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Welcome to eWillys.com, a website for vintage jeep enthusiasts. I update this website nearly every day with jeep deals, jeep history, interesting reader projects, jeep related info, and more.
These quick searches can help you find things on eBay. People list in the wrong categories all the time, so don't be surprised to see brochures in the parts area for example.
The links to posts below show jeeps grouped by models, condition, and other ways. Some of these jeeps are for sale and others have been sold. If you are unsure whether a vehicle is still for sale or not, email me at d [at] ewillys.com for more info.
There are plenty of interesting, unusual, historic and surprising stories related to Jeeps and their owners. In addition, some of these features have nothing to do with jeeps. This link will display all featured stories starting from the latest.
Looking for parts and not sure where to go? There are a variety of large and small new and used parts sellers both online and offline.
Importantly, the allure of buying a project jeep can be romantic. The reality of restoring a jeep can be quite different, expensive and overwhelming without the right tools and resources. So, tread carefully when purchasing a "project". If you have any concerns about buying a vintage jeep, or run across a scam, feel free to contact me for help, comments or concerns .
Paul spotted this unique slat grille M-38A1 at an Alaska outdoor car show. I think it is pretty well done.
Craig recently inherited this 1943 GPW from his deceased father. His Honda Racing shop will be rebuilding this. The goal will be to keep it’s original look. He plans to have it completed in two months and share some photos when completed.
Here is a list of items to be done:
Body (tub) removed and sandblasted
Rust locations repaired and sealed
Repair rear bumperettes
Underbody and frame powder coat black color
Body to be painted in either original OD green enamel or we may color match that and paint with acrylic
The problem is we are not allowed to use enamel in our spray booth legally
We will not have any decals except for a small one on the back which says “1943 Ford GPW”.
Leigh found this 2WD 1948 wagon that had been sitting in a shed in Australia since 1994. He plans on restoring while retaining the current look as much as possible. From what he has been told only about 400 Wagons of any description came to Australia so parts are a bit difficult, however he reports Kaiser Willys has been a big help.
Paul built a heat shield to protect his steering assembly. I believe it’s his last project of the winter. Paul’s putting ‘Knardly Rolls’ to rest until Fall. It’s now time for him and the Goddess to drop the top on the Miata and explore the melting tundra.
He writes, Here’s the heat shield I made to protect the steering assembly from the heat given off by the left exhaust manifold and exhaust tubing. As you might have noticed there’s very little clearance between the heat shield and the steering shaft. A penny will not fit between the heat shield and the steering shaft. The heat shield is .020” stainless and the attach bracket which clamps to the exhaust pipe is .050” stainless.
The decreasing diameter holes drilled thru the attach bracket will allow cooling air to pass behind the heat shield which will help keep the steering linkage from getting too hot. I hope. The brown coating on the brake light switch ground wire attach bolt is a gasket shellac that should prevent water from seeping between the ground wire connection to the bare frame so corrosion is prevented. The exhaust is held to the manifold by silver plated high temperature steel self locking nuts.
UPDATE: Eric shared some additional photos. They are located at the end of the post.
Eric Jarvis is learning that it is difficult to own just one jeep! He started with a 1964 CJ-5 like his grandfather used to own. Eric spent many years working on the red jeep until he got it just the way he wanted it. You can see the dedication on the glove box to his grandfather, Harlan.
The green next to it is a 1967 CJ-5 with a Buick V-6 Eric uses around the shop. It sports a Koenig PTO winch on the front. He also just picked up a Monroe 3 Point Hitch from Ted Jordan he will install in the rear.
The 1943 GPW shown below was a jeep Eric purchased from Don Prine three years ago. He even got a chance to fly to the northwest and see Don’s jeep collection, a memory I’m sure he’ll cherish.
Finally, Eric recently purchased this CJ-5 with a trencher. It’s a retirement project that I suspect will keep him busy for a few years.
Additional Photos:
Here’s one of Eric and Don Prine
Below are additional photos of the CJ-5’s engine:
This is a close up of the Cutlas Hub:
Paul continues to make progress on his jeep. He received his tires and has made some custom stainless rim discs.
