WWII Jeep in a Crate? Apocryphal? True?

[Peacoat]

Both of you are welcome. Just give me some advance notice. That is, don't show up at 6:00 AM with a back seat full of beer!

 

[Phantomfixer]

How about the front seat.

 

[Peacoat]

Peacoat, Next time I go down to Roane Mountain I will look you two up. I could use some pointers on the T-90 rebuild process.

I asked him about the T-90 rebuild process, and here is his response:

"The T90 is the model transmission used on all jeeps(CJ-2A thru early CJ-5's) after 1945. The rebuild process is very straight forward, I've done it."

So, if you show up with a front seat full of beer, please do it after 12 noon.

 

[Phantomfixer]

[/IMG]

It is a deal.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Peacoat, do you know if your friend converts the axles from two-piece to one-piece?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[Peacoat]

Peacoat, do you know if your friend converts the axles from two-piece to one-piece?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

I don't know but I will ask him. I've never heard him mention it.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I don't know but I will ask him. I've never heard him mention it.

I sure hope he did, I have heard of them breaking apart with regular street driving. then again, Dana 20's aren't that strong to begin with...

 

[Peacoat]

He said that he doesn't. He has had a bunch of Jeeps over the last 40 or so years, and has never had a problem with the axle. Other problems, yes, but not the axle. I imagine if he did, he would find a way to fix it.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

My "uncrated" Jeep...

...hey, It was within the budget!

-dixon cannon

 

[sixties.nut]

DC

Now there's another case of: They sure don't make 'em like they used to.

 

[MPicciotto]

Is that the GI Joe one?

Matt

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Is that the GI Joe one?

Matt

No, this one is 1/48th scale - about seven inches long - plastic and metal. I cannot remember who the manufacturer is - the box is packed away in a warehouse - there is no manufacturers data on the car itself. Sorry, bou' dat!

-dixon cannon

 

[p51]

If you ever found one, it is my estimation that it would be worth well over 30,000 and left in it's crate. The value would be it being in it's crate. Otherwise it's just the supreme example of NOS parts

Heck, IF you ever found on still in the crate, you could put it in a building and charge admission, then retire off the people coming to see it.

I remember when I was a kid, you could still order these crated Jeeps from the back of comic books! I often wonder if there are a few, still crated, in some garage somewhere. What a find that would be!

There never were any Jeeps in crates. Those ads were for companies selling government surplus listings (which could be had for free). They didn’t sell Jeeps in crates and never did. This story has been going around for decades now. The basic idea is that some folks took out ads in magazines in the 50s and 60s, which were just to get listing for surplus from the government. Still, enough people read those ads and eventually the stories got passed down until there now a generation of people who swear that their Uncle's Neighbor's College Roommate bought one new in the crate after the war. You'll never, EVER meet the person who actually bought one. It's always several people removed from the person telling you this, he'll never know where the Jeep is today or how to reach anyone who might have photos. It's an utter urban legend. Folks who own WW2 Jeeps hear this all the time. Granted, there were a very few people who did buy crated Jeeps after the war, but none of them got them for a steal. Think of it; Willys started making CJ-2 Jeep immediately after the war and got premium prices for them. Would they have been able to do that if there were a bunch of crated WW2 Jeeps lying around for bargain prices? Of course not. In fact, a well-known author on the subject has had an ongoing cash reward for even good documentation that someone bought a WW2 Jeep new in the crate. In several decades, he’s never once even had someone ask how to collect. Here are two good links on the subject:
http://members.aol.com/brimiljeep/WebPages/JeepInaCratePage.html
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_mvg_jeeps_50dollars.php3
I have a 1944 Willys MB. It’s never been restored, just maintained since it was bought from the government auction in 1947. I’m the third civilian owner and have had it for 10 years now: http://willysmb44.webs.com/willysmb366014.htm Having one is like owning an airplane. You don’t just hop in and take off. You have to check everything, let it warm up, watch all the gauges constantly. The minute you turn your back on one, something goes wrong. And you spend a lot of time working on it for every time you drive it somewhere. They’re extremely labor intensive. Show me a WW2 Jeep owner and I’ll show you someone with badly busted up knuckles and a bad back from being bent over inside the engine compartment.

Peacoat, Next time I go down to Roane Mountain I will look you two up. I could use some pointers on the T-90 rebuild process.

Is that Roan Mountain? Peacoat, you live in the Tr-Cities area? My folks were born and raised along Stoney Creek, outside of Elizabethton. I know the area well! fftopic:

 

[drafttek]

I've owned this one for 21 years. I drove it for the first ten with very little trouble. It always ran fine and we did our share of off-roading and parades. About ten years ago I decided it was looking a little worn so I decided to strip it down to the frame. My two year rehab lasted ten! I just fired it up last summer and have only managed to put about twenty miles on it since. Had to get towed home twice. I should have left well enough alone! :eusa_doh:

 

[Yeps]

edit: I changed my mind about this post, as it was needlessly confrontational.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Hey, here's one of those ads!!!

Now read the fine print!

-dixon cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Hey....I found one!!!

And just cost me $50 bucks too!!!!

-dixon 'GP' cannon

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Now here's a true story..

I worked with Lee Bortmas' son. Lee was one of the originators of the Bantam that grew into grew into the Jeep we know and love.

http://www.m201.com/bantam.htm

-dixon cannon

 

[p51]

I know you didn't mean it in this way, but some folks have used photos of that Jeep to support there are still WW2 Jeeps in a crate. But the Jeep here was a restored WW2 Jeep disassembled and a reproduction crate made to show what it would have looked like.

 

[Peacoat]

P-51, Tracy City may be on Roan Mountain. I am in Middle Tennessee but occasionally go to the mountains of East Tennessee to ride my motorcycle.

You guys are cracking me up with these stories and pictures of jeeps in crates. I seem to remember something about these advertisements when I was a kid.