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A fun authentic WW2 Jeep ready for ANZAC day parades or enjoyed by the whole family!
 
With WW2 dawning, the US army approached 135 U.S automotive manufacturers on the 11 July 1940, to submit designs to replace its existing, aging light motor vehicles. These mainly consisted of motorcycles, sidecars and Ford Model T’s. In total the companies had 130 days to design and deliver a working vehicle ready for production. This was a tall order in itself if not only for the army’s demanding specifications: a general purpose personnel or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command; designated as 1/4-ton four-wheel drive truck, crew of three, wheelbase of no more than 75 (later 80) inches, track width no more than 47 inches, fold down windshield, 660 lb payload, be powered by an engine capable of 85 ft-lb (115 Nm) of torque and have an empty weight of no more than 1300 lbs (590 kg). Only three companies entered: American Bantam Car Company, Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company.
 
American Bantam Car Company won the bid with it’s first production prototype however due to production capacity limitations, the US War Department forwarded the designs to Willys and Ford claiming the designs were owned by the government. Willys and Ford quickly prototyped their own models which looked remarkably similar to the Bantam prototype. As the US armed forces were under so much pressure, all three prototypes were accepted with 1500 units per company ordered. Eventually in 1941 the US war department decided to standardise the fleet and selected Willys to build 16,000 units. More desirable features from the Bantam and Ford entries were incorporated into the Willys car. One of these design consolidations was placing the gas tank directly under the driver’s seat to lessen the chances of a ‘catastrophic hit’, combining the two main target areas into one. Funnily enough, this was seen as a design improvement!
 
Eventually Ford was contracted to produce the ‘Jeep’ as well as Willys could not keep up with demand, though the army required both companies to produce vehicles with interchangeable parts. As Ford wanted to take the credit for the vehicles and parts that it produced; each and every single part, right down to the individual nuts and bolts had an ‘F’ script stamped on them. This resulted in the Ford GPW. Over the course of WW2, Ford produced approximately 280,000 GPW’s.
 
During their service the Jeeps were used for many different rolls from VIP transporters to rapid armed assault vehicles. After WW2 had ended, jeeps in Europe were left abandoned as it was uneconomical to bring them back to the USA. These jeeps were turned into many different incarcerations by farmers, civilians and government purposes alike further fulfilling their purpose as the Swiss army knife of vehicles.
 
This late 1942 Ford GPW (Chassis number 85995) is believed to be a communications vehicle as can be denoted by the “S” in the vehicle’s number which stands for ‘suppressed’ to reduce radio interference. It comes with what appears to be a very long original aerial mast that slots into a rubber mounted base.
 
The GPW was faithfully restored by ‘Cliff’ to a high standard back to bare metal, completed in 2004 with a full photographic history of the restoration process. Modern upgrades such as conversion to a 12 volt electrical system with 12 volt generator, electric windscreen wipers, upgraded carburettor and direct key start were added for convenience. These modifications can easily be changed back to original if desired. Though an older restoration, this GPW is in great authentic condition retaining its basic charm and character and is great fun to drive on any occasion!
 
Vehicle comes with RWC but is currently on club registration that cannot be transferred. Paperwork includes, full photographic restoration history, electrical wiring diagrams and chassis/vin number list.  
 
This Ford GPW Jeep is a tremendous amount of fun that can be enjoyed by the whole family and unlike most other classics, can be taken off-road!!
 
Walk Around Video Here