Why does the front windshield fold down? A bit of fun maybe, nostalgia maybe. WWll it folds down to point your rifle out the front?
To put gurneys with seriously injured soldiers on the front and still have IV access is what I’ve seen.
In seriously muddy crap (think Europe in the Spring of 1945 when snow thaws, windshield wipers don’t really get mud off that great
Then they just kept the feature
They had more than enough power for their intended purpose which did not include highway cruising speeds. I drove one in Vietnam and while it's top speed was only 45 or so it was fast enough for me.We had two vintage Jeeps on our ship in the late sixties and I drove one all the time we were on the beach. It was fun to drive, but they were grossly under-powered compared to modern Jeeps.
I’m sure it’s just there for as you said, nostalgia. But I’ve always wondered if anyone has ever folded it down for an actual useful reason…
That’s actually quite interesting, I would not have thought of that. Only works though if you aren’t following someoneI fold mine down all the time when I'm on a dirt road. It keeps from sucking the dust in from the rear.
And sadly, the 300D makes the microbus look like it has sports car acceleration.Still faster than a VW microbus...
They had more than enough power for their intended purpose which did not include highway cruising speeds. I drove one in Vietnam and wile it's top speed was only 45 or so it was fast enough for me at the time.
Americans and their obsession with horsepower! High school bud had a '48 Willys truck. Even though it had a Chevy straight 6 transplanted into it as well as an overdrive, its top practical speed was about 45-50. Fast enough as long as you stayed off the freeway! Still faster than a VW microbus...
And sadly, the 300D makes the microbus look like it has sports car acceleration.
I used to work with a guy that had a VW bus that he'd built with a bored engine and a specially geared transmission called the "Freeway Flyer". Always wanted to race the guy on the freeway up Carmel hill in my 240D. We both said the same thing to each other: "You'll out accelerate me in the beginning, but I'll reach the top of the hill before you." We never did get around to doing it, unfortunately.The 77 300D I drove in HS was clocked 0-60 @24.8 seconds. But it did have enough torq to pull my mothers horse trailer to shows with two horses in it.....not sure that was a bright idea but she did it for years.
Originally it helped the fit into smaller crates for shipping. Here are pictures…
In a combat situation, it reduced the chance that your position would be given away by a windshield reflecting the sun light and also aided in the ability to return fire.
Now, I think it is just a nod to the heritage of a Jeep.
I used to restore MGAs and they were often shipped overseas that way when new. Other versions were known as "CKD" models meaning Completely Knocked Down and they shipped in smaller crates. They were easier to ship but they also beat certain export & import taxes because the final assembly was done in the country where they were sold to the end consumer.
I never got one in this condition. It took about 5 minutes to install the windscreen when it arrived. After 5 years of use it took 5 hours to remove one due to seized hardware!
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