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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 .
To keep with our recent front loader theme, Steve sent me some pics of what I’ll call a ‘custom’ loader (at least, I think it’s a one-off) mounted on the front of an old flattie. Don’t try this at home! Please! This was sold at an auction in Ames, Iowa a few years back.
On some post somewhere I have an image of the flying jeep. I recently found a trove of information and images of the Rotabuggy, (actually, I just did a google image search of a rotabuggy) including pictures of a recreated model. One of the more unusual images is an interior shot, which I show to the right.
From the willys-mb.ru website:
“In the early 1940s flight tests had been carried out on a number of one-man gliders known as Rotachutes. During this time Raoul Hafner decided to apply the same principle on a larger-scale military vehicle. On 3 April 1942 the Rotary Wing Section of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment AFEE) at Ringway, Manchester, submitted a proposal for the application of the system to the Blitz Buggy or Jeep.”
The Unreal Aircraft website records an eye witness account of one flight, which left the driver exhausted.
Here’s an image of the Rotabuggy Replica
It was one of those days where I was searching for one thing and found another: The Nash Quad Truck (the truck to the right is a 1919 Nash Quad, Owned by Bruce and Melanie Rice #8880). These are 4wD with four wheel steering. (see the video below to see a quad and its steering in action)
It turns out, these were a big hit during World War I. In the Story of the Jeep, Patrick Foster writes that the Quad ” … dramatically proved it’s worth … and proved the value of four wheel drive …”
Here’s a brief history from the Pioneer Flight Museum:
“The Nash Quad was first manufactured in 1914 by the Thomas B. Jeffrey Company, which was located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It became quite popular during World War I and was used by the armed forces of not only the United States, but also Russia, France and Britain. One of the first motor vehicles to offer four-wheel drive, the Quad proved very suitable to the rough, unpaved roads of the time. In 1916, Jeffrey sold the production rights to the Nash company. Because of its popularity, it was produced in large numbers, including license production by Hudson, National, and Paige-Detroit. Exact numbers aren’t known, but apparently over 11,000 were produced in 1918 alone.“
Here’s a video of a Nash Quad being started and driven:
One of the more interesting early modifications for water fording is visible in the picture below. Note how the jeep facing the reader has the exhaust vented out the front of the grill with the muffler laying parrallel to the grille. I can’t say I’d ever seen that before.
The CJ-3A.info page notes: “The recommended maximum fording depth of an unmodified jeep was 21 inches. That is about the height of the fuel pump and transfer case vents. Any deeper and things would start to fill up with water. Even at this relatively shallow depth the Technical Manual (2) advised that the generator brace should be “pulled up to release tension on the fan belt and stop the fan from throwing water over the engine”. That would be important in order to keep water off the ignition system. During a combat landing the 21″ maximum fording depth was not adequate.”
Read more about the Evolution of Water Fording here
This list of 30 images of epic failures from Jalopnik.com was funny. I’m sure we could all add a pic or two to this list.
“We’ve seen some pretty crappy DIY craftsmanship before, but these examples take the cake. What’s amazing is these DIY’ers know how to post on the internet, but not how to research.”
Here’s a couple images:
As I mentioned in a post when I first launched eWillys, which appears to have disappeared in last year’s database disaster, one of my favorite Jeep Cartoons was drawn by Bill Mauldin and placed on the front of the November 1992 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine. You can see that one to the right (or see a larger version here). No doubt many of you have seen this before. At the time I wrote the post, it never occurred to me to search for any other cartoons by Bill.
However, for mystical reasons that remain unclear, it occurred to me tonight to search for other ‘Willys’ cartoons by Bill. Here’s the results of my search. (send me others or links to others if you know of more ….
Th’ hell with it, sir. Let’s go back to the front.
Thanks
Why ya lookin’ so sad? I got out of it okay.
I’ll never splash mud on a dogface again (999) … I’ll never splash mud on a dogface again (1000) … Now will ya help us push?
It’s a habit Joe picked up in Rome.
Here’s more links about Bill
Today, as usual, I was browsing CNN when I came across a list of the ‘10 best’ car chases on film. I’m not sure if these really are the best 10, but one item that did catch my eye was the note attached to #10, the Cannonball run about George Baker.
I’d heard of the Cannonball Run, but didn’t really know anything about it other than the casual reference to a movie by that name until last summer. One day last summer I was browsing the new books section of my library and came across a book called The Driver, by Alexander Roy. That provided me some background on the race, with which I’ll end this post.
Note: I’m no expert on rally racing or it’s history, nor much of an expert on anything at all, but I’ve never let that stop me from writing anything else. So, here’s a brief Cannonball history for those that like this sort of thing.
