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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 “Jack of all Jobs” ad was publishing in the April 7, 1946, issue of the Sunday Star.
During a 75,000 mile adventure between 1940 and 1942 Life photographer George Rodger photographed the growing war across Africa, Europe, and Asia. During the latter part of his adventures he found himself using, then abandoning, Two Ford GPs sent to the Chinese as he and his fellow adventurers escaped Burma. He reported on these adventures, through photos, in the August 10, 1942, issue of Life Magazine.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
(03/20/2016) Here’s a hard-to-find single sheet brochure.
“Here I have a Single Sheet Flier for the Willys Jeep mail Dispatcher from 1955.
This has some wear and a small tear on the bottom (See Scans) but still displays Very nicely.
Will ship in a protective Sleeve with backing board.
Nice item for the Willys Jeep Collector!”
UPDATE: Still Available (and still the same $1999.99 price).
In the March 2015 Inaugural issue of The Dispatcher Magazine, Bob Westerman wrote an article about Willys-Overland’s test of an Allison Transmission in an M-38 and the failure of that transmission to meet the needs of the military. The document below depicts WO’s effort to follow up that test with a second test, using M-38A1s and a slightly more robust automatic transmission. though improved, this transmission still did not meet the needs of the military, as the below report highlights.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/273768800168
UPDATE II: This brochure is reminiscent of the Argentina jeep pickup, though this one looks much more CJ-5ish. This is currently on eBay.
UPDATE: Maury found a couple related photos. That top looks kind of similar to one of the DJ-3A tops I’ve seen in pics. Nice half doors, too.
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(Original Post 02/02/2015) This is a single page unfolding brochure.
“original part color folder , 9.5 x 3.5 folded , 9.5 x 11.5 unfolded , Spanish text. Produced by Kaiser, Argentina .”
During 1947, the Fleming Company pad for some newspaper advertising. Two of their jeep ads are show below.
In April of 1947 the Fleming Company paid for this “Speed up Work” ad in the Sunday Star-News.
Later that year, this ad appeared in the August 24, 1947, issue of the Sunday Star-News in Wilmington, N.C, paid for by the Fleming Company.
This is a neat piece. It is interesting to me that they used the “King of Jeeps” branding, as that was Berg’s branding.
View all the information on eBay
“Never seen one of these items before. Old Leather key Chain from Hunter Motors Alexandria VA. I believe Hunter motors was formed shortly after WWII. Judging by the phone number on the key chain, this probably dates to the 1950’s, Has been in storage for approx 30+ years.”
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was on ebay
(last listed on ebay in Jan 2015) “This is a custom, one-off Willy’s Jeep. It was made for Henry Kaiser, when he retired to Hawaii and became involved in tourism and land development. He had the custom pink long-wheelbase Willys wagon built for exploring the island. Kaiser’s wife loved pink and all of his construction equipment was painted pink, so that seems to be where the pink color for the Jeep came from. This can all be seen on the following web page, along with a photo (which is the black and white photo provided in the photos of the vehicle) of the Jeep in Hawaii : http://cj3b.info/Siblings/SurreyHawaii.html
We also have documentation from the Kaiser Jeep Corporation stating that this Jeep is an authentic one of a kind Jeep. Please only serious inquiries only and please do not try to convince us that we are wrong about it being a one of a kind, this is most definitely not a railroad Jeep. We know what we have and are willing to answer questions of those with serious inquiries about this vehicle.”
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The seller claims to have documentation to prove that this is the only four door limo-like wagon made. to Willys Country this wagon was once used as a limo for an airport. Whether there was only one built or remains an undocumented issue at this point. Is the wagon above the same one that’s in the photo below? Hard to say for sure.
Roger forwarded a link to photos from this year’s Jeep Cavalcade in Silang. It looks like attendance was good. see all the pics here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10155758622041046&type=3 … fun, and useless, fact: the only VA healthcare facility outside the United States is in the Philippines (US Embassy in Manilla to be exact).
Mike’s 1950 CJ-V35/U was featured in a recent JP Magazine online article and will appear in print as well. He notes the article was very good overall, though there were a couple minor incorrect references.
Read it here: http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/1901-found-rare-military-jeep-cjv35u/
CREDIT: JP Magazine & Jay Kopycinski. As you can see, MIke’s got a nice lineup of CJ-V35/Us.
The Dispatcher Magazine’s 2018/2019 issue has been mailed. Included in it is Jim Allen’s excellent article on the rare CJ-5 462 (4WD, V6, 2 Passengers), a jeep marketed as more trail-ready CJ-5. If you don’t already have a subscription, take a look at getting one: https://www.dispatchermagazine.com
Paul tells me that they have updated the East Coast Willys Association’s website. They also plan to update it on a regular basis.
Check out the new digs: https://www.eastcoastwillys.com
Just in time for the big game comes this new Jeep Commercial. Thanks to several folks for sharing this.
This less than accurate restoration of an M-38 sold for $49,500 in 201. Then, just last month, it was auctioned for $67,500, though a portion (no note on how much) of the proceeds was supposed to go to a military charity (it remains unidentified).
Interestingly, Hagerty Insurance valued it at $10,500, which seems a pretty fair estimate.
Read more here: https://www.autoclassics.com/posts/news/willys-m38-jeep-auction
Dan’s create a series of rub-on gauge labels for those folks rebuilding their wagon, truck, delivery sedan, and Jeepster gauges. They are $80 per set. They are designed and made in the USA.
You can PayPal him $80 at scramboleer@yahoo.com (free first class USPS shipping; add $4 if you would like tracking). He’ll follow up confirming a mailing address and which of the two styles you would like.
If you have questions, can email him at scramboleer@yahoo.com.
1950.5-1951:
1952-1956:
The CIO News out of Cumberland, MD, published a story on March 15, 1943, about the US Army and Navy honoring the workers of Willys Overland.
This photo from eBay Germany shows a couple MP MBs/GPWs with some nice tops sitting outside the Berlin Reichstag.
View all the information on eBay
“Arthur Grimm
Original Foto um 1956 zu einem mir unbekannten Film
Berliner Reichstag
Fotograf: Arthur Grimm
Shot: um 1956 – Abzug: um 1956
Silbergelatine auf Baryt-Papier
Blattmaß: 23,8 cm x 17,2 cm”
Derek Redmond shared some more jeep-train and tour jeep photos he’s uncovered on various sites. Cool stuff!
UPDATE: Terry points out that Ford used the marketing term “Sports Utility” in 1966 ads. Previous to that, in 1947, Crosely marketed a “Sports Utility” vehicle.
Crosely (see bottom of the ad):
This 1966 ad for the Ford Bronco has text near the bottom that reads, “Try the Wagon, Roadster, or Sports Utility at your Ford dealer now”. The Sports Utility model is the one with the half cab:
Here’s a 1966 Ford Commercial that identifies each of the models:
Original Post Jan 31, 2019: Dan ‘Scramboleer’ spotted this Motor Trend March 2019letter-to-the-editor about the origin of the term ‘Sports Utility Vehicle’. Essentially, Jeep’s marketing department was attempting to cease the use of the term jeep-like (and similar jargon) to describe offload vehicles. The concern was that it was diluting the value of the Jeep Trademark. So, they came up with the term Sports Utility Vehicle idea. The Journalists took it from there, shortening it to SUV.
At $190 Euros, this isn’t cheap, but it’s a cool toy jeep!
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $600.
Steve spotted this rare item. I can’t tell if it was made specifically for the Willys truck or if it is an adaptation. The Lift-O-Matic was the lift gate that Willys-Motors endorsed.
“VINTAGE LIFTGATE OFF OF A 1958 WILLYS TRUCK”
Roger shared this story. A group of Costa Rican Jeep friends took their vintage jeeps out for an 2019 adventure to the beach, where they camped at least one night. This is their second ‘Willys Adventure’ together. You can see more pics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Willys-Pasión-Costa-Rica-1726644670912768/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2254856788091551 . Looks like fun!
This July 15, 1945, article in the Evening Star featured a great shot of Ford GPAs. I thought the article was interesting, too. It highlights the challenges of managing war surplus (links to page 1 and page 2 of original article).
