It's not WWII surplus. The Willys script on the hood and the tailgate tell us this is the first civilian Jeep. There's a myth that after the war military Jeeps were available as surplus for as little as $44. It's true that surplus Jeeps were sold to veterans, but in good condition the government demanded $975, almost as much as a brand new Jeep from the factory in Toledo. This Jeep also has an original 1947 license plate.
The government also sold as surplus, "150,000 rubber life rafts, recouping $3 million on an equipment that originally cost $30 million. Each raft was sold as part of a $105 package containing 143 items, which included a bible, 12 signal flares, a bilge pump, a gallon of massage oil, a checkerboard, and back issues of Fortune, Esquire, Reader’s Digest, and The Saturday Evening Post." As Major Kong from Dr. Strangelove would say, "Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."
