80 Military Jeeps used a variety of engines over the years, but the most unique has to be the 3-cylinder Cerlist diesel engine fitted to the FC-based M-series Forward Control trucks. This unique engine produced 85 hp and 170 ft-lbs of torque and was fuel efficient and durable. The army chose them because they were also multifuel engines that could run on diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, or gasoline.
Suspension and Brakes
81 Initially, the main use that the army had in mind for the Jeep was to serve as a scout/combat car capable of carrying a 50-caliber machine gun into battle, along with at least 3,000 rounds of ammunition for it. Those were part of the army specifications. Because of the weight of the ammunition and gun and the kick of the gun as it was fired, the rear floor area of the Jeep had to be heavily reinforced to withstand the strain, and the suspension had to be beefed up to carry the weight.
82 The Jeep MB’s axles were produced by Spicer, the same company that manufactured the transfer case and today is known as Dana Corporation. For the wartime Jeeps a Spicer Model 25 axle was used up front with a Spicer Model 23-2 in the rear. And talk about customer loyalty and longevity: To this day, Dana is still a major supplier of axles to Jeep.
83 Military Jeeps used a Ross Model T-12 cam and lever–type steering gear with a cam ratio of 14-12-14. Although early civilian Jeeps use essentially the same setup, these vehicles came with different tie-rod ends and a different mounting for the bell crank.
84 The military Jeep MB sat on a ladder frame that was built by Midland Steel, a company that was in business from 1893 to 2003. One of the easiest ways to tell a Willys MB from a Ford MB is to look at the front crossmember. The Willys Jeep used a round or tubular crossmember; the Ford vehicle used a U-section design.
85 Army Jeep brakes were four-wheel drums, 9x1.75 inches, mainly because disc brakes hadn’t been invented yet. The parking brake was a drum type working on the transfer case. The brakes were supplied by Bendix, a reputable firm still in business today. Jeep wheels were ruggedly built steel 16x4.5 inchers fitted with 6.00x16-inch tires. Understandably, whitewall tires were not available.
86 The military Jeep’s suspension was as tough as possible according to the engineering standards of the day and included heavy-duty semi-elliptic leaf springs at all four wheels. The vehicle’s ride was stiff, to put it kindly, but suspension failures were rare.
87 To provide important extra strength and robustness to the Jeep’s suspension system, heavy-duty anchor and shackle spring attachments were specified.
88 The Jeep MB maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) was 3,250 pounds, and its maximum payload was 800 pounds. Surprisingly, in light of how small the Jeep was, the vehicle was rated to pull a 3,500-pound trailer at highway speeds, with a maximum drawbar pull of 900 pounds.
Numbers Crunching and Press Commentary
89 After testing the first few prototypes from Ford, Bantam, and Willys during 1941, the army decided to give each of the companies a contract for 1,500 more vehicles. The 4,500 total vehicles would be tested further, and a winner would be chosen that would receive the big contract everyone wanted: 16,000 Jeep vehicles. Apparently, more vehicles were ordered because in the end Ford built more than 3,500 of its GP prototypes (the exact number is still debated); Bantam produced 2,674 of its MK II and its improved Bantam BRC-40; and Willys built 1,555 of its MA, making the Willys prototype (aka pilot cars) the rarest of the early Jeep vehicles.
90 According to company records, regular production of the Willys MA Jeep commenced on June 5, 1941, with serial number 78401; it ended on September 19, 1941, with serial number 79907.
A small notation to the records says that the company also produced serial numbers 85501 to 85550, which may be experimental units with four-wheel steering or some other low-volume prototype variation. They may also be Willys civilian pickup trucks beefed up for military duty because Willys was eager to sell the army its pickups, and it’s known that a small number were built.
91 The contract that Bantam, Ford, and Willys were struggling to win was set at 16,000 vehicles. In the final round, Ford bid $782.59 per vehicle, Bantam came in at $788.32. Willys made the low bid of just $748.74 per vehicle. Despite presenting the lowest bid (and for a superior vehicle, no less), the Quartermaster recommended accepting the Ford bid! He claimed that Ford was the only builder that could deliver the vehicles in quantity and on time.
At this point, William S. “Big Bill” Knudsen, the former GM president who was now in charge of military vehicle procurement, stepped in and refused to accept the Ford bid, saying that in his opinion Willys was a competent source of supply for the vehicles, and he was not about to reject the low bid. Because Knudsen was considered to be the world’s foremost authority on vehicle production (one of the reasons he was asked to oversee it for the military), the question was settled, and the contract went to Willys.
Within days, an additional 2,600 Jeep vehicles were added to the order with instructions that it had to be completed by January 18, 1942. War seemed ready to break out at any time, and the army was rushing to prepare for it.
92 A memo in Willys-Overland files provides the following information concerning the production of the Willys Model MB military Jeep:
• 1941 series production began on November 6, 1941, with serial number 100001.
• 1942 series production began on January 1, 1942, with serial number 108640.
• 1943 series production began on January 1, 1943, with serial number 199970.
• 1944 series production began on January 1, 1944, with serial number 293801.
• 1945 series production began on January 1, 1945, with serial number 402501.
When the Allies liberated Paris, they drove in triumphantly in Jeeps that were quickly thronged with grateful Parisians.
93 Once America became involved in the war, Ford Motor Company was given production contracts to supplement the vehicles being produced by Willys. Ford was instructed to produce a standardized vehicle using the Willys blueprints, so the Ford product, previously known as the GP (General Purpose) was designated the GPW (General Purpose Willys).
Both Willys and Ford were allowed to supply vehicles to Allied forces. Huge quantities of Jeeps were shipped to Great Britain, Africa, India, and China; pretty much anywhere forces were fighting for freedom. More than 80,000 Jeeps were sent to Russia, which were used to spearhead the ultimately devastating mobilized campaign against the German army.
94 Company records indicate that during 1943, Willys-Overland produced 91,777 Jeep vehicles; of that total, 1,000 were special firefighter units.
The flag of free France flew again over the Eiffel Tower as victorious GIs liberated our oldest ally.
95 According to an official report issued by Kaiser Jeep Corporation, Willys-Overland Company and its successor companies’ military Jeep production from 1940 through 1963 was as follows:
• Willys MA 1,800 vehicles built 1940–1941
• Willys MB 368,714 vehicles built 1941–1945
• Willys MC (aka M38) 60,345 vehicles built 1950–1952
• Willys MD (aka M-38A1) 90,529 vehicles built 1952–1963
That’s a total of 521,388 Jeeps plus the two Willys Quad prototypes. Some reference sources claim the MD went out of production in 1955, not 1963. The memo referenced above may include M-170 models in the MD totals because the M-170 is basically a lengthened and reengineered Jeep MD.
96 Popular legend has it that Ford built more Jeeps during World War II than Willys did. You’ll even see it stated as fact in many books, and I can’t count the number of times people have told me this as fact. However, if you compare the numbers