1942 Willys MB Military Jeep - Detailed Walkaround, Review and Test Drive!
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- čas přidán 30. 03. 2016
- Today is not so much a luxury car report, as it is the classic car report. Because here we have an original 1942 Willys MB; the father of all Jeeps. And today we’re gonna show you everything about it.
In the dawn of WWII, the US #Army organized a bid to design a light, 4x4 personnel and weapons carrier. After the Model A prototype of Willys-Overland won the bid, both Willys and Ford would be contracted by the Army to produce the #Willys #MB (which stands for Model B). interestingly, the characteristic stamped slotted grille comes from Ford, as an improvement to the original welded slat grille. This was the beginning of what would later become the Jeep brand, and in particular the Jeep Wrangler.
See any similarities here? I brought two of Jeep’s younger siblings, to compare them to the original Willys MB. As you can see, Jeep is still really true to the original Jeep design. All of these Jeeps have the typical slotted grill and the round headlamps. Of course, of all the current Jeep models, the Wrangler still resembles the original Willys MB the most. With its stick-out fenders, and even the hood latches that are still the same as they were on the Willys MB.
So, what is it like to drive a Willys MB? What can we say… it’s incomparable to any car you can imagine, if you’ve never driven a car that is as basic and as old and pure as this army Jeep. Everything feels like you’re handling bare metal. But in a very exciting and fun way! Imagining no power steering combined with the turning radius of a town square will give you an idea of the concept. But boy, does it give you a lot of fun! And what the Willys MB lacks in comfort, it more than compensates this with its mechanical capabilities.
The specifications proposed by the Army were challenging:
The army jeep should have a minimum ground clearance of 6.25 inches, 4x4 drive with a two speed transfer case, ability to climb an angle of 45 degrees and to provide seating for three soldiers. The weight was not to exceed 1308 lbs, with a wheelbase of 80 inches and a height of 40 inches. Also, there had to be a mount for a .30 caliber machine gin and a folding windshield. The weight requirement turned to be too much and the Willys MB turned out 2453 lb pulled by a 60hp 4 cylinder engine that delivers 105 lb ft of torque.
Apart from being very rugged and capable, these jeeps have some nifty features built in! Watch our list of favorites!
An interesting feature of the Willys MB, can be found under the hood. You can remove a bolt, so that when you have engine problems, you can illuminate the engine with the headlamp to work on it. And under the hood, the Willys features the maintenance schedule. So imagine you’re driving behing the enemy, and you want to shoot your enemy. Of course you don’t want to shatter your own windshield, so the windshield can be opened so you can shoot underneath. And if that’s not enough for you, you can unleash two hooks and fold down the complete windshield frame.
Now let’s talk about doors. This will be a very short talk because it has none. This is the only side protection that you get with the Willys: put a belt through an o-ring, and that’s your door.
It’s obvious that the Willy MB doesn’t feature all the comfort that we’re used to today. But it has one real big problem, and it’s literally big; it’s me. I don’t fit. This car wasn’t designed for people who are 6’8” tall.
The Willys MB had an ignition system that was very much ahead of its time, because it’s a push start button. The Willys MB had only three manual gears, and reverse. So where you’d normally expect the first gear to be, is the reverse gear. It also had switches to set two-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive and to select low gear and high gear. Of course, no soldier should get on the road without a fire extinguisher. The antenna can be extended, and extended, and extended... until it’s too tall to store it in your garage.
Early examples of the Willys MB had manually operated windshield wipers, later models had vacuum powered windshield wipers and this one has electrical motors, which can be operated on the motor itself.
Despite having our fair share of technical breakdowns and therefore having to run three shooting days, we’re sure we would we’d be a pretty successful squad if this car wouldn’t be 74 years old. It is also a good advice to find out how to attach the roof before it starts to rain...
One of the coolest things is of course the jerrycan, which has survived all the way up to today’s Renegade. The legend of the Willys MB lives… more than ever! - Auta a dopravní prostředky
After WW2 in the Philippines the U.S Army left so many Jeeps. The country turned them into Taxis. Customized them with deferent paint jobs and rim's. Lol!!.
It's great that the people of the Philippines made good use of them! They didn't let them go to waste but were thankful for the free vehicles they got.
