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Willys MB Jeep

Willys MB Jeep

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Willys MB JeepWillys MB JeepWillys MB JeepWillys MB JeepWillys MB Jeep
Willys MB JeepWillys MB Jeep
Lot number 120
Hammer value £9,500
Description Willys MB Jeep
Registration JJJ 396
Year c.1944
Colour Blue
Engine size 2,194 cc
Chassis No. 199878
Engine No. GPW19229
Documents V5C; 1981 tax disc; original 1942 maintenance manual; Olyslager Jeep book; sundry spares

Hailed as the vehicle which won the Second World War, the Jeep was a joint development by Willys-Overland, Bantam and Ford, with production being shared between Ford and Willys.

The vehicles from both manufacturers were almost identical and used the Willys-designed 2.2-litre sidevalve Go-Devil engine, giving that distinctive sound that only a Jeep can make. The inspiration for Britain’s own Land Rover, the Jeep was the first truly practical four-wheel drive vehicle and was equipped with a three-speed synchromesh gearbox and two-speed transfer box. Hydraulic brakes were standard and a top speed of 65mph was on tap.

Production of the standard Jeep was 630,245 from late 1941 to the end of the war, split almost half-and-half between Ford and Willys, with the latter in the slight majority. Hugely popular with all ranks from Montgomery and Eisenhower down, the Jeep was treated like a go-anywhere sports car, with bucket seats, fold-flat windscreen, taut suspension and agile road-holding.

The design looked right and was right, serving with distinction in all theatres of war, from the frozen wastes of Russia to the foetid jungles of Burma. Most famously it was the vehicle that carried the Allies to victory from the beaches of Normandy to the heart of the German Fatherland.

Never short of admirers, wartime examples are now highly collectible and an industry has mushroomed to supply any part required to restore and run them. Considering how many were made, it is amazing how few of them now survive.

On offer here from a deceased estate, this particular Jeep is thought to date from around 1944 and was first UK registered for civilian use in August 1947. We are told by the family that the late-owner acquired the Jeep in the 1950s and used it regularly around the streets of Birmingham, taking it with him when he relocated to rural Worcestershire. It was then put into dry storage where it was to remain for many years.

An old tax disc in the windscreen suggests that it was last in use in 1981 and the mechanical condition is not known, although it still rolled freely when we went to collect it from its long-term place of storage shortly before the auction. As you can see in the photos on our website, it has a very well-used look about it with signs of running repairs over the years.

It comes with a useful quantity of spares, (including a canvas top) a V5C that records just one owner and an original Willys Truck Maintenance Manual dating from October 1942. The JJJ 396 registration number is transferable and no doubt has a value of its own.

It is being offered here strictly ‘as viewed’ and at no reserve so the highest bid takes it home. With good examples of wartime Jeeps routinely fetching well in excess of £10,000 at auction, it should amply reward the restoration works now required.

AMENDMENT: We are not entirely sure if this is a Willys or Ford-built Jeep and bidders are advised to form their own opinions on this matter.

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