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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 .
Damon built this Pinewood Derby CJ-2A. He says it wasn’t the fastest model, but I’ll bet it was the coolest!
<– Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs | OVERVIEW | Day 7 – Mar. 26th: Darth Vader and Tractor Bob –>
We started off the morning at the New Mexico National Guard Bataan Memorial Museum, which includes a special exhibit about the embattled soldiers of Bataan and Corriegor. That episode of WWII was particularly important to New Mexico as they had a detachment of National Guard troops in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked. The entry hall is lined with stories of soldiers who perished at different times during the war, some along the Bataan Death March, some in POW camps, and some in the ‘Hell Ships‘.
Given the use of ‘Bataan’ is used prominently in the Museum’s name, I expected to find a more in-depth look at the loss of Philippines, the type of treatment endured by POWs, the concern over the POWs lives if Japan lost the war (all prisoners were supposed to be executed) and more. However, instead of finding that, the museum focuses more on telling the story of the New Mexico National Guard, from their fights in the civil war to present-day, which is understandable.
Ann pointed out one spot where the wiring isn’t up to standards on this gun.
This tribute to the Bataan March includes several items that survived the war.
This was the jeep used in a WWII display. oops.
An overview of part of the museum.
So, it’s a fine little museum with free entry, but Ann and I both agreed that they have a unique opportunity to tell an important story that doesn’t fully educate the visitor about that event. Fortunately, there are some sources that do explain why the Philippines were lost and the treatment endured by the POWs (books that are sitting on my book shelf at home and whose names I can’t recall at the moment).
On the bright side, they do have a pretty accurate M-38 in good shape.
James from Red River Offroad, you especially might enjoy this video. The FC-150 sure had a rough time. It took a village to get it out of that mud!
<– Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray | OVERVIEW | Day 6 – Mar. 25th: TinkerTown and the Turquoise Trail –>
Rusty and me with his FC-170. This seemed like an appropriate photo to start the post since the FC Roundup is only a few days away.
We woke up a little lazily on Monday morning. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us from Durango to Santa Fe, but we wanted to peruse a little of Durango before we left, so we hunted down some breakfast using an iPhone App called Ness (that won’t be around much longer), which calculates the time of day to suggest nearby restaurants (for mornings it will find breakfast places for example) and provide ratings. That’s how we found the Durango Diner in downtown Durango.
The Durango Diner had a wide selection of breakfast items that looked good, including two eggs & a chile relleno, which was my choice. I expected to just get the eggs and the relleno, but instead there was a heap of hash browns with green chile sauce (love that New Mexican Green Chile sauce, even in Colorado). It was a lot of food and if there’s one thing I’ve learned on these trips, eating light saves money and bathroom stops. So, I ate a good portion then pushed it away, reluctantly.
I liked the sauce enough to get a “to-go bottle” of it.
We left Durango and quickly found ourselves wandering through northern Idaho, or what looked like northern Idaho to us. Southern Colorado felt remote and looked beautiful as we drove through endless forested valleys with the occasional ranch.
Today’s trip from Durango to Santa Fe
UPDATE: I had mistakenly labeled this a BRC-40. Craig corrected me.
Neat photo with caption. The Associated Press labels it a Blitz Buggy.
View all the information on eBay
<– Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps | OVERVIEW | Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs –>
Here’s our selfie at an overlook just south of Ouray, Colorado. Ann is putting on a brave face for the camera, but she’s very scared in that photo. This overlook hangs over the edge of a steep cliff.
With beautiful blue skies overhead, we started the day in Grand Junction with our sights set on the mysterious Colorado National Monument. Having done no research on it, and trusting Dean’s advice from yesterday, we started at the western entrance of the park near Fruita.
Today we drove from Fruita to Durango.
After the ranger station, the road climbs quickly, switching back and forth, tunneling through rock, and teasing the driver (who should really keep his eyes on the road according to Ann) with beautiful views of the Grand Junction Valley. Those travelers familiar with Southern Utah will instantly recognize the red sandstone walls, the juniper trees, and narrow canyons.
