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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 .
I lucked out on snagging this unusual FJ-3A brochure. It focuses on the repair industry. It is form number 61-14.
This past weekend was the Willys Reunion. I don’t have much in the way of photos (yet), but here is a video from the Red Eye Cafe Garage that highlights some of the jeeping and, later on, some of the vehicles that attended the reunion. One of the unexpected events was a 3AM fire drill at the hotel!
I pulled out Patterson yesterday to being making a few minor repairs. You might remember (though I’d rather forget) that the driver’s side rear got a little crunched when Patterson bumped up against the UHaul trailer last fall (Ugh).
On Saturday, I pulled off the surrounding equipment, then using clamps and counter-force (slow and steady), pulled everything back together. It came together surprisingly well. Next steps are to replace the rear lights, replace the generator, and reduce the friction between the brake and clutch pedal (push one down, the other drops a little).
Once the work is done, I will put it up for sale. Do we want to sell it? Not really, but we are working on getting another vintage jeep to replace Patterson, something far cooler. Once everything is settled, I will announce it.
Bill spotted this article from motor1 that included a video of vintage jeeps tackling Moab slick rock from this year’s Willys Overland Rally 2022.
https://www.motor1.com/news/586094/willys-jeeps-off-roading-in-moab-video/
I found this brochure on eBay. It’s the first time I’ve seen this version. The form number is 4-66, which I believe means it was published in April of 1966.
Under the things-I-didn’t-know, Ann tells me that folded material into shapes is 1) a thing and 2) is called a “cake”. To wit, she spotted this jeep made from folding diapers and material together (no glue). This is certainly more clever than if I tried to make a jeep using diapers and material.
From the Facebook Post: “A Jeep diaper cake for a new Mom!! She loved it and doesn’t want to take it apart!! LOL!! 10 washcloths, 6 blankets, 2 bottles, 1 pair of socks, 1 medicine dropper, and 55 diapers. I never use glue!”
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1000582063996149&set=pcb.1224982958173993
Dave and I with the racer loaded on the trailer.
What a couple of weeks!
One of our goals before leaving was to put in Ann’s garden. So, prior to leaving for MN, we expanded the fencing (primarily to keep the dogs in and so they can chase out any critters), laid the dirt for corn and squash, laid gravel over the rest of the dirt, and put in elevated planters so that Ann does’t have to bend down. We’d hoped to move the propane tank, but that will have to wait now until Fall. It’s all temporary so we can see how we like the location.
Last Friday mom’s place went up for sale. On Wednesday, (as Ann and I were racing back from Minnesota) the home went under contract. It came down to a developer who wanted to develop the land (all cash deal) or a couple with a daughter who wanted to live in the house and offered to take mom’s cats. It was an easy call, as mom would have wanted the cats cared for, so we agreed to the deal with the couple. So, a huge step forward in finalizing the estate.
And now for the road trip to MN, here’s what happened.
Our drive to Minnesota was uneventful. We drove 1000 miles the first day under perfect skies, with no storms. Because I was a little paranoid about blowing a trailer tire, we kept the speed art around 70mph for most of the trip. The next day we drove an additional 500 miles in similar beautiful weather, landing in Little Falls, Minnesota, for the evening.
The next morning we stopped by Thielen Meats in Pierz, as recommenced by Dave F. It was a great recommendation (voted the #1 meat market in Minnesota and celebrating its 100th anniversary this year). We bought some beef sausages, smoked mozzarella, a whole smoked white fish (yum), and some smoked pork ribs. Everything was great (we should have bought more).
Photo Credit: Thielen Meats
A short time later, we arrived at Dave’s place. Dave and I have been communicating about this racer for several years, but for all the reasons you already know, it wasn’t until this spring that it was practical for us to go fetch the jeep.
Some of the worst damage:
UPDATE: We began Wednesday in Dickinson, ND. We stopped in Montana to visit Dan and April’s new bison ranch, then planned to stop in Missoula for the night. However, our concern over degrading weather on Thursday between Spokane and Missoula convinced us to push through to home. We arrived at 3am, Thurs morning, pretty bushed! I will give a full trip update once I recover from our drive.
We had a good time talking with Dave in Minnesota when we picked up the race jeep. He showed us around his collection of jeeps, which was a surprise! We leave from Dickinson, ND, this morning and have about a day and half left of driving, so more to come, including our story of the TICK invasion!
We’ve made it to Minnesota after two long days of driving. Other than seeing two semi complete flat fenders (2A or 3As) being hauled west on I-90 near the Bozeman area, not much to report. I’ll post pics and a quick Tuesday at some point.
Last night in Glendive, Montana, and tonight in Minnesota my hotspot internet access has sucked, so I can’t do a whole lot.
This video shows an impressive collection of imported vehicles in a Virginia “barn”, including some Mitsubishi Jeeps.
