In search of the new-in-the-crate $200 jeep

[El Bibliotecario]

For decades after WW2 there were stories about the govt selling new-in-the-crate $200 jeeps. I'm not talking about the M151 series, which I believe were torched, but earlier 'genuine' jeeps.

 

I was told of one fellow who supposedly made a bulk purchase of jeeps, resold them to individuals, collected the money, and told the buyers he'd bring their vehicles in on a flat bed truck and to meet him on the edge of town. Came the great day and there was a crowd of folks with trailers and towbars--but no jeeps.

 

Still, the stories persisted. In the '70s a member of my unit at Ft Carson insisted Tooele Army Depot was selling new crated jeeps for $400--I guess the price increase was due to inflation. I laughed at him, and said I'd take two. Weeks later when I asked where my jeeps were, he quickly changed the subject.

 

I know from a period photo that at least some new jeeps were crated for shipment overseas, and reassembled in England. And I've read a firsthand account of a fellow who in 1946 bought a new P38 aircraft for $1400, so apparently some new stuff was in fact sold very cheap.

 

My question is, does anyone have any credible information (as opposed the the stories I've recounted above) that the govt ever actually sold new jeeps at giveaway prices?

[jagjetta]

For decades after WW2 there were stories about the govt selling new-in-the-crate $200 jeeps. I'm not talking about the M151 series, which I believe were torched, but earlier 'genuine' jeeps.

 

My question is, does anyone have any credible information (as opposed the the stories I've recounted above) that the govt ever actually sold new jeeps at giveaway prices?

 

Assuming you are talking about WWII MBs and GPWS...

 

In the Military Vehicle world, a common saying is, "If there are any Jeeps in the crate, they are sitting on the bottom of the ocean outside of Murmansk.

 

The legend of "jeeps in the crate" is just that...I wouldn't recommend spending too much time chasing down "leads". You will find that everyone knows someone who "Swears they bought a jeep in the crate" or knew of a base where a warehouse is full of them. Spend some time investigating, and you will find that the stories are more perforated than a Willys fender in a North Minnesota woods.

 

John Adams-Graf

Editor, Military Vehicles Magazine

Military Vehicles Magazine

[Bugme]

OK, so we killed that rumor but, what about the '65 Corvette parked in a barn since it's owner died in Vietnam and now his elderly mother is selling it in the paper as: Old Chevy for sale, $300.00. Any truth to that one? And what about the 101st AB 506th PIR D-loop helmet found in a barn in France? Are you insinuating that these stories are urban legends also! Because I've got a friend who talked to his uncle who worked with a guy who's brother actually heard these stories directly from his neighbor whose dad had told him that these are true stories!

[gpw_42]

OK, so we killed that rumor but, what about the '65 Corvette parked in a barn since it's owner died in Vietnam and now his elderly mother is selling it in the paper as: Old Chevy for sale, $300.00. Any truth to that one?

 

Just check out the David Ball song "Private Malone" - that'll satisfy your questions:)

[Bugme]

Just check out the David Ball song "Private Malone" - that'll satisfy your questions:)

Actually, his song was based on the urban legend. The first time I heard that song I told my wife: I've been hearing that same song for decades, it's good to hear that they finally put music to it.

[Klorvin Borno]

Here's one:

http://yeoldecarclub.blogspot.com/2008/12/...-barn-find.html

 

 

and here's a vette, although not in a barn:

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2008/10...t-would-you-do/

 

 

I think both stories are great (whether true or not!)

[Bluehawk]

People DO store some amazing vehicles in garages and barns... we see stories about it from time to time, like those above. Jay Leno once did a restoration on an old marque found just that way in LA... and in Tulsa a couple of years back they dug up an old Plymouth (I think it was) that had been intentionally buried as a Time Capsule (it was a rotted wreck).

 

But, usually, the cars are found in VERY poor condition as to wiring, upholstery, tires and the like... once the years pile up beyond 30, 40 and 50 or more.

 

Plain old ordinary mouse infestation alone accounts for a fair amount of that.

