Michael Riley's Blog: Omix-ADA bringing “work Jeeps” to 2015 SEMA Show

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Omix-ADA bringing “work Jeeps” to 2015 SEMA Show

1946 Willys CJ-2A, outfitted with everything a rancher might need. Photos courtesy Omix-ADA.

Jeep parts retailer and off-road specialist Omix-ADA has been bringing vehicles from its historic Jeep collection to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas since 2013. Last year’s display centered on civilian Jeeps and included a restored, one-year only 1973 CJ-5 Super Jeep. This time around, the company’s Offroad Success Center will highlight “work vehicles,” including a fully kitted 1946 Willys CJ-2A “farm Jeep.”

Looking for a way to market the Jeep to civilians in the postwar years, one idea that Willys Overland hit upon was turning the Jeep into an agricultural workhorse. Despite the ramp-up of manufacturing during the war years, the United States remained a nation largely driven by agriculture and ranching, and the go-anywhere, do-anything Jeep seemed ideal for such purposes.

The Canfield wrecker boom and the Newgren buzz saw.

As early as 1942, the USDA tested a pair of Jeeps (one from Ford and one from Willys) at its Alabama tillage lab. As Land Rover creator Maurice Wilks would later observe, such a vehicle, when properly equipped, could take the place of a conventional tractor and then take the farmer into town for supplies, something not feasible on a tractor. The results from the USDA tests were encouraging, and seemed to prove the point that a Jeep (with better attachment points, lower gearing and a stronger clutch) could indeed work for farm use.

Design work on civilian Jeeps (including the CJ-1 converted military Jeep and the CJ-2 prototypes) began in earnest in late 1944, with the CJ-2A entering production in June of 1945. It debuted to the public, fittingly at CESOR Farms in New Hudson, Michigan, on July 18, 1945, though 1945 production would only run through September.

The saw is driven by a belt, powered from the Jeep’s rear PTO.

Production of 1946 CJ-2As began in October of 1945, and continual improvements were made to the model as stocks of Willys MB military Jeep parts were depleted, 0r as feedback was received from civilian customers. As the Willys CJ-2A was intended for a multitude of applications, many came as little more than a drivetrain wrapped in a steel body; as Omix-ADA points out, a front passenger seat cost $11, the rear seat was $13.50, and a canvas top was $82.50.

Though Willys never produced a Jeep specifically for agricultural purposes, the aftermarket was quick to provide virtually any accessory a farmer or rancher could need. The 1946 CJ-2A to be shown at SEMA includes more accessories than anyone would reasonably purchase for (or attach to) a Jeep, but the display does show what could be added to address specific tasks or needs. Most obvious, perhaps, are the dual front and rear wheels, added to improve traction on soft or freshly plowed ground. While rear duals were somewhat common, the four-wheel duals fitted to the Omix “Farm Jeep” are considerably rarer.

The GE arc welder occupies the passenger seat space.

Driven from the Jeep’s center PTO, the K&K sickle bar mower was one of many agricultural specific implements available for the CJ-2A, a list that also included a variety of harrows, plows and cultivators. This mower could be raised or lowered via the lever to the left of the driver, and in transit the unpowered mowing bar was raised to a (still potentially dangerous) vertical position beside the driver. The Jeep’s rear PTO is set up to drive a Newgren buzz saw, attached to a hydraulically adjustable platform.

Mounted in the Jeep’s bed is a Canfield wrecker boom, which is either hand-cranked or powered from the PTO. The “incredibly rare” accessory is designed to fold flat when not in use, retaining some of the bed’s cargo carrying capability. Replacing the front passenger seat is a GE electric arc welder, powered from the center PTO by a kit from Farnsworth and Middlekauff; as described by Omix-ADA, the kit itself was nearly half the price of the Jeep, which limited its market to commercial customers requiring industrial welders in remote locations.