JEEP: 1940 to Today and beyond. History in Photos

The history of the 'jeep' is very colorful... seeing a need for a four wheel drive transport vehicle, the army sent specs and several manufactorers went to work to win the contract. The following photos are from the excellent website 'CJ-3B' Jeep page poster by Jim Allen and modified by Derek Redmond, many thanks!!!

There are far more models of Jeep than shown here... I am showing how the basic Jeep/ CJ/ Wrangler was developed from military roots.

The First 'jeep' was delivered for testing in Sept. 1940 and was created by the American Bantam Car Company of Pennsylvania...



The Bantam Pilot model (1 built):



Success and after some minor changes came the Bantam BRC-60 (69 were built for testing in 1940):


What is noticed in the photos to help see the changes: doorways, grilles, windshields, fenders, hoods, headlights.

1940 Willys-Overland Quad:
(5 were built)


1940 Ford Pygmy (1 built):



1940 Ford Budd Body (1 built):




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1941 Ford GP (4,456 built):



1941 Willys-Overland MA (1,553 built):



1941 Bantam BRC-40 (2,605 produced)



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WAR !! American Bantam had the original design, Ford had the military look and Willys-Overland had the strongest motor. Willys won the bid, but Ford had the ability to create mass numbers and built the Willys jeeps as well. Bantam, the smallest company lost even though they provided the first concept jeep. Bantam built trailers for the jeep during the war.

1942 Willys MB (slat-grille) 25,808 made:



1942-1945 Willys MB (335,531 made):



1942-1945 Ford GPW (277,896 built):



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Seeing a market for the jeep, the first civilian jeep (CJ) was developed by Willys-Overland:
1944 CJ-1 (1)



1944-1945 CJ-2 (~45 built):



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1945-1949 CJ-2A (214,202 made):



1949-1953 CJ-3A (131,843 made):



1950 CJ-4 (1):



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Korean war:

1950-1955 M38 (MC):



1952-1971 M38-A1:



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Willys-Overland was purchased by Henry J. Kaiser in 1953 and the company name was changed to Willys Motors. In 1963, the company name was again changed to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation, and in 1970 was sold to American Motors.

1953-1968 CJ-3B:



1954-1983 CJ-5 (603,303 produced):



1955-1975 CJ-6 (20" longer than the CJ-5):



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Vietnam War:

1959-1978 M-151 MUTT (Ford, Kaiser-Jeep, AM General and GM all built it):



1959-1962 M-422 Mighty Mite from American Motors:



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1976-1986 CJ-7 (10" longer than a CJ-5 to fit an automatic tranny and Quadra-Trac full time 4WD, note square doorway):



1981-1985 CJ-8 Scrambler:



1986-1996 YJ Wrangler (wider track, lower body, square headlights):



In 1986, Chrysler Corp. purchased American Motors and the AMC- Jeep dealers became Jeep-Eagle dealers. Eagles were originally AMC passenger cars and wagons with four wheel drive, and the Eagle name was applied to all AMC cars after the Chrysler take-over... until they were phased out.

1997-2006 TJ Wrangler (return of the round headlights):



2004-2006 TJ Wrangler Unlimited



2007+ JK Wrangler (2 door and 4 door Unlimited models, totally new, larger Jeep):



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The Future???

Who knows where Jeep goes...

 

Nice post

 

Thanks! As a kid, I loved Jeeps... because they WERE the 4WD vehicle to have and go places! My dad had 2 Wagoneers (1965, 1970) and I had a 1975 Cherokee Chief... Alas, my Cherokee was constantly breaking and in the shop... I like Jeeps but Toyota makes such a well built vehicle, I don't see me owning anything else!

 

Nice post!! I've owned a couple wranglers & GC myself and I did history research myself several years back. Very interesting. The military jeeps get my highest praise and respect!!

And to think.... The inventor of toyota (Toyoda) started off by developing and making the Automatic Loom!!

 

nice post.i love jeeps.not the new ones with that pile of crap v6. my fav is a cj8 or the long wheel base 2 door wrangler

 

i have a 1941 ford gpw. but since its a ford doenst count as jeep correct?

 

Of course it counts... it was a GPW (the W was for Willys)... Ford built the Willys desinged 'jeep' for the military during WW II as the demand exceeded Willys-Overlands production ability. The Ford built Willys jeep is every bit as much a Jeep as any of the WW II models: Bantam, Willys or Ford.

