 Can
you still buy a WW II jeep for 50 Dollars?
Over the years many small
ads have offered US army world war 2 jeeps for sale still in shipping
crates:
Small ads have appeared for
years offering big bargains from government surplus auctions including
ex-army jeeps and all kinds of other military vehicles.
A typical ad might run something
like:
Army surplus clearout - everything must go!
Jeeps still in original packing
cases, complete with all original parts and accessories including :
Axes, shovels, gas cans, service tools, grease guns, tyre pumps etc.
etc.
Delivery mileage only.
Sorry
- Out of stock
(since 1945!)
50 Dollar jeeps? - We wish!
But there haven't been any jeeps in cases for years. Well, not on
dry land anyway...It's a sad thought that the only 'new' world war
2 vehicles still in cases are the ones that are at the bottom of the
sea. Most sunk as a result of enemy action but some were dumped...
Million
dollar point - 'The Seabees built a ramp running into the sea
and every day Americans drove trucks, jeeps, ambulances, bulldozers,
and tractors into the channel, locking the wheels and jumping free
at the last second. Engine blocks cracked and hissed. Some Seabees
wept.'
The
President Coolidge - 'On the right at the back of the
hold there are seven jeeps stacked in twos. There is one by itself
the other six are stacked on top of each other '
The
Gulf of Thailand - Still being dumped but a heavier type of military
vehicle - tanks this time to form a reef.
How did the 50 Dollar Jeep Rumour Start?
Maybe just after world war two there were some crated jeeps for sale
but the going rate even in the nineteen-forties was several hundreds
of dollars not 50!
Most of the jeeps that were made available for sale were well used
and very few were crated in any event. The expense and trouble of putting
something as large as a vehicle in a packing case was such that it
was done on relatively few occasions.
For shipping from the factory they would be stacked on top of each
other in rail cars or shipped in partially 'knocked down' condition
like in the picture above.
Most Jeeps were shipped fully assembled like
these amphibious jeeps or 'seeps' awaiting despatch.
If a real ww2 jeep in a case turned up in some long-overlooked government
store or abandoned barn, it would be worth far more left unassembled
in the crate than it would be if you put it together and drove it around!
But the Fifty Dollar jeep makes a great story and the legend will
probably persist as long as someone is looking for a great deal!
...and for the full story on the 50
dollar jeep
The jeep in a
box is one of those urban legends that just refuses to die! Like
all good stories, it no doubt has a grain of truth in its roots but
that has long been submerged by scams and BS!
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