and the Surrey the domestic model.
This first article was published October 08, 1959, and comes from Utah’s Orem-Geneva Times:
This October 04, 1959, article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
1954 KW ‘Jeep’ Farm Power Brochures
UPDATE: For a few years now I’ve noticed that there were two versions of the 1954 Form KW-1706 titled ‘Jeep’ FARM POWER, one having an orange theme and one have a green theme. Since I owned an orange copy, I wasn’t in a hurry to get a green copy. Still, I was curious about why the newly formed Kaiser Willys Marking Team would publish a brochure, with the same form number, in two different colors, as that wasn’t a customary practice.
A few days ago I found a good price on the green version. When it arrived, I compared the two brochures. At first, I couldn’t see any differences. But, after examining the text, I discovered the reason behind the color change.
A small section on both brochures is titled “NEBRASKA TESTED”. Apparently, when the original orange brochure was produced, the jeep had only completed a tractor test (#432) using a jeep powered with an L-head, yet the company had applied to take the test using an f-head. At some point after the brochure was published, the f-head test (#502) was completed (which did show increased horsepower).
So, the company updated the brochure’s “NEBRASKA TESTED” text and changed the brochure’s color scheme, probably to make it easier to know which old brochures should be set aside and/or destroyed. At least, that’s my theory.
So, here’s a look at the two blurbs side by side.
Here’s a full look at the green brochure:
May 1973 Berens Associates Catalog
I’d never heard of Berens before spotting this 48-page catalog on eBay. It appears they were a California distributor of jeep parts. The company carried all kinds of stuff.
“All New 1955 Willys Jeep” CJ-5 Brochure
UPDATE: I was finally able to get one of these off eBay at a reasonable price. It’s form W-1831 from 1955 introducing the new CJ-5. The back page (bottom pic) has some discoloration. The 3rd pic is a foldout, so it’s much bigger than it appears.
Early(?) Plastic Jeep Hesperia, CA Auction **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was auction.
Blaine and Terry have identified this jeep as a Fix-it-All jeep. It’s missing multiple parts. Here’s a pic of how it should look:
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Blaine spotted this unusual plastic jeep that neither of us had previously seen. The fact that it is stamped “JEEP” on the hood and has a front weight are two unusual features that caught our eyes. Anyone recognize it? (this auction site has multiple premiums that will add to the cost).