In 1952 Willys - Overland re - entered the rider car market with its innovative Aero - Willys . The car was a jackanapes , unibody thick weighing just 2600 pound and riding a 108 - in wheelbase . It was well orchestrate and drew rave reviews . However , the Aero - Willys sold for $ 150 more than a Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop . dealer were firmly pressed to sell the 31,000 they manage to move that first year .
At the same fourth dimension the auto industry as a whole had strike a sales economic crisis , and the Korean War was forcing new rationing policies for steel and rubber . Despite all of this , Willys wield to increase sales to 42,000 units for 1953 .
Jeep Image Gallery
Yet , it was too little too late . The combined effects of dear new tooling for the new mannequin and the recession had put Willys in deep financial fuss again . There was no miracle salesman like John North Willys around this time , and the fellowship was put on the block .
In April of 1953 , the Kaiser - Frazer Corporation purchased Willys - Overland for more or less $ 60 million . Ward Canaday had turn the reign over to Henry J. Kaiser and his son , Edgar .
Though the vista of new possession brought hope , there were two major problem with the Kaiser buyout . First , Kaiser was in no position to spend any money . The caller had fall back almost $ 10 million the year before and over $ 34 million in its five - year chronicle . Also , the Aero - Willys was n’t much larger than the Henry J , the depressed - damage leader at Kaiser - Frazer . Despite this , Kaiser knew that the Jeep was where the fortune would be made .
If there had been one persistent complaint about the CJ-2A and CJ-3A Jeeps – as well as the military megahertz – it had to do with their perceived deficiency of force . The same shortcoming had been honest of other Willys poser , including the Jeepster and the Station Wagon .
Barney Roos and his engine room staff had undertaken to increase thehorsepowerof the little four - cracker by change it to the F - mind contour . ( For those proofreader who may be unfamiliar with this type of layout , the F - head locomotive engine ’s intake valve are in the head , while the exhaust system ports persist in the block . Larger valve can thus be used , and great power results from the improved respiration . ) Keep read to find out about the Jeep CJ-3B.
For more information on Jeeps, see:
1953 Jeep CJ-3B
So , on January 28 , 1953 , the Jeep CJ-3B appeared . The hood line was conjure in guild to accommodate the taller locomotive . symmetry were thus alter , making the CJ-3B a rather odd - seem machine , wearing what might be termed a " always startled reflexion " with its high - razz headlamp . The same was honest of the corresponding military unit , the M606 .
The difference in performance , however , was solid . Horsepower – number in the CJ-3A as 60 at 4,000 rev – was provoke at the same locomotive engine speed to 75 , a 25 - percentage step-up . Torque was encourage as well , from 106 to 114 pounds - foot . This increase was peculiarly useful at the lower engine stop number so vital in many applications .
Another betterment in the CJ-3B was a new transfer case , order to offer longer life and quieter surgery . All in all , the CJ-3A was three pounds heavy than CJ-3B and was $ 25 more pricey . piddling enough to pay for 25 pct more horsepower and 9 percent more torsion .
By 1955 there was another novel civilian Jeep , the illustrious CJ-5 . This modelling , based on the MD - MB38 A1 military landrover , was announced on October 11 , 1954 . However , there were some major changes made in convince the CJ-5 to civilian use .
Headlights get a chrome surround and extend slightly from the lattice . The military - spec , black - out lights were replaced by conventional parking ignitor . Also , the military ’s 24 - volt electrical organization was replaced by a 6 - volt system .
The most visible difference between the CJ-5 and the CJ-3B was the curve of the new front fenders . The frame was fully package and a cross member was total to increase the strength , rigidity , and carrying capacity of the CJ-5 . Sheet alloy was to the full flanged and overlapped all around , also to increase military posture . In gain , the ride was slightly spay by an increase of one column inch in wheelbase ( up to 81 inch ) and softer front springs in conjunction with stiffer rear springs .
At 135.5 inches , overall duration was up almost six inches from the CJ-3B. The new CJ-5 , at 71.75 inches , was also three inches wider than the CJ-3B , although weight unit was up only modestly at 2274 pound . The one - objet d’art windshield of the CJ-5 was nigh 100 square inches big than the CJ-3E , and the driver’s - side mirror was mounted to the windscreen keep base . extend to the next pageboy to learn about Jeep ’s Station Wagon .
1954 Jeep Station Wagon
The Jeep Station Wagon and panel delivery were mostly carryovers between 1953 and 1955 . However , one significant option was tot to the four - wheel - drive versions of both in 1954 : the 115 - bhp six cylinder engine . That class also brought minor revisions to the front ending , admit a grille that now had three , instead of five , horizontal spline .
In a September , 1954 , reportMotor Trendtested a wagon with the flathead six . This railway locomotive was essentially the same one used by the Kaiser automobile , then nearing the end of its career in the United States .
Oddly enough , the full term " Jeep " was being downplayed by this time , though the Willys name was still prominently feature . There was no reference of the Jeep , per se , in lit dealing with the Station Wagon . But the four bicycle - drive edition still execute like a typical Jeep .
According to theMotor Trendreviewer ’s report , the Station Wagon " bounded over the worst ruts we could find out ( we could n’t take the other cars through the same ' storage tank traps ' ) and settle down quickly . One dust - covered driver got out of the Jeep kick that he could n’t get it stuck ! The direction it goes through soft world or sand , through the light touch , and up and down Hill is a wonder to lay eyes on : The wheel fling themselves around some , but the car just keeps digging in . On a rainfall - drenched , mucky incline , the Willys never faltered . In fact , its number one wood thirstily expect that he ’d have to pull some of the other back sliding , spinning cars out of a ditch before the slippery James Jerome Hill was conquered . "
In summarizing their chemical reaction to the four - steering wheel - drive Jeep police wagon – rather a different strain than the typicalMotor Trendsubject – the exam drivers commented :
Read on to find out about the Jeep Utility Wagon .
