Factory Ford GPW radio jeeps?

[Mark Tombleson]

Some new information has come to my attention on GPW radio jeeps.

Back some year ago I was told Ford made one radio jeep and below is a photo of it that was in some book. John Barton sent me the photo.



I was told recently from a reliable source there were actually 481 of these radio jeeps produced by Ford at one of their factories.

So, what I'm asking is this, is there any discrepancy in the number of jeeps made by Ford that would indicate 481 GPWs were made for the Navy/USMC?

Also, I have had several individuals over the years ask me if their GPW was a radio jeep. Sadly, I did not ask on how to contact them and lost track of these individuals.

Does anyone own a GPW that has any radio jeep features? They may not have them exactly the same as what the MB has, as you can see the above GPW does not have any hooks, rings, electric windshield wiper, and the radio boxes are not identical to the MBs.

[RJ Kanary]

Thanks for the new Desk Top photo.

[iowa]

sorry mark,
i sure mine is not one.
good luck w/your reasearch,
and again,
thanks for your informative article in army motors
dave

[Tom Wolboldt]

Hi Mark,

The one Ford Radio GPW that I have a record of had an Army hood number of 2097102. This GPW looks to have had a 43 contract number of ORD 4358.

The one that you show is a 42 GPW made after April 10th. 42 and before Nov. 10th, 42. The 481 that you mention and this one could be part of the 653 GPWs pulled by the Navy from the second GPW Army contract in 42.

Maybe Jim Gilmore or Lloyd White has more data on this.

[Herb Tate]

Did they use Ford's 12V conversion or Willys?

[David Welch]

Mark,
I think that Phil Nelson in Ohio has a radio jeep.
David

[Mark Tombleson]

Mark,
I think that Phil Nelson in Ohio has a radio jeep.
David

Is this Nelson's Surplus Jeeps in Columbiana?

Herb, all I have is the photo to go by... you tell me, do you honestly think Henry would use Willys PTO system when he had his own 12v setup?

I don't think these were part of the Army jeep contract, but another contract with the Navy, Tom. Is there a number issue between the jeeps made by Ford and the Army inventory list?

[Tom Wolboldt]

Hi Mark,

In the GPW numbers that I use there is only a spread of 5 to 18 numbers depending on which figures a person is using that is less then the total figure as posted, I believe, by Jim Gilmore of 277896 total GPWs.

[Chuck Nantz]

Mark, Is there any way to tell if a GPW was a radio Jeep after 50 years of Bubba? I do not have the data plates.Are there any identifing holes or reinforsments ect.Frame # 19537 Thanks, Chuck Nantz

[Herb Tate]

[quoteHerb, all I have is the photo to go by... you tell me, do you honestly think Henry would use Willys PTO system when he had his own 12v setup?[/quote]

Yep That was a smart question wasn't it.

[Chuck Nantz]

Herb, Mark ask if anyone had a Ford radio Jeep.He noted some differences in the photo. Iowa said he did not have a radio Jeep.How did he know? There were references to a surviving radio Jeep in Ohio. I simply thought there might be some other info. I have a April 42 ford and thought I might possibly be some help. Regards, Chuck Nantz

[Tom Wolboldt]

Hi Chuck,

Herb was not talking about your post. He was referring to his own question to Mark further up the page.

[Chuck Nantz]

Tom, Thanks, I thought Herb was referring to my post.No problem, I just thougt I needed to explain my question. Thanks again, Chuck

[Mike Soltis]

By the way Mark Great article on your Jeep! I really enjoyed it. Your dedication to your project should be commended. I know how long it takes most of us to get our jeeps where they need to be & I can't imagine the effort & expense it took to locate all the various parts for yours. We as military vehicle collectors should try our best to bring back more of these types of special low issue special purpose vehicles. Regards, Mike

[Mark Tombleson]

Thanks, Mike... seems like the more answers one gives the more questions are asked, and that is not a bad way to go. This hobby is a continuing education experience.

Chuck, I could tell an MB radio jeep bubba cut thru the body just behind the gas tank a couple of months ago. I think his data plate will be in an upcoming issue of AM. Same with just the glove box door. Since the article was received by AM’s subscribers I have now a half dozen possible MZ radio jeeps that I'm evaluating and maybe a dozen that I have had to tell the owners it was something else. The article was truthful in that all I do is think, research and play with radio jeeps. I use to be a hard charger... now I can barely charge, but it is all radio jeep related.

Any of you think you have some kind of Navy/USMC related radio jeep, send me some photos and if I can't figure it out, I certainly know who to ask that can help me identify what you have.

I am not any kind of expert on GPWs, I only know how the Navy worked on the jeeps they converted, so, I'm hoping that will help identify any GPWs that appear to be Navy/USMC radio jeeps.

My theory now is that the GPWs, however many there were, may have been those 1942 jeeps redirected to the Navy Tom noted above and set up at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, much the same as the MZ series (MB-N.O.M.-12) or any Navy/USMC radio jeep that had a SCR-608 set put in it after delivery from the factory. If this is the case... which it seems to be as there is not enough GPW unaccounted for otherwise(once again as Tom noted above), then they most likely will have the Willys generator in between the seats, as that is the way the Navy set them up.

Lloyd White seems to remember 50, while Bryce Sunderlin seems to think 481. I don't know the answer... I may never know exactly how many were made, but it is important to the hobby this modification comes to light I think.

Oh, any feedback on the guy in Ohio?