[Guest]

Did anyone watch Modern Marvels on the History Channel the other night spotlighting the Jeep? I never knew that the jeep was the replacement for the....horse;replacing the calvary.
I never knew that a little, on-the-verge-of-bancruptcy-company called Bantam (sp?)with 15 employees designed from scratch and built the prototype. (I always thought it was Willys-Overland)The gov't set out a list of very difficult specs. Had to have a 500lb payload capacity yet weigh less than 1000lbs, etc. And the working prototype had to be delivered in 49 days! The engineers got so desperate at one point they would sometimes go out to junkyards and come back with bits and pieces they would modify. Bantam made the deadline with 30 minutes to spare. Their work won the contract, but the gov't gave teh design to Willys and Ford to mass produce. The show went on to describe the Jeep's role int the war and they had all this great footage of Jeeps just FLYING over dunes (and I mean FLYING 4-5 feet off the ground) in Africa and whatnot with howitzers in tow behind them. They showed the experimental amphibious Jeeps and even the "roto-buggy" a bolt on helicopter adaption. FLYING JEEPS! This was the coolest doc i've seen. I hope some people saw it...Too cool.

TXJeepr
94YJ w/SOA, 4:11, BFG 33's and a /wwwthreads_images/icons/shocked.gif4-banger

PS. Eisenhower, Churchill, and Stalin all agreed on three things that won the war...one of those threee things was the humble Jeep. Pretty darn nifty, huh?
Also, after the war, Jeeps were commonly used as farm tractors /wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif.

 

[034]

Any idea if that show's going to be back on? A flying Jeep... Hmmmm... I wonder if they'd consider that cheating in a competition, to fly over the obstacle? /wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif

Tim
"The_Sandman_454"
/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif '79 Suburban 4x4 454, 6" lift, 35x12.5s & '85 GMC S15 4x4

 

[jeepgod]

yes have seen it.. loved it.. and did know it.. that is why its been the symbol of freedom for over 50 years.. or so the add says.. which i think is way cool.. being a marine myself.

survival is instinct, but living takes guts

 

[CJDave]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif I have the coolest picture of some army Jeeps in the desert....no windshields...the hood was covered with Jeep cans, plus two racks of cans on each wheel house....twin Vickers machine guns with a swivel mount bolted with a flat plate to the RH cowl. British troops sitting in them with big gloves to protect them from hot metal and hotter machine guns....must be the original "Rat Patrol". When that photo was taken I was probably about .1 years old!/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif

CJDave
I never believe any statistics unless my moonguys /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif made 'em up themselves.

 

[109]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gifContrary to popular belief, CJDAVE did not design the first Jeep. That man's name was Karl Probst. Dave just told him to make sure he drilled a 3/32" hole in the thermostat!!/wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif

 

[LooseNut]

CJDave also told him about grounding everything, how to weld it together, how to get the most horsepower out of it, and, most importantly, he also told him he had to put more cushion in the passenger seats, or he'd never pick up any JeepChicks.

Loose nut behind the wheel
Another right-wing conservative.....
Born and raised in Jeep-Town

 

[Guest]

Hmmm, the first jeep was half cobbled together from junkyard parts and barely done in time to hit the trails. Sounds like my Jeep. In almost 60 years Jeeps have changed alot, but jeepers are still the same.

My other car is a BULLDOZER

 

[Guest]

my dad watched that and gave me all the highlights. One of the original features on jeeps was that the headlights could be swiveled 180 degrees to face into the engine compartment to aid in repair work. How cool is that??

MudFlap 87 YJ POS!!

 

[Guest]

Give it a few months -- they'll show it again. They repeat every show a) every three hours (literally) and b) it seems like every few months. I've seen that one twice now. In fact I've seen a couple of other shows on Jeep history on the that channel.

-joe

 

[Dirt Dog]

Ive seen it a couple of times in the last few years. /wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif
Dave I think their pickin on you./wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif
One year old huh?
I didn't know fred (flintstone/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif) had a Jeep./wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

I knew everything when I was 16......How come I'm so stupid now?

 

[CJDave]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif Hey...I STILL remember my first Jeep ride. When my Great-Uncle reached over and grabbed those twin ball handles and went into 4 Lo, I thought at the time(and still do!) that was the neatest thing that could possibly ever be! I have always viewed the single lever transfer case that came out in later years as BLASPHEMY! That Jeep was one of the first civilian models, and it was about 1949 or so when we went for a spin. Hey...did you know that the first jeep prototype was four-wheel steer? They had an article in one of the FWD magazines that I saved. They didn't build any more because it was too easy to roll./wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

CJDave
I never believe any statistics unless my moonguys /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif made 'em up themselves.

 

[Guest]

I just saw the Jeep special two nights ago here in PHX. No politics in awarding that contract. I worked in RDT&E for the navy several years ago. We had a super sonar system that we were testing. It was so good, that some of our pilots were buying stock in the company, a little electronics outfit in New England. But a Large company got the contract. Two months later, the large co bought out the NE company. At least the government is consistent!

