1944 WWII Ford Jeep
S.N. 204333
The Laney family jeep was built by Ford and delivered to the Army on May 29, 1944. It may have been used on an Army post or National Guard unit somewhere on the west coast, perhaps Fort Lewis. My dad purchased the jeep on March 12, 1967 for $500 from Billy Swaim of Portland.
For the next four years I drove it during my student days at the University of Oregon. My brothers took over the jeep when I left home and each of them enjoyed driving our family jeep. After they left home my dad stored the jeep for some years and then towed it to my home in Portland where I enjoyed taking my children on jeep rides. But the jeep stopped running and was just taking up space in my garage when I discovered a web site that featured restored military jeeps. That sparked my interest! With the blessing of my wife, I began restoring the vehicle back to its’ original military configuration. I never dreamed what a big project this would be or how much fun I would have working on my jeep. The jeep is “parade ready” and I enjoying driving and showing it to honor the men and women serving in the United States military.
Click here to see a video of the restoration of the Laney family jeep.