Considering how important Jeep products have been in Latin America since the brand came to be, I guess it’s overdue an entry of mine on the subject. And here’s this rather well-preserved 1955 model in San Salvador found last December almost begging me to do so. So I hear you old Willys truck, let’s get this chapter out of the way once and for all.
The short of it is, in a region not known for its smooth roads and heavily dependent on farm goods, the 4×4 Willys trucks arrived like the proverbial rain. They quickly gained much cred, and along with Toyota’s Land Cruiser, filled a niche that few offered.
And the luck of the brand overseas became essential for the future of Willys Trucks; or whoever owned it at the moment. Needless to say, its rising luck around the globe was a harbinger of trends to come.
Of course, Willys Trucks and their history has been covered previously at CC. Along with their virtues. If you ever need to get away from modern comforts, a vintage Willys is certainly the way to go. Basic to the bone, with little to go wrong, the vehicles are faithful to their mission. Their promise? To dutifully take you places regular cars wouldn’t dare to go. And with a minimum of comfort… from the perspective of the 1940s that is.
So if you need to look deeper into their mechanicals and history, the links are HERE and HERE. With all that said before, I’ll go ahead and give a bit of an international spin to this post.
For those not fond of checking old links, the brief recap of Willys Trucks goes like this; Willys Overland had been a major player in the US industry in the early 20th Century, often placing second in overall sales. Numbers started to lag in the 1920s, with the company never quite recovering. A lucky deal to produce Jeeps for the US Army during WWII bought the company some time, but once car production resumed at the war’s end, what to do?
Logically, the Jeep underpinnings were used as a basis for a new line of vehicles. Now, two factors impacted the new Willys products. First, there were quarrels about the use of the Jeep name. As such, the vehicles came out as plain Willys.
Then, there was the matter of styling. Or the little there was of it. With all US car body suppliers busy attending to the Big 3’s production needs, Willys had to look for another way. And so, designer Brooks Stevens got instructions to create bodies that could be assembled in a washing-machine plant, with a top depth of six inches per panel. Thus, their basic and rudimentary look was born. That new 1947 lineup was quite revolutionary, seen in hindsight. From trucks with optional 4X4, to the all-steel station wagon and proto-SUV.
(Besides the truck line, there was also the brief ’52-’55 Willys Aero episode)
Jeeps in Costa Rica, at the Panamerican Highway construction.
In any case, sales began in modest numbers, with the brand gaining a foothold in the US market. However, by 1952 or so, the company’s sales overseas outnumbered those in the States. It’s not difficult to see why. US sourced products from the Big Three were becoming softer and plusher, now designed for newer and better roads. In other words, more attuned to American conditions not easily found elsewhere.
As such, the idea of a basic and specialized vehicle for dirt roads was particularly appealing to many markets. (Either that or vehicles with sturdy and basic suspensions, like most of the early Japanese cars -which gained quick acceptance in non-developed regions). And with farming being essential in many of these markets, products such as those from Willys filled an essential niche.
Willys Overland Brazil Products.
As the ’50s moved forward, Willys’ trucks struggled to crack the 20K mark in the US market. Elsewhere, prospects were rosier. By ’52, Willys Overland of Brazil was created. Meanwhile, a merger with Kaiser occurred in 1953, with the company name eventually changing to Kaiser-Jeep. In ’54, Henry Kaiser started construction of a new assembly factory in Argentina, with new Jeeps rolling out the IKA (Industrias Kaiser Argentina) Cordoba plant by 1956. Around 1960, a nifty update for the Jeep line by Brooks Stevens appeared for the Brazilian market.
In a few years, the corporation’s overseas production numbers surpassed those in the States. Just in Argentina, 10,965 Station Wagons, 8,322 Pickups, and 4,962 Jeeps were built in 1960. That without counting regular car production of Dauphines and dated Carabellas (Kaiser’s Manhattan). Meanwhile, Brazilian production figures were even higher.
So it was Kaiser-Jeep’s international trajectory that was in the eye of AMC’s Roy D. Chapin when he pursued its purchase in the late ’60s. Famously, he sent AMC’s purchase director Gerald Meyers to look into the matter and give his opinion.
After inspecting Kaiser-Jeep’s US operations, Meyers’s recommendation was not to proceed with the buyout, convinced that Jeep’s situation was “hopeless.” To which Chapin answered along the lines of: “Well, I’m buying it anyway.” A decision he made based on his knowledge of Jeep’s fortunes abroad, and for being golf buddies with Henry Kaiser. Furthermore, Chapin placed Meyers to oversee the deal and turn Jeep’s US operations around.
To Meyers’s credit, he took to the mission with no hard feelings (here he appears, happily sitting on the Renegade’s passenger seat). As is known, Jeep prospered under Meyers AMC’s tenure and was the most profitable part of the corporation by the time of Chrysler’s buyout in 1987.
Enough of backroom dealings, and back to our find. As can be seen, the brand has as many unconditional fans over here as it does elsewhere. This ’55 is a good example of that, with its rather preserved condition. A rarity among most of my Salvadorian finds.
As for the model year, I would love to claim I’m the expert-est on Jeep lore. But no, it’s been for sale at the local FB marketplace for a while, which is how I learned of its location and background.
Those with Jeep-eyes, know that there are few cues differentiating this ’55 from earlier models. This one carries the vee’d grille and pointy fenders that appeared for the 1950 styling update. Meanwhile, the 3 horizontal bar motif (missing in this sample), is a ’54 change.