Pakyu
Those jeeps are for official use only and were used as service vehicle of Doctors in all municipalities especially in the provinces, heads of some offices, and also serves as ambulance in the 50's and 60's.
Correction. The body of the jeep shown is NOT a Willys MB. It is a Willys CJ2A which was a civilian jeep made after the war.
Didn’t the Jeep you describe have the fuel (not gas) filler on the outside?
The grin on the driver says it all.
He loved the car!
The true flat fender jeeps (GPW, MB, CJ2, M38) are extremely fun to drive
The war time classic that never gets old
Yup this is a post was Jeep Cj jeep ..No Axe and shovel pressings on the drivers side ..Slots in the bottom of the body near the foot steps.
corrugated rear wheel arch tops. The shape to the cutout above the steering column plus many other features as mentioned by others ..
Never thought we would learn so many more details after publishing this video.
I believe that this jeep is a CJ3A which was a civilian version. This is because:
1.Front bumper gusset is straight whereas MB had a Y-shape bumper gusset
.
2.On the dashboard data plates are not placed where they should be and the glove box is not present, which is similar to that of a CJ3A.
3.Wiper used to be manually operated, electronic wipers were introduced later.
4.Gearbox is T90 not a T84.
5.Rear axle is semi-floating, whereas MB had a full floating rear axle.
6.Rear tool box is not present.
7.Rear body floor is striped whereas Willys MB had a plane floor.
8.Exhaust is wrongly placed.
9.Torque reaction spring is not present.
10.The rims are not combat wheels.
Unfortunately, it is not an original one.
Thank you for the detailed analysis. It is hard to see the distinction when you're not too familiar with the model.
Or a CJ2A. Where the steering wheel column goes into the dash. The True MB has the dash straight across whereas the civilian like this on, has the little up divot in the dash. Also the body on the side there are no indents for the shovel....etc. So yeah... A Sweet CJ but not an MB.
No Pioneer tools identation too Hood number = year 1943.
My grandfather owns one and were restoring it because he left it to rust cause he never need to use it but now he wants to restore it so I can’t wait till it’s done
That's exciting! Thanks for watching!
I thank CZcams, for enabling me see very car in the world and it's reviews. Richard, Uganda,EastAfrica.
Thank you for watching, Richard!
ill never forget when i found out what a willys could do. skinny enough to drive up forested hills, what a mountain goat!!
1:16 that little slide made the park perfect!
My grandfather drove this in Normandy when he was in the G2 section (Army Intelligence). He said it was one of the unsung heroes of the war! It was rough, tough, easy to fix and could drive over anything! My grandpa watched this and said "Tell them to use their toe to start the car and use their heel to throttle in the gas, that's how we did it and it worked".
Wow, that's amazing! We have our freedom thanks to your grandfather and his fellow soldiers and I feel honored that you showed him our video. Next time I drive a Willy's, I will try to start it like that!
Dr. Spectre
Sounds like Grandpa knew exactly what he was talking about.
Love the video been looking or a long time for a good Willys jeep
could someone offer their opinion. In the 1960's, in Arizona, a high school buddy's father collected cars. Among others in the garage he had a 1960's Corvair with the turbocharged Spyder engine, a brand new '63 Split window Corvette, a beat up Dodge Power-Wagon being restored and a beat up WWII era Jeep. This is 60 years ago, recalling details is a little sketchy and although everyone wanted me to be impressed with the PowerWagon my attention was focused on the Corvette. I simply walked past the Jeep and noticed a large bullet hole in the body near the door opening. The body at that location was not sheet metal, the “bullet” hole edge had extruded out like a typical tank armor hit. The hole might have been bigger than my thumb, but I was pretty skinny back then. I inspected the bullet hole and I guessed the body appeared to be about 1/2 or 3/4" thick. Hard to tell. The father told us that the metal was aluminum and I thought at the time for reduced weight. But at the time I was puzzled “if they were trying to reduce weight why so thick?” Now I am thinking that it might have been Dural that was also used in aircraft armor. Possibly the armor was on the bottom and wrapped around the bottom of the side panels? Like I said, the aqua blue colored Corvette had my attention and I did not do much investigating. Did Willys or Ford produce an armored version? Was it common? Rare? Was an armored version intended for special people? i.e. did Patton have one? I doubt that this jeep saw combat. The Jeeps were probably left to rot in Europe and few if any made it back state side. I don’t know. Maybe it was a factory one-of experimental mockup with a test shot? Any thoughts on this?
