slat grill and not script

Nov. 18, 1941 - MB100001 thru Mar. 6, 1942 - MB125809 NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
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Post by geoff bull » Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:59 pm

Hi Todd,
I think I would have to agree in the case of the 2a`s and with that in mind then they may well have stamped the MB bodies once finished.
However there is still the thought of thinking of early body numbers rather than early chassis numbers.
Even taking into account that an MA`s rear panel wouldn`t fit an MB the MA didn`t have the script.
Whereas the GP did,was it Ford that came out with the idea of a scripted rear panel first followed by Willy`s on the slatgrill?
And with out searching through pages of books when did they stop?

Geoff
46 CJ2a #54088
42 slat # 115116
42 slat # 113424
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Post by sergio » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:44 pm

The answer is probably as simple as looking at 100005. Does Dan still own it or has he sold it?

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Post by Todd Paisley » Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:26 pm

Well. MB-100046 and MB-100064 have WILLYS stamps. This was well before the GPW was in production. If the tooling had provision for the WILLYS stamp, how exactly would a panel not be stamped WILLYS? he only way is if the that stamping process was separate from the big stamping of the entire panel. Not sure how someone can equate the MA not having a WILLYS stamp so there must have been MBs without a WILLYS stamp. The 1903 Overland also didn't have a stamp on the rear panel... ;)

Until I actually see a early MB with an original panel without a WILLYS stamp, I think this is just an urban legend. An exception to this would be prototype MBs prior to X9. No pictures of them have surfaced. They could have been made without the WILLYS stamp.

Where are these pictures of MB-100001 that people keep referencing?

Jeff: I agree. Who owns MB-100005 now?
Todd Paisley

1941 MB - 100063 - X12? - Willys Factory Test Mule
1942 MB - 123136 - Earliest Documented "Civilian" Test Jeep
1944 CJ2-12 - X36
1944 CJ2-16 - X40
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Post by sergio » Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:24 pm

Todd Paisley wrote:Jeff: I agree. Who owns MB-100005 now?
I don't know. I read something on the Gee here about "Rene's 005" so I don't know if Dan has sold it. We should have looked when we were standing next to it. I'd call him but you know how he is about taking/returning phone calls. Maybe if you email him and just ask him to look at the panel. If he doesn't have it he'll tell you if he does he may never go out and look at it.

JP

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Post by iron duck » Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:06 pm

Hi,

MA rear panels have the same measurments than MB panels.
The reinforcements are different, but the skin should fit MB.

I have seen the pictures from MB 100001 in the UK from Tony Suds.
I would love to see that jeep in real.
To my opinion it will have much more MA futures than we think.

Luc

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Post by Todd Paisley » Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:31 am

Hi Luc. If the panels are interchangeable, then I can see where there could be MB with those panels. I thought the dimensions were different.

I also think MB-100001 will have some intresting features. I think it will be one the experimental jeeps with an X number assigned to it. There are already pictures of some of the other X number jeeps with MA characteristics. There are pictures of X12 that looks like it has a single top bow like the MA. (The other bow may have been up for some reason though).

http://www.willys-overland.com/MB-100063.htm

I would love to know where Tony found the pictures of MB-100001 and how he is determining that they are for this jeep. Are the photos marked this way?
Todd Paisley

1941 MB - 100063 - X12? - Willys Factory Test Mule
1942 MB - 123136 - Earliest Documented "Civilian" Test Jeep
1944 CJ2-12 - X36
1944 CJ2-16 - X40
1945 CJ2-37 - X61
1945 CJ2A-10012

Wanted: serial # for GPW with hood # 2058856.

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by soccergorilla » Tue May 24, 2022 1:18 am

I am up late with a bad headache so I will chime in. Since MB 1 and 2 were made a month or more before regular MB production I could see those 2 having no script. At this time the first 2 vehicles used some MA parts and by that I mean not just the W/S frame. I believe there was another MA cast part that was machined to MB specs because the standard MB casting of this part was not ready yet. You could not take the MA machined version of this part and make it work in a MB because the holes machined into it were SMALLER than the MA version. I read that MB 1 and 2 were made early to be photographed for the Manual and then traveled around the country for various promo events. Other very early MB's I have seen have this part in a standard MB casting. Sorry to be so cryptic about the part but I think it came from MB 1 or 2 with no way to determine which one and I do not want to sell it. This leads me to believe that Willy's was scrambling to get the tooling done in time for regular production and I could easily believe the script stamping die would take longer to finish. Sean.

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by Adam » Tue May 24, 2022 4:26 am

only 16 years late.

Adam

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by soccergorilla » Tue May 24, 2022 11:15 am

Adam...I just could not let the thread die! I would like to see any pics of the first MB that someone might have. I have pics of the quad with it taken apart after testing so someone must have pics of number MB number one. I think it had no DOD stamped on the data plate. Sean.

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by brucemb » Thu May 26, 2022 6:55 am

Since we couldn’t let the thread die, let me add I have MB 100018 and it definitely has a scripted rear panel. Tub number is 2025. I’m pretty sure Dan told me years ago his scripted rear panel was still in place on MB100005 (I can’t remember his tub number). Maybe the first two were different, as suggested earlier, but real first day production all had scripted tubs.
100018 1941 MB

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by Ernie Baals » Mon May 30, 2022 11:04 am

MB100005 is a sript
Willys stopped using the slat grill around 125000 more or less
They produced scripts about to around 150000 more or less
The last scripts had pressed grills, round gas tank sumps and glove boxes
Ernie
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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by JeepyStu » Mon Jun 20, 2022 3:07 am

My 14/01/42 MB111105 doesnt have rear panel script. Its possible rear panel may have been replaced at some point though

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Re: slat grill and not script

Post by pgcf » Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:53 am

Yes


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