Mr. Cannonball Express:
In 1915, Erwin George Baker drove a Stutz Bearcat across the country in only 11+ days (this was one of 143 driving records of various kinds he set). The next year he drove a Cadillac 8 from LA to NY in only 7 days. This feat earned him the nickname (or a reference of) the Cannonball Express.
The Cannonball Express was a reference to the fastest train, at least at the turn of the century, that motored between Chicago and New Orleans. It’s the same train that was operated by the immortalized Casey Jones, who would be killed at the reins of the train, attempting to slow it before it crashed into boxcars.
So, I’m doing my best to avoid going out to my parents very cold, damp garage to finish fixing my mom’s car. Of course, the internet is one of the best avoidance tools ever invented.
FLAT FENDER BABES:
On a lark, I typed in ‘Flat Fender Babes’ into google just to see if anything came up. While most of the links were garbage, one link lead me to a list of significant production automobiles, created by Angry Stan at AngryStan’s blog. Naturally, one of the vehicles listed was the Willys MB. What was interesting about the MB’s inclusion was Stan’s comment that the MB was “very loosely based on the Austin 7”.
Whoa .. news to me. What you talkin’ ’bout Stan?
Here’s a good history of the MB-CJ3B Willys-Viasa with a variety of pics.
“In the late 50’s, Willys Overland gave the rights to the V.I.A.S.A. firm to allow them exclusively to build the Univesal Jeep in our country. In 1959, the first permit to import parts and machinery is given by the Trade Ministry, in order to assemble the first units in the V.I.A.S.A’s factory located in Zaragoza. These units weren’t launched until 1960.
It seems that that permit let V.I.A.S.A build the CJ3B model, with different engines and features from the original American model …”
David and his friends transport themselves back in time each each fall by getting out their jeeps, heading to the woods, and cleaning brush, trees and other obstacles out of the way in preparation for winter snowmobiling in New York.
David’s owned his (the gray ’51 CJ-3A) for six years. His friends have owned their 1947 CJ-2A and 1949 CJ-3A for about 25 years. Thanks for sharing David.
While reading through the extensive history of the half track, I stumbled on the fact that the owner of the rarest of these half tracks was Fred Smith of the UK. Having recently read that Fred Smith also owned and nicely restored the Ford Budd prototype, I got curious about who Fred Smith is. At this point, I don’t know anything about him other than he’s got quite the jeep collection. Here’s an approximate list (this list is a guess based on what I’ve read online):
Not a bad collection! Apparently, Fred shows these on occasion (or often) at the War and Peace Show at Beltring in Kent, UK.
I spent some time earlier to day trying to track down what came before the Spicer 18 transfer case. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything such as a Spicer 12 or a Spicer 3 anywhere. If the Spicer 18 was the Dana Corp’s first try at a transfer case, then it’s entirely reasonable to say they hit a homer with it, as it stayed in the jeep (though ratios and other minor changes were made) from 1941 to 1971, when the jeep started using a center pumpkin and the Dana 20 transfer case.
So, here’s some interesting facts I learned during my searches.
Here’s some other links about this early history:
I was searching for an image of original CJ-3A gauges when i stumbled upon this article. Both of these are well modified, good looking road and trail jeeps. One of the more interesting features of the ‘Oklahoma Green’ Jeep is the number of gauges that are installed. One Bad Apple certainly has an usual paint job.
Here’s 2 excerpts from an Off Road Adventures Article; each one discuss a little bit about each jeep:
Oklahoma Green: “… Below the CJ3A Willys’ windshield is a dashboard that would be more than adequate in a J3 Super Cub airplane of the same vintage. The aircraft-like dash sports a full compliment of gauges: fuel, fuel pressure, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, vacuum, and air pressure gauges along with a voltmeter, hourmeter, and altimeter by Hobbs. A Lev-O-Gauge rounds out the impressive array. Lights and buzzers backup the critical gages. From the dash, Ken can switch on the fuel pump, fast idle solenoid, headlights, heater, and winch. Indicator lights report the status of 4WD, seat belts, ARB, emergency brake, and air compressor…. ”
One Bad Apple: “… The frame was lengthened 6-inches to incorporate a GM 4.3 V6 CMFI 195 hp at 4500 rpm engine with K&N Air Cleaner and Painless Wiring, a GM 700R4 with a manual shift kit, and a Dana 300 transfer case with CV driveshaft. With 4.88 gears, the final crawl ratio is 80:1. The front axle is a Dana 30 with an ARB Air Locker and disk brakes. The rear axle is a Dana 44 with a Detroit Locker. Four-inch lift springs, an off-road track bar, and Rancho 5000 Shocks control 33×12.50 BFG Mud Terrain T/As …..”