 

I've been hearing about that crated Jeep ever since I started reading Popular Mechanics in high school about 50 years ago. There must have been some somewhere and some point closer to the end of the war? But, one would think the US military would want to hang on to their unassembled Jeeps as much as possible?

[dvl]

I seem to recall ads in the back of comic books or something similar. Military Harleys packed in 50 gallon drums for $50, stuff like that. As badly as I wanted a motorcycle in those days, I knew that a Harley in a drum would, under my magic hand, become a Harley all over the basement floor. I never bit.

 

I knew of two barn finds. One was a Pierce-Arrow that swallowed huge amounts of money to become a prize-winning restoration, and a first year T-Bird bought new by a well-to-do older woman who immediately decided that she didn't like it. It sat in a garage almost unused, to be found by the woman who bought the property in the early eighties.

[General Apathy]

Hi Jeep searchers, here is the link to a car just found in a garage in England Jan 2009 expected to fetch £3,000,000 pounds or $4.250,000 USD at auction.

 

http://jalopnik.com/5121937/3-million-1937...almost-50-years

 

If the link does not work put in ' Barn Find Bugatti ' and try that, it is featured on several sites

 

Cheers ( Lewis )

[jgawne]

Well yeah, the military sold jeeps for cheap after the war. Just not crated. They sold EVERYTHING. My father in law drove down to Ft Devens to pick up a near new 3/4 ton for his farm in Vermont (driven until nothing was left, I asked).

 

A friend of mine bought a jeep nearby, and last summer ran into an old guy who know the original civilllian owner- it turned out he had driven it off Devens just after the war for use in an apple orchard.

[El Bibliotecario]

I'm sensing all the new-in-the-crate jeeps were all eaten by the giant alligators who grew up in the sewer after junior flushed his baby one down the toilet. Thank you for your replies to this basically nonsensical question--but now I have an excuse to spend my $200 on booze.

[gwb123]

Surplus was sold at ridiculously low prices at the end of the war, often in large auction lots.

 

Somewhere those records exist and they would be interesting to look at.

 

I don't have any verified prices on jeeps, but I remember reading about how Paul Mantz, the legendary Hollywood stunt pilot, ended up with the world's 7th largest airforce by the time he was done bidding at post war auctions.

[El Bibliotecario]

As a youth I bought a new unissued M43 field jacket for $5. Fool that I was, I should have accumulated another $195 and sprung for the jeep.

[swag]

Surplus was sold at ridiculously low prices at the end of the war, often in large auction lots.

 

Somewhere those records exist and they would be interesting to look at.

 

I don't have any verified prices on jeeps, but I remember reading about how Paul Mantz, the legendary Hollywood stunt pilot, ended up with the world's 7th largest airforce by the time he was done bidding at post war auctions.

 

Paul Mantz purchased 475 surplus fighters and bombers from Stillwater, OK however he was unable to ferry all the aircraft to Hollywood as he originally envisioned. So he picked out a dozen aircraft to save, among them were 2 P-51C's, a B-25J, and a B-17F. A price of $13,750 was advertised for a B-17 when the military was disposing of surplus aircraft.

The above information is from a book I got a long time ago titled Final Cut: The Post-War B-17 FLying Fortress by Scott Thompson. Its a great book that will make you laugh and cry, mostly cry though.

[dvl]

In 1963 my barber,who was an aviation buff, told me you could buy a P51 for $1000 and make it airworthy for another $1000. He added that it would cost $400/hour to fly. I have no idea how accurate his numbers were, but it always drives me crazy to think of it.

 

[willysmb44]

That "Jeep in a crate" legend has driven military vehicle collectors nuts for generations now. I guess we all get fed up with these stories. I used to do the funny answers to it, now I just get irritated by them. Longtime Jeep guru Ray Cowdery got tired of it as well and eventually offered a standing reward for anyone who could produce one new in a crate. The amount was quite high. Later on, he was said to have extended the offer to just good evidence of one bought after the war, new in a crate. In several decades, Ray has never even had a person call with instructions on how to claim the reward. And yet, people still tell the story.

