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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 .
This March of 1962 brochure (form 62-03) includes a chart that highlights the performance claims of the engine vs. other engines of the day. It was part of a series of brochures from Willys Motors during 1962 that had ‘wing’ pages that opened horizontally. It’s hard to capture that sense using a scanner, but using a phone Madi those wings more apparent (see the second pic).
UPDATE: I called this a saw when it was actually a peeler.
This photo out of Sweden shows a CJ-5 with a ventilating windshield with a bark-peeler trailer behind it.
View all the information on eBay
“THIS IS AN ORIGINAL VINTAGE PRESS PHOTO. ONLY THIS ONE COPY AVAILABLE ORDER SOON SO YOU DON’T MISS OUT
The forest in the center. Jeeps and Barkers
1955-09-16
Sweden
Photo size: 6.6″ x 9.2″ inches”
UPDATE: This was on eBay in March.
(03/19/2020) I’ve never seen one of these. The seller has a variety of jeep-related toys and Willys stuff for sale. The seller also has a variety of toys hanging in his shop.
“Cardboard boxcar USA Army Jeep Little General PUSH l car, circa 1960s, made by the General Box Company in Illinois.
VERY RARE. NOT MANY SURVIVE.
$90.00 OR BEST OFFER”
Check out Bob’s PTO powered ice cream machine. Well done Bob!
Fort Custer, Michigan, appears to have been a testing ground for Ford and Willys prototypes. Along with the articles below, there are press photos posted from years passed. You’ll also note that some of the press photos have captions that are printed identically, but pencil-marked up differently. It’s possible someone was selling those as originals when they may not have been.
Here’s an article and a photo showing a couple Ford GPs being run hard, originally printed in the March 09, 1941, issue of the Battle Creek Enquirer:
It didn’t take long for the offload vehicles to become a hit with soldiers. This article appears in the March 25, 1941, issue of the Detroit Free Press:
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And, just to set the record straight, at Fort Custer a jeep was a jeep and not a ‘peep’.
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These press photos have been gathered from older posts. First, a couple Willys MA photos from eBay:
This was posted on ebay in June 2017: “1942 Photo WW2 Era Fort Custer MI Versatile Jeep Military Push Ball Game Rare. You are bidding on an original Press Photo from a newspaper archive. The photograph measures 6×7 inches and is dated 9-25-1942.”
Charles shared these photos of the Battle of the Bulge, along with a series of Belgian stamps commemorating the Bulge.
This May 17, 1961, ad that appeared in the Boston Glove for the Jeep Wagon has art that feels more like a late 1940s ad than a 1960s ad. On the same page as this ad was the photo at the bottom.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
This seller has two Perjeco catalogs on eBay. I’ve never run across that jeep parts seller. Anyone familiar with it?
This Koenig Power Take-Off brochure/chart highlights which PTOs work with which jeep model. It seems like a handy guide.
I hadn’t heard of a parts reseller named Johnson Enterprises, a company out of Orangevale, California, until receiving this catalog. The side and corner panel skid plates are something I’ve seen on some jeeps, but never knew who made them.
The catalog is pretty small, so the company didn’t offer too many products. All the pages of the 1973 catalog are shown below:
UPDATE: This model of top was also sold under the Sears brand. This 1977 catalog shows the top, but doesn’t indicate it was manufactured by Kelly. I’d assume that the different shaped door in the catalog pic has to do with that vehicle being a CJ-7.
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Originally Posted May 2, 2020: People on Facebook were wondering what kind of top this was. After some searching, I learned it was a late model CJ-5 Kelly Hardtop with swing-out sides.
From https://www.pinterest.com/pin/541839398893087482/
Possible cut-down CJ-6 hardtop (same doors):
This M-38 with a 106MM Recoilless rifle (dubbed the M40). Below is a short video, followed by a press photo that is available on eBay.
Press Photo from eBay:
View all the information on eBay
“1971 Press Photo US troops test jeep-mounted 196mm M-40 anti-tank rifle in MD. This is an original press photo. Guns – Artillery. Crewmen drive the new jeep-mounted 106mm recoilless rifle into firing position during recent tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in this picture released Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Department of Defense. The battalion anti-tank weapon, designated the M-40, reportedly has greater range and more destructive power than any other weapon available at battalion level.Photo measures 8.5 x 7.75inches. Photo is dated 10-12-1971.”
