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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 .
Pete from the Old Willys Forum created and shared this mini video. It sure looks like the summer has set on Idaho.
Readers will remember that at age 17, Nate finished his first flat fender build, a 1953 CJ-3A. Not content to spend 2011 driving his jeep, Nate emailed me today sharing with me that he spent the past year building a second jeep with a custom suspension. He’s been sharing his project with the folks over at earlycj5 site and has a variety of pictures that show build from start to finish. Well done again Nate! (Some readers might also remember Nate’s ideas)
I only posted one pic below. Here are all the pictures: http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?88481-Building-a-new-and-improved-Jalopy-frame
From the Missoulian, a newspaper in Missoula, Mt, comes this picture. A friend of mine spotted in the Sunday paper and thought of us (she’s a historian, not a jeep person — good to have friends all over 🙂 ).
The caption with the picture: In another photograph from the end of a successful hunt, Eddie Churchwell displays his bull moose in front of Missoula’s Fire Station 1 in 1955. The moose was taken from the Lolo Creek area and brought home on a Willys Jeep.
I had to update this page because my links I had used no longer work. Fortunately, I found an image of a FC-160 from India (at least the Flickr page claims it is a FC-160 — feel free to correct me on this). This picture was taken in January of this year by Vaibhav Bhosale.
“In 1965 Mahindra & Mahindra of India began assembling the Jeep FC Forward Control. Mahindra introduced its versions to include the FC-160. The FC-160 (and later FJ-160) uses a frame which is 2.33 meters in length. The FC-150s frame was 2.05 meters while the FC-170 used a frame of 2.63 meters in length. Thus, the FC-160 was an intermediate truck, marketed to supplement the FC line and the final version was only manufactured by Mahindra & Mahindra.
The pick-up box was designed and manufactured by Mahindra and there were other bodies which were available. Additionally, the base FC-160 chassis was used in the manufacture of a mini-bus which uses the basic front face of the FC. Currently, Mahindra’s FJ-460 and FJ-470 van or mini-bus vehicles still retain the appearance of the original Forward Control. These vehicles can accomodate from 11 to 15 passengers plus the driver”
Caption from flickr: One of the three Jeep models built by Mahindra & Mahindra. This vehicle was used by my school to train the students on Automobile subject. We used to play hide n seek when it got abandoned.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5000
“For Sale 1949 Red Willys Jeepster (Novelty) Fire Truck Excellent Condition, Runs Good, Siren and Horn great for attention, parades, etc. Garaged. Asking $5,000 or Best Offer. My father who died several years ago drove it in many parades, full of kids of all ages. Lots of fun and has been well taken care of, but time to sell as we are losing the storage building it has been stored in ”
Doug contacted me tonight. He and some friends will be making a trip up to Idaho City to do some Jeeping. I drove above Idaho City last year in Biscuit and there are some fun places to explore. I only got lost once. Below are the details. Btw, take the bear and mountain lion and heard wolf warnings serious!
Idaho city
“There are a few Willys owners here in the Boise area who are taking a trip this next Saturday, Oct 15. Several of us met up about a month ago and made the trip to Idaho City. We had 2 CJ3Bs, a M38A1, M37 and M35A3, it was really cool. This will be our second trip and the last one for the year.
If there is anyone interested but cannot make this trip, they can contact me at: willysjeepcj3b@gmail.com and we will get them added to our email list.
Old Jeeps and military vehicles: join us for a drive on the Boise National Forest, Saturday, October 15. Travel will be on public roads in and around Boise N.F. Family and friends welcome.
Trip plan: Depart from Reserve St. alongside Fort Boise City Park in downtown Boise at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Travel up Shaw Mtn/Rocky Canyon Road #260 through the foothills to Robie Creek/Clear Creek Road #261, then Grimes Creek Road #364 to #307 and take 307 into Idaho City. Todd lives on the Hwy. 21 side and will be meeting us at the jct. of #260 and #261, so anyone coming from that side can do the same. Idaho City has a long and interesting history.