Paul’s new tires
TIRES:
He writes, “The New Tire Fairy arrived at the house today with eight brand new STA Super Traxion 6.50-16 tires along with eight new inner tubes for the little Willys. I’d been searching the internet for a vintage looking narrow tire with an aggressive tread design that would look good on the Willys so shortly after I discovered these tires I put my credit card to work and placed my order.
I wanted to replace the brand new but 30 year old tires on the Willys so that accounted for 5 tires and I needed 3 more tires for the military trailer (I want the trailer to have it’s own spare tire) so that’s why I bought eight. Shipping wasn’t too expensive since I wasn’t in a hurry and compared to Coker tire who wanted to ship their tires 2nd day air ($1,100 for the tires and an additional $900 for shipping) it was down right reasonable by Alaska standards.”
WHEEL DISCS:
In this photo he’s testing out the disc concept with poster board.
He writes, “I bought some poster board that was large enough to make full size mock ups of the stainless steel wheel covers I’m thinking of making to cover the plain steel wheels I’ll be using on the Willys. The six larger holes are 1 & 1/2 “ diameter and the smaller holes are 1 “ in diameter. I’ve made other discs, some with more holes and some with less holes on each disc in various patterns but I keep coming back to this design. It’s simple, the spacing of the holes is easy on my eyes and the wheel covers make the tires appear larger and more heavy duty.
Each hole will have a reinforcing ring fastened to the back side of the disc either by 1/8th inch diameter monel raised head style rivets or 3/16” dimeter stainless steel machine screws (the size of the machine screws used on the door just below the window). These doublers and rivets are for style only and not necessary for strength. Each disc will be attached to a wheel by six stainless machine screws and these screws will thread into steel mounts welded to the wheels.”
A completed disc.
“Above is the first wheel disc with the holes drilled and the rivets installed. I gave the plain disc a brushed finish to see what it would look like … I think it’s about as close as I can come to matching the body finish. These wheel discs need to be easy to clean and easy to touch up the finish so a mirror polished disc would require lots of maintenance to keep the metal shiny. I don’t have enough energy to keep up with the mirror finish.
I finished riveting the last two wheel discs today then I cut a hole thru the center of the front wheel disc slightly larger than the Warn hub so these discs could be test fitted to the wheels on the Willys. The tires on the Willys are still the old new ones and not the new, new ones I recently received since the steel wheels currently on the Willys have the wrong offset and will be replaced with the correct wheels in the near future. Anyway, I think these discs match the Willys much better than the aluminum wheels I was originally planning on using.”
The wheel discs attached. The discs came out a little darker, but that’s probably because of the angle. The discs are made of the same stainless as the rest of the jeep. These are the old tires, not the new ones.
Mark has just posted a new feature story over at Warjeeps.com. Read about how David Egerton spent three years restoring a 1942 GPW that had been civilized.
http://warjeepstories.blogspot.com/2015/01/honoring-veteran-42-gpw.html
David Egerton’s 1942 GPW
1952 CJ-3A on the left and a 1962 CJ-3B on the right.
In the ‘it’s a small world’ category, David Darrah grew up barely a mile from where I did in Renton. His father Ray was a charter member of the Seattle Rump Bumpers Jeep Club, so he’s had jeeping in his blood from birth. Where David lived was just a street over from George Steele. George has been involved with jeeps a long time (and still is — I talked with him this summer) and my parents knew him pretty well. As a teen, David knew George well also, occasionally begging him for discounted parts for his first jeep, a 1942 MB.
A few years ago David had a chance to buy a green CJ-3A that George had rebuilt back in 1996 (though George no longer owned it). Despite owning several different flat fenders over the years (see end of post), just owning one jeep wasn’t enough, so David recently bought a second one Willys, a 1962 CJ-3B that needed a little bit of work. David feels like he’s well on his way to owning a ‘collection’ of jeeps. He just needs some more room (don’t we all!). David lives in Puyallup now, so I’ll be getting down there at some point to talk jeeps and see these in person. Thanks for sharing David!
