M-151 Mutt

[Trailbst]

I know you love all of this Jeep trivia stuff.

[CherokeeFever]

The M151 and all subsequent models in the series were manufactured by Ford, as was the first production "jeep," the GPW.

How's that for Jeep trivia???

[Trailbst]

Cherokee, not even close. The first production Jeep wasn't produced by Ford. The answer to that is in the trivia section. NOT, posted by me. GPW, has a specific meaning set forth by Ford. Ford was commisioned by the government to built the 1/4 ton utility vehicle in accordance with the Willys design. Willys beat out the other competitors to win the contract to build the "jeep".

The M-151, was built by a number of manufacturers, not just Ford. Ford won the design contract, but the M-151 was also built by Kaiser, AM General, and General Motors.

[blkTJ]

yes willy's won the bid but the winning design was submitted by the bantam corporation. unfortunately the company was to small to produce the number of Jeeps needed by the military and willy's won the contract(building bantam's design). bantam got a small contract to build jeep trailers.

[Trailbst]

Not entirely, they were built using the Willys design, which was similar to the Bantam design. Some say that BOTH, Willys and Ford stole the initial design from Bantam, and then tweaked it. Again, hence, the GPW was built to Willys specs, with the exception of the grille and a few small other parts. The stamped grille that is still used by Jeep today, was originally put on the GPW. Ford could make them and faster and cheaper since they were stamped steel and not welded. The government made Willys change that part of the design. SO, as Jeepers, we owe part of our heritage to Ford, for their stamped 7 slot grille. This part is O/T.

This poll was about the M151 and it's variations.



The poll asks, "Was the M151 ever built by Jeep?"

[sarah]

either way that thing looks sweet!!

[jmbrowning]

Tested and protoyped by Ford through most of the fifties, the M151 MUTT ("Military Unit Tactical Truck") went into production in 1959 and became the principal combat Jeep of the Vietnam era. It was produced by Kaiser Jeep, AM General and General Motors, as well as Ford. It had a four wheel independent suspension of unsophisticated design which was responsible for somewhat unstable behavior on bends -- the later A2 version adopted a semi-independent rear suspension to improve stability. There was also an M718 ambulance version with a rear body extension. The M151 was thought dangerous for civilian use on the road, so the Army used surplus MUTTs for parts, and the stripped vehicles had the frame and rear suspension cut before being offered for sale as scrap metal. (Robert Stanley)

They can still be had on the used market, but watch to make sure it isn't a cut frame welded back together. Alternatively, shell out $7500 to Carolina Growler and they will send you a kit to build up yourself. Not sure on the detail re: titling and smogging a kitcar.

It has a <100 HP engine with a single speed t-case over independent suspension, but might make a fun round town car. Get the A2 model for rollover protection system, if going used.

My $0.02.

BTW, there is an AMG 151-A1 out of the Glamis area on sale at ebay now.

[king4wd]

Note that while an impressive little 4-wheeler. The MUTT is NOT D.O.T. approved for street use (i.e. must be trailered to every trail). One of the recently retired agents here has one.