- The Army wanted a small, light weight four-wheel drive vehicle
- Built strong, nimble and nearly indestructible
- A real hero of the war
It was July 11, 1940, when the U.S. Army High Command made an announcement to 135 manufacturers that bids were now being accepted for a lightweight command and reconnaissance vehicle, something that would suit the Army's needs for modernizing its fighting fleet. Only American Bantam, Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company responded. Price matters with all U.S. Government purchases and the low bid for this proposed new vehicle was won by Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. However, it was decided to commission both Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company to produce them, with Ford getting the rights by license from W-O. Time was urgent and it was important to the U.S. government that there be two sources for production of this new wartime vehicle. While there were a number of talented people that were overall responsible for the development and building of the Jeep, one man that stands out as a major contributor is Delmar G. "Barney" Roos. He also put a great effort into making the Willys Jeep prototype as light as possible, in fact, it was just light enough, within less than a pound, to meet the U.S. Army's specified weight.
What the Army wanted was a small, lightweight four-wheel drive vehicle that would serve its purpose as a valuable asset on the battlegrounds. What the chosen vehicle provided was one that was built strong, was nimble and nearly indestructible. It combined the best features of all three original prototypes, and was a simplistic design. With an 80-inch wheelbase and a small, compact four-cylinder 63-horsepower engine, it could power its way through almost anything. In fact, they were so tough that many Jeeps performed tasks well beyond their original design mission due to the exigencies of war.
The Willys L-head 4-cylinder engine with 3 1/8-inch bore, 4 2/8-inch stroke, 6.48:1 compression ratio and displaced 134.2 cubic inches, good for 63 horsepower at 3800 rpm. It was smooth, strong, durable and reliable. A number of improvements were given to it in the late 1930s (tougher Cleveland graphite micro precision bearings and beefed-up manganese valve springs) as it had been used in their American passenger cars prior to the war, called the "Go-Devil" engine. It could run at wide open throttle at 4400 rpm for 150 hours straight without failure. The power and durability made it the choice for the U.S. Army.
After the war and with the returning soldiers arriving that it was decided to market a version of the Jeep for non-military use. There was a special bond between the men that drove Jeeps during war times, which in fact could be compared to the relationship between old-time cavalrymen and his horse.
As a result of the company's leaders thinking about what role their Jeep with have in the postwar world, the idea came to produce a "Civilian Jeep" and it was called the Universal, specifically the model CJ-2A, introduced in August of 1945, as basically a military Jeep that was just a nimble and tough as the ones that served in the war.
Priced at $1,090 it was promoted for farm use and industrial applications. Some potential buyers felt the CJ was too expensive, as it was common knowledge that the U.S. Government only paid $875.00 for each one of them, but that was in large purchase volumes.
That first civilian Jeep of 1945 was equipped very close to the military version, however, a few changes with upgrades and refinements were given to it. The cooling system was enhanced, the clutch diameter enlarged, the gear ratio slightly lowered for enhanced pulling power, a tailgate was added, the windshield wipers now run off of engine vacuum, and some chrome trim and naugahyde-covered seats were added with more padding. The fuel filler cap was moved to the outside of the vehicle in order to fill the tank of the military version you had to lift up the driver's seat to access the fuel filler cap. With the addition of the tailgate, the spare tire was moved to the passenger's side.
In 1946 Willys-Overland produced the auto industry's first all-steel station wagon, designed by Brooks Stevens, a two-door with a wheelbase of 104.5 inches. It used the same L-head 134-cid four-cylinder engine as the Jeep (now listed at having 69horsepower) and the driveline was reduced to two-wheel drive, and upfront a newly-designed "Planadyne" independent front suspension system was incorporated. The wagon was able to reach a top speed of 65 mph. The tall interior compartment had a 7-passenger capacity and if the rear seats were removed, there was some 96 cubic feet of available cargo space. An inline six-cylinder engine was added in 1948, developing 72 horsepower. The four-wheel drive option came in 1949 and for the 1950 model year, the flat grille was changed to a more stylish "V" design, and with that came 5 horizontal bars that ran across the 9 vertical slots. A Panel Delivery model was also added that same year. Available power was increased to 115 hp in 1954, thanks to a new Super Hurricane inline 226-cid F-head six-cylinder engine. For the last four years of production of this station wagon (1962-65), a 140-horsepower "Tornado" overhead cam inline six-cylinder was used.
In a continued effort to broaden the product line and increase sales, starting in the 1947 model year Willys-Overland Motors began selling 2- and 4-wheel-drive "farm-size" pickup trucks, running on a 118-inch wheelbase and fitted with a step-side bed. The 4WD versions had a 1-ton payload while the 2WD rigs were rated as 1/2-ton.(The 2WD pickups were discontinued in 1950.) The Jeep pickups were similar to the station wagon models from the B-posts forward, and in 1954 the small rear cab window was replaced by a larger full-width window. Like the wagons, the same Go-Devil, Hurricane four-cylinder engines (1947-1954) were used, updated for 1954-1962 (six-cylinder Super Hurricane powerplant) and then in the last years of production (1963-64) the Tornado OHC six was used. Starting in 1960the two-piece windshield was updated with a one-piece design.
It was known internally as the "VJ" model, for 1948 a new rear-wheel drive vehicle called "Jeepster" could be described as a Gentleman's Jeep and certainly had two things going for it, a cleaver name and sporty looks. Targeting the more affluent market, these Jeepsters typically were photographed in front of places like fancy restaurants and stately country clubs with well-dressed women in advertising promotions, and with chrome bumpers and white wall tires, they were not to be confused in any way, shape or form with the Jeeps on the farm or the Jeep trucks hauling building materials.
