World War II Jeeps are in vogue

These sturdy machines of World War II that saw action in various parts of the world and were truly remembered as faithful war heroines are now prized possessions. These jeeps made between 1941 and 1945 in the US by Willys and Ford during are fetching very good prices. Despite this new craze the total number of such jeeps in India could be just a few hundred and only half of them can still run on the road, the remaining lying as disused vehicles that have seen better days. Daabwali in Punjab is the place where these old beauties are restored and new features added. Daabwali has numerous workshops where the restoration work goes on.

Those collecting vintages are looking for these old jeeps that were auctioned off by the army after World War II. During that war, the Indian army received several thousand Willys and Ford jeeps which were phased out later. But those who bought them and used them for decades and then put them for permanent rest or sold as “kabad” are restoring them back. The restored jeeps are fetching Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and one owner in Mumbai has put a tag of Rs 25 lakh on his 1942 Willys.

The name Jeep has an interesting story to it. The first coinage of the word "JEEP", as applied to a motor vehicle, occurred during World War I. According to Major E.P. Hogan, who wrote a history of the development of the Jeep for the Army’s Quartermaster review in 1941, "Jeep is an old Army grease monkey term that dates back to WWI and was used by shop mechanics in referring to any new motor vehicle received for a test." Jeep was still used in Army motor pools well into the 1930’s as general purpose or "GP" for short. Though in a 1941 Army manual it refers "GP" as Government 80 inch wheel base car (Jeep).
Then in 1936, ‘Jeep’ was introduced to the world by a Popeye comic strip character, "Eugene the Jeep". The only words Eugene could say were "Jeep, Jeep", and "GP" then became "Jeep". Then the "Willys Quarter-tonne Jeep was first used by the US military in WWII. When the WWII Jeep was issued during wartime, the term "Jeep" was here to stay.

A further note to the history of the Jeep was provided by Rodney Hawk of US,
"The American Bantam Car Works of Butler, PA, answered the call of the US army and designed and successfully tested and demonstrated the jeep for the Army. Willys Overland and Ford’s entries did not meet the Army’s specifications. American Bantam had a limited production capacity so the army took Bantams entry and gave it to Willys and Ford to produce. Unfortunately there was no recognition or compensation for American Bantam and the company shortly went bankrupt.’
Bantam built the first Jeep in 1940. It was the Bantam Pilot (BRC-60). Seventy of these units were produced. Ford produced two units called the PYGMY. In 1941 they produced 3700 units called the Ford GP. Willys produced 1553 Model MAs. The rest is history.

In Jaipur, the Rajputana Jeep Club has encouraged the jeep lovers to unite to buy old jeeps and restore them. It recently organized its second jeep rally covering 80 km area where one of the oldest jeeps in the country was seen and it was discovered that there were more than 30 restored jeeps of the 1941-1960 era that are road worthy.

Devendra Pratap Singh Mandawal’s 1941(RJE 260) that still still bears the US army numbers is one of the oldest jeeps in the country now. This is from the first
lot of jeeps produced by Willys in Ohio, US.

“There is a passion for the old jeeps now. Most of theowners who possess them have spent a huge amount of money in restoring the jeeps with parts that were difficult to get. We are carrying forward our legacy of jeeps,” said Inder Vijay Singh, president of the Rajputana Jeep Club who is personally into restoring old jeeps.

“What amazed us even a BMW within a week after its delivery from the showroom loses up to 20 percent of its value. But in the case of a truly restored World War II Willys or Ford, one could get as much as Rs 5 lakh. The more you keep and maintain it you would get a higher price in future as Ford and Willys from 1941-1945 is considered a treasured possession. The two editions of the Ford and Willys jeep rally has created new awareness about old jeeps and more and more people are going to far off places like Bhopal, Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Lucknow, Kanpur and Kashmir to look for the jeeps. The buyers usually spend a couple of lakh rupees to restore it and make it road worthy. It’s more than passion.” said Ayush Singh, a jeep enthusiast.

 

Retired naval chief Admiral (Retd) Manvendra Singh still uses the old jeep and participates in the rally only because he has a love for these old autos. “This jeep was procured by my father late Gen Bhagwati Singh. It was used in the second World War and was bought from an army
jawan in Uttar Pradesh .This serves as a memorial of my father who was a decorated
soldier,” said the admiral.

“Maintaining the vehicle is very tough as these old beauties suck a lot of petrol doing 5-7 km a litre,” said Ajay Singh Rathor, who owns a 1942 Ford that he procured from former chief minister
Vasundhara Raje’s royal family of Dholpur.

“The war jeeps still possess the blackout lights that were specially designed and allowed the movement of the vehicles without beingnoticed by the hovering aircraft ready to bomb them. Some of the vehicles had space for not only fitting spade and axe that one needed while negotiating jungles and sand dune, but also were equipped with wireless antenna and even place to keep guns,” said Abhimanyu Singh Alsisar, who owns the original war jeeps made by Ford.