Amazingly, the new M-38A1 even weighed about 100 pounds less than the M38, despite having more interior room, more cargo room, and a longer wheelbase. The army appreciated the lower weight because it made it a little easier to transport.
To better illustrate the differences between the old and the new, here are the military M38 (on the left, aka Willys MC) and its replacement, the M-38A1 (on the right, aka the Willys MD).
37 For its first four military Jeep production vehicles, Willys used the in-house designations MA, MB, MC, and MD. There was no ME and, thankfully, no MF (I wonder what pundits would have done with that designation). There were, however, other military Jeep vehicles that came later, including the M-38A1C, which was modified to carry the army’s 105-mm or 106-mm recoilless rifle, and the M-38A1D, which was designed to carry battlefield nuclear weapons.
38 The 1953 Willys Jeep Model BC (Bobcat) was an experimental vehicle built using shortened and lightened M38 and M-38A1 body parts and components. The engine was the L-head Go-Devil with an aluminum head and brackets, and the body was stamped from aluminum sheet. A two-seater with a small storage area in the rear, the Bobcat weighed about 1,500 pounds, which meant it was ideal for air transport, and even probably more agile than the M-38A1.
This December 1953 photo shows a civilian Model CJ-3B modified with a sloping hood to increase operator visibility. It was planned for both civilian and military use.
39 In later years, Jeep produced some offbeat military vehicles, such as the M606, which is a militarized version of the civilian “high-hood” CJ-3B, the M606A2, and the M606A3, which were militarized versions of the CJ-5. All of these were created in order to satisfy demands for a lower-cost but still highly capable military vehicle.
40 Another unusual “military” Jeep is the CJ-V35/U, which was a militarized CJ-3A that was intended for use during beach landings. It featured either a 12- or 24-volt generator to power radios and a heavily waterproofed electrical system. It could be fitted with intake and exhaust snorkels for deeper water running. These are extremely rare today.
41 Another post–World War II military Jeep is the M170, which is a long-wheelbase (101 inches) military ambulance based on the M-38A1, but with wide door openings and a full-length soft top. Inside, it is fitted for carrying patients from frontline areas.
42 Soldiers in World War II developed a deep, personal affection for Jeeps. One story often told is of an officer who came across a young soldier next to a Jeep that had been destroyed in an air raid. The distraught young man was crying uncontrollably over losing his Jeep.
“Don’t worry, son,” said the officer. “We’ll get you another Jeep.”
“You don’t understand,” replied the trooper. “I loved this one.”
43 Okay, so the second most-asked question about Jeep is this: What’s the correct pronunciation of Willys? Is it Willeez? Or is it Williss? I actually spoke with a member of the Willys family a couple of years ago, and they confirmed that the correct way to say it is Williss. It rhymes with Phyllis.
44 Where did the name Willys-Overland come from? The original name of the company was Overland (it was founded by the Standard Wheel Company, which was an auto industry supplier), and it built a car by using the Overland brand name. The Overland nameplate was picked because it sounded perfect for a rugged car, which is what the company felt the Overland was. John North Willys took over the business when it got into financial trouble, and in time, he renamed it Willys-Overland. Why? Because he liked the way it sounded.
45 By 1958, sales of Willys military Jeeps to the US Army had dwindled to almost nothing. In response, company engineers began to design new vehicles, such as the Mechanical Mule. But an easier and more profitable idea was to focus more attention on selling Jeeps to foreign governments.
One large customer was the Turkish Army, which placed an order for 1,600 Jeeps with the provision that they had to be assembled in Turkey. No problem, said Willys. The company was an old hand at setting up overseas assembly. By 1961, the assembly plant in Turkey was in operation and produced the 1,600 vehicles, which (by looking at old photos) appear to have been the rare Model 606, a militarized version of the CJ-3B high-hood model. The Turkish army was so pleased with its Jeeps that it decided to order an additional 4,000 units.
By the way, Willys-Overland earned double profit on this order: one by selling the parts to build the Jeeps and another by charging a royalty per vehicle built. That’s why Willys usually made more money in overseas markets than it did in the United States.
46 An old joke that soldiers used to tell was that after they died they wanted to be buried in their Jeep. Why? “Because there’s never been a hole made that my Jeep can’t get me out of,” they said.
Body and Interior
47 Willys-Overland wanted to make certain that everyone knew who built the Jeep MA, so up front, just over the grille, the Willys name is stamped in large letters. The company put its name on the rear of the body of the MB until around March 1942, when it was told by the army to stop the practice. Ford Motor Company also wanted to take credit for its efforts building Jeeps, so it stamped the Ford name on the rear panel of the MB body until April 1942, when it too was told to stop the practice. The army made both companies switch to a plain rear panel.
The president of Willys-Overland was Joseph W. Frazer. His employees nicknamed him “Jeeps” Frazer because he managed to win the big contract for army Jeeps, thus ensuring Willys’ survival. The vehicle is a Willys MA.
48 The body design of the production-model World War II–era army Jeep, the MB, is sort of a composite of the Willys MA body shell and the Ford GP hood. The military preferred the Ford’s flat hood over the Willys’ rounded one because the flat surface was useful for spreading out maps, using as a dinner table, serving as a chaplain’s altar, etc.
49 The ubiquitous stamped grille was actually designed by Ford. It soon became standardized on Willys and Ford Jeeps because it was found to be quicker and cheaper to produce than the slat grilles seen on the earlier Willys products. That said, however, some 25,808 early Willys MBs were produced with the slat-style grille. I wonder how many have survived.
50 Here’s something weird: The famous Jeep seven-slot grille, known throughout the world, wasn’t used on World War II Jeeps because it hadn’t been created yet. The MB grille is a nineslot design. The seven-slot grille showed up first in mid-1945 with production of the civilian Jeep CJ-2A. It was also used on early “pilot” model civilian Jeeps as well as prototypes.
51 Even the Bantam Motors production models switched to the Ford-style flat hood. However, Bantam retained its unique slat grille and unique headlamp layout, probably because it never was given the chance to produce the standardized Jeep MB. In all, Bantam produced only 2,605 of its BRC-40 model.
52 To illustrate the difference in size and resources of Willys-Overland versus Ford, Willys purchased its Jeep bodies from American Central Manufacturing of Connersville, Indiana, which produced them to the Willys design. This was because Willys-Overland lacked the financial reserves to buy body tooling. On the other hand, deep-pockets Ford Motor Company could easily afford to produce its Jeep bodies in-house at the Lincoln plant. Although at first glance the two appear identical, there are a number of minor differences between them.
A story persists that Jeep bodies were also produced in York, Pennsylvania, but to date I haven’t seen enough hard evidence to convince me of that. One thing is true, however: With Jeep vehicles, anything is possible.
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