Willys Jeep

[Ant]

It's usually known as the Willys Jeep, but its original name is Willys MA, for "Military" model A. It was basically a prototype submitted to the US Army for approval. The version that saw mass production for WWII was the Willys MB, which had a few modifications to make it more suitable for combat duty.

These were the specifications that the Army required and for which Willys produced the MA:

* 600 lb. load capacity
* wheelbase under 75 inches
* height under 36 inches
* smooth-running engine from 3 to 50 mph
* rectangular body
* two-speed transfer case with four-wheel-drive
* fold-down windshield
* three bucket seats
* blackout and driving lights
* gross vehicle weight under 1,300 lbs.

Some specs from the MB:

Engine: 4-cyl. side valves, 134 CID (2199 cc)
Horsepower: 60 hp
Some features: Can be piled for shipping, plastic steering wheel, steel seats, hinged passenger front seat, slitted War-time front parking lights.

[symon]

Cool, because it is a great tool for the job it was designed to do.

I wouldn't want to use one on the road for too long though.

[howell811]

Cool ? Yes !!

Would I want one ? Heck no !!!

[Fast Frank]

for the best reason...... It just is

[Kevin Slegg]

Cool - but didn't they have a propensity to turn over?

A Landrover is better IMHO

[ACAPULCO AL]

cool

completely sh*te, but cool all the same

[corbo]

Cool because action man drives one, but it's not a landie

[dpat]

[BigFoot]

Totally cool!

[Terrano]

iconic and cool

[SPPalfa]

Cool but I wouldnt want one

[Roswell]

It's American therefore uncool.

Always wanted one as a kid.


But even driving the modern version is a chore.

There are a few around here. One in civil defence yellow livery
is particularly cool in the summer.

Cool, but only just.

(Most of them are Ford GPWs and not made by Willys. )

[Dibby]

Cool

Last one of those I saw was being 'piloted' by a very drunk Chas from Chas & Dave down a country lane as he bounced off the verges and hedgerows with no lights, no numberplate and no seatbelts. He lives round the corner from one of my mates and apparently he's well known in the village for bouncing through hedgerows in his jeep

[GJ]

Originally Posted by Dibby

.......bouncing through hedgerows......

I doubt that can be attributed to bad driving..... I've driven one of these..... they are truly awful

[Dibby]

Even harder to control when you're full of beer I bet

[GJ]

But it probably feels like it's going in a straight line

[symon]

My dad nearly bought a Jago jeep when I was a kid.

For those that don't know its a kit car replica of a Willys jeep with I think Cortina or Mk2 escort running gear.

Lovely.

You can alway get a Mahindra.
Virtually the same as the old CJs.

(They used to be made from CKD kits.)

[jabberwocky]

possibly the coolest 'car' in the world.

every jeep since then has been bloody awful though

[Alfaspeed]

Back in the day when i was reliant on my parents apron strings and living out of their fridge i had little choice of what i could do and when i could do it. This included going out, coming in, when to eat, when to sleep and what to watch on TV. We only had the one TV that we all had to share, but alas, democracy was short on supply and so we all had to watch what dad had on. This usually meant sitting through re-runs of the local news, anything with trains in it I grew up going to school hearing of all these great shows like Twin Peaks and V that passed me by because try as i might i couldn't convince him that 19th century planes were a strong feature in these shows and that barely an episode went by without someone remarking on a train of some description. But that was nothing compared to the re-runs of M.A.S.H we had on. I didn't take much notice of it at the time. I was too young to fully understand what was going on anyway and thought it was just another program about the Vietnam war. In fact, it was only recently that i discovered it wasn't Vietnam at all but Korea, but it doesn't matter where it was set. It bored me to tears and made me the weakest link at school. These Jeeps then will always be regarded as uncool to me for making a significant part of my life both lonely and pointless.

[Brickman]

[garry-graig]

Willy's Jeep is just as bad as Land Rover,give me a Unimog anyday
Uncool!

[Ant]

Originally Posted by Alfaspeed

Back in the day when i was reliant on my parents apron strings and living out of their fridge i had little choice of what i could do and when i could do it. This included going out, coming in, when to eat, when to sleep and what to watch on TV. We only had the one TV that we all had to share, but alas, democracy was short on supply and so we all had to watch what dad had on. This usually meant sitting through re-runs of the local news, anything with trains in it I grew up going to school hearing of all these great shows like Twin Peaks and V that passed me by because try as i might i couldn't convince him that 19th century planes were a strong feature in these shows and that barely an episode went by without someone remarking on a train of some description. But that was nothing compared to the re-runs of M.A.S.H we had on. I didn't take much notice of it at the time. I was too young to fully understand what was going on anyway and thought it was just another program about the Vietnam war. In fact, it was only recently that i discovered it wasn't Vietnam at all but Korea, but it doesn't matter where it was set. It bored me to tears and made me the weakest link at school. These Jeeps then will always be regarded as uncool to me for making a significant part of my life both lonely and pointless.

I must admit that your reasoning when classifying a car as cool, uncool or otherwise is downright weird. But very entertaining.

[garry-graig]

Originally Posted by Ant

I must admit that your reasoning when classifying a car as cool, uncool or otherwise is downright weird. But very entertaining.