Here is the Willys wagon for 1948, showing no substantial change and still extremely popular today.
Another price factor was that the Willys steel-bodied wagon required much less maintenance than the wood-bodied wagons, which had to be sanded, stained, and varnished on a yearly basis. More than 6,000 of the sparkling new Willys station wagons were sold during the first year of production.
145 One thing that traditional wood-bodied wagons had going for them was style; their gorgeous wooden body panels looked rich and elegant. To give its customers a good measure of that glamour, Willys treated every one of its new station wagons to a paint scheme that mimicked the look of wood paneling. The base paint job for the sheet metal was a pretty color called Luzon Red, which was a deep, rich maroon. Then the factory applied crème paint in a pattern that imitated the look of pine wood borders, and the larger flat body sides were painted brown to imitate stained birch. The effect was terrific. It gave the Willys wagons a beautiful look at the price of a little paint rather than costly wood and varnish. And all the owner had to do to keep it looking nice was wax it every year.
146 The reason that the Willys wagon is so slab sided is simple: Willys had no body-stamping equipment so the automaker specified a design that could be stamped out on equipment used to make refrigerators. The actual depth of the “draw” was limited to a maximum of 4 inches. That specification eliminated the ability to stamp out deep fenders or complex shapes. Everything had to be shallow and simple, but the talented Brooks Stevens made it all look fabulous.
147 The Willys station wagon came only in a two-door model because that was the least expensive way to produce it and was also the industry custom for passenger wagons of the time. Years later, some of Willys’ overseas affiliates added four-door versions of the station wagon, which were quite attractive and very useful, but none of these were ever offered in the United States. In time, Willys decided to invest in an all-new design, which became the Jeep Wagoneer.
The Willys Station Wagon for 1949 was still a very attractive vehicle with its wood-look paint job and rugged reliability.
148 The standard Willys station wagons were considered six-passenger vehicles: three on the front bench seat and three on the rear bench. An optional sideways-facing third seat could be ordered to make the wagon accommodate seven passengers. The rear seats are easily removed to allow more space for carrying cargo.
149 Although it is quite compact on the outside, the Jeep station wagon boasts a full 98 cubic feet of cargo room inside with the rear seats removed. The company bragged that you could use it to carry a broken washing machine or chair to the repair shop. Farm families especially appreciated the utility values of the station wagon, which could work on the farm all week and then take the family into town on Saturday.
150 The versatility of the Jeep station wagon body was truly remarkable. In its initial version it was a stylish family wagon, and then, with the side windows not cut out and with the rear seats omitted, it became a panel truck. With side windows, plain paint, and only the front seats installed, it was a low-cost utility wagon that contractors loved. It was later offered in ambulance and fire/ rescue versions as well.
The two-wheel-drive Jeep panel delivery truck was an inexpensive and cheap-to-operate truck. This is a 1948 model.
151 Although the list of available options for the Willys wagons was usually limited, it did include such dress-up items as front and rear bumper guards, wheel trim rings, whitewall tires, fog lamps, and a spotlight. A heavy-duty air cleaner was also available.
152 Although today we tend to think that the Willys trucks and wagons look rather quaint, when they first appeared they seemed marvelously new and modern. The prewar Willys trucks had looked like everyone else’s trucks only smaller, and the wagons, while stylish, were small, wood bodied, and a little pricey. So, when the all-new Willys postwar vehicles debuted, they were like nothing else on the road. The public loved them.
153 Like many American cars and trucks of the time, the Willys senior Jeep vehicles came with vacuum wipers and a booster-type fuel pump to help them keep operating even when the engine was under load. However, on long hills the wipers do tend to slow down, and sometimes even stop. Let your foot off the gas for a second and they sweep once or twice before stopping again. It’s a little tedious, but it only happens on steep hills, or if the vacuum motor is worn.
154 The 1946 Jeep wagons came in one color only: Luzon Red. With the 1947–1948 Jeep models, color choices such as Wake Ivory, Tunisian Red, Normandy Blue, Olive Drab Green, Manila Blue, and Mahogany Brown were introduced into production.
155 You may see old Jeep station wagons with a grille badge that includes either a “4” or a “6.” This was used to identify the engine (i.e., a 4-cylinder or a 6-cylinder). This practice began during 1948 production.
156 Question: How do you turn a station wagon into a sedan? In the case of Willys, you do it with new paint and a different engine. In 1948, Willys-Overland introduced a new vehicle called the Jeep Station Sedan, which it described as “… a luxurious, comfortable, and beautiful passenger car …”
However, one look and you can easily see it was merely the carryover Willys station wagon with a monotone body paint offset by an attractive canework striped area on the upper doors and body sides, a fancier interior, and the new Willys 6-cylinder engine under the hood. A 3-speed plus overdrive manual transmission was standard equipment, along with a bright chrome T-bar overlaid on the grille. It looked very sharp, and with its 6-cylinder engine it could handle the highway better than the standard wagons. It was priced $245 more than the regular station wagon, and it probably didn’t sell all that well. Have you ever seen one?
This sales brochure for 1952 illustrates the canework body side trim available with the Deluxe station wagon that year. Willys customarily offered the wagon in a variety of trim levels in an effort to expand sales volume.
157 By sometime in 1949, what had been the Station Sedan was now referred to as the Station Wagon and was distinguished from the faux-wood wagon by unique paint with a contrasting side panel, along with its standard 6-cylinder engine. Willys often struggled with nomenclature as it tried to present the image of having a full line of vehicles.
158 Do you have difficulty identifying the year of a Jeep station wagon by sight? Here are a few tips that can help you: The 1947 and early 1950 models have a plain body-color painted grille and flat front fenders. The 1950–1953 models have five horizontal chrome grille bars and rounded, pointy front fenders. The 1954–1963 models have three horizontal grille bars, all evenly spaced except for the 1956 models, which have two of the bars near the top of the grille and one bar near the bottom. Why only that one year? No one seems to know.
Willys-Overland had this interesting display outside its headquarters building in Toledo, displaying all the variations of the senior Jeep line.
159 Here’s another way to help identify years: For 1951, Willys station wagons were given a wraparound rear bumper to replace the thin, straight-bar bumper previously used. The new bumper provided added protection for the rear body sides. It also enhanced the look of the vehicle, at least in my opinion.
160 People often wonder where the Forward Control (FC) Jeep’s styling came from because it’s so unusual. The designer was Brooks Stevens, who was still on retainer with Willys Motors. The styling was quite controversial at the time, with people either loving it or hating it. One magazine writer referred to it as “the Helicopter Look” because it vaguely resembled some of the military helicopters that were around at the time.
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