If you have a WW2 Jeep and have displayed it anywhere but haven't heard it yet, wait, you will soon. The basic idea is that some folks took out ads in magazines in the 50s and 60s, which were just to get listing for surplus from the government. Still, enough people read those ads and eventually the stories got passed down until there is now a generation of people who swear that their Uncle's Neighbor's College Roommate bought one new in the crate after the war. You'll never, EVER meet the person who actually bought one. It's always several people removed from the person telling you this, he'll never know where the Jeep is today or how to reach anyone who might have photos. It's an utter urban legend. Folks who own WW2 Jeeps hear this all the time. Granted, there are a few people who did buy crated Jeeps after the war, but none of them got them for a steal. Think of it; Willys started making CJ-2 Jeep immediately after the war and got premium prices for them. Would they have been able to do that if there were a bunch of crated WW2 Jeeps lying around for bargain prices? Of course not. Here are two good links on the subject: http://members.aol.com/brimiljeep/WebPages...aCratePage.html http://www.olive-drab.com/od_mvg_jeeps_50dollars.php3

Once when we were packing up at an air show, someone came up and launched into it. I stopped him, yelled to the other guys that we finally got someone with the "Jeep in a crate" story, they all ran over, laughing, making comments about how they hadn't heard it all day. The guy just walked away, realizing his BS wasn't going to work. I printed out a "facts/myths" sheet, and paraphrased with what the book "All American Wonder" said about the Jeep in a crate story (especially how NOBODY has tried to collect the reward even after several decades), and I hand one to everyone who gives me the story. It shuts them down every time.

I also sometimes cut them off in mid-BS: "Let me guess, it wasn't you or anyone directly related to you, you don't have the guy's name, nor know where he lives now. You didn't actually see it with your own eyes, and they could never get another one, right?" The above has NEVER failed to stop them in mid-story, making them realize they are vainly trying to spread a urban legend to someone who knows better. And if this were someone who'd actually bought one in a crate for real, they'd argue it further. That never happens.

I'm fully convinced now that these people, deep down inside, know that it's a bogus story. I've encountered people arguing other stories that they fully believe to be real, and I've never heard the "Jeep in crate" story argued in such a fashion.

And as for abandoned Vietnam KIA cars, I'd never heard it until I moved to the Pacific Northwest, where a lot of people left for Viet Nam. My wife swore that there was a field of them as late as the early 80s near where we lived when we first got married. I did some asking around as I got to doubt that story when I'd hear it about other places. I found several people who lived adjacent to where I was told they had been during that timeframe and all of them said that field never had cars in it for more than a day or so. When I asked my wife about that, telling her what the people who lived there said, and she said she'd actually heard it from other people. She still believes it to this day. I think this is just like the Jeep in the crate story.

[bigredone]

The Philippine Air Force was using P-51s into the 80s.

 

In 1963 my barber,who was an aviation buff, told me you could buy a P51 for $1000 and make it airworthy for another $1000. He added that it would cost $400/hour to fly. I have no idea how accurate his numbers were, but it always drives me crazy to think of it.

 

[craig_pickrall]

There was an article in LIFE Magazine about a farmer using a surplus jeep and all of the things it could do around the farm.

 

There was a man here that had an old jeep with a very nice aluminum cab. He drove this jeep for many years and he was getting old himself. I finally got a chance to talk with him about the jeep and he told me it was a surplus WW2 jeep he bought at SEARS shortly after the war. The aluminum cab was an accessory supplied by SEARS. I do not know what the original cost was. It came as a drivable vehicle and not in a crate. For those that don't remember it SEARS sold cars, motorcycles, etc back in the good old days.

[shrapneldude]

I'm gonna play devil's advocate for just a second on this one...I do admit I have no experience with military vehicles or anything of the sort...BUT...

I do have a bit of experience with today's military, and the surplus business...ie -- buying military items from an auction company hired by DRMO or some other sort of company. Current issued gear, combat gear and such, well ALL sorts of items can be had for pennies on the dollar at these sales. The war is still going on, and this stuff is still being produced and bought by the US Military, yet, any excess from this unit or that generally ends up sold off instead of being reutilized by other units.

