CATALOG OF THE AUTOMOBILE COLLECTION 55 



with a Spicer universal joint at each end connects the transmission 

 with the differential unit. 



The gasoline tank is suspended at the rear of the car between the 

 two side members of the frame. The cap, when screwed home, is 

 airtight. A float-operated fuel gauge is located at the top rear of the 

 tank. Behind the tank is a carrier for a spare rim and tire, xllemite 

 fittings for lubrication are provided for all shackle bolts, front-axle 

 kingpins, steering parts, etc. A crank-handle extension projects for- 

 ward below the radiator. 



The instrument panel contains an oil-pressure gauge, an air-pressure 

 gauge, a Weston ammeter, a Van Sicklen speedometer, and an Elgin 

 clock. 



The majority of parts are cross-sectioned, revealing mechanisms sel- 

 dom seen by the automobile owner. All water passages are painted 

 green, while all parts related to the intake and exhaust systems are 

 painted red. The frame is painted white. 



BANTAM ONE-QUARTER-TON ARMY TRUCK, 1940 



U. S. N, M. No. 312822 ; original : transferred from the War Department through 

 Col. E. S. Van Deusen in 1944 ; photograph No. 38171 ; plate 18, 6. 

 In 1940 the American Bantam Car Co., of Butler, Pa., constructed 

 a group of 62 one-quarter-ton, 4-wheel-drive trucks, which were the 

 prototype of the famous "jeep" or "peep." Modified and standardized 

 for volume production, many thousands were built by the American 

 Bantam Car Co., Willys-Overland Motors, and the Ford Motor Co. 

 Combining simplicity, exceptional mobility, reliability, low silhouette, 

 and a capacity out of proportion to its size, the jeep proved a very 

 versatile and successful military vehicle. It is on its way to becoming 

 a legendary symbol of allied military unity during the war, and an 

 emblem of authority for provisional governments since the war. 



This Bantam prototype differs from the standard "jeep" chiefly 

 in its appearance and in the fact that it is powered with a Continental 

 engine. It is the seventh one of the 62, serial number 1007. It was 

 delivered to the Army on November 29, 1940, and was given the Army 

 registration number W-2015330. Upon delivery to the Army Board 

 at Fort Knox, Ky., it was put through a series of tests equivalent to 

 about 100,000 miles of service and was then retired from active Army 



service. 



The Continental engine is of the 4-cylinder, L-head type with a 

 bore of 3%6 inches and a stroke of 31/2 inches, developing 46 horse- 

 power at 3,250 revolutions per minute. It is water cooled, with a belt- 

 driven fan and centrifugal water pump behind the radiator. All 

 electrical equipment on the engine— the ignition coil and distributor, 



