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The latest issue of the Dispatcher Magazine arrived in my mail box. The Bantam BRC-40 shown on the front is the focus of a fascinating story on it’s use as a truck at the America Bantam Factory. It is likely the first jeep with a tailgate!
It looks like I’ll need to pick up this copy of The Dispatcher seeing as how I’m the newest BRC owner on the block! I would like to address something though: There is no such thing as a BRC-40 or BRC-60. The only designations they were ever given were Bantam Pilot Car, 1940 BRC, and 1941 BRC(1st and 2nd series). From what I can tell, the 40 60 thing was made up in the 1970’s by early prototype and prestandardized restorers. Just my .02, if anyone has info to prove me wrong, I’m very open to having my mind changed!
Shane,
That’s a great point. I have seen the issue raised on Bantam-related sites. I have also seen, as Craig mentioned, the terms like Mark I, etc. But, I could never locate definitive source material for the ‘correct’ designations (though I haven’t explored that topic too deeply).
I use BRC, BRC-60, and BRC-40 simply because those are descriptions most popularized and used (I’ve never really understood why -60 and -40 was used in that order). Normally I try to go deeper on these issues (like the Pygmy was never given the designation GP as best as I can see .. that designation only arrived in the spring of 1941, though I think Ford backed into their definitions of G and P, based on my research).
My copy of Bill Spears’ book is still in a box somewhere, so I don’t have access to it. Does anyone have it nearby to check what he uses for designations? I don’t remember.
Shane, what documentation supports the use of the designations you have listed?
Many thanks!
Somewhere in the past I thought the ’60’ was referred to as the ‘Mark I’ and the ’40’s’ as the ‘Mark II’….haven’t really thought about it much since the BRC-60 and BRC-40 sound much better. Same with the early MB’s….they weren’t ‘slatgrills’ at the time. Now it’s the term to distinguish the early bar grills from the stamped grills.
Once again, those terms come from that same first era of restorers in the 1970s. I don’t deny that they have been popularized and in the current MV world they are useful identifiers, but I will continue to assert that they were never given these identifiers by anyone at Bantam or in the Armed Forces at the time they were manufactured or in service.
Good morning, Dave!
Most of my info come from reading primary source documents that have been collected by many Bantam historians over the years. Most of the info and documents are with Bill Spear or George Hollins. When you get down to brass tacks, what really matters is that we all know what each other is referring to and beyond the purist historians like myself(of which we are few and far between) it really has little bearing on the preservation and stewardship of the cars for future generations. I still gonna fight to have them say 1940 and 1941 BRC though 🙂
Shane .. keep up the fight 🙂
What a great photo!!!