Willys MB and Ford GPW

Dave’s Spotter’s Guide — Installment One

My intention in writing this new series for the Orlando Jeep Club’s newsletter is to provide a handy identification aid to the vehicle that we call the “jeep”. Each installment of the Spotter’s Guide will be divided into a short introductory history, followed by the ways in which you can identify the particular model, and finally, there is some history about the model’s demise and eventual replacement. I won’t claim to be 100% correct, but you can feel free to look up all of this information for yourself if you want to.
Hopefully as entertaining as it is informative, the Spotter’s Guide should help all fans of jeeps who search old barns and overgrown fields to quickly identify just what make and model they’ve found. Makes of jeeps are divided not only into all of the various iterations of Willys-Overland and its successors, but include all other manufacturers of the vehicle, like Ford and AM General. As far as models, think of all of the “alpha-numeric” codes that Mike Enzor always makes fun of me for talking about. For example, when we consider model names like M38, FC-150, M676, CJ-8, DJ-3A, or M151A1C?, things get confusing pretty quickly to the uninitiated. So let’s get you initiated…
We’ll start our Spotter’s Guide with the “blitz buggy”; the vehicle that started it all.

Bantam, Ford, and Willys-Overland; The WWII Jeeps


The Original: The Bantam Reconnaissance Car
All models of jeeps, are variations or descendents of the Bantam Reconnaissance Car or BRC. Developed for the military in 1940, the BRC Pilot Model met the army’s requirements of being small, light, able to carry four people, and equipped with four wheel drive. The military liked the vehicle so much that they invited 180 other manufacturers to build their own variations, but only two got seriously involved: the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan and Willys-Overland of Toledo, Ohio took up the challenge. All three came back with a new and improved submittal. Bantam brought the BRC-60 (or Mark II as some collectors call them), Ford the Pygmy, and W-O the Quad. The Quad was over the army’s maximum weight requirement, which usually meant an automatic dismissal from any further testing. But the “Go-Devil” L-head (or flat head) four-cylinder engine in the Willys produced a raging 60 horsepower, more powerful than the engines that Bantam and Ford used, so the violation of the specification was overlooked.
While the Willys was favored, the Ford had some great design features that were highly praised. The flat hood, the behind-the-grill headlights, and the dogleg windshield pivots were all considered innovative. The Willys had a curved and tapering hood, headlights mounted on top of the fenders, and an awkward looking fold-down windshield. The Quad and BRC-60 have not survived to this day. In fact, the Ford prototypes (the Pygmy and another called the “Budd-bodied Ford” to be used in case the Pygmy was turned down), are the only two of these “second series” submittals to survive to this day.
Based on the strength of these prototype vehicles, all three manufacturers received orders for 1,500 units. With a few more improvements, it would be seen just how well the little cars would fare while being put through the rigors of military abuse. Bantam delivered the BRC-40, Willys-Overland produced the MA, and Ford built the GP. Our country’s commitment to helping our allies (who were already fighting the war in Europe) eventually meant that more than the initial order numbers would be produced. Bantam built a total of 2,605, Willys turned out 1,553, and Ford produced 4,456 units. All three models would be vaguely recognized as jeeps today, but they are wildly different from each other and even from the eventual “production” models that the military would order in such large quantities.
(By the way, MA simply stands for Military model A and GP is not “General Purpose” as so many people seem to believe; in Ford’s internal nomenclature “G” is code for a government vehicle and “P” means it is an 80-inch wheelbase reconnaissance vehicle. It is theorized that the word “jeep” is slang for GP or that it is borrowed from the little character “Eugene the Jeep” from the Pop-Eye? comics. “Jeep” is also known to have been a semi-derogatory term given to small, flimsy looking vehicles prior to the war. Lots of people and manufacturers got caught up after the war with claiming that they had either developed the jeep or given it the name!)

And The Winner Is…
Because now there were enough jeeps to be tested thoroughly, the government settled on a “final” design and awarded a primary contract for the newest model, the MB, to W-O. Since the powers that be weren’t sure that Willys-Overland could produce the models fast enough, Ford was awarded a secondary contract to produce an identical vehicle, the GPW. The “W” at the end meant that it was built on the Willys pattern and Willys-Overland had to turn over their blue prints to Ford. (Bantam was barely considered in the final design competition. When you study the history of the little jeep, it always seems like Bantam was never seriously considered but was invited to participate merely because they had “invented” the vehicle and it would have been impolite to ignore the little car manufacturer from Butler, Pennsylvania. Even though Bantam was included in the prototype stages, they were not awarded any significant jeep contracts. It is thought today, that the tiny factory in Butler could have NEVER turned out over 600,000 jeeps. Throughout the war, they produced trailers to be pulled behind the jeeps, and when the war ended, so did Bantam.)
Per the specification, the two models had to be identical and all parts had to be interchangeable. Since motor pools would rebuild vehicles from wrecked or mechanically used-up cars, it was important that the good parts could be scavenged to put vehicles back into action. But even though the two models are supposed to be identical, there are differences that the discerning eye can learn to identify.