William, a reader from Costa Rica, contacted me this weekend with a question. After exchanging a few emails, he offered to share his project with readers. The 1st picture was taken in April of 2005 and the second in November of 2007. He has made some nice improvements that have made this jeep look much better. You can see all the pics here at cardomain.com. Thanks for sharing William!
I’m not familiar with the “Offroad Adventures” publication. Instead, as usual, I stumbled upon it while looking for something else. It’s a compact 2 pages article with a variety of pics of cjs accompanied by different hydraulic implements. I’m not a big fan of the myvirtualpaper’s interface, but the pics are still cool.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $3500.
Empire Tractors were built from parts that are also used by Willys, such as the transfercase (spicer 18), transmission (t-90), differential (spicer 25) and more. You can learn more about the specs for these tractors here. Note that the seller claims these were built out of surplus WWII jeeps, however the t-90 was a CJ-2A tranny, so it seems more likely to me that they shared parts with the CJ-2A rather than built from the MB.
“HERE WE HAVE A RARE 1947 EMPIRE TRACTOR. MODEL 88-90 MADE IN 11-47 SERAIL NUMBER 6352 IT WAS RESTORED ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AND HAS BEEN KEPT INSIDE ALL IT’S LIFE. THIS HAS WILLYS JEEP ENGINE AND TRANS,AND ALOT OF OTHER JEEP PARTS IN IT,THAT ARE ORGINAL TO THE TRACTOR. THESE TRACTORS WERE BUILT AFTER WWII OUT OF SURPLUS ARMY JEEPS. THE PAINT SHOWS SOME WEAR . THE TIRES ON BACK ARE ORGINAL AND FRONTS HAVE BEEN REPALCED. COMES WITH ORGINAL LIGHTS AND GENERATOR IN A BOX. IT HAS HAD ONLY 3 OWNERS AND RUNS AND DRIVES LIKE IT SHOULD, READY TO USE OR SHOW. THIS COMES WITH A BELLY SICKLE MOWER,THAT HAS NOT BEEN USED IN 20 YEARS. 3500 FIRM. MY NUMBER IS 660-267-3282 THANKS FOR LOOKING”
A reader wanted to share a pic of this beautiful all Jewels Flatfender he built over many years and recently sold. He says he already is at work on another jeep. Hopefully, he’ll provide us with some updates as works on his new project.
While looking up transmissions for the T-98 post, I came across a website that has CJ-5 decals you can purchase. The website offers VIN Stickers, Data plate decals, Tailgate decals, and more. The website carries a wide variety of data stickers. Check it out.
If I wanted to use a sticker, the one to the right would work perfectly, even though it’s designed for a “3 speed Auto D300 Twin”.
I spoke with Don Prine today (12/24/08). Don lives and runs a shop outside of Tacoma, Washington. I quickly learned that Don is quite the character. If I remember correctly, Don said he’s 91 years old and it’s clear to me he has no plans to retire. He’s at the shop regularly and he’ll be there on the 26th, he told me, snow permitting.
Don’s been in the jeep business for 40+ years. He told me stories of purchasing surplus jeeps in lots (one time 80 m38a1s), or as he put it, ‘the bank and I purchased them’. We talked about some of the other jeeps he had purchased and we exchanged some names of people we both knew in the Jeeping world. Then he kindly provided me several contacts of his own in the Boise area he said I should call. It did not take me long to figure out that Don has friends everywhere.
Brian, who’s now our Visiting European Correspondent (did I mention it’s a volunteer position?), found this beautiful MB in Vienna at the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum while visiting Vienna, Austria. Brian mentions that this museum of military history contains ‘everything from 1600 on up’ that’s war related.
Brian writes:
“This jeep was extremely clean. It is in such great condition that I wondered if it is a repo-tub. The only thing missing was the radio that mounts behind the driver. They indicate this jeep was used for patrols. Note the four allied flags: Russia, British, American and French; the jeep was issued to all four allied forces policing Austria and the flags denoted that no one country was ruling Austria.”
UPDATE: This sold for $810 on Jan 1 2009
Maybe there are more of these VW kits than I realized. This is the fourth I’ve seen for sale this year. While the seller claims this is a 1942 body, all the kits, including this one, appear to me to use a version of the M-38 body (or replica body).
“YOU ARE BIDDING ON A 1942 WILLYS JEEP BODY ON A VOLKSWAGEN DRIVE TRAIN / CHASSIS. THIS CAR HAS A 1600 ENGINE WITH A VW MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THE EXTERIOR COLOR IS RED AND RED INTERIOR WITH BROWN BUCKET SEATS. THE TIRES ARE IN FAIR CONDITION AND BRAKES ARE GOOD ALSO. THIS CAR HAS BEEN IN STORAGE AND HAS NOT BEEN STARED FOR 7 YEARS BUT THE MOTOR TURNS OVER….”