Here’s a link to the C of C website. http://www.idahocitychamber.com/ Gas and grub at Idaho City, then backtrack to Pine Creek Road #366 .
If time and weather permits, we’ll go up Pine Creek Road to Shafer Butte, circle Bogus Basin Ski Area, get on #275 below Bogus and take it back to Rocky Canyon Road. Total distance, including the Shafer Butte section, will be approx. 100 – 120 miles. Elevations will be between 2500’ and 7500’. Highway 21 is nearby in case you need to leave early.
Maps? There are many roads in this area, some public, some private, some with travel restrictions. The Forest Service office on Overland in Boise (next to Walmart) has two types. There are black and white “Motor Vehicle Use Maps”, one for each of the 5 ranger districts on the forest. They’re free, get all 5. They contain info on this year’s travel restrictions. You’ll need the Mtn. Home and Idaho City maps for this trip. They also have a large, color “Travel Map” for $9. It’s over 10 years old but gives a good overview of the entire forest. Todd, who lives in the area and travels it often in his 3B, has noticed that the forest maps aren’t always complete, so he uses topos too.
A final note: Todd also reminded us that he’s seen bear and mountain lion and heard wolves while travelling in this area. There was a mountain lion attack near his house last week.
The last time Goose shared images of his CJ-3B, he had just finished a four month restoration. Over the last nine months he had a chance to make a few additional updates and take some more pictures for us. You can see his original post here. Nice angles on the pics Goose!
Kim forward me some images from the Battle for Tunisia re-enactment at the Marching Through History event three weeks ago in Barstow.
You can check out the California Historical Group website here: http://www.chgww2.net/
And some news footage: http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/65164807/News/KTLA
Also, if you like learning about the SAS check out this diary and a related new article.
http://chgboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=new&action=display&thread=244 &
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041097/New-SAS-book-tells-story-regiments-WW2-heroics.html?ITO=1490
Thanks Kim!
And here is a picture of Kim that I thought looked cool:
UPDATE: **SOLD**
A Mexican collector of Jeep Ads in Spanish wants to sell his collection. Here are two examples of what he has. If anyone is interested, contact me (d@ewillys.com) and I’ll provide his contact info.
According to the seller, he has “a very complete ads collection of about 40 Jeep Willys to Cj7 jeeps, also Willys Wagon and wagoneer and Pickup Jeeps”
Justin contacted me about something the other day, which lead me to the discovery of his family’s CJ-2A website. Check it out. http://www.hayescj2a.com/home
Steve forwarded this link about a Condo Garage. I found it pretty interesting.
Prior to last month’s parade at Butler, Gerald, his father, brother and nephew got their jeeps lined up for pictures. Pretty cool!
Bob reports that this year’s Northern Ohio Flatfender Gathering was a success. He writes, “We had 24 Willys Jeeps this year. It was a great time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Next year we may simplify the food, add windshield tags that kind of thing. The rain held off until 3:45!”
Here are a few pictures from the event. You can see them all here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18648234@N00/sets/72157627757598958/
This past January Bob took pictures of this jeep parked coldly in the snow. It looks like it was ready for a trip, but then got stuck. Thanks for sharing Bob.
Buz spotted this one. Note the Jeeplike vehicle for auction in the first image. Check out all the items here: http://www.quarricks.com/Thumb.htm
According to the website, the auction will be held October 1, 2011 at 268 Edison Street, Uniontown, PA.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $27,500.
The seller claims this is the only one of these, but I’ve seen 3 or 4 of them. Nonetheless, it is custom.
“1946 CJ2A Roadster pick-up Street Rod ,Rat Rod ,Hot Rod, Fresh Build BEST of everything!! SbC, B&M th350. 9″ rear three weeks old, go’s great strait & fast One of a kind willys Never made one $27,500.00 B/O”
I’ve been exploring Manhattan today by foot. One of the places I wandered through was the M&M store at Times Square. I couldn’t resist photographing the jeep display. I may or may not have more posts later tonight.
