UPDATE: Please check the comments about this service. Some readers have encountered issues with Tonka Jeep.
Wally wrote me the other day to share information about a vintage jeep restoration and parts shop called Tonka Jeep Limited. The business has only been opened since 2012, however their service guy has more than 40 years experience working on jeeps. You can learn more about the company via the website or the Facebook page.
Tonka Jeep Limited started in 2012, following twenty-five years of being a vintage Jeep owner as a hobby. Our product and service offerings cover all Jeep and Jeep variants (Jeepster, Truck & Wagon) from 1941-1955. We’ve grown steadily, by offering hard to find original parts, NOS, as well as all reproduction parts. Along with parts, we offer complete rebuild services on all mechanical components. Restoration services are offered exclusively on both civilian and military Jeeps. Parts can be ordered through our website, or by email inquiry. Our means of contact is unique, as we don’t take phone calls, we found email contact to be faster and a more efficient way to service our clientele; our response times are usually same day, however, twenty-four hours is standard. Many have asked if we have a shop or store to come by and visit; for now no, but of course if you want to pick-up parts, we’ll gladly direct you to one of two locations, where inventory is stored.
Our website is: tonkajeepltd.com and email address for questions and ordering is; sales@tonkajeepltd.com
Here’s a photo of their promotional and work jeep, a 1943 GPW:
The photo is of the owner, after an all day product shoot for the website; the back-drop is a hood from a 1950 6 cylinder Station Wagon in the original Jamaica Green and yes, it is in excellent condition and for sale.
Although I wish the Business owner well, the name “Tonka” is a registered trademark. Using the name on a business is just leaving the door open for future litigation. I may be over reacting, but big business does not take kindly to these situations.
Mike,
You are correct that Tonka is a registered trademark. And, it is also good to steer clear of such well known brands. In this case it seems they do not own a Tonka related trademark for vehicle related services. Additionally, the Tonka (toy) company originated out of Minnesota, where the name Tonka is used in various forms by all sorts of companies (I just did a search to verify this). So, I *think* Wally’s in good shape on the name (in my non-lawyer opinion, which isn’t worth much).
Hasbro has registered the following Trademarks related to Tonka:
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: clothing and footwear,
IC 028. US 022. G & S: HOBBY KITS.
IC 028. US 022. G & S: NON-RIDING TRANSPORTATION TOYS.
IC 025. US 039. G & S: Children’s Clothing-Namely, Jeans, Pants, Shirts, Shorts, Overalls, Slacks, Suits, Vests, Blazers, Jackets, Coats, Hats, Dresses and Skirts.
IC 028. US 022. G & S: play kits and parts sold as units for playing board, card and similar games, toy vehicles,
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer game programs and video game cartridges
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: children’s books.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: pre-recorded video cassette tapes and DVD’s
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, the production and distribution of motion pictures
And “Tonka Toys”
IC 028. US 022. G & S: NON-RIDING TRANSPORTATION TOYS. FIRST USE: 19470100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19470100
Dave,
I can see you put in a lot of time & effort researching this subject, one of the few that follow through with relevant information. Thanks for keeping us informed. Mike
No problem Mike. I was curious about it as well. Until I started doing my research, I didn’t know the Tonka company originated in Minnesota. Once I discovered that, then the use of the origin of the name started to make more sense.
The funny thing was, as I was searching, the thing that keep bouncing around my brain was “Tatanka” from the movie Dances with Wolves. lol.
Maybe it’s just me but I have a hard time doing business with a company that does not want phone calls and looks to keep their location secret.
good, a place for parts. thanks
WARNING! The website tonkajeepltd and the filth that operate it is fraudulent and have been reported for online fraud. I don’t know how its been in the past with that site.. but recently I purchased a vtg steering wheel for almost 300$ and they never shipped it, nor did they go ahead with a refund. No email replies and I had to make a case at my credit card holder. I buy stuff frequently from Ebay etc since 15 years back and I seldom run into any problems due to the feedback system, PayPal, Ebay staff etc. I sometimes buy from online stores and have not had any problems until I bumped into this looser thief. Steer clear!!
Thanks for that heads up. He hasn’t replied to my emails either and won’t show a picture of the part he says he has. I’ll heed your warning and steer clear.
