Prior to the development of the CJ-2A came the CJ-2, an extremely limited run of jeeps that weren’t actually ever made available for retail sale, but rather used for testing. The design of the CJ-2 was based on the military Willys MB, but they were stripped of all military features and had some differences in body features and construction versus the military version.

The lessons learned with the CJ-2 led to the development of the first full-production CJ, the 1945-1949 Willys-Overland CJ-2A, or Universal Jeep. Because of their utilitarian functionality making them perfect for farm work, Willys-Overland coined them “AgriJeeps,” a name they’d later trademark, although never actually using the term when marketing the vehicle. The CJ-2A looked very much like a civilianized MB with a tailgate and side-mounted spare wheel, but the CJ-2A had a flush-mounted seven-slot grille where the MB had a nine-slot grille. Production of the CJ-2A started on 17 July 1945, with many being produced using remaining stock of the military jeep components such as engine blocks, and in a few cases, modified frames. In all, 214,760 CJ-2As were produced during its 5 year production run.

Given this CJ-2A’s unique color scheme, let’s look a little deeper into the color combinations that Willys-Overland offered from the factory. From 1945 to mid-1946, CJ-2As were only available in two color combinations: Pasture Green with Autumn Yellow wheels (very John Deere-ish) and Harvest Tan with Sunset Red wheels. In mid-1946, Willys-Overland added the following combos: Princeton Black with Harvard Red or Sunset Red wheels, Michigan Yellow with Pasture Green, Sunset Red or Americar Black wheels, Normandy Blue with Autumn Yellow or Sunset Red wheels, and Harvard Red with Autumn Yellow or Americar Black wheels.