I’m not sure where I found this newspaper clipping, but Herbert Obadda had a bad day. No dachshund puppies were injured as a result!
Tom pointed out something I didn’t know. Some M-38s have patches along the top of the rear of the M-38 body over both rear vertical seams. This was a technical recommendation was the result of a problem caused by the weight of arctic tops, leading to the separation of the rear body seams.
Below are two unpatched examples:
This example shows the crude patch example:
This tub looks to have been patched on both sides:
UPDATE: View the Miss Gotham winner here. Advertisements for the summer of 1960 Miss Gotham contest also appeared in newspapers. I also have learned who won the Surrey, but I need to scan the info still.
CREDIT: August 25, 1960, Chicago Tribune
CREDIT: August 21, 1960, issue of El Paso Times
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Originally posted May 13, 2020: A contest ad featuring a DJ-3A Surrey appeared in an August 1960 issue of Seventeen Magazine.
“Seventeen 8/1960.
Original magazine page.
NOTE: You are buying a magazine page, a piece of paper. Sheet size given is approximate. [10 1/2 x 13 1/2″]. 2-page ads noted. Occasional small edge splits not affecting image or type may be present.”
The Ithaca Journal printed this ad on November 10, 1960. Long’s Motor Sales out of Ithaca, New York, paid for the ad. It features an FC-150 and a CJ-5, while also promoting the tv-series Maverick.
This rare Newgren 3-point lift brochure just sold for $124.50.
The January 1958 issue of Willys News includes a rare article on the Willys Economy Delivery Truck, which was new for 1958.
This post began as a single newspaper photo and caption titled “Learn About Blitz Buggies” that Mario posted to Facebook. Just before I readied the post, I figured I’d see if there was a better quality version of the photo he posted.
To my surprise, when I searched for “About Blitz Buggies”, the results returned numerous seemingly press release photos over the summer and fall of 1941. No credit for the photos are provided. Given the titles are mostly identical and all showed various soldiers “working” (but probably posing) in front Ford GPs, I can’t help but wonder if this was a subtle campaign by Ford Motors to encourage the adoption of the Ford GP “Blitz Buggy” by the military.
So, here are some random newspaper photos from 1941 (there are many more during 1941).
June 26, 1941, Manhattan Mercury out of Kansas:
June 17, 1941, Montgomery Advertiser out of Alabama (looks to me like the same person as above, yet the caption shows a different name):
July 13, 1941, Akron Beacon out of Ohio:
August 16, 1941, Star Gazette out of Elmira, New York:
August 24, 1941, Austin American out of Texas (that Ford logo looks a little too obvious):
Taken by Jay Higgins on May 28, 1947, and published by the USDA Forest Service, this photo is shared on archive.org. The confusing part is that this is a May 1947 photo, but CJ-2As with passenger side bow holders weren’t supposedly built until 1948. The photo does not appear reversed, as the reflector is on the correct side in the rear.
Two different 100+page Willys Commercial Data Fact Books on eBay. One is listed at $95.99 and the other at $159.99. I’ve never seen one of these, so I’m not sure all of what is inside them.
The interior pics appear the same for both:
This September 28th, 1941, article covered the ‘cold shoulder’ given to American Bantam by War Department.
A few items I found on my phone. I think all these photos were on Facebook?
Some thought when into the mods on this jeep:
This sedan jeep is odd even for custom hardtop jeeps.
UPDATE: This brochure appeared on Facebook a while back.
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Originally published October 2016: The American Chain & Cable Company’s Manley Division produced these Jeep Wrecking Cranes in the late 1940s. I can’t imagine there are too many of these around. This brochure is from a 1948 Industrial Equipment book.
This issue has some good articles, from new dealers, to jeeps in media, to the Schreiders’ first big adventure in their Ford GPA, Tortuga, from the Arctic Circle to Argentina (opposite direction of yesterday’s adventure).
