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THE JEEP STORY ® 1 THE ANCESTORS

THE JEEP brand ® 6 M38 AND M170

© 2021 US CUSTOMER SERVICE Editorial Manager: Phil Hunt Eaglemoss Inc. For questions about the collection, Design Manager: Caroline Grimshaw 315 West 36th Street replacements and substitutions, New York, NY 10018 or to cancel, pause or modify Packaged by: Milanoedit srl, your subscription, please call www.milanoedit.com Die-Cast Club® 2021 our US Customer Service team at 800-261-6898, or email us at Researcher/writer: Roberto Bruciamonti All rights reserved [email protected] Photography credits: © NARA (pp.1, 2, 3, YOUR COLLECTION 4, 5, 8, 10),

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Jeep, the Jeep grille and related logos, vehicle model names and trade dress are trademarks of FCA US LLC and used under license by Premium & Collectibles Trading Co ltd. ©2021 FCA US LLC. THE JEEP® STORY THE ANCESTORS

THE ANCESTORS ▲ A being tested The tests that would eventually lead to the by two members of the US Army at Camp Holabird. birth of the Jeep® started in the fall of 1940.

ith the arrival of the Bantam Major Herbert J. Lawes, the officer prototype at the US Army test center in charge of testing, took delivery of the in Camp Holabird, Maryland, the Jeep . He put it through its paces over some W ® development of the Jeep® was now well and challenging terrain and obstacles, including a truly under way. After a rather adventurous 60 percent slope that the prototype climbed journey, which also helped to break the vehicle with ease in second gear. After parking the in, at 4.30 pm on September 23rd, 1940, prototype, the Major walked back towards half an hour ahead of schedule, the compact Probst with a big smile and said: “I’ve 4x4 drove through the gates of the tested all the vehicles which have entered establishment. It sparked significant interest service in the last twenty years. I need just from the onlooking personnel and provided a fifteen minutes to evaluate a and I can little taster of the vehicle’s capabilities. guarantee you that this vehicle is absolutely

1 THE JEEP® STORY THE ANCESTORS

A Bantam BRC-60 and a US Army side by side at Camp Holabird.

extraordinary. I’m convinced it will make Ford; these two companies also received histor y.” a copy of the Bantam off-road vehicle’s The new vehicle, initially called the BSC design drawings. , a company from (Bantam Scout Car) and later becoming the the General Motors group that was initially BRC (Bantam Reconnaissance Car), performed interested in taking part in the tender, excellently at Holabird: of the 3,410 arduous withdrew their interest. miles (5,488 km) of testing, just 247 The first of Bantam’s competitors to (397 km) of them were on come to the test center tarmacked roads. The car was the proposal from developed a number of “This vehicle is absolutely Willys-Overland, called faults – the radiator grille extraordinary. I’m convinced the Quad. It arrived at broke, the dynamo pulley Holabird on November exploded, the passenger it will make history.” 11th, 1940, also making door handle came off, the journey on its and both longerons on the chassis snapped. own four wheels from the Willys-Overland These issues were to be expected during such factory in Toledo () to the Quartermaster demanding tests. Corps depot. Irving “Red” Hausmann, the In addition to the military personnel, there company’s head of testing, was at the wheel. were also civilian technicians present during Delmar G. “Barney” Roos, vice-president of the trials. They took measurements and notes, engineering at Willys-Overland, was the brains and drew sketches of the prototype. These behind the Quad. Since it was impossible were engineers from Willys-Overland and to adhere exactly to the military’s restrictive

