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Jeep Tractor Prototype

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lhfarmbt View Drop Down
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    Posted: 28 Oct. 2021 at 8:38pm
In 2018 Dave @ eWillys posted this -
I had downloaded the file, but forgot all about it.  I was looking for some pictures and came across it a few days ago.  What surprised me was this photo -

I sent it to Bob Westerman and he agrees that it is probably a prototype.  Here is his response -
"Looks like they were trying to save money with the Jeep Tractor. The rear portion of the "body tub" has less metal than a regular tub and the rear fenders look like they are modified front fender stampings. It seems like they were hoping the farm market would take off. Hindsight shows the SUV market was far more profitable than the Farm market.

Bill Norris has commented  on the "Jeep Tractor" emblem on the hood.  Reminiscent of the Argijeep days. 

Just curious if anyone has seen this picture elsewhere or other pictures of this prototype.  I think this would have made a much better "Jeep Tractor" than an unfinished CJ3a.

Barry
https://www.farmjeep.com/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lee MN Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Oct. 2021 at 10:13pm
Cool! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Oct. 2021 at 10:24pm
Not to hijack this thread but those looking at this topic may be able to give a simple answer to something I was wondering the other day....

The triangular hitch ball mount on the draw bar has hole in the center....did this have a specific purpose or impliment usage?

Those JeepTractor emblems would be neat to find at an estate sale somewhere! LOL


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lhfarmbt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct. 2021 at 8:45am
Originally posted by rocnroll rocnroll wrote:

Not to hijack this thread but those looking at this topic may be able to give a simple answer to something I was wondering the other day....

The triangular hitch ball mount on the draw bar has hole in the center....did this have a specific purpose or impliment usage?

Those JeepTra
ctor emblems would be neat to find at an estate sale somewhere! LOL


I don't have the answer, but suspect it does have a purpose.  I do know that the drawbar was designed to allow the use of towed and ground-driven implements.  I think this is a question for antique tractor folks.

Barry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stev Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct. 2021 at 9:04am
The rear fenders and floor are sketchy -the unsupported rear edges of the fenders would flop around and the lack of a rear floor riser supporting the floor corners would lead to bending. 

Removing the floor riser is a "Chesterton's fence" violation.  Engineers would not have done that even on a test tug.  




Edited by Stev - 29 Oct. 2021 at 9:07am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lhfarmbt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct. 2021 at 9:56am
Originally posted by Stev Stev wrote:

The rear fenders and floor are sketchy -the unsupported rear edges of the fenders would flop around and the lack of a rear floor riser supporting the floor corners would lead to bending. 

Removing the floor riser is a "Chesterton's fence" violation.  Engineers would not have done that even on a test tug.  


I have always thought that the "Jeep Tractor" was a marketing department idea and not an engineer's idea.  But I don't think the marketing guys could have built this prototype.  So this thing is even more of a mystery.  

Barry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ricco Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct. 2021 at 3:29pm
Now thats a flatfender!!  I like it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote OnlyOneDR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov. 2021 at 2:34pm
Originally posted by Stev Stev wrote:

The rear fenders and floor are sketchy -the unsupported rear edges of the fenders would flop around and the lack of a rear floor riser supporting the floor corners would lead to bending. 

Removing the floor riser is a "Chesterton's fence" violation.  Engineers would not have done that even on a test tug.  

I have to disagree in that many tractors (especially in that day) did not have very rugged fenders over the rear tires if they had fenders at all.  Many just had side deflectors keeping the operators feet from kicking the inside of the rear tires.  Since the load floor was only supporting the Monroe lift and nothing else it was not really going to have any load on it to worry about.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JAB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jan. 2022 at 1:16pm
I'm thinking that the bottom of the rear fenders are actually attached to the riser.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote General Eisenhower Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jan. 2022 at 1:36pm
Originally posted by OnlyOneDR OnlyOneDR wrote:

Originally posted by Stev Stev wrote:

The rear fenders and floor are sketchy -the unsupported rear edges of the fenders would flop around and the lack of a rear floor riser supporting the floor corners would lead to bending. 

Removing the floor riser is a "Chesterton's fence" violation.  Engineers would not have done that even on a test tug.  

I have to disagree in that many tractors (especially in that day) did not have very rugged fenders over the rear tires if they had fenders at all.  Many just had side deflectors keeping the operators feet from kicking the inside of the rear tires.  Since the load floor was only supporting the Monroe lift and nothing else it was not really going to have any load on it to worry about.