Jonas wrote me the other day telling me he’s got a rare M-606. I asked him if the Data Plate was stamped ‘M-606’ and he said it was and that the speedometer is in KMs. He’s invited me to drop by and see for myself, so I hope to report on it in early October. Thanks for sharing! Cool pics, too! I love the contrast between the sky and the trees, jeep and grass.
He wrote, “I own a actual M606 jeep made by Kaiser in 1966. This is not a military CJ3B. It was exported (to Argentina I think) and then repatriated back to the US. Or it never left, nobody knows really. But It is here now and it is pretty original with all the features unique to the M606. I have acquired a Koening winch and hard cab for it in the past month and put a set of proper traction type tires on it.”
Roberto emailed me this unusual illustration. I haven’t seen much Mahindra artwork.
This month there have been a few more interruptions than normal with eWillys because I’ve been busy, busy, busy. Here is why ….
First off, I’ve been dating someone, throwing off my time schedule a bit, but I’m happier for it!
Second, the book is nearly ready for publication; I have decided to do one more large revision based on some comments from my Aunt. Those should be complete by month’s end. Below is a mockup of the book with its cover. I think I have a book printer, but am still negotiating that. Until that time, I will release the book electronically and will encourage as many people as possible to buy it. The reason I need to sell the book is because my financial contract is up with my previous employer. So, my ability to continue to support eWillys is slightly endangered. However, I won’t give up hope just yet, especially since responses to the book from women have been excellent, so I have pretty high hopes! Also, I have made some mockups of another book that teaches people how to identify all the models of jeeps. In addition, I now have a professional photographer that I can work with to create the shots for the new book (you might have seen her work form the San Juan Island GPW we found). I’m hoping I can put that book together over the next year, but that time frame is dependent on a variety of issues.
Third, I’ve been doing legwork on securing some art pieces created by my Great Aunt Emma Eilers about 100 years ago. Thirty paintings popped up from a single collector in early September, so it took some effort and negotiations to come to a satisfying financial solution to get them back into the family.
Fourth, I’ve been preparing for a trip to NYC/Long Island from Sept 19th through Sept 29th to do family research, review the paintings mentioned above, and visit with a jeep collector in the area. During my stay in Sea Cliff, LI, I will also be staying at my Aunt’s former studio which still sits on the property that was the former family estate. So, I’ve very excited about this unusual opportunity. I’m hoping all the family research work I’ve done over the past 10 years will result in another book, though it isn’t jeep related in the slightest.
So, the timing of updates and my response times will be uneven for a week and a half. It’s just been that kind of September!
Below is the back cover:
My sister found this jacket at a garage sale the other day. So, she bought it. The Go-4-Alls are a Seattle club based originally in Midway, Washington (perhaps still based there), though there were several members of club just a mile from me in Renton (and I went to high school with three pretty members of the club). This kid’s jacket shows playdays/conventions from 1981-1983 that I attended as well. These club jackets were very popular with clubs back in the 70s and 80s and are still seen around today if you attend PNW4WDA events. I have large version of both pics so the details can be seen. Just click on the images.
And just for kicks, this image was taken in late 1981 during of a joint Wandering Willys and Go 4 Alls jeeping trip over the Naches Pass and Manashtash Ridge in the Cascades. Dad’s jeep is the CJ-5 in the middle front of the picture. I was 16 and this was the first trip where I did most of the driving during this trip.
The 17th Annual Midwest Willys Jeep Reunion & Swap Meet is this weekend at Jefferson City, Mo. September 16-17-18, 2011. This year they will not only feature Willys and “Jeeps”, but have also opened the Reunion to ALL MILITARY VEHICLES.
Roberto has been restoring a ‘FrankenJeep’ CJ-3A and capturing some of it on video. Thanks for sharing these Roberto!
Here are links to all 7 videos:
Video 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzjqGRRHaIc
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lAtRUUm0s
Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gQF4vSnevk
Video 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjF8O4qlENE
Video 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ht8yDDywgs
Video 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiegdIb_3Kk
Video 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYrG0EyiWm0
