Minneapolis Moline Jeep

Minneapolis Moline Jeep FARM HOME Cars 20-6-20 Here's an old favorite of showgoers at the Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Show held every year at Le Sueur, Minn. It's a 1943 "Jeep" built by Minneapolis Moline during the late 1930's and early 1940's. "The company built two models - the NTX 4-WD and a bigger GTX 6-WD," says Charlie Schleeve, Le Sueur, who bought his NTX 20 years ago at a Wyoming ranch. "It has a 38 hp Z tractor engine and driveline. If you look underneath you can actually see all the old tractor parts. About 1,100 NTX's were built for use in the South Pacific during World War II primarily as airplane tugs." Minneapolis Moline engineers began experimenting with converting a tractor to an artillery mover in 1938, according to company literature. The first such vehicle was christened "Jeep" by soldiers at Camp Ripley, Minn. It was named for the character in Popeye cartoons that was neither beast nor fowl but knew all the answers and could do every-thing. The name, the literature emphasizes, did not come from the contraction G.P. (general purpose) vehicle, as is commonly believed. While Minneapolis Moline Jeeps are regularly discovered around the country, Schleeve claims to have the only one in Minnesota. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charlie Schleeve, R.R. 1, Box 67, Le Sueur, Minn. 56058 (ph 507 665-2783).

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