• Year of manufacture 
    1952
  • Car type 
    Other
  • Lot number 
    813
  • Reference number 
    292
  • Drive 
    LHD
  • Condition 
    Used
  • Exterior brand colour 
    other
  • Location
    United States
  • Exterior colour 
    Other

Description

Chassis No. 451GB117583

This four-wheel-drive CJ-3A Jeep was ordered in January 1951 from Wiley Brothers and Lewis Packard-Willys of West Chester, Pennsylvania, by Arthur Knorr. A producer of Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater and the Miss US and Miss Universe pageants, Mr. Knorr would occasionally escape to his wife Ruth Gray's family home on Halfmoon Valley Road near State College, Pennsylvania. The Jeep was ordered to support any and all possible maintenance needs on the Pennsylvania property. Accordingly it was outfitted with all the options, including a Ramsey cable winch, both front and rear tops with side curtains, floor mats, a hood lock, a radiator cover, and a heater/defroster – but also a dump trailer, power take-offs in front and rear, a pulley drive, and a hydraulic implement lift, running attachments that included a Timken buzz saw, grass cutter, 'bush and bog harrow', and hydraulic 6-foot snow plow!

The Jeep and trailer remained on the Knorr estate in West Chester until 1999, when they were sold to Joe Copnio. Both eventually passed in 2013 to Jim Taylor. As the Jeep had only been used on the Knorrs' property, and not actually for regular road use, it remains in utterly pristine condition. Paint, upholstery, glass, and top are all original and in remarkable shape; the original wheels and tires have been replaced, but both accompany, loose; and the engine compartment is nearly pristine. The original tailgate was never installed – and is actually framed under Plexiglas for display – and the surviving implements have their original tags, indicating they had never actually been used; the cable for the winch is still in its wrapping, and the snowplow has never been assembled, while the Newton mower does show some use.

At the time of cataloging this remarkable Jeep had recorded just 1,731 actual miles, indicating it may well be one of the lowest-mileage and best-preserved of its generation in existence. Accompanied by its original paperwork and manual, as well as all the aforementioned accessories, it is a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity for the Jeep enthusiast.