2 THE JEEP® STORY THE ANCESTORS

specifications for the vehicle’s unladen standpoint it was quite dated (it was weight, Roos redefined the project’s general a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine made entirely directives. His aim was to maximize the use of of cast iron and had a timing system with side parts that were already in production for other valves), but it was very reliable and was able Willys-Overland vehicles being produced at to generate 60 bhp; Bantam’s Continental that time, whilst still more or less respecting only generated 45 bhp. As a result of this the directives and extra engine power, specifications laid down the Quad’s superiority by the US Army. The greater weight was largely over the BSC/BRC was The Quad weighed due to its powerful engine, immediately clear. 2,430 lb (1102 kg) and Ford’s prototype was exceeded, by about the “Go Devil”. the last to arrive at Camp 300 lb (136 kg), the new Holabird, on November 2,160 lb (980 kg) weight limit that the US Army 23rd, 1940. This vehicle, called the Pygmy, stipulated following the initial tests. However, was developed under the supervision of it had the advantage of being much cheaper Charles Emil Sorensen. He was Henry Ford’s in comparison with its competitors. The right-hand man, no less, and was the person greater weight was largely due to its powerful in charge of the Dearborn car manufacturer’s engine, the “Go Devil”, which at the time was military contracts. It employed an adapted the engine used in the . From a tractor engine (originally used in the Ford/

The Willys Quad’s traction being tested on a snow- covered field.

3 THE JEEP® STORY THE ANCESTORS

Ferguson “9N” tractor), known as the NNA, many other technical solutions adopted – offering 1,959 cc and 42 bhp. The for example, the structure of the windshield – was the same as that used on the Ford were considered to be more functional “Model A” at the end of the 1920s, whilst the than on the other prototypes, so much so axles and the reduction transmission were that they ended up being employed on the

produced by Spicer, just like those on the final Jeep® . Bantam and Willys-Overland prototypes. It Whilst the Willys-Overland and Ford met the weight specification established by prototypes were being tested and assessed, the Army and boasted an engine torque that Bantam got busy with delivering the 69 slightly exceeded that of the Bantam (11.75 vehicles that it had been contracted to kgf-m against Bantam’s 11.47). However, the provide by the end of December. The power output from the mechanics on the Ford prototype’s engine Bantam MkII were wasn’t particularly fluid. It The power output from very similar to those produced vibrations and the Ford prototype’s engine on the MkI, with the wasn’t really suitable for exception of a number use in a car, where the wasn’t particularly fluid. of improvements power output demands requested by the placed on the engine are constantly changing. military technicians. However, the body was In terms of agility, the Pygmy was the modified, especially the front section, which worst of the three prototypes, but it was the was rendered more functional via the addition best and most advanced from an industrial of square fenders. The unit price, including design standpoint. The materials and finish the design costs, was just under US$2,500 were considered to be far superior to those of for the 61 requested vehicles with two-wheel its competitors. The body shape and and a little under US$2,700 for the eight requested vehicles with four- wheel steering. In those days, an average family in the US earned approximately US$150 per month, and a small bottle of Coca Cola at a vending machine cost 5 cents.

◀ The prototypes were subjected to strenuous testing. In this picture, a Ford Pygmy is tackling a muddy ditch.

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An airplane flies over a column of Bantam BRC-60s during an exercise.

The first vehicles from the new batch of Bantam produced trailers for the Jeep® , Bantams (the MkII or BRC-60) were delivered torpedo engines, and landing gear to the US Army on Tuesday December 17th, for airplanes. 1940. However, three days earlier, on Saturday The additional 1,105 Bantam BRC-40s 14th, the US Army and Bantam had already produced were used to satisfy the terms signed a contract for stipulated as part of the the production of 1,500 Lend-Lease Act. Light quarter-ton 4x4 , The new Bantam was to become and easy to handle, an improved model that the Butler car manufacturer’s the BRC-40 was very was due to be delivered much appreciated by from the following swan song. the British and Russian January. The new armed forces. Willys- Bantam, called the BRC-40, was to become Overland and Ford were also given, with no the Butler car manufacturer’s swan song. further checks required, contracts to produce The contract was for the supply of 1,500 1,500 of their improved prototype models, BRC-40s at a price of US$959.59 each. vehicles upgraded after the military tests on Ultimately, 2,605 vehicles were produced, the original prototypes. The only condition with the final one leaving the production line was for them to be modified in accordance in December 1941. From that moment on, with the requests made by the military and for the entire duration of World War II, authorities.

