remember when these were advertised for sale for $49

[Three Cedars]

Found the receipt Dad got when he paid for a surplus Lee-Enfield .303 for $4.50 sold it a few years back for over $1000

[Nicholas Carey]

I used to work with a guy who a gun enthusiast. He used to bring these pretty cool magazines to work featuring British Enfield rifles from the Boer War, still packed in the original grease and wax paper.

My brother bought a British Army surplus Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III, modified for use as a sniper rifle. It was coated in Cosmoline and still packed in rustproof paper. It took quite a while to get the Cosmoline scrubbed off it, but you can drive tacks with it.

At the same time, he picked up a couple of cases of .303 British ammunition, also surplused by HM Armed Forces, manufactured in 1944 or 1945. Those contained light canvas bandoliers holding 10 preloaded 5-round chargers (stripper clips).

I think he paid $80 for the .303 in the late '80s/early '90s.

[Stiletto]

When I was a kid it wasn't uncommon for hunters to buy surplus .303 Lee Enfields and 'sporterize' them by cutting down the wood, or even making a completely new stock for them. These days the unmodified rifles fetch higher prices. The popularity of .303 rifles declined when cheap surplus ammo was used up.

[Canoeyawl]

Jeeps were $50, 303's were $9.95 and I was making $1.15/hr

Do the arithmetic, they were as out of reach then as they are now!

Or yes, while working as a gas pump jockey and going to night school and stocking shelves at Macy's after hours sure, I probably could have bought one. But working two jobs for a large part of my life, it would have been impossible to "play" with this Jeep...

[RCRVRP]

In the late 60's to 70's I had many friends and classmates that told me their cousin, their uncle, a friend of the cousins uncle, etc. could get us a Jeep packed in cosmolene for $50. All we had to do was take 5, or pay up front for 2 or whatever.
I always said, " Yep I'll take them, I have the cash on hand, I'll pay when I see it."
Never saw one. Not one.
Never saw the friends Jeep who touted them.
Never saw the uncles Jeep who supposedly got one.
I think it may have been that eras version of the present day urban legend and the now ubiquitous Craigslist internet scams.
"Everyone" knew someone who got one, but nobody could ever actually show up with one to show.

[Rich Jones]

Would these Jeeps have been road legal?
I know that back then automotive safety laws didn't exist and there were no
yearly vehicle inspections, but was wondering if you could drive these on the street
or just off-road.

[Nicholas Carey]

Jeeps were crated for transoceanic shipping. Not packed in Cosmoline. Not sold as surplus.

Used jeeps were surplused. Average sale price was something like $500-$1,000 dollars (in 1946), depending on condition. "Used" meaning anything from driving-officers-around-the-base used, to damaged-in-battle used.

[hawkeye54]

Pop Mech also advertised these:
Attachment 130304

Pre-1980's, the Village of Skokie, Illinois used one of these for parking meter enforcement, with the Village shield on the doors, and a flashing light at the center top of the windshield

[Garret]

In the late 60's to 70's I had many friends and classmates that told me their cousin, their uncle, a friend of the cousins uncle, etc. could get us a Jeep packed in cosmolene for $50. All we had to do was take 5, or pay up front for 2 or whatever.
I always said, " Yep I'll take them, I have the cash on hand, I'll pay when I see it."
Never saw one. Not one.
Never saw the friends Jeep who touted them.
Never saw the uncles Jeep who supposedly got one.
I think it may have been that eras version of the present day urban legend and the now ubiquitous Craigslist internet scams.
"Everyone" knew someone who got one, but nobody could ever actually show up with one to show.

As I mentioned above, an acquaintance ordered & got one - IIRC delivered to a freight terminal a ways away. It probably was a complete Jeep, but it was so smashed up it was hard to tell.

Would these Jeeps have been road legal?
I know that back then automotive safety laws didn't exist and there were no
yearly vehicle inspections, but was wondering if you could drive these on the street
or just off-road.

Completely street legal Rich. I had a military Jeep & they came with all the required lights (no turn signals, one tail/brake light) + the blackout lights.

[RCRVRP]

^ if it was so smashed up it was hard to tell if it was a complete Jeep I'd say that fits the definition of a scam.

[Garret]

^ if it was so smashed up it was hard to tell if it was a complete Jeep I'd say that fits the definition of a scam.

Caveat Emptor. The ads never said the Jeep would run... Nevertheless, they did deliver it & it was a Jeep.

[bamamick]

The one we had pretty much stayed on our property and we'd drive it around the area. I don't remember my dad ever having a trailer to haul it with or any long trips in it. We had a hunting camp in Clarke County, Alabama, about 100 miles from where I grew up, but I certainly don't remember riding in it on that trip. Seems like we walked everywhere at the camp.

But as far as I know the Jeep ran like it was supposed to. I know for a fact that it would pull a stump.

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

My roommate at school was Korean and he'd been a soldier in the army there before I met him. He'd also raced motorcycles. During our last year he bought a crated WWII motorcycle packed in cosmolene and assembled it in the school maintenance garage. I can still smell the cosmolene if I think about it!

[Andrew2]

Saw an original Jeep in the local square a couple of weeks ago. Probably gets great grandfather's rights as to compliance to current regs. It was '40s perfect, even to the odd shovel in clips.

Back in the late 60's, I bought an Austin Champ out of a farmer's field for £45. It was their idea of a 'Jeep' type vehicle for the Army. Lots of grunt , would do 90mph with the screen down. I needed something to tow a boat back from the S of France and it was ideal. Thirsty, you betcha, 9mpg with the boat. Supposedly would run under water with the snorkel, but gave that a miss. One plus, even the London taxi drivers, not noted for giving way, stayed well clear

PS, it had rack and pinion steering and independant suspension all round, so, unlike the clumsy Land Rovers, you could chuck it into corners and drift on round abouts
good fun...

[Jack Loudon]

My uncle had an army surplus jeep and would let us kids drive it. He had a big place with some paved roads. On the longest stretch we could reach 50 mph. That seemed plenty fast to a couple of 12 year old kids.

$50 was exactly what I paid for my first car in 1966, a black 1940 Dodge coupe. I sold it 6 months later for $75. But that was after filling some dents (Bondo & black spray paint), new bright green seat covers, and baby moon hubcaps. So let's say I broke even.

[Jim Bow]

I dare say that almost no combat veteran jeeps were returned to the States. All the surplus jeeps were used within CONUS and AK. My 1945 went from Fort Lewis to the Forest Service, and then to a berry farm. I bought it from the farmer’s grandson.

I say “almost no” jeeps were combat vets. My neighbor was a lieutenant stationed in Paris after the war ended. Married soldiers were allowed to buy personal jeeps if their wives were in country. His was. He got one for $40. He had it shipped to the states, but it was stolen.

[gypsie]

shouldn't something be left to the imagination

You speak in the singular when Garret was thinking in the plural.