Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present a 1948 Willys-Overland
Jeep CJ2A with a replacement Buick 231CID 3.8L V6 cylinder engine
(casting # 1255862 - 1977 era) and 3 speed manual transmission. The
Jeep runs and drives well but has does have some signs of rust in
one part of the floors - please see pictures below.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 14-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 jeeps,
to cut any trip wires t...for more information please contact the
seller.
