Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2018 9:28 am Post subject: Where can I find the history of my jeep?
This is a very often asked question for which the answer is not a happy one. Here's an example of the answer I often post to the queries here:
Quote:
Hello Military Jeep Owner,
Welcome to our Post WWII Willys/Kaiser built military jeeps built from 1950 thru 1971. The Army's only historical record of wheeled vehicles were it's contracts with the manufacturer and it's motor pool records. WWII jeeps enjoy the existance of many copies of their original contracts with Bantam, Willys & Ford but the post WWII policy on contracts was they were discarded 6 months after the were filled. When Army vehicles went to the surplus block their motor pool records did not go with them. They were maintained by the last servicing motor pool for 6 months and then destroyed. The only evidence you will ever find of your jeep's history are:
1 - Purchase Contracts by the military to the manufacturer.
2 - The SF - 97 form that accompanied the jeep at the auction.
3 - Historical unit markings and etc found on the jeep in it's many layers of paint.
4 - If you are sure your hood number is original then you can look for it in historical photos in as many historical photo archives as you can find. These include the many veteran's personal photo collections which you can often find shared on website clubs for various units.
This is probably not what you wanted to hear but it is an unfortunate fact of jeep ownership.
Regards,
Wes Knettle
Administrator
The military did maintain historical records on tracked vehicles and aircraft/Missiles. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
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