The fact it was a vehicle without a real roof would render any sort of armour pointless, don’t you think? It was put together so quickly when the us jumped into the war, I doubt any sort of “armoured prototypes” were even attempted. And they had so many of them in the European theatre, they wouldn’t waste the effort to bring them back after war’s end. I’ve seen footage of trucks being dumped into the ocean off of aircraft carriers, like helicopters after Vietnam.
As for the corvair, the spyder designation only referred to the convertible version, nothing to do with the engine.
ouça
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@@MrJett1971 thanks for the insight. I am not a war buff, did they have land mines in WWII? Could it have been for the under the carriage? Were grenade attacks of occupants common? I have tried to make sense of what I remember. I took the father's explanation as fact. But later thought "why so thick?" Like I said I wanted to get into the Vette and only investigated the bullet hole itself.
Too long didn’t read
All questions you could easily look up online. Do your own research.
My grandfather told stories of how his Jeep saved his life 4 times during the war. Scouting vehicle, fire support, ammunition carrier and finally as a medevac unit, the Jeep carried Granddaddy and his Ma Deuce into battle and brought the pieces back afterwards.
man id really like to hear those stories
0:32 _hornpub intro starts_
The way you shifted that transmission tells a lot on how hard you are on it.
It didn't work in any other way because it was already broken.
*Interesting, Thanks for informative vid!!!*
Thanks for watching!
Really awesome. I have learned some new things about the Willis I never knew about. The reverse is in the position of the first gear and the first gear in the position of the second gear.
Daniel Magdziarz if this guy taught you something... Well .... good fer you... really. We’re doomed
@@donaldleavy4379 , I was not looking for a detailed engineering analysis. I just wanted to see the car, hear the car, and get some basic information. It was fun. I think it would help you if you would stop browsing through few minutes videos hoping to learn how to build a car. I found exactly what I was looking for, you didn't.
When you grabbed the antenna to help jump out of the back of the jeep was hilarious. Lol
😂
I have a 1945 willys jeep. It gets so much attention on the streets
I bet it does! Thanks for watching!
Go to the Philippines. You will see plenty of customized Jeeps as public transportation. They call them Jeepnys. The U.S left so many behind after WW2. They made use of them. It's kind of a symbolic with this Jeeps in that country.
Just seen one of these driving through kendal in the uk, wow it was so cool
After the army retired them from the war scenarios. They were used in 88m training to cross small and shallow creeks don't know nowadays. Many of them were cut in parts and dropped into the sea to create artificial corals.
Nagyon tetszik még a WW 2 es Schimmwagen is. Ezen jármüvek bemutatásáért köszönet!!!
They sure don’t make cars like this anymore
It's a shame really these cars may be old but they sure are fun/good
When I was a kid, we had one and I've always wondered what the engine's displacement was!😎
The Kübelwagen is my favorite car to drive, but man I hope I get the chance one day to drive a Willys.
hoihoi,
zijn er specifieke problemen met de willys jeeps en de latere nekaf m38 jeeps?
fantastic
My dream car
sweet old jeep, i love them
Very ahead of it's time, it had a foot start like every other car of the time. Amazing
Wow, that joke went right over your head.
@@LCR given all the other falsehoods it's hard to tell what are the jokes
It's easy to tell when you look in the mirror.
That Willys Jeep is the ancestor of Philippine Jeepneys
For the purist, its 56 BHP, not 60, the only electric wipers they had in the war was on Canadian jeeps, and that was drivers side only, nice jeep but it has been Bastardised.
3:56 I also See a nice 2 door jeep cherokee xj in the background there to the top right
Well-spotted!
Any issues with electronics or oil pressure. Both issues on mine. Rebuild, needed, new wiring harness too, also need to convert away from the 6volt system. Not handy
Yes, same with this one. The electrical system had been converted, but not in a proper way. One of the two batteries was draining very rapidly. We didn't have the vehicle long enough to figure out what was going on unfortunately.
OLD IS GOLD
2:22 The front left wheel of willys is not straight.
Because they’re turnimg
New comment. Why does the exhaust come out of the rear when the muffler is on the side of the vehicle?
