One almost never sees unused Jeeps, especially the Willys MBÂ Jeeps cranked out by the thousands and shipped all over the world. So (excluding the possibility of an older restoration) how did one manage to accumulate just 9.6 miles, as did this one that showed up during a recent consolidation of Army museums at the Fourth Infantry Division warehouse in Fort Carson, Colorado.
Tom Weaver, a volunteer for the museum consolidation effort, said this particular MB came out of a museum in Fort Hood, Texas. He writes:
I have looked this over many times and have enough of a knowledge of classic and antique cars and this looks like one that the Army forgot. The data plate on the dash shows that the manufacturer was Willys and the serial # ends with the numerals #49. I assume this was manufactured in 1949. Other than a few minor scratches and some dirt here and there it is extremely clean.
Everything I’ve read states that the Willys MB was produced only through August 1945, however. Anybody out there able to translate the serial number and the various markings on the Jeep to tell us more about its history?
If you’d like to see the MB in person, Tom tells us that it’ll be on display at the Colorado Springs airport next month, then eventually on permanent display at the Fourth Infantry Division’s museum.