The "Farm Jeep" series of serial numbers in the 1953 and 1954 model years, had the prefix 453GC2 to identify them as an "FJ" and distinguish them from the standard 453GB2 serial numbers of the CJ-3B.
Kaiser-Willys brochure KW-1706 was a large 1953 folding brochure entitled "Jeep Farm Power." It features many photos of CJ-3A Jeeps at work with agricultural equipment (160K JPEG), and several photos of the new CJ-3B. The largest illustration (left) shows a 3B with implement lift. The Farm Jeep specifications also list a governor and engine-driven gear-type Pesco hydraulic pump as standard. The PTO (Power Take-Off) is listed as optional at extra cost.
Some excerpts from the brochure text:
"Row crop cultivation: You can get over the ground fast without packing the soil. The Farm Jeep and rotary hoe allow you to work row crops early, doing 40 to 60 acres a day safely with operating speeds up to 12 m.p.h."
"Belt power: With its brakes locked, the Farm Jeep holds steady as a rock as it delivers in excess of 30 horsepower on the pulley."
"Comfort: Heavy-duty springs, double-acting shock absorbers and a cushioned seat with back rest help you feel fresher at the end of the day. Folding windshield can be raised for protection against wind, dust and rain or lowered on top of the hood when not needed. Closed cab and heater are optional equipment, available at extra cost."
The brochure also includes an underside illustration showing four-wheel-drive and power take-off (160K JPEG), and refers to the Jeep as "Nebraska Tested" (see below), citing OfficialTractor Test No. 432, in which a CJ-3A had apparently been tested in 1949.
In 2023 Joe Acord in Ohio told me about his 1953 Farm Jeep, which he said was 99% rust free when he took the body off. Joe has restored and updated a lot of details, but it still has the original rear power take-off. See more pictures in 1953 Owners' Photos.
The most authoritative list of Willys-Overland Production Figures has the serial numbers for the 1953 FJ ending at 453GC2 10065, but Joe's SN plate shows number 10078, so clearly there were more than 65 FJs built that year. And in fact, the Farm Jeep tested in a Nebraska Tractor Test (see further down this page) had serial number 453GC2 10083, so there were at least 83 FJs in 1953.
The FJ was discontinued as a separate model after only 12 more units were built in 1954, but Willys continued to sell the 3B to farmers. Even after the introduction of the new CJ-5 for 1955, the economy-model 3B continued to appeal to people who spent their money carefully.
This 1954 Jeep was outfitted by Frank J. Colton for bucking hay on his ranch in Oregon. (See Field and Stream on CJ3B.info for more photos.)
This photo, and the subtitle of this page -- "The first thing out in the morning, last in at night" -- were taken from a full-page Jeep ad (85KGIF) in the February 1954 issue of Successful Farming magazine. The ad features Harold Bordner of Weston, Ohio, describing his use of a CJ-3B on his farm "Black Swamplands".
Bob Harris' Woodstock Green 1953 Jeep pulls a disc harrow in Tennessee, circa 1955, with Tommy Vandergriff at the wheel. Bob added the toolbox on the front bumper, the Mack bulldog on the hood, and the mud flaps made from rubber conveyor belting used in the Kentucky coal mines. Bob traded in his '46 CJ-2A for the 3B, which he later sold. Unfortunately this is the only photo he has of the Jeep.
Henk Ardon drives a CJ-3B equipped with a Hercules plow on a Monroe hydraulic lift, in a plowing competition against eight tractors in the Netherlands on 23 October 1954. See more details and photos in Farm Jeeps in the Netherlands on CJ3B.info.
This view of the Monroe hydraulic implement lift and three-point hitch is taken from the 1956 CJ-3B Parts List.
Glenn Byron in Maine found a mimeographed price list of agricultural equipment (35K GIF) tucked into his 1954 Jeep Specialized Equipment catalogue. He comments, "It is undated but may give you an idea what that oddball implement for your CJ-3B cost from the factory and what the dealer sold it for. I know the land plow was built by Newgren Co. of Hillsdale, Michigan as the data tag on my 3-point hitch land plow says that. Willys had suppliers all over create some of this weird stuff."
Jeeps at work on farms across America: that was one of Willys-Overland's dreams at the end of World War II, and they marketed the Jeep as the ideal combination of small truck and small tractor for farmers. The first prototype civilian Jeeps in 1944-45 were known as Agrijeeps. See also Preproduction Civilian Jeeps.
Beginning in 1951 an official "FJ" version of the CJ-3A was created, and a stripped-down version called the Jeep Tractor (100K JPEG) or "JT" was also introduced, with no windshield or headlights. Willys-Overland Production Figures suggest none of these CJ-3A Farm Jeeps were actually produced, but Bob Westerman has documented a few examples in his article "Willys Farm Jeep and Jeep Tractor" on The CJ-3A Information Page. Leon Hackett owns a CJ-3A with serial number 451GC1 10001 (130K JPEG) which would be the first 1951 FJ and possibly the only one surviving .
In 1953, a CJ-3B Farm Jeep with serial number 453GC2 10083 was the subject of Test No. 502 in a series of Tractor Tests at the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture. (See also the earlier 1949 Nebraska Tractor Test of the CJ-3A on The CJ-3A Information Page.)
The test report, a formal document signed by three members of the "Board of Tractor Test Engineers," records the data from a series of horsepower tests while driving a belt or pulling a drawbar. Speed, torque and fuel consumption are among the items measured, in addition to horsepower. Observed maximum belt horsepower is listed as 35.23, and observed maximum drawbar horsepower as 25.40 (the Jeep was moving at 4.11 miles per hour with 8.32% wheel slippage at the time).
The photo shows one of the drawbar tests. The description of the tests says, "The pull exerted by the tractor is transmitted by a hydraulic pressure cylinder to a recording instrument in the test car. All tests are made on the same dirt test course which is maintained by grading, sprinkling and rolling so that it remains very nearly the same throughout the season."
See the complete results of the Nebraska Tractor Test (270K JPEG), and an explanation of the test report (210K JPEG).
Ron Ingram of Charlestown, Indiana has a 1961 CJ-3B, with rear PTO and a Stratton hydraulic 3-point hitch, in almost daily use on his farm.
Seen here, Ron is using the Jeep to frost seed clover onto a winter pasture. The seeder is mounted on the 3-point hitch and is operated from the PTO. Ron hauls extra seed in the Jeep's cargo area to refill the seeder.
For more action photos, and details of the Jeep and its optional equipment, see A Day With a Farm Jeep.
Thanks to Ron Ingram who also provided the Nebraska Tractor Test report, Steve Chabot, Bob Westerman, and Joe Acord. -- Derek Redmond
See 1953 Farm Journal Ads on CJ3B.info.
See also John Ittel's Jeeps in Universal Farming in Ohio.
Return to Universal Jeeps or to CJ-3B Advertising and Literature. Elsewhere on the web, see the Farm Jeep page, and Willys Farm Jeep and Jeep Tractor on the CJ-3A Information Page.
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