the bantam bt3-c was bantam's last ditch effort to survive as a
manufacture after wwii. the bt3-c was a civilianized version of
the bantam bt3. this was the military trailer that bantam
produced for the war effort. in a way the bt3 was their
consolation prize for designing the jeep but losing the contract.
after the war bantam modified the trailer lightly for civilian
production. the company cut a tailgate out of the back, added
steel supports, and the pintle hitch was changed over to a civilian
ball hitch.
i found my bantam bt3-c at the rough and tumble museum's annual
thresher's reunion. my friend scott noticed the bt3-c and
mentioned how he had once restored one when he owned the 1944 willys
mb. we looked the trailer over and found it to be quite sound
with no issues other than minor surface rust. the trailer was
also sporting its original wood sides and hardware. i struck a
deal for $350.00 and we towed it home. restoration was extremely
simple due to the nice condition of the trailer. i stripped the
bt3-c down to bare metal using wire brush, cup brush, and paint
stripper; primed and then painted it. i also greased everything
while i had it apart. i ordered new tires from coker tire.
i ordered a canvas top from beechwood canvas. beechwood makes the
i ordered a canvas top from beechwood canvas. beechwood makes the
tops for both the civilian and military models. the restoration
took about a month and i had the trailer ready for a convoy in
september from thurmont, md to eisenhower's farm in gettysburg, pa.