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1953 Patent for Gun Aiming Mechanism

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

C.W. Musser filed a patent for a “Gun Aiming Mechanism with associate trigger release mechanism and supporting mount” on February 24, 1953. This illustration with the gun on a jeep accompanied the patent.

“Fig. 1 is a side view of my gun aiming mechanism and associated trigger release mechanism with supporting mount shown in heavy solid line. For purposes of illustration the aiming and trigger release mechanisms are applied to a typical, large caliber recoilless rifle and its attached spotting rifle (both shown in light solid line), and the supporting mount is secured to a representative motor vehicle which takes the form of the jeep (also shown in light solid line). For simplicity of drawing the customary sighting system for the guns has not been shown.”

1953-02-24-gun-aiming-mechanism-patent-lores

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Photo of Lengthened WWII Jeep on eBay

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

This MB has been lengthened.

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“Offered is an original WWII time period photograph. The picture measures approximately 2″ x 2.25″. It belonged to a GI who served as a medic with the 1st BN Aid Station attached to the 1306th Engineer General Service Regiment under the 3rd Army.”

year-ww2-jeep-lenghtened-mods

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Odd Vehicle

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

Apparently, this is located in Bavaria … Photos of this vehicle were posted to the G503 Facebook page. Some folks saw this as a bubbafied vehicle, and there may be elements of that. However, the bends of the frame and other nuances have me wondering if it was some type of airborne prototype. It’s actually a pretty clean frame for a bubba project. In a couple pics you can see how clean the spring hangers have been mounted.

Thoughts?

g503-odd-jeep-post1

Check out the grille. You can see that it has equidistant slats up until the right side. I don’t see Bubba doing something like that so cleanly. g503-odd-jeep-post2 g503-odd-jeep-post3 g503-odd-jeep-post4

 

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Negatives of Early Jeep Wagon and Girl on eBay

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

There’s something about these two photos I find simultaneously hypnotic and eerie (maybe ghostly?). I can’t quite figure out why that is. I can feel the wind blowing in them.

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wagon-bw-negative-girl2 wagon-bw-negative-girl1

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“*1940’s – 50’s
(2) 2 1/4″ B&W Negatives
** Jeep Willys Wagon **
*** Medium Format Film ***
See Photos”

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Photos of WWII Jeep Stuck in Sand on eBay

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

With all those people around, why not try to pick it up and out of the hole? These may have been taken on the Oregon Coast.

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“Three original photos of a flat fender Willys Jeep getting stuck in the sand. The bottom photo measures 2-3/4″ x 3-3/4″, The top two photos measures 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. Great condition.”

jeep-stuck-in-sand

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1945 Photo of Weasel Testing

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

This photo was published in the February 09, 1945, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, page 12. It shows a Weasel getting a muddy test with a jeep next to it.

1945-02-09-sat-evening-post-weasel-test-pg12

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The Whens and Whys of the Willys-Overland “J” Logo

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

UPDATE IV: Branden found this 1945 Parts List booklet that includes a prominent “J” logo. This is the most prominent use of the logo that I’ve seen. It’s not clear to me whether this booklet was introduced with the jeep in August of ’45 or a little later in ’45.

1945-willys-jeep-j-logo-parts-list02

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UPDATE III (04/07/2019): Maury spotted the a “J” dealership sign example on this Miller Tools brochure:

willys-miller-tools-hires-cover-lores

UPDATE II: I’ve added two examples of ‘dark’ “J”s, dark (blue or black) background with white letters. Now that I think about it, I guess this is similar to the black and white newspaper versions.

1948-circa-harry-payne-jeep-dealer-dark-j-logo

CREDIT: Douglass, Neal. Harry Payne Motors, photograph, June 3, 1942; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth34338/m1/1/: accessed April 7, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. … MY NOTES: The photo year is more likely late 1947 or 1948.

dark-willys-jeep-willys-world-march-april-1991-lores

From Willys World March-April 1991 issue.

UPDATE: This is best described as a working draft that Maury Hurt and I have constructed in the hopes of understanding Willys-Overland’s “J” logo better …. If you have input, please email me or add it in a comment at the bottom of the post.

In January of this year, Maury emailed me about a Willys/Cars•Trucks/Jeep logo that he was hoping to reproduce, wondering if I had any better examples of it. That simple email turned into a mission: Find out the history behind the logo.

Willys Cars Trucks Jeep

I have one of these patches. Not sure who created them or when.

It turned out that we could find no articles or discussion about the evolution of the logo. So, we spent a month looking through old brochures and advertisements to develop a theory of what it should look like, when it was used, and why.

What’s the logo supposed to look like?

Our first challenge was to determine what the logo was supposed to look like. As these examples show, different fonts and slightly different looks were used in the printing of the logo.

Willys Cars Trucks Jeep 2

Another patch example.

1946-01-j-cars-trucks-willys-jeep-logo-lores-crop

This was from a January 1946 magazine ad.

1945-Willys-Cars-Trucks-j-logo-B-lores

or even this one …

j-logo-international

Our suspicion is that this is from overseas, possibly Australia? We don’t have a time frame on this one.

And, the list would not be complete without some matchbook covers:

matchbook-covers

How should the “J” look?

Continue reading

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1954 Wagon Brochure on eBay

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

This no reserve brochure is only $.99 (plus shipping) right now. It’s a good price on a nice brochure that folds out pretty large.

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“1954 Willy’s Jeep Station Wagon Original Sales Brochure. Condition is Used. Great condition! Shipped with USPS First Class Package.”

willys-station-wagon-brochure

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