This cover from June 1955 American Poultry Journal Magazine shows a unique Willys attachment. The April 1955 issue of Willys News featured the entire story and pics from this magazine.

Given the Darien Gap video above, it seemed appropriate that I (finally) share parts of a March 1961 (pg 366-389) article about a group of seven adventurers who pulled, pushed, towed and cajoled a Willys Truck and a Land-Rover through the rough Panamanian country-side, officially becoming the first vehicles to ever make the Darien Gap trip. The article and photographs were both by Kip Ross.

Wikipedia notes, “The first vehicular crossing of the Gap was by the Land Rover La Cucaracha Cariñosa (The Affectionate Cockroach) and a Jeep of the Trans-Darién Expedition of 1959–60, crewed by Amado Araúz (Panama), his wife Reina Torres de Araúz, former Special Air Service man Richard E. Bevir (UK), and engineer Terence John Whitfield (Australia). They left Chepo, Panama, on 2 February 1960 and reached Quibdó, Colombia, on 17 June 1960, averaging 201 m (220 yd) per hour over 136 days. They traveled a great deal of the distance up the vast Atrato River.” For some reason, Wikipedia doesn’t include the three other members, Otis Imboden, Ilse Abshagen, and, of course, Kip Ross.

You can learn more about the different groups that crossed the Darien Gap at Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darién_Gap

In addition, “The first all-land auto crossing was in 1985–87 by Loren Upton and Patty Mercier in a CJ-5 Jeep, taking 741 days to travel 125 miles (201 km). This crossing is documented in the 1992 Guinness Book of Records.”

View March 1961 National Geographic Magazines on eBay

First published 09/29/2012: I first spotted this article in the May 22, 1943, edition of Colliers Magazine.

An article by the same name (Jeep of All Trades), but with different content, was published in Mechanix Illustrated in November 1945 (see an example at this-old-jeep.com).

Below are some images of the article.  I searched on the author, but all I learned was that he wrote for Colliers.  If you spot an inexpensive Colliers Magazine with the article, let me know!

Four Wheeler Magazine and the New Mexico 4-Wheelers combined together for an article that looked back on fifty years of the New Mexico 4-Wheelers. Check out all the photos at the article:
http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/0808-4wd-new-mexico-4-wheelers/

This October 1942 Motor Magazine has a few different ads with jeeps.

“MAGNIFICENT, RARE, AUTHENTIC, ORIGINAL, VINTAGE, HUGE, OVERSIZED, COMPLETE WORLD WAR II ERA ISSUE OF “MOTOR” MAGAZINE FROM OCTOBER 1942! See all 12 images below including some close-ups AND see the 12-inch ruler in images for size perspective! Measures a HUGE 10.5″ X 13.5″ and has a PHENOMENAL 240 pages including the semi-stiff covers! VINTAGE “MOTOR” MAGAZINES OF THIS ERA ARE TYPICALLY LOADED with photographs, illustrations, artistic renderings, stories, features, AND articles related to automobiles of all kinds, motor cars, NEW CARS, the latest trends of the automotive industry, manufacturer information, mechanical data, and other subjects related to motors and motoring, AND more – HOWEVER, while this issue does include many auto-related features it is primarily focused on the home-front war effort and the invaluable contribution of the USA auto makers and automotive industry towards winning the war! COMPLETELY JAMMED with some incredible 1942 patriotic and WAR-RELATED advertisements INCLUDING MANY FULL-PAGE ADS, showing tanks, aircraft, trucks, jeeps, ammunition, AND much more! SCARCE IN ANY CONDITION – RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND THIS NICE – Complete and intact; ”

View all the information on eBay