After the CJ-2A model (which had a five-year life span) the Jeep factory in 1949 released its replacement, named the CJ3-A and with that came some small improvements, mainly related to driver comfort. The legroom was increased and a new one-piece windshield was introduced, as well as improvements in the suspension.
1953 also saw a big behind-the-scenes change for Jeep, as the company was sold from Willys-Overland to the Kaiser Company, led by Henry J. Kaiser, and with that, a lot of new energy was put into the company in terms of research and development for future products.
In 1954, for the release of the 1955 model year, the fifth generation of the Jeep Universal came out, the CJ-5. In reality, this model came as a result of the success of the military version (an M38A1 had come out in 1952) and capitalized on the proven strength, adding the more modernized appearance that it featured. CJ-5s had improved springs, longer, which were better suited for off-road activities.
This 1956 image shows a new Jeep being used by the Los Angeles Police Department for parking enforcement duty. With right-hand drive, the 2-wheel drive Dispatcher model (DJ3A Hardtop) made it easy for officers to mark the tires with chalk of parked cars, replacing a fleet of 3-wheeled motorcycles that were used in the past. The Dispatcher Jeep was introduced in 1955.
A beautifully restored 1958 FC170 using a modern 5.7-liter Chrysler Hemi engine with Mopar 545 RFE transmission, and JK NV241 transfer case. Painted a three-stage Dodge Viper green hue, this one-of-a-kind classic Forward Control truck runs on 17 x 8-inch Vintiques Artillery wheels wrapped with 35-inch Interco Super Swamper SSE radials.
The Willys Surrey Package was produced from 1959 until 1964, and it was based on the Dispatcher model. They were 2-wheel drive and came fitted with canvas tops that had stripes and fringed edges, striped seats, chrome full wheel covers, white wall tires and chrome bumpers. The primary market for these colorful creations was for the hotel and resort industry, as well as for rental vehicles on the Hawaiian Islands and the Caribbean, and in Mexico resort towns where they were marketed under the name Gala. These easy-handling Jeeps ran on an 80 1/16th-inch wheelbase, had a shipping weight of 1819 pounds and were fitted with the 60-horsepower 134.2-cid inline four-cylinder, backed by a 3-speed manual transmission.
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The 1963 Jeep "SJ" Wagoneer is credited as the first true "SUV" Sport Utility Vehicle in America and was built with a full-size body-on-frame design, using a 110-inch wheelbase. The Wagoneer shared its architecture with the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck (which debuted in 1962) and was powered by the advanced OHC I6 engine in its first years. Later more powerplants were available, including in 1965-67 the 327-cid AMC "Vigilante" V8 (not to be confused with the Chevrolet engine of the same displacement), the Buick 350-cidV8 (called the Dauntless V8) from 1968-71 and then the AMC V8 powerplants, the 360- and 401-cid V8 engines from parent American Motors. Production of this body style (albeit with changes made to the front end with full-width grilles) lasted all the way until June of 1991, which was then called "Grand Wagoneer."
Starting in 1966 and providing more than double the horsepower of the four-cylinder engine, new for Jeeps was the "Dauntless" 225-cid V6, an optional 160-horsepower engine that was sourced from the Buick Division of General Motors. These were compact, small-sized engines that were available in both the 81- and 101-inch wheelbased Universal models, AKA CJ-5 Jeeps. Beginning in 1972, the fitting of these V6 engines ended and it was replaced by an optional 304-cid V8 from the new parent company American Motors.
Nineteen years after the original Jeepster was discontinued, there was a new modernized Jeepster Commando that came out in January of 1967, available in four different configurations: convertible phaeton, station wagon, roadster coupe and pickup, all on a 101-inch wheelbase. Unlike the originals, this time around they gave the Jeepster four-wheel drive. V6 power was optional, and Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. Mag-wheel themed full wheel covers added to the sporty look. One of the main selling points of this reintroduced Jeepster was the relatively soft highway suspension, a dual-usage vehicle.
The 1967-69 Kaiser Jeep M715 Military 4x4 Truck (rated as a 1 1/4-ton) was based on the civilian Jeep Gladiator and purchased by the U.S. Government for military use. It ran the overhead-cam Jeep Tornado 230.5-cid inline six-cylinder engine with 24-volt electrical system. A Warner T-98four-speed transmission with a 2-speed New Process 200 transfer case was used, with a Dana 60 front axle and Dana 70 rear axle (full-floater) providing an ultra-strong driveline Because of the low gearing, only a 55-mph top speed could be obtained. Today Kia Motors still makes a version of this truck with diesel power under license from the U.S. Government, called the KM450 for the South Korean Army plus has been exported for military use in other countries.
1970 saw big changes at Kaiser Jeep Corporation, namely the selling of the company to American Motors. The AMC logo was now placed on all models, as shown here on the rear of a Wagoneer. The availability of AMC engines (inline 258-cid6-cylinder and AMC 304-, 360- and 401-cid V8 engines) started with the 1972 model year.
It is said that the ARMY originally referred to this new, small vehicle as a "Truck, quarter-ton, 4x4 command reconnaissance" vehicle, and that was shortened to "General Purpose." Then that was written in shorthand to "GP" and somewhere along the line the description was slurred to "Jeep." Others believe that the Popeye The Sailor comic strip character "Eugene the Jeep" first appeared in the March 1936 comic book. One theory is that the military vehicle was named after the character because it was small and versatile, and could go anywhere, which was what the small animal Eugene the Jeep could do in the comics. On June 13, 1950, Willys-Overland registered the Jeep name as an official trademark in the United States and Internationally.
For lovers of vintage Jeeps, there is a group called the Military Vehicle Preservation Association that has 8,000 members worldwide, a fantastic resource to connect with others for vehicles, parts and information. www.mvpa.org.
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