5 THE JEEP® BRAND M38 AND M170

M38 AND M170 ▲ An M38A1C, a version The early 1950s signified the beginning of the vehicle equipped with an M40A1 106 mm of a new era for the Jeep® . gun.

ith the new world order presenting armed forces. With just a few exceptions, fresh challenges, the US Army almost all of the equipment used by the W needed to upgrade its fleet of US and South Korean armies dated back to vehicles at the beginning of the 1950s. The World War II. As well as suffering a series world was already clearly divided into two of reliability issues as a result of not being opposing alliances: the Western Bloc, with properly maintained during the intervening the US as its principal superpower, and the years, it was also very dated from a technical Socialist Bloc, led by the . standpoint. In fact, around the end of the The first armed conflict between , the US armed forces had started these two blocs was fought in Korea at conducting studies to look into upgrading the beginning of the 1950s. The US Army certain elements of their equipment. However, managed, with great difficulty, to repel the due to the fact that funds were limited and invasion of South Korea by North Korean that they already had significant quantities of

6 THE JEEP® BRAND M38 AND M170

kit, the modernization process was very slow. between March and June 1950). The US It was also expected that, with the deterrent Army was soon to follow, upgrading its fleet now being offered by the atomic bomb, of tactical vehicles by buying 50,000 M38s western countries would maintain a certain (62,239 M38s were produced between the falls level of superiority over the Soviet Bloc, thus of 1950 and 1952). The M38 offered the same preventing the situation from deteriorating. excellent features, albeit updated, as the MB, In reality, however, the Soviets had actually but over the previous ten years the military’s utilized studies carried out by Nazi scientists expectations had increased. The new vehicle and managed to obtain needed superior agility, a nuclear arsenal of their Willys-Overland greater speed, more own. It meant the Cold off-road mobility, higher War, as the military and started designing load capacity, improved ideological tensions comfort, more passenger a new super-Jeep® . between the two blocs space and, finally, more became known, started effective protection for to get even colder. In such a geopolitical passengers from inclement weather. context, the Marines were the first to feel the And thus, in collaboration with military need for a quarter-ton truck that was more technicians, Willys-Overland started

modern than the Jeep® MB, ordering 1,000 designing a new super-Jeep® . The CJ-V35/Us from Willys-Overland (delivered “Hurricane”, derived from the “Go Devil”, was

The engine chosen for the new

Jeep® was the “Hurricane”, which had a mixed-valve cylinder head.

7 THE JEEP® BRAND M38 AND M170

chosen as the new engine. It generated more The first prototypes, developed with both power (75 bhp) and torque thanks to the new a short chassis (81 in/206 cm,

mixed-valve cylinder head (inlet valves in the the Jeep® M38E1) and a long wheelbase

head and exhaust side-valves). This engine chassis (101 in/257 cm, the Jeep® XM170), offered the enormous advantage of using were delivered to the US Army for testing in the same engine block and the majority of the spring of 1951. The latter was specifically the accessory components that were used designed to be used as a front-line

for the “Go Devil” on the M38. In August . The new military Jeep® entered 1950, the Army started testing the engine in a service in April 1952 under the military prototype whose chassis denomination of “M38A1 and body were based Truck, Utility: ¼ ton, 4x4” on the M38 (known as The new military Jeep® and was identified by the the X-98 or CJ-4M) as entered service producer as the Willys-

well as in a Willys Station Overland Jeep® Model Wagon. The new engine in April 1952. MD. The long wheelbase was considered perfectly version entered service satisfactory for military use. As a result, in the later, in October 1953, as the “M170 Frontline winter of 1950, Willys-Overland received a Ambulance”.

request to develop a new Jeep® exclusively Compared to the civilian Jeep® models

for military use. as well as its previous incarnations, the Jeep®

The Jeep® M38A1 could easily be boxed up and sent wherever needed.