And technically speaking, this is still a full Willys truck. While the name had been trademarked in 1950, it wouldn’t be until 1957 that ‘Jeep’ would appear on the vehicles.
With 50+ years of this vehicle being in Central America, liberties have understandably been taken to keep it on the road. Remarkably, the original Super Hurricane block is still there, even if buried under far newer components.
The 226CID 6-cyl. mill was one of the biggest updates the trucks got after the Kaiser merger. Delivering 115HP at 3850 RPM, the Kaiser-derived engine was a huge improvement over the original and weak Hurricane four. Appearing in 1954, it didn’t take long to gain traction with buyers. Of the 13,756 Willys built in 1955, most carried the Super Hurricane.
While some mods have occurred around our find’s innards, most of the exterior seems unaffected. Other than some trim missing and wipers, and well, the curious case of the oversized tailpipe (?). Is someone learning how to resto-mod?
And if you wonder, besides the trucks, the station wagons enjoyed much favor as well over here. I already posted one some time ago, rather secluded in an upscale neighborhood.
Talking about Willys Truck finds, I had come across this other one some years ago, apparently awaiting restoration. Curiously, it sits in a lot downtown, right next to the Police’s main headquarters.
Last time I drove by the area about a year ago, the vehicle remained untouched and unmoved. Someone seems unwilling to let it go, while at the same time, unable to move forward with the project.
That said, I would think if placed for sale, a buyer would appear. Locals just love these vehicles for leisure and serious off-roading. It’s as much a fad over here as it’s become elsewhere.
For once, I got a few shots of the interior. As expected, it’s a 4×4, as that was the main appeal of these. And well, this is one interior that makes the insides of my ’68 Beetle feel ‘luxurious.’
We’ve certainly come a long way in how we prefer our 4x4s. How do you charge an iPhone in there?
Not that basic and rough was a problem for my father, who must have spent a good amount of his life traveling in these. As I told in a previous post, his duties for the Ministry of Agriculture got him to ride all over the nation, overseeing plantations and searching for soil samples. And while his department had a fleet of ‘Pig Iron’ Land Cruisers, many of his private clients owned Jeeps. So I’m quite sure he spent many hours riding Jeep products.
And while these are too rough for daily use for my ‘softer’ generation, his was a different stock. I honestly never heard him utter a complaint about riding old 4x4s, and was always in his element doing so.
Now, don’t be mistaken. I don’t expect people of today to settle for such basic and rudimentary transport. And yet, these vehicles were the beginning of today’s fascination with trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. The start of what would be a global trend.
And while it’s hard to contemplate, those beginnings were humble and basic. And oddly appealing. Even to this day.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1951 Willys Jeep Truck – The Antidote To Modern Life
Curbside Classic: 1946 Willys Jeep Station Wagon – The First Modern Station Wagon And SUV
The front looked like a mismatch until I noticed that the owner simply took off the horizontal bars, making it look more like the pre-50 models. Clever way to create a visual difference with little real change.
Beauty’s only skin deep.
In 2019 while volunteering at The Museum of Transportation I replaced the original brake system front to back. Everything. Though the parts were readily available by model/year at on-line at Jeep parts houses, I enjoyed the challenge of finding current part numbers using casting numbers and dimensions. (listings at large on line houses don’t go back this far for everything) Ordering the current part numbers saved a lot of money at the large houses.
The same held true finding the parts for the fuel system; tank, lines, pump, etc., all except for rebuilding the carb.
This was a fun undertaking, except for the location of the master cylinder
I love these; so elemental. I really craved a 4×4 Willys wagon for years, but eventually had to settle for one of its more civilized successors, a ’85 Cherokee.
BTW, that red ’51 I wrote up in the linked CC is still going strong; I ran into it on a walk just the other day as the owner was unloading a load of gravel.
The story of how the Kaisers were able to turn the losses of Kaiser-Frazer into a profitable business by picking up Willys is one that I still need to write up one of these days. They made lemonade out of lemons. And as you pointed out, the oversees markets were a key aspect to that.
Nice ;
I too lusted after a Jeep or Willys in my youth .
I still see them here and there out in the middle of nowhere, just sitting rust free waiting for someone to come along and rescue them .
I briefly worked for Milne Bros. JEEP in 1976,I was amazed at how many parts we stocked or were able to get for older models including cylinder heads, transfer cases, wiper motors, linkage and the odd little cables and the threaded bronze bushings used in the front ends .
-Nate
I would not be surprised if another reason Chapin wanted Jeep for AMC was Kaiser-Jeep’s military truck business. Kaiser ended up with Studebaker’s contracts for the M-34/35 2.5 ton truck and even the Chippewa Ave. truck plant they were produced in. The operation eventually became AMGeneral and went on to produce not only military vehicles but postal Jeeps and transit buses as well. For the most part the business was a good steady source of income for AMC when their cars were not selling well.
Very few Willys pickups came here Landrover took the market by storm and they dont fall over as easily. And didnt cost restricted dollars prewar 1 NZ pound bought 7 US dollars and then it didnt.
I still remember getting a ride in one of the wagons when my family visited relatives in California when I was 6 years old in 1965. It was an older model and really crude inside – and I loved every second of that ride. I still have an attraction to these – they are about as close to a road-going farm tractor as you can get.
My first vehicle at 16 years old was a 4 cylinder 1949 ( I think I remember) Willis. I loved it. Perfect for hauling feed for my horse.