Jabez Love is acknowledged as the inventor of the first hydraulic implement lift for the new CJ2a Jeep. While we have written about the development of the “Love Hydraulic Lift System” that would be distributed by the Newgren Equipment Company, we have not spent much time describing the lift itself. Mostly because Newgren would revise the design within a few months of its introduction.
The best documentation we have of the first Love lift are from brochures, newspaper and magazine articles and Love’s patent application drawings. The basic components included an under the bed frame containing the hydraulic ram and a rotating lifting mechanism. The frame replaced the standard drawbar and was attached to the same frame cross member and rear member using the same bolts. Thus the frame could easily be installed by a dealer or a farmer, since no modification were required.
The following Popular Science article explains the operation and also describes the position of the other components. The hydraulic pump is belt driven and located in front of the oil filter. The reservoir and control valve are located under the hood, with a control lever on the dash, as shown in the brochure above.
Another feature of the lift is the use of a “J” connector to attach the lift arms to the implement arms. This “J” style connector is clearly visible in the above pictures and in Love’s patent drawings.
Thanks to information provided by Keith Buckley, we now know that major changes were made by Newgren engineers within 9 months of the lift’s introduction. Even though the time frame is short, we, as well as Love, believe this lift should be counted as one of the four “Jeep Approved” lifts.