8 THE JEEP® BRAND M38 AND M170

MB and MC, the new MD series boasted a protected areas of the vehicle. When in deep number of significant technical innovations. water, the could be pressurized via a Despite having many aspects in common with dedicated push/pull control knob, which used the “Go Devil”, the “Hurricane” engine was the overpressure in the oil pan to prevent equipped with the same 24-volt watertight the water from entering, even if submerged electrics as were found on the M38, enabling for extended periods of time. The military it to function even when completely version could generate 72 bhp, and this level submerged in water. For this reason, all the of power output remained the same right electrical components, the power supply up until the model was discontinued in 1971, circuit, and the mechanical components had by which time 101,488 vehicles had been ducts to enable them to “breathe” from produced (80,290 for the US armed forces, with the rest going to allies of the US). In addition to the new military Jeep , in 1952 WILLYS JEEP® MD KEY SPEcs ® Willys-Overland launched another important vehicle. BUILT: 1952–1971 In January of that year they introduced their new , MAT NUFAC URERS: Willys-Overland Motors; the , to the Corp.; ® market. It was the first car of Ford Canada; Kaiser Jeep ® this type to be produced by of Canada Ltd; NEKAF the car manufacturer since (NEtherlands KAiser-); the early 1940s, in other Sherkat-Sahami words since the beginning NET WEIGHT: 2,665 lb (1,213 kg) of World War II. Around GR Oss WEIGHT: 3,865 lb (1,754 kg) the time that the sedan was hitting the market, DIM EnsIONS: 1 38 in (352 cm) they also decided to halt x 61 in (154 cm) production of the roadster MAXIMUM SPEED: 60 mph (97 km/h) Jeepster, whose sales had stagnated. The Aero was a FU : EL CAPACITY 17.5 gal (66.5 l) very innovative vehicle for RANGE: 280 miles (450 km) its time. It had an all-welded ENI G NE: W illys F-134 4-cylinder unit body, was available in 134 cid (2.2 l) “Hurricane” four variants and, initially, only came in a two-door POWER: 72 bhp at 4,000 rpm version (the four-door version TORQUE: 114 lb/ft (15,7 kgm-154 Nm) became available later). at 2,000 rpm The wheelbase was 108 in WHEBA E L S : 80 in (203.2 cm) (274 cm) long, and the weight of the two-door version TASNR N MIS IO : 3-speed x 2 speed transfer was 2,600 lb (1,179 kg). Its performance statistics were

9 THE JEEP® BRAND M38 AND M170

The long wheelbase version of the new

Jeep® entered service as the “M170 Frontline Ambulance”. On this prototype the snorkel, which functioned as the engine’s raised air intake, is clearly visible.

excellent for that period: it could go from 0 to largest car manufacturer in the US, but by 60 mph (approx. 100 km/h) in 22.5 seconds 1952 it was the fifth largest (the one millionth

and it had a top speed of around 80 mph Jeep® was produced in March 1952). They saw (130 km/h). The engines were the same as a 37 percent increase in sales compared to

those used on the Jeep® range: initially the 1951, a year that in itself had been a successful “Lightning Six”, a 161-cid, six-cylinder (2.7-liter) one. Their order book was so full during that engine that had a timing system with side period, including military orders, that they had valves (L6-161, 75 bhp), or the “Hurricane Six” enough work to keep the production lines with mixed cylinder head (F-Head, 90 bhp). busy right through until the middle of 1954. Then from 1953, the “Hurricane” F4-134 (72/75 The line-up of models was still clearly

bhp) was also available on the range’s entry- oriented towards the Jeep® range. In 1952,

level vehicles, an engine that was also used on it included the CJ-3A Jeep® Universal, the

the M38A1s and CJ-3Bs. Willys Jeep® Station Wagons with four and Business was booming for the Toledo car six-cylinder engines (475SW, 4x475 and 685),

manufacturer – as soon as the Willys Aero the Jeep® Sedan Delivery truck derived from

production line was up and running, they the (Jeep® Truck ½ ton, 473

could barely keep up with demand. In terms SD), and the 473 series Jeep® Trucks with a of sales, in 1950 Willys-Overland was the ninth 1-ton payload.

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