Magazine Research Archives

Jeeps filled magazines in various ways. Some magazines reported on brand new ‘Blitz Buggy’ and other important develops about the jeep during WWII. Others reported on the changing models during its civilian life. Still others showcased how jeeps were used and the modifications done to them.

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1946 X-Raying of a Jeep

April 11, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old News Articles • TAGS: Life-Magazine.

1946-03-25-life-magazine-jeep-xray-lores

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:

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

1946-03-25-life-magazine-jeep-xray3-lores

The jeep’s hood number is 20200556

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Furgason’s ‘Jeep’ News Vol. 1 No. 1

April 11, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Magazine

Evan Gillenwater posted the cover of this magazine to Facebook. He seems to think it came from Furgason’s Motors in La Grande, Oregon. The magazine was found at an antique store in New Hampshire.

Anyone recognize it?

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Cover of Colliers Magazine in 1946

April 6, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Features, Magazine

UPDATE: I found an inexpensive issue of the February 2, 1946 Collier’s Magazine, so I scanned the cover. It has the Welcome Home Johnny sign celebrating’s soldiers homecoming as a farmer races his jeep down the road. I found no jeep related stuff on the inside.

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1945 BF-Goodrich Tires Ad on ebay

March 30, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Magazine

This ad with women sipping tea while soldiers push through thick mud just expired on eBay, but will likely be relisted. It seems a bit unfair to women, as if they didn’t know a war was going on. I would imagine that most women likely were the main food shoppers and had to deal with shortages beyond just rubber.

View all the information on eBay

“Condition: Near Mint
Size (approximate): 10″ X 12″
Source: Magazine
Miscellaneous: One page print advertisement”

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October 1952 Motor Trend Cover and Article

March 6, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Camping, Features, Magazine, Wood bodies • TAGS: Odd Body.

As I was packing, I pulled this issue of Motor Trend aside. When I leafed through it, I realized there was a jeep-related article I missed. So, here the “Unique Cars for Sportsmen” by Jim Earp. All the vehicles herein are interesting. The first page has a pic at the bottom of Vic Hickey’s famous jeep.

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Winter 2020 Issue of the Dispatcher is Available

February 10, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

The new issue of the Dispatcher Magazine has been released. Jim Allen’s article on the Jeep Creep and other prototypes in the late 1950s was very interesting (something I’ve never documented), as were the restoration articles on the Tonka Surreys and the Jeepster Convertible. As always, there’s lots of good stuff in this issue!

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December 1941 Pop Sci Article on Bantam BRC-40 T2E1s

January 28, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Magazine, Old Images • TAGS: Popular-Science.

UPDATE: Originally published on February 02, 2014, the pop sci links no longer work, so I’ve now added the complete scan of the article.

This Bantam BRC-40 T2 article was published in December of 1941 in Popular Science (and possibly Mechanix Magazine) under “Tanks CAN Be Destroyed”. In it the author explores different machinery that can stop a tank. You can see variations from what could be the same photo shoot in this Bantam T2 & T2-E1 post.

Continue reading →

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January 1950 Review of the Jeepster and Station Wagon

January 13, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

Tom McCahill reviews the reviewed the Jeepster and Station Wagon in the January 1950 issue of Mechanic Illustrated . He liked the new four-wheel-drive wagon, but was less a fan of the Jeepster.

Continue reading →

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“Streamlined” Jeeps From the Pacific

January 7, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Sedan-jeep • TAGS: Odd Body, Popular-Mechanics.

UPDATE: This post has been updated with a better version of the video:

The photos below are snapshots from the above video. They resemble the jeep shown below that was built by Wayne K. Pike. It was built by members of the 9th Service Squadron at the 13th Army Air Base on the island of Moratai. Note that it has a chrome/stainless trim strip absent from the car featured in the Popular Mechanics article below.

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ORIGINAL POST FEBRUARY 11, 2013: You can view the entire Popular Mechanics’ issue on Google.

Dec 1945 Popular Mechanics Page 6 Streamlined Jeep

Dec 1945 Popular Mechanics Page 72 Jeep with Odd Body

Dec 1945 Popular Mechanics Page 77 Men using Jeep like a plow horse

Dec 1945 Popular Mechanics Page 73 Men us jeep to fix propeller

Dec 1945 Popular Mechanics Page 70 Fixing Jeep Frame

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August 1949 Toy Wagon Build From Mechanix Illustrated

January 1, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, toys

The August 1949 issue of Mechanix Illustrated included detailed plans for constructing a battery powered, remote-control toy wagon.

