In 1945 Willys-Overland wasn t bashful about announcing its global ambitions for the CJ-2A. (Author s collection)

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1 In 1945 Willys-Overland wasn t bashful about announcing its global ambitions for the CJ-2A. as civilian farm vehicles. The following year the results were released by R B Grayson, head of the US Department of Agriculture s Farm and Equipment and Research Division. The studies took place at the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering Tillage Machinery Laboratory at Auburn, Indiana, as well as at additional agricultural stations around the country. Grayson s conclusion, that the Jeep was highly useful in plowing, harrowing and other field work added credibility to the notion, subsequently promoted by Willys in its postwar Jeep advertisements, that the Jeep could substitute light trucks, tractors and passenger cars on the farms. Interest in the Jeep s adaptability to civilian use, stimulated by accounts of the Auburn tests in publications such as Country Gentleman (June 1942) and Popular Science (January 1943), grew rapidly. Modern Industry (April ), reported that a flood of inquiries testifies that garages want jeeps for tow cars and railroads seek them as vehicles for track maintenance workers; logging camps, hunting camps, lawn mowing machines, snow plowing, and countless other postwar uses present themselves as possibilities. Aware that cessation of automotive production for the civilian market in February 1942 virtually guaranteed an unmet demand for new vehicles at war s end, the disposition of surplus military equipment including Jeeps concerned several members of Congress. One representative, Alabama Congressman Carter Monasco, asked Willys-Overland Vice President and General 45

2 This CJ-2A, listed as a 1945 model, was equipped with driver s seat only. (Courtesy DaimlerChrysler Media Services) had very little surface area, you couldn t get much torque on the thumb nut. If the windshield was in any other position except closed or straight out, it would slip out of position due to the pounding the Jeep took over rough roads. The updated CJ-2A arrangement used a larger star washer and a winged thumb screw. This did a much better job, says Harold West, of holding the windshield in the half-way open position. The CJ-2A began production with the 1944 version MB exhaust system which routed the exhaust pipe to a muffler exiting in front of the right rear wheel. At serial number it was replaced by a arrangement which routed the pipe straight back, up over the transmission cross member and the rear axle where a 90 degree turn was made. At this point (just past the axle) a short round muffler was installed between the rear braces for the draw bar. The tailpipe exited behind the right rear wheel. Like the MB, the tie rods on early CJ-2A Jeeps bolted to arms that formed part of the top king pin. This arrangement was replaced at serial number by a setup which had the arm cast with the steering knuckle. Beginning at serial number the transmissions and transfer cases were drilled to provide oil circulation between the two units. One of the most memorable features of the military Jeeps which was also found on the early CJ-2As were the tool indentations on the driver s side body panel. Not all Jeep owners and historians agree exactly when Willys stopped using these panels for the CJ-2A. Some believe that it occurred around serial number 29500: CJ Jeep owner and researcher Todd Kerzic notes: I have serial number and there is no sign of them. The body of this CJ-2A was in poor condition and when I removed it from the frame, it still had the original pal nuts Willys used on the body bolts. These are similar to a locknut or a jam nut. They run a washer up to the nut and jam it in, creating a lock. They came from the factory like this and if a person removed the body and replaced it with a nonindent body, I highly doubt they would use the pal nuts over since they are half the thickness of a conventional nut and would most likely have been lost or discarded. Todd believes that the tool indents ended around serial number 27500, and suggests that the confusion has arisen from the original handwritten Willys paperwork concerning production in which the 7 looks like a 9. Harold West, who maintains a database of surviving CJ-2A Jeeps, says Todd may be correct. However, my database indicates a pattern of some 2As having and some not having the tool indents. This leads me to believe that one reason for this is that the new panels could have been This illustration of an early CJ-2A, without a steering column mounting shift lever, was included in a Willys- Overland marketing brochure entitled A New Concept of Automotive Production and Distribution. The CJ-2A was described as an adaptation of the world-famous military Jeep which was an expression of motor transportation in fundamental terms, functional in every detail. The Universal Jeep is making a place for itself in industry and agriculture. Its functional efficiency was something the world needed as evidenced by its reception although that need had never been consciously expressed. 54