1952 CJ-3A with some modern touches added by George Steele:
153 cu. in. Iron Duke 4 cyl, T14 3-spd, Dana 18 T.C, manual saginaw steering, Cherokee 11 inch drum brakes, Warn Hubs and Overdrive. Stock Dana 25/41 538 ratio. 3A needs nothing other than replace a few warn parts in Overdrive unit (growls a tad—still works good) Owned this Jeep almost 3 Years now.
John Escobar bought a few FCs last month. He recently acquired a few more through a trade. He writes, “I got the Bug! Just traded a Snowmobile I had for three fc’s and flatfender jeep ! he collection goes on! The one fc 170 is real nice and originally from Washington State. Was used n the area as a water truck. (government owned ) Parts will be for sale this spring. Can’t wait to get started on them. Spring can’t come fast enough!”
3 FCs and a truck for this snowmobile. Looks like a good trade to me!
Paul’s made some additional progress over the last month on his stainless jeep.
Paul writes, The upholstery is done, the driver’s seat has been installed and the seat belt/shoulder harness combos have been adjusted for length and bolted in place. The passenger seat will still need to be removed to allow access to the battery mount and cable connections in the electrical box but progress is being made.
Corbeau three inch wide belts with a cam lock release and in a color that goes well with the upholstery and stainless steel.
Paul has also been working on the battery installation. He continues, The open space on the right side of the electrical junction box should be filled with a new Odyssey AGM side post battery
Here I’m comparing the size of the Odyssey battery to the mockup battery I taped together out of poster board. I used the mockup battery to locate the attach points for the battery hold down bracket in the electrical junction box.
The battery fits and there’s even room for a longer battery. This small battery weighs 45 pounds so I don’t believe there’s any need to get a larger and heavier battery anytime in the future.
This hold down bracket is slightly bigger than the battery but the battery is firmly held when the attach hardware is tightened. The bracket consists of eight separate pieces of stainless held together by 40 rivets.
Now it’s time to start smoke testing the wiring and that might take a while.
Brady Leetch shared his recent build. It’s got a great flat fender / scrambler feel to it. The snow is a nice touch, too. You might remember one of Brady’s other builds, this blue low-rider jeep.
Justin bought this FC last year believing he could save it. I’d say he’s done a bang up job on it!
Justin’s FC was pretty rough at the beginning.
I bought this jeep and restored it over the year. It was very rusted out but I rebuilt what was there and now it’s almost back on the road. Still need to buy a new windshield and get some tires. But it purrs like a kitten.
Maybe you can see on the rear bumper the spots I need to cut out still for my 28-31 Ford Model A tail lights and the slots to mimic the grill. I ended up going with new rugged ridge low back seats. They where pretty easy to attach the old brackets to. My rear view mirrors or for some kind of motorcycle. They look cool and the curved mirror allows good visibility. I kept the front lower part of the body off so I could build a nice flush bumper in its place with a winch hidden behind it.
My cab mounts are reinforced on the back with 1/4″ steel. And the cab mount is made from 2″ sch 40 steel pipe. The cab is raised 3″. So I could put a taller tire. I still need to mold some fender flares from fiberglass in the next couple of months pending the weather. I built this with intentions of snorkeling the engine tranny and axles air tight so I could go under water if I wanted.
This was gonna just be a trail rig. But I loved it more and more as I worked on it. It’s not by any means a great looker. It still needs a few things I can’t find like- speedo cable and front E-brake cable. And other things a cant think of off hand.
Justin took a bunch of photos to share.
Eric bought this DJ-3A in July of 2013. He describes the jeep he bought as a salad of jeep parts. He’s spent the last year transforming this rough jeep into a great looking parade and play jeep. Nice save!
You can read about his build on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/589713101074140/
Parminder Mangat shared this custom flat fender build from India.
David Silberman just picked up this two-owner CJ-5 w/ a Tuxedo Park III package. Looks like a great project. The color is Indian Ceramic, consistent with one of the Tuxedo Park options from 1961-1963. A post from 2012 post shows how this might have looked.
He notes:
1962 Tuxedo Park Mark III.
August, 1962, as per VIN.
Original paint, original tires, original radiator hoses and most clamps.
Chrome hood hinges, windshield stops. Even the tailgate chains are chrome.
The steps were chrome, but mostly gone by now.
The interesting part is the mileage. 21,000 miles. The owner got it from his uncle 50 years ago.