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Philadelphia’s Road Patrol Service

December 22, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old Images

This article in the June 28, 1948, issue of Newsweek covers how the Keystone Automobile Club’s three jeeps were transformed into mobile video units for the 1948 Republican and Democratic Conventions that were being held in Philadelphia.

Six months earlier in January, the same jeeps had been setup with radios to help manage road patrol issues (multiple news articles mentioned this), so adding television service expanded, albeit temporarily, the capabilities of the jeeps.

Last year we saw a different pic of one of the jeeps that is housed in Philadlephia’s free library:

free-library-of-philadelphia-keystone-auto-club

PHOTO CREDIT: Free Library of Philadelphia .. PHOTO CAPTION: Keystone Automobile Club – Road Patrol Service.

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Feb 1957 Science and Mechanics FC-150 Blurb

December 16, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

The February 1957 issue of Science and Mechanics introduced readers to the FC-150 with this short article.

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Dec. 1945 Outdoor Life Magazine Story on the Jeep

December 16, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Features, Magazine

UPDATE: Originally Posted July 26, 2014. There is currently an issue for $7 on eBay.

The December 1945 Issue of Outdoor Life Magazine contained an article titled “A Jeep Will Get You There”. It is filled with photos of a VEC CJ-2A used for a fishing trip. The photos aren’t the best, but still an interesting article. Outdoor Life also featured the story on the front cover.

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1944 Forbes Article on the Peacetime Jeep

November 14, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

This Forbes November 15, 1944, article titled “Will the Jeep Invade Peacetime Markets” is a pretty sober look at the reality of the WWII jeep. That’s probably because the author, Francis “Frank” Fenn, was the former President of American Bantam at the time the Bantam BRC was developed (one person argued that Frank was the actual father of the jeep).

With tweaks to the basic WWII jeep, Fenn predicted the CJ could do quite a bit, but would never make a good around-town or travel car due to it’s rough ride and basic functions. He predicted, rightly, that it would take a quite a bit of engineering for the vehicle to meet the average family’s on-road needs.

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October 1976 Article on Jeeps made by Volkswagen

September 17, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, International, Magazine

Scott directed me to an article in the October 1976 issue of South Africa’s CAR Magazine. It highlighted the jeeps that Volkswagen, having secured a license from AMC, was building in South Africa. Below is a copy from the article. CAR Magazine still exists; you can find it on Facebook and on the Web.

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August 1958 CJ-3B Farm Jeep Ad SOLD

August 14, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, International, Magazine

UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.

This ad was published in an Australian farming magazine.

“Australian Jeep Original Advertisement removed from a 1958 Australian Farming Magazine and in good condition for age having some marks and creases and age yellowing of the paper. Size is 18 cms x 24 cms. It would look good framed on your wall or displayed with your vehicle at a car show.”

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Summer 2020 Dispatcher Magazine

August 12, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

The Sumer 2020 Dispatcher Magazine arrived in my mailbox this weekend. Jim Allen’s feature article on the Jeepster Commando designs was particularly interesting. I knew there were a variety, but I didn’t know there were this many!

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Africa U.S.A. and Jeeps

August 4, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old Images, Postcards

UPDATE: This post is an aggregation of Africa USA postcards and articles. Another postcard from the form adventure park popped up on eBay, this time with a CJ-5 pulling the trams:

View all the information on eBay

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Posted June 2019 on eBay, a CJ-3B pulling trams:

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From 2015: Africa USA, was part of a theme-park movement in the late 1950s that included New York’s Freedomland, Disneyland, Wisconsin’s Fort Dells, and others. By 1959, these parks were collectively generating revenue of $2 billion.

There is a feature article about these parks in the August 1, 1960, issue of Life Magazine. The picture below is from that article. You can take a ‘virtual’ jeep-train tour of Africa USA here (don’t expect much).

This article appeared in the December 1955 issue of Willys News. That’s the jeep train behind the animals.