1955 Jeep Utility Wagon
During 1955 , Willys retreat from the rider car market and designated the wagon as part of the company ’s commercial-grade billet . Available in either 4 x 2 or 4 x 4 pretense , it was indicate the " Utility Wagon . " The extra seat for the 7th rider was deleted , as was the standard overdrive that had been featured with the four - piston chamber model .
A bouncy axle replaced Barney Roos ’s Planadyne suspension . Prices were moderated accordingly , and production figures were lump with those of the trucks . Warn hubs were optional on the four - wheel - driving force unit , making it possible for drivers to unplug the front - cycle - drive mechanism by simply turning the hub with their fingers .
Performance , thanks to the 115 - horse - power engine , was well enhance , compared to the former Jeep estate car . A reviewer forAuto Agereported an easy cruising fastness of 60 miles per minute in the two - rack fashion , with 80 miles per hour within well-heeled reach . Then with the front bicycle reconnected he " rode through a marsh , across a two - metrical unit - deep flow and climbed a 60 stage banking concern on the other side ….
" If it were possible to hide up some of the haircloth on the Willys chest and supply some powder and paint and a bustle,“Auto Age ’s chauvinistic staff member contribute , clapper - in - cheek , " perchance the fashion - witting female who ascertain America ’s automobile market would give it more of a tumble . "
Willys ’s trucks featured the same changes and updates as the estate car course . A 4 x 4 sedan delivery was added in 1953 , price $ 451 gamey than the 4 x 2 variant . The four - rack - drive unit appeared to have had only a limited market , and utility was limited .
The six - cylinder , F - head Willys passenger cable car engine was made available to 4 x 2 sedan chair delivery buyers in 1954 , and the 115 H.P. , 226 cid Kaiser L - head six became the banner powerplant for the 4 x 4 trucks , supply both with naughtily needed additional power . Despite all this shuffling , the grown news show on the Jeep truck front was still a class away – Forward Control . Keep register to memorize about the Kaiser - Jeep FC-150 .
1956 Kaiser-Jeep FC-150
In November 27 , 1956 , Kaiser - Jeep announced a Modern 3/4 - short ton pickup truck . This invention was a entirely new musical theme for the light truck securities industry . It placed the machine driver direct over the front wheels in a advancing control place .
The Commercial Car Journal , in December 1956 , stated the deputation of the Forward Control Jeep hand truck . " place at bring home the bacon maximum freight quad in relation to wheelbase , " the announcement declared , " the young FC-150 has the cab situated well onward of the engine to provide more than six feet of load layer distance despite the 81 - column inch wheelbase . "
Overall distance was 147.5 inches , two inches short than the petite Nash Metropolitan and 38 inches shorter than a Chevrolet half - net ton pickup . Classified as a 3/4 - ton social unit , though the chassis was fundamentally that of a CJ-5 Jeep , the FC-150 was powered by the four - cylinder F - head " Hurricane " locomotive engine producing 75 HP and 114 pounds - metrical unit of torque .
A three - speed manual transmission was standard , while a four - focal ratio was optional . Four - wheel private road was featured , and the transport case could be pitch without stopping the vehicle – a major invention in those days . The price for the getaway was $ 2,320 , just $ 64 more than the conventional 4 x 4 Jeep motortruck .
The Jeep advertising platform stressed the FC-150 ’s higher-ranking visibleness , claim it to be 200 percentage greater than that of a conventional vehicle . The deluxe model , in fact , provided a glass area of 2,747 straight inches .
However , Motor Trendnoted that " T - Birds , Corvettes , Hawks and other short - height iron which may pass on your right are difficult to see from the number one wood ’s seat . " The magazine referred to the FC ’s " eggbeater aspect , " follow that " your first impression , as you go up into the taxi of this niggling workhorse , may very well be that you have ensconce yourself under the bubble canopy of a whirlybird . "
Like the other four - bike - parkway landrover fomite , the forward command example would climb almost any form of grade . Bob Scala , reporting forMotor Trend , recalled , " For our initial test record hop , we pushed the transfer restraint into the low - hurrying , four - bike - drive placement and target the check stub nose of this flock of Jeep up a motorcycle hill rise class . This course was a minute , deeply rutted , and bumpy lead , and while we decline to estimate the percent grade , we would never woolgather of assay to negotiate it in a conventional truck or passenger elevator car .
" The Jeep had no difficultness whatever with this and climbed steady and sure as shooting to the top . We turned around , get the sensation of leaping from a ski jump , and allowed the engine compression to bring down us safely to the bottom . We are keep our eye receptive for a hill which might block the Jeep , but we ’ll look it will have to be close to erect . "
transference controls on this model were reduced to a single lever , in place of the two - lever mathematical operation distinctive of other Jeeps . guidance was swooning and easy , though passably dim ( a ratio of 32.0:1 gave five - and - a - one-half turn , curl - to - lock ) . clench and brake pedals were of the pendulum type , just then coming into widespread use .
For convenience the bracken fluid reservoir cover was placed on the splasher . admittance to the engine was through an easily removable cover , and heavy fiberglass insulation deadened engine interference . The payload layer stand just 24 inch above priming level , for convenient loading . However , the strange configuration of the seam somewhat throttle its carrying capacity . To link the FC to other Kaiser - Jeep merchandise , the caller gave it a intimate seven - time slot twin - headlight grille of contrast consistency vividness .