After four miles of driving, we arrived at the visitors center, a complex perched near a canyon wall with a view toward some of the amazing pinnacles that dot the landscape. Inside the visitors center we learned about John Otto, the man that made the Monument happen. His early vision included an amazing road full of switchbacks that would allow cars to traverse the park from one end to the other. Hi dream might not have become a reality had the Depression not happened, for it provided all the cheap labor ($1/day/per person) he need to carve a twenty-three mile road through the park.
After driving the road, it’s my opinion that it is one of the truly unique features of the park. There aren’t many places along the drive that don’t feature beautiful views. It is one continuous bit of eye candy from start to finish.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Wait, that’s not a government issue mask! The three pictured from left to right are: CPL. Arthur Smith of New York City, NY, PFC. Matty Furyal of Detroit, Michigan, and PVT. Carl Carlson of Norwalk, Connecticutt.
“1944- U.S. troops in Italy with a mask of Mussolini attached to the bumper of their jeep.”
As Marc noted to me, the photo appears more likely to have been taken in the late 1940s. Perhaps it was a photo that wasn’t released until 1958?
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Willys Motors Employee in Vintage Jeep. Photo has staple hole top right corner & waving Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is dated 6/17/1958.”
View all the information on eBay
<– 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.
That jeep and trailer look pretty loaded up!
“Original advertisement for their C-82 Packet cargo plane showing an Airborne Signal Team loading a Jeep and radio trailer.”
View all the information on eBay
<– Day 1 – March 20th: Dinner and Salt | OVERVIEW | Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps –>
The Easter-o-saurus greeted us at Vernal, Utah.
After our long drive on Thursday, we intentionally had an easy day drive of a few hours, a quick trip from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah.
Day 2 of our trip.
We started off the day with some bagels at the Einsteins on 13th East with Karson. After we were done eating, we posed for a photo together, which further demonstrates that either he is growing or I am shrinking. Must be the water in Salt Lake or something . . .
It kind of looks like the guy on the horse in the photo is measure just how tall Karson is!
We were just about to leave Salt Lake when Ann and I spotted Caputos, a well known deli that now has a small store next to Einsteins. They know their stuff at Caputos and know a couple suckers when they see them. We walked out a little poorer, but with some really good goat cheese and some locally made chocolate.
On March 22, 1948, The Federal Trade Commission ordered Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. to stop advertising that it had created or designed the “jeep.” Said FTC: although Willys-Overland “made an outstanding contribution in its powerful engine as well as in other features of the vehicle,” the credit belonged jointly to four companies—Willys-Overland, American Bantam Car Co., Ford Motor Co., Spicer Manufacturing Co. (now Dana Corp.)—and the Army.
Read more: Facts & Figures, Mar. 22, 1948 – TIME http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804527,00.html#ixzz2s81qUrOv
Marc forwarded this ad. I guess the message is that everyone will look good working on a jeep if they wear Stevens Twist Twill clothes?
View all the information on eBay
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
“This is an old black & white photograph of a Jeep station wagon advertising American Relief for Poland. The car has a message board on the roof which reads: “Poland Needs Your Help Help the Children of Poland Tag Day Sept. 13th and 14th”. The car also says: “6000 Dubois MAdison 1644”. The latter is an old-style telephone number (this style was phased out in the 1950’s), and the former is likely an address. American Relief for Poland was formed in 1929 and was active at least through the 1950’s. The Jeep station wagon was introduced in 1946. I can’t see much of the clothing of the people in the background, but what I can see seems to look more like 1940’s or 1950’s clothes than later. A “tag day” is a day on which contributions for a charitable cause are solicited; the donors are given a tag in return. The photo is in good condition apart from some curl to it. It measures almost 7 inches long by 5 inches tall. I got this near Cleveland, Ohio, and I don’t have any other information about it; there is no identification on the back.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $200.