He added the hardtop and plow, but it wasn’t on the road since 1986.
Seats are black with “pink” sides, same as
the wheel well pads.
Here’s the photos David sent:
Marc from South Africa continues to make some neat progress on his 1/2 Scale build. Thanks for assembling this synopsis!
Marc writes, “Let me start with where I am to as of 15 April 2014. Unfortunately all production stopped on this date. Until I have the full use of my left shoulder after some structural work carried out, hopefully the structures doc will me the go-ahead by end May.
I ended with the making up of the two panels/dash/fwd fire wall. Slightly different to the real thing here for the ease of making. In the end the upper cowl/dash assembly will look the part.
Thanks to Paul & Lyn: http://www.ewillys.com/2014/01/23/update-from-paul-on-his-stainless-flatties-progress/ for sending me additional measurements and confirming plenty of smaller details for me.
dash panel, almost complete
basic formed firewall, just out the forming blocks
I did finish up the firewall but have not taken photos yet.
To jump about a bit heres the top bow corner brackets that were made up. Claus kindly measured up on his CJ-2A for me http://www.ewillys.com/2012/04/05/builds-claus-rebuilds-a-cj-2a-in-south-africa/.
The middle brackets in the for the wheel boxes are also done…….I took photos but they have been filed some where safe, I can’t them find now.
top bow bracket l/h, trial fit
top bow brackets
Alex just completed a rebuild and modification of this Ebro Diesel. It’s now his daily driver. He added a couple features to allow his daughter (pictured here) to carry her surf boards.
http://tahiti-pacifique.com/hobbies/CJ3A/DIESEL/1974%20diesel%20jeep.html
<– Day 2 – March 21st: From Salt Lake City To Vernal | OVERVIEW | Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray –>
Dave shares his unique seat implementation, which will allow the seat to be tilted back or released entirely using the custom sliding seat attachments he’ll install for his seats.
We started our day planning to leave Vernal, Utah, and drive to Dinosaur National Monument, before heading for our final destination in Grand Junction, Colorado.
But, before we left our motel’s parking lot, we spotted our first ‘feral’ jeep of the trip, a CJ-5 that was right across the street from us. The snowplow on the front suggests this utility vehicle’s singular purpose.
Satisfied with a quick photo, we were on our way, but not before one final dinosaur bid us a farewell.
Dinosaur National Monument is about a 20 minute drive east of Vernal. The monument was established in 1915 after Earl Douglas discovered a quarry of bones near the small town of Jensen, Utah. While known for the amazing dinosaur history, much of the Monument consists of over 200,000 acres of rugged canyons. Apart from exploring the Monument, there are many other day trips which could keep a person busy exploring. We plan on returning to the area at some future point and spent several days driving the backroads.
This is the Quarry building. No, this is not some cheap ploy to encourage Jeep Corp to sponsor our trips . . . unless it works.
The former river bed behind Ann is full of bones. It was cool 20 years ago when I saw it for the first time and is still cool today.
We made sure Henry had a great view.
Jim Johnson, his father and brother are all Willys nuts. He says they can’t get enough of them. Each year they head south from Utah’s Utah County for the Jeep Safari with their vintage jeeps. They enjoy showing how well their ‘old’ jeeps perform against the new ones.
This first jeep is a 1962 CJ-5 that Jim got from his father. Jim fixed it up some and gave it another coat of paint. All three look ready for Moab again this year. Have fun!
An Idaho summer trip with high school friends and their families. The Green CJ5 belongs to my sons’ friend Drew, he built this Jeep himself and is running an AMC 304 with a Dana 44-30 combo and ARB air lockers.
Longtime readers will remember the 2011 post about Randy and his boys’ jeeps. Randy shared how the three of them turned basketcase jeeps into viable, modified vehicles. They continue to drive and jeep them in Idaho. Since we last check in with them, they’ve made some updates to their jeeps. Randy describes the changes below (thanks for taking the time to write this up Randy!):
Randy’s Jeep before a summer trip.
