Jeep History - 1945-1949 JEEP CJ-2A

The Willys MB emerged out of the war proven and ready for continued service. The workhorse of World War II was converted by Willys-Overland into a CJ with the aim of putting farm workhorses out to pasture.

According to Willys-Overland, there were 5.5 million farmers in the U.S., and of these, more than 4 million had neither a truck nor a tractor. The rugged and versatile CJ-2A was marketed by Willys-Overland as "The All-Around Farm Work-Horse". It could do the job of two heavy draft horses, operating at a speed of four miles per hour, 10 hours a day, without overheating the engine. The CJ-2A "Universal" was to serve agriculture and industry all over the world in a thousand different ways.

Willys-Overland also advertised the CJ-2A as "A Powerhouse on Wheels", pitching it as a work vehicle and mobile power to the masses. A variety of farm implements and industrial tools were devised for use in conjunction with an onboard power take-off unit. A belt-driven governor was controlled from the instrument panel, allowing regulation of engine speeds from 1,000 to 2,600 rpm. Sales were brisk despite the glut of MBs on the war surplus market.

Cash awards were offered by Popular Science magazine for "Ideas on Peacetime Jobs for Jeeps". Soon, Jeeps vehicles were used as the platform for hundreds of applications. Of particular note: from 1949-1964, either a complete Jeep Brand vehicle or chassis was used on all Zamboni machines. In 1949, the Model A took 10 minutes to do a job that used to take over an hour-and-a-half.

A much-modified version of the MB, the 1945 CJ-2A had "Willys" embossed on the hood sides and windshield frame. It was offered to the public with better shock absorbers, springs and more comfortable seats for added comfort, revised transmission and transfer case gear ratios allowing low-speed hauling and highway speeds as high as 60 mph, beefier clutch, better cooling, a tailgate, side-mounted spare tire, larger 7-inch headlights, an external fuel cap, a reinforced frame for greater rigidity, and an automatic windshield wiper on the driver's side.