Looks pretty original to me, but I haven’t seen many of these.
“Pedal Car; Hamilton, Princess Jeep, Canopy used needs restored”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $300
This is neat.
“Completely handmade out of wood. Seats 1.”
<– OVERVIEW | Day 2 – March 21st: From Salt Lake City To Vernal –>
We left Pasco, Washington, at 5amish yesterday, which means we’d planned to leave at 5am, but due to last minute scrambling, our departure didn’t actually occur until 5:30am. After nine hours of driving, we arrived in Salt Lake City in time to celebrate with the kids.
Today we drove from Pasco, Washington, to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Karson, Kasia and Colter joined us at the Old Spaghetti Factory for some pasta. It was Kasia’s choice, due both to her upcoming 18th birthday and because we found out yesterday she’s been accepted to the University of Utah. However, she won’t be attending the U this fall, but will postpone it until the fall of 2015 so she can spend the next school year participating in a mentorship program in Los Angeles.
Colter has another two years at East High School. I think he hopes that without his brother and sister at school, he will no longer be known as Kasia or Karson’s little brother. Instead, people will actually know him by his own name.
You may remember our trip from last summer when we ran into Karson twice during his participation in the Americorps/FEMA program. In November he successfully ‘graduated’ from the program with lots of experiences, stories and scholarship money. So, he decided to go to Westminster University starting this winter. He seems to be enjoying it immensely.
Several folks forwarded an article at Hemmings that announces the Ford Pygmy’s inclusion on the list of National Historic Vehicles.
Sean forwarded these photos. If I had to put a caption to the first one it would be, “TOO HIGH! TOO HIGH! I didn’t sign up for this!”
Ford GP. The guys on the horses look a little jealous.
I found this interesting photo of Bennet Larson and a few others standing in front of a Keystone Automobile Club Jeep. Keystone was an automobile club that was absorbed into the AAA Mid-Atlantic in 1965. The photo was taken in/near Philadelphia. I imagine the jeep was used for helping stranded motorists or patrolling?
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/UU_Photo_Archives/id/47939/rec/162
Here’s a neat WAAC Ad Maury found and on eBay.
On this year’s trip we’ll have a few different items you can buy from us as we travel. If you want the items mailed to you, we’ll figure out a way to do that, too. Just email me (d @ ewillys.com). Everything is first come first serve.
The purposes of these items should be pretty obvious: 1) help raise money for our trips, 2) provide unique, vintage jeep items you won’t see elsewhere, and 3) to promote the community of vintage jeeps. For me, it makes the whole eWillys adventure more fun.
SHIRTS are $20 each: They shirts are good quality material that is 60% ring spun cotton and 40% polyester. They are light and very comfortable. The image is based on a WWII bond-drive image printed on an envelope.
1. Olive Drab: I only have Large and X-Large.
2. Gray: I have a couple of Smalls, Mediums and XXL. Mostly, I have Larges and X-Large.
BOOKS are $20 each: Of course, don’t forget about my books. We’ll have copies of both. For those that don’t know, Finding Virginia is personal journey of mine, including my history with jeeps and more. The Amber Panels is an adventure/fiction novel based around the real Amber Panels. Of course, jeeps find there way into it, too.
One of the reasons for we are detouring down to Sante Fe, New Mexico, is to visit the Bataan Museum. WWII in the Pacific and the Philippines will play a role in book three, tentatively titled October Gold.
POSTERS are $10 each: Not many left, but we’ll be carrying some of these with us as well. These are professionally printed 18″x12″ posters. I have varying amounts of each. Want more than one? We can make a deal.
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!
Scott, whom everyone seems to know as Haines Garage, posted this jeepish photo of himself wearing a unique jeep shirt. The shirt is great, as is the pose.
Find him here: https://www.facebook.com/haines.garage or at his flat fender website: http://hainesgarage.proboards.com
“Sometimes I model for Jeep Q Magazine”