What’s The Difference?
The first 25,000 MB’s had a radiator protector made of welded steel “slats” just like most other military trucks of the day. These protectors looked like heavy duty B-B-Q? grills welded onto the front of trucks. Ford used a one piece stamping (yes, the grandfather of the one in your YJ or TJ) that was lighter and cheaper to produce and the government buyers eventually ordered that this design be incorporated into the MB. Consequently, the “slat grill MB” is very rare and it is estimated that only about 200 still survive. (I’ve only ever seen one and it is second in line for restoration at my friend Charlie’s house behind a script model GPW.) The earliest GPWs and MBs had either Ford script or Willys block letters stamped into the back body panel (there was no tailgate) until July of 1942, when the government ordered that the free advertising be removed from future jeeps. After the script was discontinued, the bodies were nearly identical, having been produced by the same company. Some support gussets and features of the leaf springs are different, and both makers built their own engine even though outwardly they seem much the same. However, there are two easily identifiable features that will help you to determine at a glance if you are looking at a Ford or a Willys. At the back of the inside of the tub on top of the interior wheel wells, there is a tool box on each side of the body. The Willys has a flat, plain lid and the Ford lid has a fancier, stamped pattern. In case the lids are missing, check the vertical section where the push-button and lock for the tool box are located. The W-O has a round depression for the button and the Ford has a rectangular one. The front frame member, just beneath the radiator protector on the W-O jeep is a tube whereas on the Ford it is an upside-down “U”-shaped open channel. Once you’ve seen them both, they are easily recognizable. The modern Jeep TJ also has a tubular front frame crossmember. Interestingly, until Ford got up to speed with their frame production, they used frames purchased from Willys. Rare, early Ford jeeps have the Willys frames and are in great demand with collectors.
More interestingly, on a complete and correct Ford GPW, every single part from the engine down to the smallest bolt head either has a script “Ford” or “F” stamped or cast into it. The legend is that Henry Ford himself was responsible for this. The military procurement officers demanded a 100% warranty on every single part on the jeep. Henry, being a contrary type, said that there was no way he was going to replace broken Willys parts with good Ford parts, so the markings were there to insure that the broken part was actually from a Ford. True or not, that is how the story goes. The script shows up in some unexpected places. It is on the backs of the seat frames, every element of the frame, the pintle hitch, the u-bolts securing the springs to the axles, and the handles at the corners of the body.
An easier way to tell if a jeep is a Ford or Willys is to check the data plates located on the passenger side of the dash. Look for the one that says “Nomenclature” and lists all of the pertinent info about the “TRUCK, ¼ TON, 4X4”. It will tell you if the vehicle is a Willys-Overland MB or a Ford GPW followed by a five or six digit number assigned to it in the order it was made. The jeep’s date of birth will even be stamped into it, right down to the actual day.
Willys-Overland produced 335,531 MBs and Ford built 277,896 GPWs by war’s end. They were modified in every conceivable way by motor pools and soldiers in the field. Railroad wheels were fitted so they could be driven on train tracks. Tracked versions were produced to make them even more unstoppable. Machine gun mounts were added to turn them into moving gun batteries. Extra gas can mounts were fitted to increase their range. Armor plating was added to protect the occupants. There is even a special hitch to add to the front of one so that it can be attached to another jeep and the pair can work in tandem, becoming the “prime mover” for a towed gun or wagon, thereby replacing a light truck.

To Sum It Up
A complete study of the WWII jeep would overwhelm the scope of our newsletter and besides, better scholars than I have written far more about the little hero of WWII than I could ever hope to read. (The best and most complete reference works for the jeep are “All American Wonder” and its two sequels “AAW II” and “AAW III”. Bob Nottman of the First Florida Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association has recently published some ground breaking research, bringing lots of previously unknown info to light.) Many were crated up to ease shipment to Europe in the holds of ships and then assembled at massive depots. (If you search for them long enough, you’ll start to get tired of people telling you that a friend of an uncle’s friend knows where there are still “army jeeps still in the crate”. Ask them to show them to you; they’ll never take you up on it!) The army paid around $900 for each vehicle and didn’t even get a shiny paint job! There was no heater, power steering, power brakes, turn signals or seat belts. The protection from the elements was a flimsy canvas top. Its top speed was around 60 mph. The jeep had an expected life span of 90 days once it was put into service. Bullets, bumps, and battle tended to wear it out quickly! Yet it remains one of the most collectible vehicles in the world, instantly recognizable to grizzled old veterans and young civilians alike. The Ford GPW and Willys MB are the original “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” vehicles, becoming the basis for almost every off road recreational vehicle to follow. If they only could!

All of these photos are of jeeps owned by members of the First Florida Chapter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association. I got the photos from the FFC's members' vehicles site.


This is an early slat grill Willys MB. Notice the BBQ grill look of the radiator protector. This is just about the condition that you usually find these old rigs in.


This is the standardized WWII Willys-Overland MB with the Ford style grill that we all know and love.


This friends, is the Ford GPW with the stamped steel radiator protector (grill) designed by Ford employee Clarence Kramer. This is the other standardized WWII jeep. This one is owned by Ed Menees of the FFC and his is the best one I've ever seen. All of the parts have the F script on them and the tires are even by Ford! Ed owns a very early one with a Willys frame, since Ford had to buy frames for their first few thousand until their frame production caught up. For those who saw it at the Rally in Belleview, I hope you enjoyed it.


Spotters Guide