Randy’s 46, CJ2a (blue):
In the winter of 2012 Dusty and I swapped in most of the running gear that was originally installed in his Jeep when we built it in 2004. We Installed the Buick 231, radiator, transmission, exhaust and drivelines. I did a Saginaw power steering upgrade and installed disc brakes on the front axle as well. The springs were re-arched and Bilstein shocks were installed. In order to make room for bigger tires I opened up the back fenders about 3 inches behind the tires and moved the rearend back 1 ½ inches. The fender trimming is not noticeable unless there is a stock Jeep around to compare it to. Last spring I purchased a new set of 37 x 13.5 x 15 Super Swamper Truxus MT radial tires and mounted them on the 15 x 10 Mickey Thompson aluminum wheels that were originally on Devon’s Jeep. Those tires made an unbelievable difference when running in the snow. I usually air down to about 3.5 to 4.5 pounds of air pressure and didn’t have any trouble losing tires off the bead on our snow runs.
This past year I installed a set of suspension bucket seats made by Corbeau that are designed for use in a side-by-side such as a Yamaha Rhino. They have the same dimensions as the Jeep seats that Corbeau makes but the bottom of the seats are shorter which makes it easier to get in and out of the Jeep. I also notched the front of my rear inner fenders and moved the front seats back about 2 inches. Seat heaters were installed in the new seats as well. It is a lot more comfortable to drive now.
Paul’s made some progress on his Willys. You can read past posts about his jeep, Knardly Rolls, here: http://www.ewillys.com/tag/paul-m38/
Paul writes, I’m using thin poster board to make patterns for the interior panels on the Willys. Since the reinforcing structure for the top and doors will be visible from the inside and not covered by upholstery I’ve had to make 33 individual paper patterns so far. After adjusting the fit of these patterns I’ll transfer their measurements to 3/4 inch thick high density foam and then it’s time for the upholstery wizards to work their magic. Fourteen yards of fabric are on order so that should be enough to cover everything but the floor. All of the top and side wall panels will be covered with a silver gray fabric and this same fabric will be used on the seats with the exception of blue insert panels covering the center of the seats. That’s the plan right now. I still need to buy some thick upholstery foam so I can begin cutting out the padding for the seats but I wanted to finish with the patterns first.
More pattern pictures. To have enough room to make the patterns and install the upholstery pieces it was necessary to remove the fuel tanks and both front seats. The more work I can do myself the lower the cost will be to get the upholstery done so I don’t mind constantly climbing into and out of the Willys all day long. Things would be a lot easier if the Jeep was just a little bit bigger or I was just a little bit smaller. Oh well, I guess I need to call a Waaaaaaaaaambulance. Paul
Craig just let me know that he updated “The Textbook Restoration of a M-677” at TheFCConnection. This looks like a great build!
http://thefcconnection.com/textbook_m-677.htm
Here’s a good story about a young Teen named Ben Zenger reported in the Winston-Salem Journal on Wednesday. At 9 years old he decided he wanted a jeep. He saved up his own money and, with his parents approval, bought one: A 1954 M-38A1 that needs some work. Check out all the information at the website:
http://www.journalnow.com/journal_west/news/article_cf32fbc0-bba9-50ce-ba50-21335c96816d.html
I did have a video below, but it auto-started with commercials, so here’s a still of Ben instead. Go to the website to see the video.
Like Lays Potato Chips, Mike just couldn’t stop with one. He recently picked up the yellowish CJ-2A on the left off of eWillys.
Mike wrotes, “I just finished the shop about a month ago. The picture is a little dark but I had to wait for the last one,(Jeep) to come home. A grandson was out checking his game camera with “His Willy”, I do love to see the grandkids drop by and ask to take a jeep out, they all seem to have their favorites. All ‘46’s except the one ’47, it was the city of Nixa Mo fire engine in its last life.”
Ron shared a link to the restoration of his FJ-3A, currently undertaken by Corbetts Auto Restoration and Customs in Cherryville, North Carolina.
The FJ was sold back in October of 2013 (http://www.ewillys.com/2013/10/21/1963-fj-3a-fleet-van-auburn-mi-1200/) and looked like this:
Now, as you can see below and from the photos on Facebook, the rebuilding is just beginning.
Corbett’s Auto Restoration & Customs and Ron’s torn down FJ-3A