 

[109]

Well, Dave, I'm going to disagree with you on the first Jeep prototype. The very first, the Bantam Pilot model or "Old #1"(as it was called), was a standard steering 1/4 ton 4x4 truck. After Bantam won the preliminary contract, it was required to manufacture 69 more vehicles with modifications the US Army wanted and of those four(I believe) were four wheel steer models. The modified vehicles were called Bantam Mark 1s. It was these modified Bantams that went head to head with the Willys "Quad" in early 1941.

Later on, the final production contract was given to Willys, mainly because their engine was far superior to anything Bantam or Ford could fit into such a tiny vehicle. We Jeepers know this engine today as the L-head 134 cid that was installed in the early CJ models, up until 1953./wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

PS There is a Bantam Mark 1 at the US Army Transportation Museum, located at Fort Eustis, Va., where I had the pleasure of staying for a while in the service. Sorry, it is one of the standard steering models/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

[CJDave]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif Ahhhh.....I should have got the article out. I have it in my CJ binder. That Bantam four-steer was quite a setup. Poor bantam...I felt sorry for those guys that they didn't really profit from the Jeep all that much. /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif

CJDave
I never believe any statistics unless my moonguys /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif made 'em up themselves.

 

[Guest]

I saw a quote somewhere: some important General, just after WWII, is supposed to have said that three things alone accounted for the Allied victory: The citizen soldier from the U.S.A., the Garand rifle, and the Jeep.

Bone stock rigs: '81 CJ7, '96 ZJ. Moab every summer!

 

[Guest]

I am doing a term paper on the history of the jeep right now. THis is what I have learned. Bantam threw together a jeep from junkyard parts. The army beat the living crap out of it for 2 weeks (jumping, 100 yard mud-bogs, etc.). Then the frame cracked. Bantam had invited Ford and Willys to the testing because they would actually be able to build it. Bantam was going under and could not afford to make more than a few at a time. Ford and Willys copied the Bantam design exactly, except for the engine. Willys 134 was twice as powerful as the Ford so they got the nod. In order to have their design selected, Ford retrofitted 4-wheel stear onto some of their early jeeps. The Army said uh-uh and Willys' design was picked. Ford retooled to build the Willys engine and body. Ta-da there is the Jeep. What happened to Bantam? They build torpedo engines until the war ended, then fell apart and closed.

 

[Guest]

We're from Zelienople, PA, just southwest of Butler, PA, birthplace of the Jeep. My husband was talking to a guy last night who has
and original Bantam jeep (1 of 3 in Butler, 1 of 35 in USA), he said Jp interviewed him & was going to do an article. My husband got
his number, after talking to him we are thinking of starting a Jeep Club up this way (he said there was none around here right now,
which is kind of ironic) Anyway if anyone has started a bonafide jeep club (official non-profit status & all) and can give me any tips Id
appreciate it, or if anyone knows if there is a bonafide Jeep Club in this area (northern Pittsburgh, Western PA), let me know, I don't
want to be redundent, or step on anyones toes. Also, if anyone thinks they are interested, please email me a [email protected], Happy Jeepin!

'78 CJ7 304, rust, inspected!/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

 

[109]

Ed,
In order to do your term paper, I'd suggest that you get a copy of the book "The Story of Jeep" by Patrick Foster. It was published in 1997 and I found a copy at the local mall B. Dalton Bookstore. You information thus far contains some errors.

The original Bantam Pilot model was not constructed from junk parts. Bantam had hoped to use many of parts that it had on hand for it's small car but this proved impractical.

Both Willys and Ford built their own prototype vehicles to test against the Bantam. The Willys model was called the "Quad", the Ford "Pigmy". While they all shared common axles, transfer cases and transmissions, the body styles and engines differed. In fact the Pigmy still exists; it is on display at the Alabama Museum of Military History. There is a good picture taken circa 1954 of the complete genealogy of the Willys military Jeeps, the Quad, MB, M-38 and M38A1.

Bantam did build Jeeps that were used in WWll. They were called BRC-40s. The Japanese captured some BRC-40s in the Philipines during early 1942 and shipped them to Japan to be copied. This is the begining of the Toyota FJ Land Cruiser line.

Best of Luck with your term paper!!/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Guest]

I may be mistaken, but I think that GM also built a Jeep (actually 2). One was used for testing by the Army (which they beat the hell out of and broke) and the other is in some museum.

 

[109]

The Army did send out well over 100 invitations to bid on the 1/4 ton 4x4 project but at first they got only two responses: Bantam and Willys. Later on, they invited Ford again because they wanted a car maker with a great production capacity, somebody to complement Willys capacity. Well after the 3 vehicle testing had started, Checker (the taxicab maker) wanted to bid but the Army turned them down. GM thought they had enough goverment business at the time and decided to stay out of it./wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif