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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 .
Bill shared this article about one person’s experience importing an electric mini-jeep via Alibaba. Included is the cost of shipping and importing the jeep, which raised the cost of the jeep by about 40%.
This old photo shows a series of early wagons lined up, along with a committee of men, to welcome the Willys Overland Motors Service School to Seattle. That might be Boeing field?
View all the information on eBay
“1950’S WILLY’S JEEP DEALERSHIP SERVICE MEN SCHOOL SEATTLE PRESS PHOTO ORIGINAL. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL PHOTO. NOT A COPY. MEASURE 8 X 10 INCHES. ”
Bill shared this video. It is part of a series of videos about its creation and challenges.
The video highlights the saving of a jeep that’s been through a fire.
The year 2021 was a bitter sweet year for us. We lost two people we love (our moms), gained a new home in Prosser, brought to that home the jeeps, yet to make everything work, I’ve had to let eWillys go, or at least leave it on life support. In fact, over the last six months I’ve used my computer less than I have since sometime in the late 1990s when I was using an iMac, one of those Bondi Blue iMacs; that was 2 x-wives ago! Wow, time flies.
Instead of working on the computer improving eWillys, I’m outside removing stumps, inside remodeling another of our interior spaces, or pondering where we are going to put a new barn. Instead of doing updates in the early AM, I am walking the dogs down the driveway to open the gate, eating breakfast, and doing some puzzles on my phone. Instead of pondering the narrative structure of my next book–October Gold, a book that intertwines Japanese Gold, American POWs used as Slave Labor, and the State Department’s denial of their reparations from their use as slave labor–I am wondering if I should just get an old jeep with a snow plow or get a snow plow for my tractor.
In other words, my mind is simply not focused on ewillys or jeeps. This isn’t just an isolated moment; It isn’t the result of contemplation following our mother’s deaths. It also isn’t the result of the fact that at age 56 I am now fully retired, meaning I don’t have to work (but being a work-a-holic, I have to be doing something). Instead, it’s been true since we bought this place.
This doesn’t mean eWillys will come to a dead stop. But, updates will continue to be infrequent and I don’t expect them ever to return to their full glory (Unless someone else wants to step in and do it). I guess the question is, what do I do with all the bits and bytes that constitute eWillys?
That is the big question, a question for which the answer has been elusive. Perhaps I can answer that question in 2022?
In the meantime, we’ll continue to remodel. This summer I hope to do more about redoing the shop area; My hope is to set this place up so we we can entertain folks, so we can hold some kind of annual vintage jeep event, something a little different and unique, hopefully in 2023. But, we’ll see how 2022 progresses.
I hope everyone’s 2022 is fantastic!
UPDATE II: This post was originally posted in January of 2011 (yes, hard to believe it was eleven years ago!). The post covers some of the history about Willis Ray Willey, which is a pretty cool name for a site about vintage jeeps. Who else had a name that includes both “Willis” and “Willey”? Anyway, this post is full of some great and useful comments. It’s taken on a life of its own.
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UPDATE: Thanks to Mike for sorting out Willis’ real name. He was Willis Ray Willey, while his twin was Willard Roy Willey.
It might not surprise you that my interest in history has led me to become the family historian. As a part of my self-assumed title, I make it a point to look through the family albums and scan images whenever I’m visiting. This morning while looking through my grandmother’s album, which contains images from Fighting Creek, Idaho, the place her parents homesteaded in 1911 (they actually won a land lottery), I stumbled upon the unusual photograph of a man in an early motorcar that I show below. I called mom over and asked her if she recognized anyone in the photo, as I didn’t. She said she didn’t either.
About mid-day I was talking to my aunt (mom’s sister) and briefly described the photo. I described the guy as ‘wild looking’. Well, my aunt said that there was once this guy with the name of Wild Willy or something that used to be a colorful character around the Spokane area. I got curious about who this guy might be and why the unusually nice photo, for a photo taken in 1933, ended up in a family photo album.
So, I powered up Google’s image search feature and input a variety of search strings until I spotted a picture of a guy who looked like the guy sitting in the car. The story accompanying the photo said his name was Willis Ray Willey and, while he didn’t have a jeep, he had quite the unusual, adventurous story. So, I thought I’d share a brief summary of it.
To read more about Willey, visit this article from Nostalgia Magazine. Willey reminds me of the Camel Man, who Hein ran into a few months ago in Australia.
For comparison, view this modern photo: http://almostoneaday.blogspot.com/2010/07/sunday-bridge-series-monroe-street.html
In the picture above, we appear to have Willis Ray Willey in his 1904 REO, the first year that the Ranson E. Olds Automobile Company built a car. This photo was taken in 1933 (note the ’33 on the license plate). The photo is taken with the Monroe Street bridge and the Spokane Falls in the background. Willey planned to drive this car from Spokane to the 1933/1934 World Fair in Chicago.
You’ll note that Willey is only wearing shorts. It turns out that Willey was a sickly youngster. After examining him, a doctor suggested that he improve his constitution by exposing himself to the elements. So, over time, he reduced the clothes he wore, eventually only wearing shorts whether winter or summer.
Apparently, that did the trick, as he never got sick, at least not until he was on his trip to the Chicago World’s Fair. See, it turned out that simply wearing shorts wasn’t very common practice and, in fact, wasn’t tolerated. People complained when they saw him and police would arrest him, with many arrests occurring on his way to Chicago. According to Nostalgia Magazine, he did make it to Chicago, where he was arrested again. However, this time they cut off his hair and beard and he promptly got sick and remained sick for 3 months.
Now in the photo above, you’ll note that along the side of the seat it reads “Postcards 3 for 25 cents”. One of the ways Willey made money was by selling postcards of himself; I guess he recognized just how much of an oddity he was.
If you look below, you can see two of the postcards he sold. One is of him on Treasure Island in San Francisco, with a dog, a coyote, a turtle and multiple possums (click on photo and scroll down to see closeups). The other is of him ice skating at LIberty Lake (thanks Jerry).
Yes, quite the character indeed!
Bill shared this story from Hemmings about a restored 1969 CJ-5 with the 462 package.
Bill was kind enough to share this video. I don’t have time to review it, so I don’t have any comment on it at this time.
Again, I haven’t reviewed this video, but hopefully it’s done well.
Here’s one more video courtesy of Bill. It might be a practical vehicle for the right folks.