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Wikipedia: Jeep CJ
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Jeep CJ page on 12 September 2018, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The lessons learned with the CJ-2 led to the development of the first full-production CJ, the 1945-1949 Willys-Overland CJ-2A, or Universal Jeep. A trademark for "AGRIJEEP" was granted in December 1944, but was not used. The CJ-2A looked very much like a civilianized MB with a tailgate and side-mounted spare tire. A distinct difference between the MB and the CJ-2A lay in the grilles of the two vehicles. Where the MB had recessed headlights and nine-slot grilles, the CJ-2A had larger, slightly bulging headlights, flush-mounted in a seven-slot grille. While still powered by the reliable L-134 Go-Devil engine, the CJ-2A replaced the MB's T-84 transmission with a beefier T-90 three-speed.
Production of the CJ-2A started on 17 July 1945, sharing production time with the MB – roughly 9000 more MBs were produced through September 1945. Many of the early CJ-2As were produced using remaining stock of the military jeep components such as engine blocks, and in a few cases, modified frames. Up to serial no. 13453, the MB-style full floating rear axle was fitted. Once they were used up, the CJ got a stronger Dana / Spicer model 41. Sometimes the use of MB parts was due to strikes at suppliers, such as Autolite. Since Willys produced few parts in-house and relied heavily on suppliers, it was vulnerable to strikes. Unfortunately for Willys, strikes were common after the war, and this likely contributed to low production totals in 1945 and early 1946.
Since the CJ-2A was primarily intended for farming, ranching, and industrial applications, stock CJ-2As only came with a driver seat and driver side mirror, and a wide variety of options was available, such as: front passenger seat, rear seat, center rear-view mirror, canvas top, front power take-off (PTO), rear PTO, belt pulley drive, capstan winch, governor, rear hydraulic lift, snow plow, welder, generator, mower, disc, front bumper weight, heavy-duty springs, dual vacuum windshield wipers (stock CJ-2As were equipped with a manual wiper on the passenger side and a vacuum wiper on the driver side), dual taillights (stock CJ-2As had a taillight on the driver side and a reflector on the passenger side), hot-climate radiator, driveshaft guards, heater, side steps, and radiator brush guard.
CJ-2As were produced with unique, lively color combinations that in some ways symbolized the hope and promise of postwar America. From 1945 to mid-1946, CJ-2As were only available in two color combinations: Pasture Green with Autumn Yellow wheels and Harvest Tan with Sunset Red wheels. Additional color combinations added in mid-1946 were: Princeton Black with Harvard Red or Sunset Red wheels, Michigan Yellow with Pasture Green, Sunset Red or Americar Black wheels, Normandy Blue with Autumn Yellow or Sunset Red wheels, and Harvard Red with Autumn Yellow or Americar Black wheels. The Pasture Green and Harvest Tan combinations were dropped later in 1946. The Harvard Red combinations were dropped in 1947 and replaced with Picket Gray with Harvard Red wheels, and Luzon Red with Universal Beige wheels. In 1948, these color combinations were also added: Emerald Green with Universal Beige wheels, Potomac Gray with Harvard Red or American Black wheels. For 1949, the Picket Gray, Michigan Yellow, and Normandy Blue combinations were dropped. Olive drab was also available for export models.
On early CJ-2As, the front seats were covered in olive-drab vinyl. Around mid-1947, Slate Gray vinyl became available for certain color combinations. Later, Barcelona Red was added to the mix.
A total of 214,760 CJ-2As were produced. Because of the use of military production parts on the earliest CJ-2As, and the many changes made during its early production, restorers and collectors refer to CJ-2As up to around serial no. 34,530 as "Very Early Civilian" and from mid-1946 to about mid-1947 as "Early Civilian". Only minor changes were made after the mid-1947 models.
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 5.0MB |
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 3.9MB |
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 3.5MB |
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 3.9MB |
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 4.2MB |
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1946 Photo ©2012 Bill Crittenden 2012 Schaumburg Bank & Trust Car Show View photo of 1946 Willys CJ-2A - 4.3MB |
