Willys Jeep Station Wagon

Last updated
Willys Jeep Station Wagon
1962 Willys Jeep Utility Wagon.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer
Also calledWillys / Ford Rural (Brazil)
IKA Estanciera (Argentina)
Production1946–1964 (U.S)
1957–1970 (Argentina)
1950s–1977 (Brazil)
Designer Brooks Stevens [1]
Body and chassis
Class Mid-size sport utility vehicle
Body style
Related
Powertrain
Propulsionrear wheel drive / optional four wheel drive
Dimensions
Wheelbase 104 in (2,642 mm) [2]
Length176.25 in (4,477 mm) [2]
Width72 in (1,829 mm) [2]
Height74 in (1,880 mm)
Curb weight
  • 3,206 lb (1,454 kg)
  • 4,500 lb (2,041 kg) GWV
Chronology
Successor Jeep Wagoneer

The Willys Jeep Station Wagon, Jeep Utility Wagon and Jeep Panel Delivery are automobiles produced by Willys and Kaiser Jeep in the United States from 1946 to 1964, with production in Argentina and Brazil continuing until 1970 and 1977, respectively. They were the first mass-market all-steel station wagons designed and built as a passenger vehicle. [3] With over 300,000 wagons and its variants built in the U.S., it was one of Willys' most successful post-World War II models.[ citation needed ] For some time after the 1949 introduction of a four-wheel drive option, the 2WD was sold as "Station Wagon", while the 4WD was marketed as "Utility Wagon". [4] The 4WD Willys Jeep Wagon is often considered the first production sport utility vehicle. [5] [6] The Jeep Wagon was assembled in several international markets under various forms of joint ventures, licenses, or knock-down kits.

Contents

Development and reception

The Wagon's all-steel body was sometimes painted as a woodie 1947 Willys Wagon (3665123269).jpg
The Wagon's all-steel body was sometimes painted as a woodie

The Jeep Wagon was designed in the mid-1940s by industrial designer Brooks Stevens. [7] Willys did not make their own bodies, car bodies were in high demand, and Willys was known to have limited finances. Brooks therefore designed bodies that could be built by sheet metal fabricators who normally made parts for household appliances and could draw sheet metal no more than 6 inches (152 mm). [8]

The steel body was efficient to mass-produce, easier to maintain and safer than the real wood-bodied station wagon versions at the time. [9] Within the first two years of the Jeep Wagon's production, the only manufacturer in the United States with a station wagon that was comparable in price was Crosley, [10] which introduced an all-steel wagon in 1947.

The Jeep Wagon was the first Willys product with independent front suspension. Barney Roos, Willys' chief engineer, developed a system based on a transverse seven-leaf spring. The system, called "Planadyne" by Willys, was similar in concept to the "planar" suspension Roos had developed for Studebaker in the mid-1930s. [10]

In 1953 the U.S. military included the 4x4 station wagon models 463 and 473 as non (standard) classified 1/4-ton trucks under Standard Nomenclature List number G-740 in Technical Manual edition TM9-2800-1. [11]

Production timeline

1951 Advertisement for the Willys Station Wagon 1951 - Turner Motors - 8 Feb MC - Allentown PA.jpg
1951 Advertisement for the Willys Station Wagon
Willys Jeep "Estanciera" made by IKA in Argentina. IKA Estanciera.JPG
Willys Jeep "Estanciera" made by IKA in Argentina.
Brazil - Willys Wagon became the Ford Rural (1969-1974 model) Ford Rural F75.jpg
Brazil – Willys Wagon became the Ford Rural (1969-1974 model)
Willys Jeep Station Wagon taxi, Cuba. Willys-jeep-station-wagon.jpg
Willys Jeep Station Wagon taxi, Cuba.

United States

Argentina

The Jeep Wagon was produced as the IKA Estanciera by Industrias Kaiser Argentina from 1957 to 1970.

Brazil

In the 1950s, a version based on the 1946 US version was introduced. A truck version, the Pickup, was introduced in 1961. Ford Brazil bought the Willys factory in 1967 and the Rural Jeep wagon was renamed Ford Rural, and the truck was later named the Ford F-75 in 1972. Both models were offered with an inline-six engine, which was the first gasoline engine manufactured in Brazil. They were available in RWD or 4X4 configuration. The Rural was discontinued in 1977 and the F-75 in 1981. [18]

Notes

  1. Carlsson, Mårten. "Stevens segerbil". Klassiker. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 1953 Willys Jeep Brochure
  3. Olsen & Lyons 2000, p. 27.
  4. Jeep for 1959, 1960, and 1961 – Allpar.com
  5. "1960 Willys Four-Wheel-Drive Station Wagon: Your (Great-) Grandfather's SUV". Autoweek. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. Greg. "The Very First Sport Utility Vehicle: The Jeep Station Wagon". autoroundup. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  7. Olsen & Lyons 2000, p. 28.
  8. Brown 1994, pp. 66, 68.
  9. Olsen & Lyons 2000, p. 29.
  10. 1 2 3 Brown 1994, p. 70.
  11. TM 9-2800-1/TO 19-75A-89 – MILITARY VEHICLES (PDF). Washington: Departments of the Army and the Air Force. 13 February 1953. p. 152.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  12. Wx4: "Basic Wagon Data". Wx4.org. Archived February 21, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150221184837/http://wx4.org/to/wagons/usefulstuff/wagonspecs.html
  13. 1 2 3 Brown 1994, p. 72.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Wx4 "Basic Wagon Data"
  15. Brown 1994, p. 86.
  16. Brown 1994, p. 90.
  17. Wx4: "Vehicle Identification Numbers Explained" (Wagon/Delivery models). Wx4.org. Archived February 21, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150221024530/http://wx4.org/to/wagons/usefulstuff/vin/vin.html
  18. TATAREVIC, BOZI. "The Tale Of The Ford Rural And F-75 Truck" . Retrieved 24 May 2015.

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References