Excellent video on the evolution of the Jeep from military workhorse to civilian utility vehicle. The segment on the CJ-2A (no mention of 2Ab) starts at 2:55 and ends around 6:40.
(YouTube description) “CJ series Willys Jeeps. CJ-1, CJ-2A, Cj-3A, CJ-3B, M38, CJ-5, CJ-6, CJ-8 were produced by several corporate parents, the Jeep CJ line was officially ended in 1986. More than 1.5 million CJ Jeeps were built, having continued the same basic body style for 45 years since the Jeep first appeared. Widely regarded as “America’s workhorse”, the CJs have been described as “probably the most successful utility vehicle ever made.”
A good example of that utility is shown in this photo of Bob Conner using a Jeep with attached plow to dig trenches for the ground antenna array for the tower at KBOA. The text on the bottom of the windscreen reads:Twice-A-Week Dunklin Democrat
“According to Willys-Overland, there were 5.5 million farmers in the U.S., and of these, more than 4 million had neither a truck nor a tractor. The rugged and versatile CJ-2A was marketed by Willys-Overland as “The All-Around Farm Work-Horse”. It could do the job of two heavy draft horses, operating at a speed of four miles per hour, 10 hours a day, without overheating the engine.”
“Cash awards were offered by Popular Science magazine for “Ideas on Peacetime Jobs for Jeeps.” Of particular note: from 1949-1964, either a complete Jeep Brand vehicle or chassis was used on all Zamboni® ice resurfacing machines.”
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