DIY Sidewalk Jeep

During a recent visit to the world’s largest collection of Jeep vehicles, which is housed at the Omix-ADA corporate headquarters, we shot a photo of something we found tucked away in a corner.

- Stuart A. Bourdon

It was, of course, a Jeep. However, it was about 3-feet long, just less than 20 inches wide, and approximately 16 inches tall. We now have a full complement of exclusive photographs courtesy Omix-ADA of the “Sidewalk Jeep,” as it was called in the 1949 Toys You Can Make, A Popular Mechanics Book. The book offered build-instructions and diagrams with measurements.

Claiming that (remember, this is 1949) “by using second-hand parts it can be built for less than $50.” The article’s author goes on to say, “Special features are auto-type steering gear, auto-starting motor drive through a hydraulic transmission, and electrically welded angle-iron frame.” The example shown here from the Omix-ADA collection uses a 6V battery, and an electric motor with a chain drive that ran a surplus World War II hydraulic unit from the turret of a bomber.