Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
example of this apparently unrestored original southern California
example and extraordinarily well preserved 1947 Willys Jeep CJ2A in
traditional US Military colors with it's 134 L head 4 cylinder "Go
Devil" engine and full soft top amp; bikini top.The mighty Willys
MB emerged out of the cauldron of war ready for peace time service.
The legendary G.I. workhorse of World War II was converted by
Willys-Overland into a CJ with the aim of putting farm workhorses
out to pasture. This was the first civilian brand Jeep.According to
Willys-Overland, there were 5.5 million farmers in the U.S., and of
these, more than 4 million had neither a truck nor a tractor. The
rugged and versatile CJ-2A was marketed by Willys-Overland as "The
All-Around Farm Work-Horse". It could do the job of two heavy draft
horses, operating at a speed of four miles per hour, 10 hours a
day, without overheating the engine. The CJ-2A "Universal" was to
serve agriculture and industry all over the world in a thousand
different ways.With the close of WWII now eminent, Willys-Overland
began to consider the development of a civilian jeep that it could
market beyond the scope of the militarized MB, leading to the first
mass-production of the CJ-2A in 1945. First drafts of the CJ-2A
included the CJ-1 and CJ-2 (AgriJeep), of which only 6 are known to
have survived.The CJ-2A resembled its military ancestor closely,
with a tailgate and side mounted spare tire. However, there are
certain characteristics of the CJ-2A that make it easier to
distinguish from the Willys MB; most notably with regard to the
headlights (which on the CJ-2A are larger and flush-mounted) and
the grille (now a seven-slot grille as opposed to the nine-slot MB
grille). The CJ-2A T-90 Transmission replaced the MBs T-84, while
the "Go-Devil" engine was kept intact - many of the early CJ-2As
were equipped with surplus parts leftover from wartime
production.Willys Overland first marketed the CJ-2A with the
intention of gaining ground in farming, ranching, and other
industrial and agricultural applications. Options were abundant on
the CJ-2A, including extra equipment such as a rear seat, center
rear view mirror, front passenger seat, canvas top, front PTO, rear
PTO, belt pulley drive, capstan winch, governor, rear hydraulic
lift, snow plow, welder, generator, mower disc, front bumper
weight, heavy duty springs, dual vacuum windshield wipers, dual
taillights, hot-climate radiator, driveshaft guards, heater, side
steps, and radiator brush guard. In 1949, the Willys-Overland
replaced the CJ-2A with the CJ-3A, which was produced until
1953.General Eisenhower had wrote that the Jeep was "one of the six
most vital" U.S. vehicles to win the war.The design of the World
War II jeep was the result of a long process, involving the
contributions of both U.S. military officers and civilian
engineers. The idea of the Jeep originated with the infantry, which
needed a low, powerful vehicle with four-wheel drive the latter
were mostly tied to three companies: Bantam, Willys and Ford, and
the development has repeatedly been called a "design by committee".
In fall 1941, Lt. E.P. Hogan of the U.S. Quartermaster Corps wrote:
"Credit for the original design of the Army's truck #8203;1
#8260;4-ton, 44, may not be claimed by any single individual or
manufacturer. This vehicle is the result of much research and many
tests." By July 1941, the War Department desired to standardize and
decided to select a single manufacturer to supply them with the
next order for 16,000 vehicles. Willys won the contract mostly due
to its much more powerful 60 HP engine (the "Go Devil"), which
soldiers raved about, and its lower cost and silhouette. The design
features in the Bantam and Ford entries which represented an
improvement over Willys's design were then incorporated into the
Willys car, moving it from an "A" designation to "B", thus the "MB"
nomenclature. Most notable was a flat wide hood, adapted from Ford
GP.The Jeep, once it entered mass production, introduced several
new automotive technologies. Having four-wheel drive for the first
time introduced the need for a transfer case, and the use of
constant-velocity joints on the driven front wheels and axle, to a
regular production car sized vehicle.By October 1941, it became
clear that Willys-Overland could not keep up with production
demand, and Ford was contracted to build Jeeps as well, using
Willys blueprints, drawings, specifications, and patents, including
the Willys engine. The Ford car was then designated "GPW", with the
"W" referring to the "Willys" licensed design and engine. During
World War II, Willys produced 363,000 Jeeps and Ford some 280,000.
Approximately 51,000 were exported to the U.S.S.R. under the
Lend-Lease program.The USA provided Jeeps to most or all of the
Allies in World War II. Britain, Canada, Australia, India, the Free
French, China and Russia all received Jeeps, mostly under the
American Lend-Lease program. Within the U.S military, Jeeps were
used by every branch. In the U.S. Army, an average of 145 units
were assigned to each infantry regiment. Around the world, Jeeps
took part in every theater of war overseas in Africa and the
Pacific Theater, the Western Allied invasion of Europe in 1944, as
well as the Eastern Front. Jeeps became so ubiquitous in the
European battle theater that some German troops believed that each
American soldier was issued their own Jeep.In the North Africa
deserts, the Jeep's abilities so far surpassed those of British
vehicles that it wasn't unusual for Jeeps to rescue a three-ton
truck stuck in the sand. In combat, the British would use their
Jeeps in groups of up to fifty or sixty to raid Rommel's lines by
surprise, exploiting the Jeep's low silhouette; able to remain
unseen, hide behind dunes, and surprise the enemy.Jeeps served as
indefatigable pack horses for troop transport and towing supply
trailers, carrying water, fuel and ammo, and pulling through the
most difficult terrain. They performed nimble scout and
reconnaissance duty, were frequent ambulances for the wounded, and
did hearse service. They also doubled as mobile field command
headquarters or weapons platforms either with mounted machine guns
or pulling small artillery pieces into "unreachable" areas over
inhospitable terrain. The Jeep's flat hood was used as a
commander's map table, a chaplain's field altar, the G.I.s' poker
table, or even for field surgery. Some of them had a wire cutter as
protection against taut-wire traps. Fitted with flanged steel
wheels, they could pull railroad cars. Despite some shortcomings,
the jeep was generally well-liked, seen as versatile, maneuverable,
dependable, and almost indestructible.The seats were found
uncomfortable, sometimes caused the so called "Jeep riders'
disease" and cramped in the rear, but many soldiers enjoyed driving
the nimble jeep, appreciating its powerful engine; and with its
light weight, low-cut body sides, bucket seats and manual
floor-shifter, it was as close to a sportscar as most GIs had ever
driven. Enzo Ferrari famously called the Jeep "America's only real
sports car."In the cauldron of war, the Jeeps served every purpose
imaginable: as a power plant, light source, improvised stove for
field rations, or a hot water source for shaving. Hitched-up with
the proper tools, it would plow snow, or dig long furrows for
laying heavy electrical cable along jungle airfields laid by
another jeep following it. Battle-hardened warriors learned to weld
a roof-top height vertical cutter-bar to the front of their
je...for more information please contact the seller.