I agree, we had a Case 930, and there really wasnt much more metal between the rear tires and you than what this jeep offers
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Todd Paisley Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan. 2022 at 10:57am
This is a Willys-Overland prototype.  The Jeep Tractor was built under Engineering Release 5475 "Pilot Model of Jeep Tractor - Build One sample" that started on 4/19/1949 and the project closed on 12/7/1949.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bob W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan. 2022 at 4:42pm
Todd,

Thanks very much for the additional information!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lhfarmbt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan. 2022 at 7:33am
Originally posted by Todd Paisley Todd Paisley wrote:

This is a Willys-Overland prototype.  The Jeep Tractor was built under Engineering Release 5475 "Pilot Model of Jeep Tractor - Build One sample" that started on 4/19/1949 and the project closed on 12/7/1949.

Todd,
Thank you for this information! Would the single prototype have been destroyed?  I don't have an understanding of the WO design/engineering process.  Would this "Release" have led to the design of the "tractor" that was produced?

I have never understood why the "tractor" model was needed.

Barry


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote monroe3pt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jan. 2022 at 8:17pm
Originally posted by lhfarmbt lhfarmbt wrote:

Originally posted by rocnroll rocnroll wrote:

Not to hijack this thread but those looking at this topic may be able to give a simple answer to something I was wondering the other day....

The triangular hitch ball mount on the draw bar has hole in the center....did this have a specific purpose or impliment usage?

Those JeepTra
ctor emblems would be neat to find at an estate sale somewhere! LOL


I don't have the answer, but suspect it does have a purpose.  I do know that the drawbar was designed to allow the use of towed and ground-driven implements.  I think this is a question for antique tractor folks.

Barry

I may be able to shed a little light upon the subject of the additional hole in the triangular hitch ball mount. My source is the publication titled: Tractors And Their Power Units, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York - London, copyright 1952.

To quote from Appendix E, page 478, ASAE Standard: 540-rpm Power Take-Off For Farm Tractors, "This standard establishes the specifications that are essential in order that any 540-rpm power take-off driven machine may be operated with any make of tractor having a a 540-rpm power take-off drive.

1. The diameter of the hitch hole (Fig. E1) at the end of the tractor drawbar shall not be less than 13/64 in., and, in addition, an 11/16-in. hole shall be provided in the drawbar 4 in. ahead of the hitch hole.

2. The material in the tractor drawbar shall clear an implement clevis (3 in. wide and having a 3-in. throat clearance) through a 90 degree swing right or left of the tractor drawbar center line.

3..."

...and the dialog carries on with more details of distances from the end of the splined PTO shaft, how far off center components can be to each other, etc.

I feel the pertinent information found in this particular ASAE standard, as it applies to the Jeep, indicates that WIllys-Overland was serious about meeting the existing standards in order to allow the vehicle to truly serve as a tractor. The paragraph above, labeled #2, shows that even though the vehicle already had a "drawbar", the engineers were augmenting that existing design with the bolt-on triangular shaped addition. I believe it was not designed so much with the intent of it being a mounting point for a hitch ball, as much as it was to accommodate a clevis with the required swing that one with the mentioned throat clearance needed in order to function properly. And, of course to put the hitch point the correct distance from the end of the PTO shaft and the correct distance from the ground.

The paragraph above, labeled #1, clearly specifies the size of the hitch hole as well as size and location of the additional hole found in the triangular "drawbar".

None of the above standards really explain a specific need for the additional hole, but they do indicate that this feature was a standard to abide by if one were to build a tractor. I have examined a LOT of antique tractors. Some adhered to this ASAE standard. Some did not. Kudos to Willys for giving it the old college try. I do not have personal knowledge of exactly what the intended purpose of that extra hole was. Maybe armed with this information, the truth can be found.

Clint

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jan. 2022 at 11:56pm
Well that's part of the mystery solved......thank you for the info Clint.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote madalinet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Dec. 2023 at 7:25am
Just stumbled upon this exciting thread about the Jeep Tractor Prototype โ€“ how cool is that? If you're anything like me and love unique rides, this prototype is a game-changer. I've been on the lookout for exceptional off-road vehicles and recently discovered machinerydealer.co.uk โ€“ your one-stop destination for all things machinery.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a diverse selection of tractors, including some rugged ones that could give the Jeep Tractor Prototype a run for its money. The folks at machinery dealer.co.uk seem to know their stuff, and the browsing experience is a joy.


Edited by madalinet - 22 Dec. 2023 at 4:06am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Joe Friday Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Dec. 2023 at 10:19am
Might be a good time to subscribe to the Dispatcher Magazine.
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