3 5 A REAL GO ANYWHERE, DO ANYTHING PERFORMER THE CJ-3B On January 28, 1953, Willys-Overland introduced the CJ-3B. Just a month later, on February 28, 1953, public disclosure was made concerning negotiations between Willys and Kaiser-Frazer involving a possible merger. W-O Chairman Ward Canaday s office released a statement in which he disclosed that various individuals and groups, including Kaiser-Frazer, have approached us in the past few years for discussion of merger possibilities. At this time there is no proposal before us and no action has been taken. But after several more weeks of negotiation, and the creation of the Kaiser Manufacturing Corporation as a subsidiary of Kaiser-Frazer to serve as the purchasing agent, an announcement was made on March 24, 1953 that Kaiser-Frazer was acquiring Willys-Overland for $62,300,000. The President of Kaiser-Frazer, Edgar F Kaiser, reported that the combined companies, with assets of over $200,000,000 and a consolidated net capital Willys sales literature for the CJ-3B linked it to both the World War II models and the previous CJ Jeeps. (Author s collection) in excess of $60,000,000, would be the world s fourth largest automobile manufacturer, exceeded in size only by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. At the time this also ranked as the largest merger in automotive history. After Willys-Overland stockholders accepted the plan at a special stockholder s meeting on April 24 with 2,110,823 of the 2,795,713 outstanding shares voted in favor of the sale, Willys-Overland became Willys Motors, Inc. Nearly ten years later, in March 1963, this name was changed to Kaiser Jeep Corporation. This action was taken, explained a corporate spokesperson to more closely identify the company as one of the growing Kaiser family of industries and to associate the corporate name with the famous Jeep trademark. When it announced the CJ-3B, Willys-Overland wanted to allay any fears that it was not worthy of the Jeep s military and civilian heritage. In little more than a decade, it noted, the fame of the Jeep has reached round the world. With the reputation of the military Jeep firmly established, the civilian Universal Jeep added fantastic totals of mileage under the most rugged conditions of service in all corners of the globe. Today the Universal Jeep is known far and wide as one of the world s most useful vehicles. Now the Universal Jeep is powered with the famous Willys Hurricane F-head engine. This 4-cylinder power plant, already proven through millions of miles of service, gives the Jeep 20 percent more horsepower. With the Hurricane engine, there is a marked increase in operating economy with outstanding performance. Identification of the F-head engine followed the industry s traditional fashion of typing engines by the pattern the fuel mixture made as it traveled from the intake valve to the exhaust valve. The Hurricane engine combined intake valves located in the cylinder head above 78

4 to go through the table and pay particular attention to those points that prove the superiority of the Universal Jeep. To help dealers become comfortable with this sales technique, Willys offered a few obvious examples: The Universal Jeep s maximum brake horsepower is 50 per cent greater than that of the Land Rover. The Universal Jeep weighs 510 pounds less than the Land Rover the lightest of its competitors. This represents economy all-round: in shipping, importing, and licensing. The light weight, combined with the powerful Hurricane engine, means more power, more payload. The all-steel body of the Universal Jeep has advantages over the aluminum body of the Land Rover because aluminum is difficult to weld in the field, and suffers from metal fatigue very quickly. The Universal Jeep is lower and wider than any of the other vehicles. The result is the low center of gravity that holds the Universal Jeep to the road. The Universal Jeep has greater road clearance than the Land Rover. Generally speaking, the availability of the Universal Jeep, its parts, and service facilities, are far superior to those of other lines. Also, the Universal Jeep s price position is generally better. Dimension CJ-5 CJ-6 Wheelbase: 81in 101in Overall length: in in Overall height: 67in 67in Overall width: 71.75in 71.75in Front tread: 48.44in 48.44in Rear tread: 48.44in 48.44in Front overhang: 22.56in 22.56in Rear overhang: 32in 32in Front axle clearance: 8.62in 8.62in Rear axle clearance: 8in 8in Bumper to ground: 18.25in 18.25in Approach angle: 45deg 45deg Departure angle: 30deg 30deg Ramp break over 30deg 30deg angle: Cargo bed length: 39.75in 59.75in Standard tires: 6.00x16in 6.00x16in Front axle capacity: 2000lb 2000lb Rear axle capacity: 2500lb 2500lb Curb weight: 2274lb 2336lb Shipping weight 2163lb 2225lb Gross vehicle weight: 3750lb 3900lb Agricultural equipment for the Universal Jeep was designed with a 3-point linkage for easy attachment to a hydraulic lift. These four examples of general purpose implements available for the CJ-5 are (left to right): single bottom 16in moldboard plow, double bottom 12in moldboard plow, lift-type tandem disc harrow, and a bush and bog harrow. 106

5 A 1981 CJ-5 Laredo in Classic Black with optional styled chrome wheels. Body striping and Laredo lettering were color-coordinated with the exterior color; in this case Silver and Gray. (Also available in Nutmeg and Brown.) 183