============== Continue reading →

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1941 Look Magazine Article “Hell on Wheels”

July 26, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Magazine

The August 26, 1941, issue of Look Magazine included this large photo of a Bantam BRC-40. The caption, presumably written by the author of the article, Henry McLemorehistor reads:

“THIS MOBILE CHIROPRACTOR I am driving is a half-ton reconnaissance car known to the unit as a Peep or Bo-Peep. It’ll go 60 mph, packs two machine guns, a crew of four. It will take you anywhere, provided you can hang on–actually covering worse terrain than a tank. As soon as the Army has enough Peeps, they will replace motorcycles as dispatch and reconnaissance vehicles. Like all armored-division vehicles, the Peep has four-wheel drive and handles as easily as the highest priced pleasure car. The difference is that you sit on a thin cushion over a steel seat and buckle yourself down with an airplane safety belt. “

The above photo is from this two page spread:

This is the magazine cover:

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1946 Plans for Electric Jeep in Mechanix Illustrated

July 26, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Models, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: Mechanix.

UPDATE: I wonder if this electric jeep pictured in the November 05, 1943, issue of the Arizona Republic newspaper was the inspiration for the Jeep for Junior published in 1946?

=======================

The post originally ran in 2014: These plans for an “Electric Jeep for Junior” come from a September 1946 Issue of Mechanix Illustrated Magazine.

Search ebay for original issues of the September 1946 issue of Mechanix Illustrated

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January 1975 Camping Magazine’s Henness Pass Jeep Trek Article

July 25, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old Images Jeeping

I bought this magazine based on the cover, hoping there would be some good photos in side. Nope, the best part of the article was the magazine cover.

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1952 Vic Hickey Jeep Articles in Hot Rod Magazine

July 24, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

UPDATE: This post has been updated with the May 1952 article on Vic Hickey’s “Mountain Goat” jeep.

Continue reading →

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January 1950 Pop Mechanics Sky-High Painter

July 24, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles, Magazine, Old Images

Gayland spotted this unusual setup for painting tall places from a jeep. This was published on page 114 of the January 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics. Just hope it isn’t a windy day!

The is a better look at the rigging:

And a close up of the jeep:

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1959 Review of the Willys Wagon and Land Rover

July 22, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine

This three-part article appeared in the August 1959 issue of Car Life magazine. The first two-page article is a general look at both vehicles. Then, there’s a long review of the Willys Wagon followed by a long review of the Land Rover. I got the sense that the reviewer Mr. Jim Whipple was more impressed with the Land Rover than the wagon. You be the judge….

General review:

Willyls Wagon review:

Continue reading →

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King Top Manufacturing Company

July 10, 2020 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Magazine • TAGS: Four-Wheeler-Magazine, Hardtop.

UPDATE: This post has been merged and reworked after I figured out that the two tops were actually related.

In July of 1963, Fresno-based Automotive Fiberglass Company placed an advertisement in Four Wheeler magazine for its new fiberglass hardtop. I wonder if the builder of this top was also a member of the Fresno Jeep Club?

This is the 1963 ad:

July 1963 Ad from Automotive Fiberglass

This Automotive Fiberglass top appeared on a CJ-5 for sale in Fresno in 2010. It is the only jeep I’ve seen with an Automotive Fiberglass Top:

CJ-5 with 1963 fiberglass hardtop from Automotive Fiberglass.

TIMELINE —
July 1963: Automotive Fiberglass places ad in Four Wheeler Magazine;
November 1963: Top King Manufacturing files design patent for an altered version of the Automotive Fiberglass top;
February 1964: Top King top is advertised in the Four Wheeler Magazine;
September 1964: A more detailed ad is placed in Four Wheeler Magazine.

A few months after the Automotive Fiberglass advertisement, two design patents were filed and assigned to Top King Manufacturing. You’ll note that the rear side-angle has been reversed. The mid-section insert piece for the side was also changed, altered from a triangle shape to a rhombus shape. Here’s the design patent information from the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office:

November 1963 Design Patent filing for Top King. Note that I haven’t had the time to investigate the designers mentioned in the patent.

By February 1964, King Top was advertising the newly redesigned top in Four Wheeler Magazine. Curiously, the company listed its name as the Top King Fiberglass Company rather than Top King Manufacturing (could be a relic from the Automotive Fiberglass company days):

1964-02-fourwheeler-pg42-king-top-fiberglass-ad-lores

February 1964 Ad from Top King.

Seven months later, this second ad was placed in the September 1964 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine. The company had corrected its name for the ad back to Top King Manufacturing. Additionally, Top King announced it would soon have flatfender versions of the top available, along with a half cab version. Have any of these survived?

1964-09-four-wheeler-top-king-fresno-ad-lores

September 1964 Ad from Top King Manufacturing.

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