Here is some of the caption that goes with the GPW photo, above:

As Ford built the last of its GP units, it landed a contract to build jeeps to the Willys pattern. Ford designated these vehicles GPW (Government, 80-inch wheelbase, Willys). The front crossmember is a U-channel instead of the Willys tubular unit. The letter F (Ford) is stamped on most small components, and the rear stowage compartment differs from the Willys. To war's end, 277,896 Ford GPWs were built, and they're equally as popular and cherished as the Willys.

 

41

54 or 55 forget

same gear pattern for both

 

of course some changes to the 41

 

AWESOME!! Can you find any of the info plaques for the GPW to photograph! If the CJ-5 is a '54, that would be the first year!

 

i had pics for them but i need an actual camera they didnt want to show up for my cell. but when i go up there on the 4th i will try to get better pictures for those plaques but a good amount of info are on the gpw's

 

That would be great!

 

You suck. Make me want to start thinking about building up a 80's-90's Wrangler... It was a close call between the truck and a Jeep for a while, but I really didn't want to have to fix it every week. As a trail vehicle though, that would actually be acceptable. I'd really love a WWII era Jeep as well.

Great collection of pics btw.

 

jeeps are great vehicles, like it or not. I love em

 

Interesting what motivates people to post their thoughts here!

I do think I mentioned it, but that was several posts ago... in a galaxy far, far away... I love my Toyota Tacoma. I am on my third one now and it is fantastic. I used to own a Jeep many years ago, my dad owned two Jeeps, my wife had a '79 CJ-5 Renegade when I met her 6 years ago (she now has a Toyota) and she has owned several Jeeps before that one.

My Jeep, while very awesome when it was running, was always breaking and it was rediculous how poor the quality control was at AMC back then (1975)... I sold it after 2 years and bought my first (of 3) Subaru 4WD wagons ('77, '80, '87) which were great... as were other Japanese autos I owned (Mitsubishi truck, Mazda MPV van, Tacomas). The only other car I owned that was as bad as the Jeep was a Plymouth van... had three transmissions before trading it for my first Tacoma.

Okay, so there you go... American brands I have owned were junk for quality and Japanese brands were superior. Why do I love Jeeps, anyway? Well, a Jeep says 'off road' just from the look... a Wrangler Rubicon or a Commander have been temping to own for us, but it is just so hard to justify taking a chance with Toyota making such a fine vehicle, that doesn't break down.

I am a history buff, and Jeep has a colorful history... Since there are other Jeep fans out there in Tacoma World, I though I would share the roots of the Jeep CJs and the YJ/ TJ/ JK (Wrangler) that followed.

I was going to do the same with the Willys and Jeep pickups and wagons... but, not if it is going to cause so much hate!

Fair enough?

 

Guys, please stay on topic. We absolutely dont have the time to baby sit threads and change diapers.

Instigators be forewarned, that we dont need or value your contributions at this site. Site staff will take the necessary action to remove disruptive elements.

Thank you and enjoy your stay at Tacoma World.

 

Thank you 'Master' for cleaning up this thread!

 

Hey David,

No need to explain yourself for posting this topic and no need to explain why you enjoy jeeps or jeep history.

In fact, nobody ever has to explain why they buy a paticular product or name brand. Everyone has their own thoughts, oppinions, likes & dislikes. The whole point is to respect the thoughts, oppinions, likes & dislikes of others.

Several years back when I used to offroad - we'd pass this house and it had this CJ5 tucked back in the weeds in their backyard. The poor thing never moved. One day, I decided to stop....and ask about it. Nobody was home at that house, so I asked the neighbors. It belonged to the 'daughter' who was in college. I went back and looked at it close-up. It was in decent shape and I took a bunch of pictures. It must have been sitting there for a year - as the registration was only a few months out. The younger son showed up and I'd asked him if he thought his parents would sell it....and obviously he didn't know. I left my name and phone number and told them to call me if they were interested in selling. They never called....
It's a shame to see something like that waste away and rot in the weeds - cuz there's always someone out there who'd want a rig like that to restore & build.

 

That's how some of the classic old Jeeps are found, like the 1940 Budd Bodied Ford prototype just a couple years ago in the California desert.