Words: John Gunnell
The Jeep is heading for its 80th birthday in 2020. World War II military Jeeps like the Willys MB and the Ford GPW made history. During the war, Industrial Designer Brooks Stevens penned a magazine article that predicted a line of Jeep-based civilian vehicles would evolve after the fighting stopped. Barney Roos, the head of Willys engineering, read the article and hired Brooks Stevens to design a new line of Jeeps.
While swoopy bodies could have been designed, Roos knew Willys faced production problems because body makers like Murray, Briggs and Budd were too busy working for Ford, GM and Chrysler to help Willys. His answer was to deal with a company that did sheet metal stampings for home appliances. This worked fine, but put limitations on styling concepts that Brooks Stevens addressed very well with his design work.
Stevens came up with front end designs similar in appearance to the now legendary fighting Jeep, but made for other models. A two-door all-steel station wagon with wood-grained metal panels was his initial creation. He then filled the rear side window openings of the wagon with sheet metal panels to turn it into a sedan delivery truck often described as a “panel truck” or “utility wagon.”
Next, Stevens chopped off the upper back of the wagon and added a windowed rear panel to make a pickup truck cab. Ads described the pickup as a “farm-sized” truck. All 1947 Jeep trucks had a 118-in. wheelbase and 183.75-in. length. These trucks remained basically the same through 1965, although there were constant mechanical improvements, various engine choices and changes in the prices.
Another Stevens creation, the Jeepster, was a stylish, charming and sporty convertible sedan. It was a good cruiser with great fuel economy, deluxe fittings and interior trim. The laminated fabric top was hand operated and unfolded fairly easily. To provide all-weather protection, plastic side curtains could be slid into sockets. There was a chrome side step that could be used to hop in over the door. The Jeepster’s styling and performance were praised by auto journalists, but it did not catch on with buyers.
Jeepster are frequently modified by hot rodders who like the open-air “Phaeton” look, but want high performance under the hood to go with the sporty styling lines. Also getting very popular with rod builders are the station wagon, pickup truck and sedan delivery models. When these models have four-wheel drive, it’s all the better.
Hot rod builders rarely leave the original 4- and 6-cylinder engines in their Jeep trucks or Jeepsters. Several V-6s and V-8s can be shoehorned into them. The Buick V-6 from the small Buick Special models built in 1961 and 1962 is a common swap, especially in Jeepsters. For some hot rodders, a really cool swap is Ford’s tiny V8-60 flathead.
The Jeep Sedan Delivery is also a favorite of hot rodders. This truck was offered in two-wheel-drive format starting in 1947. In 1953, it became available with four-wheel drive. The version with solid rear side panels and dual rear doors sold for $1,920. By 1956, the sedan delivery became a “utility wagon.” By then it featured glass side windows.
From 1957-1965, Jeep offered a truly innovative line of forward-control trucks that kind of predicted the van-based Ford and Dodge pickups that came out in the early 1960s. The smaller FC-150 model was introduced on Nov. 27, 1956 and the larger FC-170 arrived on May 20, 1957. The Forward-Control Jeeps were offered in chassis & cab, pickup and stake-bodied models. These trucks are rare and hard to find today and hot rodders love them. Resto-mod examples show up at the SEMA Show every year.