 

This doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen often enough. Example...Digital Cameras...the US Military did a bunch of open purchases for digital cameras for use in Iraq. They just recently auctioned off a few hundred new and unused. The buyer had to buy in bulk, and probably spent 10K or more on all of them, but got himself a nice resale deal.

 

The US Military is an organization that is constantly changing to meet the needs of the American people. Wartime means a LARGER military...but once that war is over, you bet your but that John J. Taxpayer's congressional leaders won't abide spending large sums of money on a peacetime force...one of the first places they cut back is equipment, then they start this BRAC business of closing bases and moving commands around.

 

So...Were there hundreds of crated jeeps floating around after WWII? I don't have a clue...I've heard of them being pushed over the sides of ships because the cost of shipping them back to the states was more than it was worth to keep them.

Any that remained crated here in the US, it's entirely plausible that someone somewhere had the opportunity to buy a few hundred of them in one whack at a surplus auction, isn't it? 5-ton trucks come up occaisonally for sale and they usually don't fetch much money (used and beaten up though...) But buying at outlandishly cheap prices and in outlandishly massive quantities from the gov't. is what kept HUNDREDS of our favorite old "Army-Navy Stores" in business for generations.

[1stDivVet]

After I got back from the Army in the mid 90's, I showed my 68 Mustang about every weekend. At one of the local shows, I met a guy who had a jeep from a crate. Don't know what he paid for it.. $500 IIRC. He was a retired AF MSgt. The jeep had turned up in a warehouse in Italyin the early 80's. He'd bought it while there and shipped it home when he came back to the states. It was a 44 Willys. Now, his story may have been a load of bull, but I have a 42, and where mine had rust, putty, or fibreglass, his was all solid metal.. I got mine off a farmer in high school. He got it new surplus in 47. I got it for $700, but it was neither in the crate nor new. As for barn finds, one of my friends in high school, Steve McFarlane, had an uncle die in Vietnam.. His grandparents had his uncle's 63 split window Vette in a shed out back.. It had around 10,000 miles on it.. They sold it for $1500..2 barn finds I know of and have seen were a Wright military flyer (remains used to be displayed at USAFM), a Curtis Jenny down where my dad grew up in WVa, and 8 B-29 motors still in the crate bought as surplus after the war.. The farmer thought he was buying 8 motors as in generators.. He opened 1, saw what it was, and piled them behind his barn.. I saw 'em at a truck stop and talked to the driver.. They were headed out west somewhere. Dad talked about surplus vehicles a lot.. He and all my uncles had jeeps.. Dad's was a Ford. He had a couple Willys too. As a kid, my uncle still had a 47 Willys.. We also had a 1919 model T in a shed.. Actually, we had a lot of interesting treasures in the farm buildings.

 

Fins.

[gecko NZ]

i dont know about jeeps in crates after WW2 but what about unwraping surplus duce and a halves from the pacific and finding a jeep on the back does that count? i may have some pictures comming.

[Johan Willaert]

The closest I have come to a Jeep in a Crate was a GPW restored and crated up by an MVPA Member a couple of years ago...

 

It was displayed at one of the annual MVPA Conventions and was a real looker and discussion starter....

 

I should have a picture laying around somewhere.....

 

JOhan

[craig_pickrall]

I just remembered another WW2 Jeep I had personal experience with. One of my first jobs was at the VA Dept of Highways, this was in 1964 / 5 era. They had a WW2 surplus Jeep that they had probably received free from the US GOVT. The Jeep had a drill rig mounted on the back and the only thing it was used for was to take core samples for new highway projects. I don't remember how many miles it had on it but it wasn't many. When not in use it was stored in a garage. This Jeep was in excellent condition and complete. Several of us that liked this sort of thing would mess around with it on out lunch hour.

 

Well they decided to have a surplus sell and the Jeep was included. Since we worked for the VDOH we could not bid. The Jeep bought the hefty sum of $50.

[Charlie Flick]

I finally found the $200 Jeeps EB was looking for. Take your pick.

 

Charlie

 

[37thguy]

These are not Jeeps, but the story is Golden if it's true?!

 

http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/index.htm