Jeep Truck
Styled by Brooks Stevens to share the wagon's front sheet metal and the CJ's drivetrain, the Jeep Truck arrived in 1947 as a one-ton four-wheel-drive pickup, with two-wheel-drive versions alongside in the early years. It carried a T-90 three-speed, a Spicer 18 transfer case on 4x4s, a Spicer 25 front axle, and a heavy Timken rear axle, and buyers could add a governor, power take-off, or pulley drive for farm and fleet work. Updates came slowly: a V-grille and the Hurricane F-head four in 1950, the 475 series in 1953, the Super Hurricane six from 1954, a one-piece windshield in 1960, and the Tornado overhead-cam six at the end. More than 200,000 were built before the J-series Gladiator took its place.
Engines
| Engine | Power | Torque | Fuel | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willys L-134 Go Devil L-head I4 JeepTech rating; Wikipedia (Arch Brown) gives 63 hp. |
60 hp (45 kW) | 106 lb-ft (144 N·m) | Gasoline | 1947 to 1950 |
| Willys F-134 Hurricane F-head I4 JeepTech rating; a 7.4:1 version (75 hp) was standard from 1960 to 1962. See notes on gaps in its availability. |
72 hp (54 kW) | 114 lb-ft (155 N·m) | Gasoline | 1950 to 1962 |
| Super Hurricane 226 L-head I6 JeepTech rating. |
115 hp (86 kW) | 190 lb-ft (258 N·m) | Gasoline | 1954 to 1958 |
| Super Hurricane 226 L-head I6 (retuned) Torque peak moved down to 1,400 rpm (JeepTech). |
105 hp (78 kW) | 190 lb-ft (258 N·m) | Gasoline | 1959 to 1962 |
| Kaiser Tornado 230 OHC I6 JeepTech lists this as a net rating; a 133 hp version was offered in 1964 and 1965. |
140 hp (104 kW) | 210 lb-ft (285 N·m) | Gasoline | 1962 or 1963 to 1965 |
Transmissions
- 3-speed manual (Borg-Warner T-90), column shift (1947 to mid-1949)
- 3-speed manual (Borg-Warner T-90), floor shift (Mid-1949 to 1965)
Sizes and weights
| Measure | Size |
|---|---|
| Wheelbase | 118 in2,997 mm |
| Length | 183.8 in4,669 mm |
| Width | 73 in1,854 mm |
| Height | 74.4 in1,890 mm |
| Curb weight | 3,100–3,300 lb1,406–1,497 kg |
A range covers the body styles and trims of this generation.
Worth knowing
- It was rated as a one-ton truck from the start, with three-quarter-ton two-wheel-drive and half-ton 473 HT versions in the early years.
- Options included an engine governor, a power take-off, a pulley drive, and from 1957 the 'Dump-O-Matic' hydraulic hoist.
- The early heavy-duty Timken rear axle was later replaced by a Dana 53.
- Factory records also list ambulances, fire engines, and dual-rear-wheel cabs built in small numbers.
- In Brazil, Willys built a pickup from 1961 that Ford later sold as the F-75 until 1981.
Year by year, newest first
- Final year; only the higher-output Tornado six was offered.
- A lower-output version of the Tornado six was added.
- The overhead-cam Tornado 230 six took over from the flathead Super Hurricane (Wikipedia dates this to 1962).
- A six-cylinder dual-rear-wheel cab model appears in factory records (38 built).
- A one-piece windshield replaced the two-piece split windshield.
- The Super Hurricane six was retuned for torque lower in the rev range.
- A 'Dump-O-Matic' hydraulic dump hoist became available.
- The Super Hurricane six became the standard engine, with the Hurricane four optional.
- The 226 cu in Super Hurricane L-head six was offered for the first time.
- The grille was changed again.
- The line became the 475 series; Kaiser bought Willys-Overland during the year.
- Two-wheel-drive output fell to about 1,070 half-ton trucks, with four-wheel-drive models making up the rest.
- A V-shaped grille with five horizontal bars arrived mid-year with the new 473 models.
- The F-head Hurricane four replaced the L-head Go Devil.
- A two-wheel-drive half-ton 473 HT was offered.
- A floor-mounted shifter replaced the column shift in mid-year.
- About 21,000 four-wheel-drive and 9,200 two-wheel-drive trucks built, the most of the early years.
- Introduced as a one-ton truck in two-wheel-drive (2T) and four-wheel-drive (4T) forms with the Go Devil four.
- Offered as a pickup, platform stake, cab and chassis, or bare chassis.
Notes
No single factory code covers the run (2T, 4T, 473, 475, 6-226, and 6-230), so the slug is 'first'. Wikipedia (citing Arch Brown) says a three-quarter-ton 2WD version came 'by 1949' and that only 4x4s were built from 1951, but Norton Young's factory figures show 2WD trucks from 1947 and about 1,070 2WD half-tons in 1951. The Hurricane four is dated 1950 (JeepTech, Wikipedia's engine article) or 1951 (Wikipedia's truck article, which says output rose from 63 to 72 hp). JeepTech says the four was not offered in 1957 and 1958 and was dropped in 1963, but factory figures show four-cylinder 475 trucks built in 1957 and 1958, and Wikipedia lists the 475 through 1965. The Tornado six is dated 1962 (Wikipedia) or 1963 (JeepTech). JeepTech dates the second grille change to 1954; Wikipedia ties the three-bar grille to the 475 of 1953. Fuel tank and ground clearance were not confirmed. Empty years mean no change was found.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Willys_Jeep_Truck
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/models/willys-pu/
- en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Willys_Jeep_Station_Wagon
- cj3b.info /WOfigures.html
- en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Willys_Hurricane_engine
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/godevil134/
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/hurricane134/
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/hurricane226/
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/tornado230/