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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 .
Jon forwarded me some ads I hadn’t run across. Here’s an interesting one for the wagon rescue trucks.
Link to Part 1: http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1208-the-old-man-and-the-jeep-part-1/
Link to Part 2: http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1209-the-old-man-and-the-jeep-part-2/
You’ll definitely want to pick up the August 2012 issue of JP Magazine, along with the subsequent issue, if you like jeep history (I have yet to see the story online). It features 94 year old Don Prine, who has been driving jeeps since the very beginning of the jeep. Don Prine was a test driver of the prototype Willys, Ford and Bantam jeeps. Seventy-Two years later he is still involved with jeeps and, at age 94, still goes into his shop daily in Lakewood, Wa.
According to the article, a recording of Don describing the day pictured in the photo below in early 1941 at the US Capital is supposed to be here: http://www.jpmagazine.com/prine, but I couldn’t make the link work. Also, according to the article in JP, he was driving up the steps in the below picture. However, according to this link, it is Senator Meade of NY driving the jeep and Representative Thomas, of NJ, in the passenger seat at the time of this photo. I can only guess that in the photo Don is seated in the rear?
Don has long been a fixture in jeeping and racing in the Northwest. In 2008 I called Don and had a very nice conversation with him, which you can read about here, about Stainless Steel Parts. For those that belong to the PNW4WDA, Marty has posted a few pics of the visit with Don, Herm Tilford, and Christian at their forum.
This is a neat advertisement Jon sent me.
Roberto forwarded this to me the other day. My french is rusty, so feel free to translate.
From totophotos.org comes photos of these two jeeps that suffered through tornadoes almost fifty years apart. The flattie got the worst of it. There are a few other jeep photos at the site, too.
Jeep damaged by tornado. Udall, Kansas, May 25, 1955. Credit: Department of Agriculture. Weather Bureau. Central Regional Weather Bureau Office. (ca. 1935 – 1965). Kansas City Regional Office: Decimal File, 1938 – 1965. Collection: National Archives. http://www.totophotos.org/photos/search.asp?word=jeep&page=2#87
College Park, MD, September 25, 2001 – This Jeep was torn apart by the tornado that killed two people and left more than $16.5 million in damages. Credit: Jocelyn Augustino. Collection: FEMA http://www.totophotos.org/photos/search.asp?word=jeep&page=2#87
This ad was produced in 1947. Was that big bumper part of a service package of some kind? I’m surprised to see it appear in an ad.
View all the information on eBay
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
” This beauty has been completely re-painted in hunter green exterior with green & black interior. 4 wheel drive, pump. Perfect for campground security or fire prevention. Purchased from local fire department & converted for private fire prevention. Runs good, lights & siren. We are selling for another party. Runs & drives good. Has many upgrades. Will answer questions to best of ability. Unit sold complete with fire pump & 75 gallon water tank, hose & one nozzle.”
Here’s a nice shot of a CJ-2A with a nice top. This is a late ’46 or ’47 jeep.
“Photo size is 4.5×3″ inches”
Here are two different ads that are listed on eBay.
This 1951 ad shows two pictures of trucks and two pictures of a farm jeep in action.
This 1957 Ad shows an FC and a CJ-5
We just got back to Seaside, Oregon, after a long trip down the Oregon coast. During our drive we squeezed in a visit to the Tillamook cheese factory, visited the Blue Heron cheese store, and dropped by to see the jeeps and planes at the Tillamook Air Museum.
The building at the Air Museum was very cool, as it is the largest wooden structure in the world. According to the website, “Stationed at NAS Tillamook was Squadron ZP-33 with a complement of eight K-ships. The K-ships were 252 feet long and filled with 425,000 cu. ft. of helium. With a range of 2,000 miles and an ability to stay aloft for three days, they were well suited for coast patrol and convoy escort. Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948.”
The facility is now an air museum with thirty air craft. Also housed at the museum are two jeeps. One jeep is a very nice CJ-3A that may (or may not) have been used by the Navy. No documentation is provided to show what its history was, but its paint job suggests a Navy affiliation.
The second jeep, according to the documentation, is a “1944 Willys Jeep. However, you can quickly see this is a militarized CJ-2A. The only military Item I could see was the front grille.
Here are a few pics:
Blaine forwarded a picture of the Kapi JIP yesterday. The picture was taken at Bruce Weiner’s micro car museum in Madison, Georgia.
While Frederico Saldana is said to have patterned this after the American Army Jeep, it looks much more like a CJ-3B/Wagon hybrid.
In this story from Gus and the Model Garage, Gus investigates the centrifugal-advance mechanism. “Gus and the Case of the Councilman’s Car” was published in October 1968.
http://www.gus-stories.org/html/october_1968.htm
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
Someone didn’t check their facts before producing this car. The fire jeep looks good.
“CARD IS FROM: 1994 Fire Engines Series 4 cards from Virginia Hobby Supply
CARD MEASURES: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6.5 x 9 cm) standard trading card size
CARD NUMBER: # 377 (series 4 is numbered 301 to 400)
CARD CONDITION: Near Mint-Mint to Mint condition
Part of a 100 card set from 1994 featuring Fire Trucks from around the USA.”
