Was FORD really the first "Jeep"?

[GGolds]

SO, for those of you tossing around your next fantasy vehicle, straying to a Ford Bronco may not be that far from your Jeep heritage. The first WW2 Jeep was made by Bantam and shared with Willy's for military contracts. However, the military was concerned whether or not Bantam could produce the numbers needed for the war, so FORD was given the other half of the war contract shortly after the initial contract sign off. Ford was the inventor of the slotted infamous Jeep grill and flat fenders. SO was Ford really the first Jeep. Like I said, Ford and Willy's shared the production and design. So if you're having a "moral"/allegiance decision problems to whether you should stray from the beloved Jeep brand, perhaps you are really getting more of the Jeep heritage if you buy a Bronco then if you by an FCA Jeep Wrangler. ME?, I'm sticking with my Jeep brand FCA. I'm in love with my Wrangler and my next trade will likely be a 21 Wrangler. What will you decide???.

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[rubileon]

Doesn't matter unless you're buying WWII pieces for a museum.

The new Bronco copied the Wrangler but will it copy its success? People don't buy vehicles like these for sensibility. People buy Rubicons and never go offroad. Maybe the IFS will make the new Bronco a stepping stone for those who will upgrade to a Wrangler later to have the ultimate rock crawler.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

Yeah, more Wrangler vs Bronco stuff.

“168% of owners never go off road”

Yadayadayada

 

[aldo98229]

Not really.

The military Jeep was developed by Willys-Overland, based on a concept originally developed by American Bantam.

The US Army awarded the project to Willys, but shared the blueprints with Ford because it doubted Willys-Overland had the manufacturing capacity to produce the Jeep in the numbers the Federal government wanted.

Such action would be grounds for a massive lawsuit if it were to happen today.

Both Willys and Ford produced Jeeps during the war. But Ford, having the greater manufacturing capacity, produced most of them. When the war ended, Ford couldn’t wait to revert to passenger car production, so it gave all the blueprints back to Willys-Overland.

Willys, being a much smaller automaker, adapted the military Jeep for civilian use and named it the CJ. That was the precursor of what would eventually become the Jeep Wrangler.

 

[TheWingman]

Not really.

The military Jeep was developed by Willys-Overland, based on a concept originally developed by American Bantam.

The US Army awarded the project to Willys, but shared the blueprints with Ford because it doubted Willys-Overland had the manufacturing capacity to produce the Jeep in the numbers the Federal government wanted.

Such action would be grounds for a massive lawsuit if it were to happen today.

Both Willys and Ford produced Jeeps during the war. But Ford, having the greater manufacturing capacity, produced most of them. When the war ended, Ford couldn’t wait to revert to passenger car production, so it gave all the blueprints back to Willys-Overland.

Willys, being a much smaller automaker, adapted the military Jeep for civilian use and named it the CJ. That was the precursor of what would eventually become the Jeep Wrangler.

This is accurate. The Ford GPW and Willy’s MB are 100% indistinguishable, and most surviving war jeeps are a combination of Ford and Willy’s-Overland vehicles due to parts sharing in the field. There are only a couple ways to tell which one it was from the factory, bolt head stamps being one of them, but even then it’s no guarantee.

 

[Toycrusher]

Crap. Well NOW I have a moral dillema...

 

[Ohio Hiker]

there's no apostrophe in Willys (pronounced willis, not willies). John Willys owner of Willys–Overland Motor Company.

 

[Coops4284]

This is accurate. The Ford GPW and Willy’s MB are 100% indistinguishable, and most surviving war jeeps are a combination of Ford and Willy’s-Overland vehicles due to parts sharing in the field. There are only a couple ways to tell which one it was from the factory, bolt head stamps being one of them, but even then it’s no guarantee.

Yes the GPW and MB do indeed look alike on the surface, Ford did slightly modify some of the internal placement of parts on the GPW. For instance you cannot swap a MB tub onto a GPW frame and drive train. The transmission tunnel and hole for the stick are off by about 3", and you either have to cut the hole bigger, or add a plate to close the gap, depending on which way you are going. Another item is Fords insane policy of putting the script F on everything on the GPW. For instance, all of the bolts have a F on them. I love my MB, she runs like a top and is crazy easy to work on.

 

[GGolds]

Not really.

The military Jeep was developed by Willys-Overland, based on a concept originally developed by American Bantam.

The US Army awarded the project to Willys, but shared the blueprints with Ford because it doubted Willys-Overland had the manufacturing capacity to produce the Jeep in the numbers the Federal government wanted.

Such action would be grounds for a massive lawsuit if it were to happen today.

Both Willys and Ford produced Jeeps during the war. But Ford, having the greater manufacturing capacity, produced most of them. When the war ended, Ford couldn’t wait to revert to passenger car production, so it gave all the blueprints back to Willys-Overland.

Willys, being a much smaller automaker, adapted the military Jeep for civilian use and named it the CJ. That was the precursor of what would eventually become the Jeep Wrangler.

And... More or less what I said, but thanks for the additional detail. Again, I'll stick with my Wrangler. I learned to drive on a Willy's, cool but not much fun really after about 15 minutes. It would rattle your teeth out of your head.

 

[Toycrusher]

Willy's, cool but not much fun really after about 15 minutes. It would rattle your teeth out of your head.

Yup, Just don't make them like they used to

 

[aldo98229]

And... More or less what I said, but thanks for the additional detail. Again, I'll stick with my Wrangler. I learned to drive on a Willy's, cool but not much fun really after about 15 minutes. It would rattle your teeth out of your head.

Sorry, your headline made it sound like Ford “designed” the Jeep. Ford likes to take credit for a lot of things —e.g., first assembly line, Quality Job 1, etc.

Thankfully Ford didn’t see a business opportunity for Jeep at the end of the war. I doubt Jeep would exist today if Ford had given it a go. Instead of names like “Willys” and “Overland,” Ford gave us “Edsel”...

It took the ingenuity and perseverance of an underdog like Willys-Overland to stick with it, and push to make Jeep what it is today.

 

[Dudley Dawson]

Some time ago (couple years?), one of the forum members posted an informative series of posts detailing the origins (as already mentioned above) and subsequent chronology / development of the Jeep. I’ve tried to find it to link - so far no luck.

*EDIT: Found the thread (https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/the-history-of-jeep.14914/) but all of the narrative is gone, only pics remain. OP @hutchman

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