If you thought the Jeep legend began with Willys, think again
Meet the forefather of the Jeep, the Bantam Reconnaissance Car (MKII) built by American Bantam Car Company of Butler, Pennsylvania. This one is serial number 1007, the seventh of 62 built.
How Bantam invented the quarter-ton we know and love
The saga of the Jeep begins, of all places, in Butler, Pennsylvania, which had been the home base of American Bantam, née American Austin. Since 1930, the company had labored to make a homebrewed version of the Austin Seven palatable to Americans caught in an economic implosion and panic. Sales were dismal, but, in mid-June 1940, a chance for a fresh start arrived when the Army Quartermaster Corps came calling, in need of proposals for a small, ¼-ton, four-wheel-drive scout car. Invitations were sent to many companies, but the key players in this showdown would wind up being Bantam, Willys-Overland, and Ford.
The timeline for the project was tight: Bids were to be delivered by July 22; a working prototype had to be delivered in 49 days, and 70 test vehicles needed to be assembled in 75 days. Bantam was granted the contract because it submitted a set of blueprints, cost, and weight estimates, as well as supplier specifications, on time. Willys meanwhile asked for an extension. It was a Herculean accomplishment for such as small company—the speedy conception of this pioneering truck was due in no small part to Karl Probst, a journeyman designer who had worked for Ford, Chalmers, Peerless, and REO, among others.
The Army didn’t much like that Probst’s design came in overweight, but it accepted the plans anyway and told Probst and Bantam to deliver a prototype in seven weeks. Using as many off-the-shelf parts as possible, including a Continental four-cylinder engine, modified Studebaker Champion axles provided by Spicer, a Warner transmission, and Bantam instruments, the factory churned out the first Bantam Reconnaissance Car. Probst and Bantam’s Harold Crist drove from Butler to Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland, with about 30 minutes to spare before the 5 p.m. September 23 deadline.
By all accounts, the BRC performed admirably at both Fort Holabird and Fort Knox in Kentucky, where the Army tested it through the end of October. The Bantam was subjected to a variety of terrain and heavy brush. It even held up well when, on its way from Fort Knox back to Butler, it collided with a 1½-ton truck at 40 mph.
Yet Army officials brought in Willys and Ford anyway to design their own prototypes based on Probst’s design, as they feared that Bantam didn’t have the production capacity to meet demand. In November 1940, Ford delivered its “Pygmy” and Willys its “Quad,” while Bantam’s truck had evolved into the Mark II BRC 60. Willys and Ford had been given a leg up at Bantam’s expense, and the plucky company wouldn’t recover from this knockdown blow.
The Army ordered 1,500 improved units from each manufacturer for testing. Willys Model MA was given the edge in the competition, largely because it had out-powered its rivals, thanks to chief engineer Barney Roos’ decision to equip it with a 60-hp “Go-Devil” inline-four. The Bantam BRC-40 was second due to its excellent chassis and brakes, while the Ford GP came in third, most likely a victim of the company’s decision to power it with an N series tractor engine coupled to a Model A three-speed transmission.
Willys went on to win the contract to build 16,000 quarter tons and Bantam’s involvement ended after it built the last of about 2,500 of its BRC-40s in 1941.
Ford would ultimately win the overflow contract, and would build more than 280,000 Ford GPWs, compared to the 362,000-plus Willys MB Jeeps that Willys-Overland assembled, but they were virtually identical down to the last bolt head.
As it turned out, Ford’s major contribution to the Jeep would be its grille design, which Willys-Overland would adopt largely intact with its inboard, grille-protected headlamps. There were also a few Army-specified design changes for the Jeep, which was assigned the War Department vehicle designation of G503. Among them were a 40-volt generator matching those used on Army trucks, a larger 15-gallon fuel tank, an upgraded battery, and blackout headlamps, plus the Army asked for an ax and shovel to be mounted on the side, and for the parking brake to be moved from the driver’s side to the center of the vehicle.
Bantam, which continued auto production only through October 1940, lasted out the war building trailers and landing gear. Bantam remained in business after the war, producing civilian versions of its military trailers as well as semi-trailers until the mid-1950s, when the company shut down for good.
Willys, meanwhile, positioned itself during the war as the originator of the Jeep, and capitalized on that publicity after the war when it began production of the popular and profitable civilian Jeep. That iconic brand has since passed through the hands of Kaiser, American Motors, Chrysler, and FCA.
SOURCE: HEMMINGS