Classic car🔥
Currently restoring my 1947 CJ2A Willys Jeep. Follow my channel as I work on restoring my Willys.
I've started to notice they use British fire extinguishers on these and noticed the Rifle mounts on upside down, and didn't the have leather grommets on rhe bottom of the shifters?
i love it
Smells like freedom
How many engines and transmissions changed on that jeep?
My grandpa has one of these it's loud and fun
Sounds like the one we drove!
They're amazing vehicles
I'm from where the Jeep originated
I am really fascinated with ww2 and the vietnam war. I love the look of this weapons
I need one. It is the most attractive vehicle ever produced the shape is perfect. Do you think I could get it mounted with a .30 cal? :D
My favorite 1942 Jeep Willys 🇱🇷🇧🇷🚙
Tonhão garage Ramos my dad had a few of original Jeeps in those early days and I still remember my dad always mention of this exact Jeep as Willys Jeep in the early sixties... interestingly
and my dad had had one with two countries motor licence plates one registered in Brunei and another in our hometown MIRI in BORNEO Island
This not a 1942 jeep...
This is fucking poor copy....
Back then it was already an option to switch between 2 or 4wd..... amazing.
Where do you get parts to rebuild an engine? Rings, piston and head. And a 6v conversion?
I work for a company called MV Spares in Australia. We manufacture those parts and ship globally. You can find us online.
5:09 is that a key at right corner ?
Lovely Jeep
It sure is!
imagine how fun bush bashing would be in this thing
It’s fun! SUB
@@LetsBuildaWillysJeep Do they still sell these and how expensive are they, please?
at 1:22 I only see two Jeeps, the other is a FIAT.
You know one of them was made by Mercedes right? 🤣😂
The background music 💯❤❤❤😍
Glad you like it! Thank you for watching!
Real Jeeps honor the Willys MB configuration. 2 doors or none is better, round headlights and a soft top - down is always better. The rest is misc garbage not worthy of the wave. Love this Jeep. 🇺🇸 What is that thing on the left?? Give that back to your grandma, she's going to miss her bingo games.
Gladly Jeep is still producing the Wrangler as a purist's off-roader to honor the Willy's legacy.
I can still see a Willys running along Aguinaldo Highway in Cavite driven by an old man with a cowboy hat. The tools are still intact on the side of the jeep that includes shovel, ax and grub hoe and at the back is a water container with markings.
Intéressant
I was of the believe Willys MB Jeeps had steel spoked steering wheel, and the Ford had the covered steering wheel as you have. Regards Frank
My 42 MB had the slat grill. This one has a stamped grill. What gives?
Old is Gold
YEEES
The army began to retired the Willy after Vietnam war because they flipped over during the 2nd world war they used them in Vietnam bases , cities and airfield camps because it was flat terrain. In Europe the geographical scenario was a challenge. The jeep can't go faster than 40mph and take a close curve without flipping over. Many accidents and deaths.
The us used the m151 very different to a Willys mb but the same concept
nice
Why do you keep starting the engine with the transmission in gear making it lunge forward?
A rod was broken due to which it couldn't be started in the normal way anymore.
The pipe from the engine is wrong. Goes out under drivers seat .The first vipers was hand driven .
One lovely and patriotic machine
Well said!
I have my grandfathers 1942 jeep from WWII
That's amazing! It sure adds an extra sentiment to that Jeep!
Luxury Car Report thank you!!
That is not an "original 1942 Willys MB"
What you have is a CJ2A tub with an MB grille....frame, engine and transmission are off a CJ2A....😁
I didn't notice at first, but you're right!
Correct ! Pathetic that they tried to pass this off as an MB !
I like that one more than the Jeep nowadays
Preach to the choir brother
cool
The all SUV uncrowned King Jeep.
40th beautiful, smart, durable,
Very good 👌 look, very good technology, very good 👌 mashien.
I like jeep.
I think that isnt war jeep, it looks like french hotchkiss, different starting button, missing box under production gambles, two accumulator seats and french antenna.
The Jeep belonged to the Belgian army and had been in service for a long time.