Same thing for me. Good old Wally got me for $799! Bought parts and had to return them with the promise that my refund would post on my Visa account in a couple days. 7 months and no results. My fault, I should have known not to deal with ANYONE who has no phone listed and works out of a one car garage (I later found this out). Oh yeah, if you got cheated by Wally and are in the Minneapolis area, let me know. I still have his address on my GPS and will gladly share this info upon request. You can meet this geriatric unshaven hipster in person.
Quick addendum. Wally also screens his incoming Facebook comments. No surprise
i have a good operating 1985 jeep cj7 , Would like to fix up and restore .
He got me for almost $4,000. I have an early 1946 CJ2A that has been in the family for over 45 years.
I have endless memories of working on it and riding in it with my dad. I started a frame-off restoration and Wally came in slick and started telling me how great this would be when I am done. He was supposed to start by taking my frame – which I had completely cleaned up and torn down to wheels and axles. He picked it up when I wasn’t there, even though I had a previous time set so I could talk to him in detail about what he was going to do. This was at my dad’s house. My dad called me and told me he hauled it out of there on a two-wheel car hauler 45 miles to a “frame shop.” This made me very upset because it sat for 25 years on blocks and I did not know what state the axles were in. I told him that I did not want it brought back on a two-wheeler, but he ignored that. I was livid as it pulled up the driveway on that same hauler. He claimed he checked the diff and it was full of fluid, but the painters tape was still on the vent – so a complete lie. Later when I rebuilt the axles I found what I knew was in there – rusty mud.
Long story short, the frame was a mess when he brought it back. The media blaster\painter (because Wally doesn’t actually do much of the work – he farms it out to venders you could have used then upcharges you) did not even move the loose spring shackles. I pointed this out because it was still rusty when I moved them close to where they should be. Wally’s response was, “if it was that kind of restoration it would have cost you a lot more.” I’ll get to the cost shortly.
There were endless other issues with the frame. The battery tray was welded crooked, the rear cross member had a bend that looked like it was pulled on with a chain to straighten (it was worse than ever), the center crossmember that was supposed to be replaced was missing (He later came buy with rattle can sprayed rusty one later), and the driver’s side gusset that “he” replaced was so crooked the bumper and grill didn’t line up at all.
The media blasting and painting of the frame was $2,600, the “repairs” to the frame that all had to be redone by a reputable shop was another $900 (the reputable one charged me a good-guy price of $200 because they know of Wally and felt bad for me). He already had my engine but after seeing this I demanded he bring it back immediately. He said he would, but that I would have to pay him another $120 cash first. He lives 8 minutes from my dad’s house. He pulled up with my engine sliding around his rusty Bantam trailer and told me that me and my dad could “grab an end” to get it out of there. He didn’t help at all and I used my engine hoist instead.
Even though I requested it more than 5 times, he never would tell me in detail, or send me a list of what he was going to do – red flag
He claimed he could not mail invoices – red flag
He said he would only accept checks or cash – no electronic payments of any kind, and not credit cards – red flag
He eventually sent me a picture of a printed invoice via text – red flag
After all of the issues I demanded he mail me paper copies of all invoices marked paid and initialed. Instead he mailed me invoices showing balance due upon receipt.
I called him and proceeded to call me a punk (I’m 51), and that he knew o many people in the industry that I would not be able to get anything done on my project.
Well, little does he know that everyone I have spoken to, locally and as far away as Pennsylvania knows Wally. One local shop that specializes in military vehicles heard my story and said, “Oh, you got Wally’ed.”
This project was started because my father is in poor health and it was going to be our last ride together. Wally can rot in hell for what he did to me, but the worst is that he caused unnecessary stress to a 79 year old man.
And as a side note – you are correct about the location. He kept talking about his “shop” in Edina, but he would never allude to where it is. And he always seemed to be working from his house – telling me that he had all these parts at his house.
Parts is another topic altogether. Since I read that others had issues getting or returning parts. I was rebuilding my transmission and transfer case on my own. I asked Wally if he know where I could get rebuild kits. His answer via text was “Tonka Jeep.” Since I knew he didn’t have a parts inventory I ordered rebuild kits from Novak and that worked out great. I later heard from real parts shops that he has called them trying to get wholesale deals on parts that he then upcharges to his customers. Two well-known outfits in Pennsylvania said they will not work with him at all. He told me several times that he had any part I needed. I now know what that meant – he could order it from the same online places as me, then charge me more.