We are busy at the beach, so no updates until Sunday morning.
Here are a few pics from our trip to Seattle and then down to Seaside, Oregon. Note that instead of writing something mushy or loveydovey in the sand, Ann took it upon herself to draw and photograph eWillys in the sand. Why she was thinking of you all while spending time at the beach with me is beyond me . . .
Here we are taking a break from our hike on Chinook Pass (ok, we only hiked from the car to the sidewalk).
Here’s a nice shot with Mt. Rainier in the background.
I’ve heard of food trucks, but not food boats! Ann had eaten here and said we had to stop. The place is called Bowpickers and is located in Astoria, Oregon. They do fish and chips and that is it. Their fish is locally caught albacore tuna. It was very very good.
Here’s Ann’s toes showing their creative side:
No, we aren’t married yet. We happened to have Ann’s veil in the car, so we pulled a practical joke on her family . However, her Uncle Bob really is marrying us July 28th.
According to the website, “Dennis Avery, land owner of Galleta Meadows Estates in Borrego Springs envisioned the idea of adding ‘free standing art’ to his property with original steel welded sculptures created by ‘Perris Jurassic Park’ owner/artist/welder Ricardo Breceda based in Perris, California.” One of the sculptures he commissioned was a tribute to the jeep (or jeeping, I don’t have specific information about the sculpture).
You can see a variety of jeep pictures here
These pictures were photographed by Bob Perry and posted at Flickr. Note that there are no boulders under the jeep at the time they were taken in 2010. However, as of 2012 there are now boulders, suggesting the jeep is climbing over them.
A reader sent me this old photo, writing “This is a old photo of mark vansciver and his dad Steve (friends of our family )trying to winch their Jeep up a embankment (side of the mountain) on vacation in western NC ……..Jeep survived……marks pride hurt”
Matt spotted this gem. Not satisfied with the toy-sized, remote control version of the Tamiya Wild Willys Jeep, the people over at The Bug Box, a German company, decided to build a life size version. They documented the process. Very cool.
See all the images here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.307694835915312.80520.187259324625531&type=3
Here are a few selected pics:
Here’s a neat little ad that’s up for auction on eBay. I couldn’t say how rare it really is or if many people collect them though.
“**** VINTAGE & VERY RARE ORIGINAL ARGENTINA MAGAZINE ADVERTISING !!!.- ****
1949 – JEEP WILLYS-OVERLAND #1 !!!.-
MEASURES APPROX: 7.5” X 5.5” / 19 CM X 14 CM.-
REALLY HARD TO FIND !!!.-
GREAT COLLECTOR ITEM !!!.”
View all the information on eBay
This is a fiction book. It’s rare to see a book about a jeep, but even rarer to find a tale about a postal jeep!
You can learn more about that book at Amazon.
From Amazon.com comes this description:
“LORIS JEEPApril 2000This is a story about a thirtyish woman, Lori Bearden, and her eight year old son. They live in a town south of Denver, Colorado that has been engulfed by the population that continues to pour into the Rocky Mountains Front Range every year from the West and East Coasts. Better employment is the name of her game, and she lands a job in the U. S. Postal Service delivering mail to the farmers and landed gentry on the eastern plains of Colorado. She buys an old, forlorn postal jeep to make her appointed rounds on the plains, and later meets a man who makes his living repairing these ancient jeeps. They soon discover that they need one-another.Then Lori discovers that her jeep repairman, Rafael Hernandez, has a second occupation much different from his first occupation, and she learns to understand and cherish a man who lives two lives.”
This is another story about a jeep from the Gus and the Model Garage series published in Popular Science Monthly. This particular article was published in June of 1955. In this story Gus learns about the oil float in the old Willys motors.
http://www.gus-stories.org/june_1955.htm
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Here’s an unusual item. The auction ends in a few hours.
“This auction is for a Original US Field Phonograph from the WWII era. It has typical damage on the outside from use in the field. Since condition is relative please look at the pictures provided. It is complete and plays. Great sound! The arm is a little sticky as it goes across the record but could be easily fixed, Probably just needs lubed. These were issued to combat units by the Special Services Division to build morale amongest the troops. This look great in a Living History or Reenactment.”
This picture comes from Elizabeth, Colorado. Conrad is checking out the beautiful scenery and, perhaps, contemplating the sale of his jeep, because “Lizzy” was sold a few days ago to her new owner Mark. This CJ-2A is very stock and even has its original black paint (quite rare).
Mark plans to take good care of it and preserve it as is. So, despite being sad it had to go, Conrad is happy it is going to Mark and Mark is thrilled to get it. Even better, Mark and Conrad have become friends.
This isn’t a book so much about a jeep as it is about the burning of a jeep. The story centers around a court case, in which a man and his father are being tried for burning an army jeep.
I have yet to read it, but it’s on my list.
You can learn more about this book at Amazon.com.
In this story from Gus and the Model Garage, Gus explains what happens when synthetic rubber gets old. The story is called “Gus Goes Hunting … For Trouble” and was published in November of 1953.
http://www.gus-stories.org/html/november_1953.htm