A reader wrote to me asking for some input regarding some replacement electric windshield wipers. I couldn’t answer his question and, in fact, I’ll have the same problem once I install my electric wipers. Here’s what he wrote:
” I just bought the electric wiper conversion kit from Omix-ada, but the instructions are limited to the wiring diagram. As you can see from the picture, the shaft length would seem to cause a problem in a direct exchange. I have thought of cutting down the shafts(inner and outer) but wonder if I’m missing something easier. I have Googled the web to see if any one has discussed the conversion, so far no luck. I wonder if you or any of your readers has used these. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thanks Phil”
So, if anyone has any ideas, we’d both appreciate it!
I was looking to see if anyone has generated a list of the top 15 things (or list of some kind) you should look at when evaluating the purchase of an older flattie for an upcoming post.
While looking for such a list, I ran across this article by a Willie Worthy (it turns out he wrote a number of tire histories), a writer for Four Wheeler Magazine. He takes a quick look back at how his life has changed and how it has remained the same. One of the more interesting descriptions he provides are the old school paddle tires.
Willie writes, “my first Jeep came with some military nondirectional 6.00-16s that were replaced with some 7.00-16s in a heavy-lugged mud and snow pattern. When I bought my new CJ-5 in the fall of 1962, it came with some 7.50-15s, which I quickly sold. By now, I was into tires and building rims. The tires of choice were some passenger-car 8.20-15 recaps spread out on my homemade 8-inch-wide rims. Later, I, and just about everyone I knew, was using Armstrong’s flotation tires, or similar versions of them that were originally designed for farm implements. Traction didn’t come from the straight grooves running the circumference of the tire but from their ability to conform to an obstacle. Soon we found that cross-grooving made for much better traction. The Pismo dunes, and those at Glamis, were wide open with no restrictions, and by the mid to late ’60s, we needed more traction than these tires would provide. Before the advent of paddle tires, we would cross-groove drag slicks in various patterns and mount them on 12- to 14-inch-wide homemade rims.”
Michael writes that he’s owned several jeeps through the years. Currently, he’s got two willys trucks he’s fixed up, a ’55 and a ’57 . As you can see from the right and the first large pic below, the ’57 seems to have wings. Most recently, he’s purchased a couple slat grille jeeps and is looking for info about and parts for them.
“Just wanted to say thanks for all the awesome info on your website! I learned to drive at the age of 10. My parents had a 1969 Jeep Gladiator Pickup. I used to fourwheel all over in it. It was given to me on my 12th birthday after I had blown up the motor wheeling in a rock canyon very similar to the Rubicon. What a time. We towed it back with a 56 Willys Wagon.
I currently own a couple Willys pickups a 55 and a 57. I’ve owned a couple 2a’s in the past and always kick myself for selling them! I am back though and looking for any info. on parts for a couple of slat Willys. That’s how I found your website. Thanks again. I’ll send you a picture of my 57′ “treading lightly?” Also pics of both are posted on car domain under the user name of UNIVERSALWILLYS1 (although it was hurriedly done so not very prof. looking.I need the time to fix them)”
I don’t know when or where it came from, but at some point my parents obtained a book simply titled “The Jeep“. It was mostly a picture book, which as a young kid was perfectly fine with me. I open and looked through it many, many times. Ok, I still open it ….
However, it wasn’t just a book with a few pics of jeeps you see everyday. Instead, it’s a slim book full of a wide range of pictures. Of course, there’s the standard bantam, mb, seep, gpw, etc. But, there’s also, for example, 3 images of the Willys/Nuffied modified airborne jeep, seen to the right (though not from the book — it’s from a russian site — the book images of the Willys/Nuffield are at the bottom of this post).
I bring this up, as I ran across a copy of the book at the Boise Library today. So, I snapped a few images of the pictures with my digital camera (hence the poor quality – purchase the book to see them sharply) and will post a some of them.
I haven’t asked for permission to post them (I TRIED to, but can’t find the contact info for them), so I’ll add this pitch for the book. This book is a must for any jeep nut. While it’s a fairly small book with only 64 pages, the collectors prices (at amazon) were hovering around $45. It’s a perfect size for your kids. The organization responsible for publishing the book is the Olyslager Foundation (link?), which has published a number of other cool books listed at the Open Library Project.
Now for some cool, but poor quality pics to wet your appetite…
One of my favorite sections of the book show how quickly a crate jeep can be put together. The book documents this particular group only took 3 minutes and 31 seconds to put it togther.
Check out the rest of the pics …..