One thing that really got to me personally, if all of this wasn’t enough, is that I was not telling my dad the costs associated with this restoration, or when I did I was rounding down significantly. I did not want him distracted by the “investment” because it was all to spend time with him.
When Wally was yelling at me on the phone and calling me a punk, he also said, “Oh you know what I am going to do? I am going to send your dad all of these invoices so he knows exactly how much you are spending.” That enraged me.
If you look him up on the BBB he has a very lengthy complaint. I will likely be doing the same.
I told my dad that at 51 years old, and pretty good dealing with venders, I still got taken. He looked m in the eye and said, “Son, let it go. Don’t let that take away from this experience.” Since then I have spent countless hours in the garage with my dad. I have a freshly rebuilt engine, transmission, and transfer case. I installed new springs and shocks, a rebuilt steering box, a new master cylinder, rebuild both axles, and have a running and rolling frame waiting for the new body coming from SGI.
I have tried to put this behind me, but then I see posts like this and wonder how he keeps getting away with it. There is turning your hobby into your job, and then there is straight up pilfering. You decide.
JG,
I am so sorry to hear about your experience and am happy you shared it with us. Perhaps it will dissuade others in the future.
– Dave
Ewillys.com
Stay far away from this guy. He advertises parts he does not have, I believe this is deliberate, just to get you to pay him the money. Then he will not ship or attempt to refund you until you make him refund you. He won’t return emails and hates to reveal a phone number. He just tried to get me last week, I made him refund me. This was my first and last with this guy.
Wow…
Makes me grateful for the guy who restored mine.
Provided a list of things he thought it would take and an estimate.
He has been around for years and has a good reputation, so I did not have a problem giving him a upfront payment for parts.
During the work he provided an itemized list of work done.
Sent photos even though his shop is just a half hour from my home.
(Okay, that’s also a bad thing as you can see how much you’re spending 🙂 🙂 ).
He let me buy some parts, so I was able to shoo around for the lowest price or preferred store.. I think I it saved him time as he didn’t have to do it. He could spend his time turning wrenches instead of looking at online catalogs from the 4 ships I used. Through the local MV group he introduced me to, a member have me a correct period gauge I needed.
A good, decent, guy doing fairly priced work is all I asked for…
To anybody that has had a poor experience with this “businessman“ please call me at 239-776-5888. He has had my FC 150 since October 2021 and will not tell me where his “new“ shop is.
His name is Wallace Piroyan. He never told me his full name and all communications were under “Tonka Jeep.” I was able to find his name by connecting a few dots. I also found and verified his address through some pretty simple internet snooping.
I saw him in a Costco a month ago. I know he saw me. I kept moving because if I stop to confront him someone is leaving in cuffs. And he’s not worth it.
What I find so amazing is that he either does not believe he does anything wrong, or is pure evil. I’m going with the latter.
I know his name and his home address, I am looking to connect with other people that he has taken advantage of. It is looking like the next time that i see him will be in court.
Well, my story is above, and I clearly have no problem sharing it. He got me good, and for a ton of money.
There used to be an entry on the BBB about a guy in Texas, I believe, that had an engine “rebuilt” by Wally (even though he definitely does not own a machine shop). The block had a crack in it. He tried for months for Wally to make it right, without success. Now it looks like that entry is gone, so maybe they settled.
I toned down the discontent that other shops and vendors shared with me, but the stories were pretty shocking. All hearsay, but all the same issues over and over. Lies, misdirection, and double-talk.
Here’s another story he told me. There is a local guy named Loui that is very well known to have a stockpile of parts for 50+ years. In my first conversations with Wally I mentioned that I bought a few parts from him years ago. Wally claimed that Loui retired and sold him his entire stock of parts. Well, after I cut ties with Wally I was able to track down Loui. Not only was he still around, he hadn’t sold his stock to anyone.
If you really look at Wally’s Facebook and web pages you’ll piece together that his garage is a mess, he has no shop, and all other pictures are either generic or taken at the vendor that actually did the work. You’ll also notice that he hasn’t updated either in years.
If you need anything from me I’d be happy to provide details.
I would love to sit in court and listen if that happens.
He’s a complete PoS.
I also have his phone number, but I assume you have that as well.