CHAPTER NINE 1941 FORD GP

By Kevin Kronlund and Thea DeGroot

GP IN THE
NORTH WOODS

Was that a rare Bantam jeep or something else trapped in the Wisconsin north woods?
Some military vehicles buffs had to find out.

This story began in June 2001 when local Studebaker collector Cecil Scribner mentioned to military vehicle collector Buster Miller that he had spotted a “Bantam Jeep” in the woods behind the house of an elderly lady in northern Wisconsin. Scibner, who owns a septic systems business, had spotted the derelict vehicle when he had serviced the septic system at the woman’s home.

Miller, who is a member of the Military Vehicle Preservation Group of Spooner couldn’t resist such a tantalizing lead. Who knows what could be there? A prototype BRC? Scribner is not a jeep collector, so Miller had to wonder what had prompted him to say “Bantam?” Most folks who haven’t been initiated in military jeep lore would have simply said they had spotted “an old World War II jeep,” or “an old Army jeep.” Scribner didn’t use those terms, though, he specifically volunteered the name “Bantam.” So, Miller went off to visit the old woman and her jeep, expecting the worst, but hoping for the best.

This WWII era jeep clearly hadn’t moved in many years.

After exchanging pleasantries with the woman, Miller received permission to go back in the woods and look at the “old jeep.” When he finally clawed his way through the covering foliage, Miller discovered that the vehicle was actually a 1941 Ford GP. What had prompted Scribner, the Studebaker collector, to call it a Bantam? A bit more exploring revealed the source of the label. Firmly seated in the dash was a set of Bantam-marked gauges.

Miller realized, even though it wasn’t a Bantam, he still had one of those “right under your nose rare finds.” He quickly shared the information with other members of military vehicle club to which he belonged. Kevin Kronlund and Thea DeGroot, members of the Spooner Military Vehicle Preservation Group (MVPG) decided to pay a visit the lady with the hopes of purchasing the vehicle. With seemingly little effort, the two parties determined a price and made the sale. The woman seemed only too happy to get rid of the rusty hulk. To her, there was nothing special about the old jeep.

The source of the “Bantam” name for this discovery came from the
gauges--So where is the Bantam from which these came?

The following weekend, armed with a M62 wrecker and flatbed trailer, Kronlund, Miller, and Ed Morgan drove to the cabin to “pluck the little gem from its resting place” (Buster’s words). Safely loaded on the flatbed, the three carried the Jeep with Bantam gauges back to Kronlund’s shop in Spooner. After some discussion, the Group decided to offer the jeep for sale, since the MVPG had just started their next project, a M28 Weasel.

This tale just goes to show that the “jeeps in the barns” (or in this case, “in the north woods of Wisconsin”) are still there to be discovered. As you drive the countryside, keep looking deep into those treelines, abandoned barns, and piles of rusty metal. Who knows? Those Bantam gauges had to come from somewhere!

So it wasn’t a Bantam… a Ford script GP ain’t so bad!