It also could hold 7 troops. The front bumper was also a seat
Thats not a MB ... Its missing glove compartment , shovel and ax on the side , rear axle is designed after WW2 ...but it is still a very nice jeep ..
your right, looks to be a post-war CJ in Army paint
thats seems like french hotchkiss
@@josephus3603 A French Hotckiss is a mb made under license off Willys with little differences...
I see why Wranglers are so expensive, no matter what year they are the resale price never drops.
Yeah, which sucks for anyone who wants to own one on a budget.
What a beaut, would love to have one. How much are they going for in good condition?
Around $30k for a good one.
@@LCR damn, I don’t need it.
But I sure want it
You can use the heal and toe to start.
Az elözö megjegyzéshez: Az orosz BTR 40, és a BTR 152 is szenzációs forma gyüjtöknek!
Nice old jeep but better get that left front wheel bearing checked. Too bad the currently produced offerings are such junk (check just about any worst car list).
what you say is in theese video is not true !!
it is not an original MB JEEP, its a CIVILIAN CJ2A JEEP with some military MB parts : front grille , and windshield , no more !! its a very bad copy !!
How do you tell the differences? I am very curious since I am more of an expert on Kübelwagens and telling the differences between originals and beetle reproductions.
@@MistahFox Look at the body next to the driver, there is a drain opening, it does not have the military version, nor is the shovel and ax housing stamped on the body on the driver's side, there are many more differences.
Saludos desde Venezuela , m gustaría tener un Jeep MB
Hello, greetings from the USA! Thank you for watching :)
This guy is awesome because he look very tall
Thanks! It's a great measure--if the presenter of LCR fits in a car, almost everyone else does.
How can you tell it's a civilian jeep? It looks military, the civilian one has a skinnier front, the military had a wider front
THEY SEE ME ON THE STREET THEY SAY WILLY WILLY
the first engine I ever rebuilt was with my Grandfather... an old Willys
Just went from 9 slats to 7 on modern grills
what fuel does Willy MB using please someone tell me
It can just run on regular gas (87).
thats how real jeep is , if they made it again with larger space it would boom 😀
Left front tire seems to have a bit of a wobble ...
Just a bit 😅
That Jeep needs some work done on it..drivers front wheel bearing is probably on it's way out and that foot starter switch is just all wrong. It also needs a service on the caburetor too. If looked after these cars are literally bullet proof.
bulletproof you say? Tell that to the germans
Willy's MB was go good, everyone thinks that jeeps are good off-road vehicles because of the MB's reputation.
The Wranglers definitely are, especially the 2-door.
@@LCR Nahh
Miss the axe and shovel on the drivers site.
And exhaust is on the passenger site.
+Lex Koster Yep, unfortunately it didn't have those.
Than its not original , because can`t see the clips for it
+Lex Koster After its service for the US Army, this Jeep has been adopted for and used by the Belgian army until sometime in the 80's. That might be why some original details have been altered or removed.
What you have demonstrated is a post-war CJ2A - Civilian Jeep, made up to look like a WWII army jeep. It was manufactured AFTER WWII, and was never a US army jeep..........!
Super !I want one ,but should be the same
I can smell the exhaust
Man...your jeep is excellent but your front left tyre is shaking. Repair it immediately. No offense gentleman..
Thank you Sandeep! No offense taken at all! You are definitely right about the wheel. I do not own the vehicle though, it was for sale at the sponsoring dealership at the time.
Rear Axel looks different than original, bumperets are upside down, and the pioneer tool side for the driver area are not there.
You're driver tire is warped. The steering box pivot is on the Radiator support. The wwii jeeps has the steering pivot on the Axel.
Sorry, but this is a converted CJ2A.
When you start it you don’t use your hand you use your toe to push the button and your heel to give it gas.
Hi Brett, thank you for your comment. We heard this from more viewers; it would have been an easier way to start the car!
Is this a 2A conversion or just a 2A rear axle?
David Moore
He wouldn't know.
It's not a conversion, this jeep came with the 2A rear axle.
@@glenphillips9068 The 2A rear axle came on the CJs, and since this turned out to be a converted CJ, I assume the 2A rear axle is what came originally on this jeep.
Hood laches?
Latches to latch the hood closed.
💯👌
If you love Willys Jeep SUB
A Willys Jeep, a Ford GPA Amphibiant, DUKW-t ujra kellene gyártani eredeti formában a legkoorszerübb technikai eszközök felhasználásával