“It’s not often that Tom looks at shiny new cars, but when he heard about a Japanese import specialist who has collected and sold over 4000 Japanese manufactured vehicles, he couldn’t pass the opportunity up. We’re talking Datsun Z cars, GT-Rs, Accord Aerodecks, Figaros, Totota Coronas, Suzuki Jimnys, and many more. But the fun doesn’t stop there! Tom visits a nearby location that holds 300 plus Volkswagen Westfalias that have been collected from around the U.S. by a gentleman to help preserve and maintain the Westfalia population. Among the collection are a few rare utility Westfalias from different countries”
Map of our drive west this week. We plan to return that same route, unless a weather change directs us differently.
Early Sunday morning we head for Minnesota on our quest to retrieve the Parkette bodied racer from Dave. If all goes as planned, we’ll be in Mora on Tuesday late morning.
Unfortunately, it is pouring rain this morning here in Prosser, so trip-prep on the trailer will have to wait until the expected sunnier weather this afternoon.
Given we’ll be pulling our trailer there and back, we won’t be doing much sight-seeing. We do plan on meeting with a reader in Montana on our return trip. It turns out that one conversation between him and I radically changed his family’s life and I couldn’t be more happy for them. More on that later.
This full page ad for the Poole Motor Company out of Steele, Mississippi, appeared in the October 06, 1947, issue of the Courier News out of Blytheville, AR. It’s too bad the pics aren’t clearer.
Nine months later, on June 01, 1948, the Poole Motor Co. published this ad in the Courier News:
Under the strange-places-to-find-a-Willys-Overland-ad category, someone is selling this 1946 Toledo University Yearbook (aka Blockhouse) with a ‘Jeep’ ad inside it.
View all the information on eBay
Eric postedthis cool little jeep to the Willys CJ-2A Facebook page. His grandfather did the original work. The redesigned jeep had fallen into disrepair before Eric began the work necessary to resurrect it back to how his grandfather’s build.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/18657808157/permalink/10159871614563158
UPDATE: **SOLD** These were two separate listings.
UPDATE: Still Available.
(08/04/2021) This is a unique jeep that you may have see pics of around the internet/facebook. Both back axles are powered. A few readers have seen this in person and know the builder. One especially unique thing about it is that the jeep was originally a rare DJ-6.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1357040958095194
“Selling 1 of a kind custom 1966 CJ5 jeep , V6 auto. 6×6, former Holbrook specialty jeep, jolly jeepers rig, new tires,new paint and seats. V6 with turbo 400 transmission, bobcat tracks can be added , front winch. Off road use only. Ready for fun. 25,000$ No trades Trailer not included”
Bill shared this second video fo a tour through the MD Juan Factory in the Philippines.
Mike spotted this short video related to the Buick V-6s in jeeps. The narrator doesn’t mention that prior to Kaiser’s use of the engine in CJ-5s as an option, some dealers were already installing them. A Salt Lake City dealer (Hayes Brothers) was particularly active. Kits were also being made available for DIY folks, like this kit from Hoosier out of Pendleton. (btw, it was Kaiser Jeepk and not AMC, that purchased the Buick V6 tooling in the 1967).
This photo shows the new Ken Smith Motors Jeep franchise. The photo appeared in the May 22, 1965, issue of The News, out of Paterson, New Jersey.
This made the local news yesterday. Some genius thought loading this SUV into the back of a U-Haul was a good idea. However, the State Patrol was less impressed.
UPDATE II: There’s another 1954 Metamet 12-page brochure for sale on eBay (see bottom of post for pics)
View all the information on eBay
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UPDATE Posted July 04, 2019: This post has been updated to reflect some more information and images. It was originally posted in March of 2013.
Metamet was a British company that refurbished WWII jeeps and civilian jeeps, creating a slew of different models. According to the G503 Forum, “Metamet was run by an expat Pole, and latterly his son. It was a wonderful Aladdin’s caves of wartime Jeeps and Jeep bits and pieces located in a series of old mews stables in Daleham Mews. These places were commonly garage workshops in post-horse London, but nowdays are worth untold fortunes as residences.”
At one point in the early 1950s there were twelve different models of jeeps offered by Metamet, only one of which was the standard production model jeep. The rest were all customizations of one type or another. Seven models were 80″ wheel base, while the other five had 100″ wheel bases. The models include, the Standard, De-luxe, Farmer, Five-in-one, Saloon, Shooting Brake, 10 CWT Truck, Metaplan, Station Wagon, 15 CWT Van, 20 CWT Lorry, and a 2 Ton Loadmaster.
Metamet’s early 1950s models. There were seven 80″ wheel base jeeps and five 100″ wheel base jeeps.
Here’s an example of Metamet’s advertising.
A 1952 Ad posted to Flicker by Johnathan confirms there were twelve models also:
Finally, here’s a 1954 12 page brochure that provides examples of different models that used to be linked to on the jeep farm website:
UPDATE: Joe spotted this Flickr photo from 1965 that may just show this jeep when brand new.
PHOTO AND CAPTION CREDIT: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29997762@N05/50020652906
“January 1965 Kaiser Jeep Corporation press photo of new CJ5s being delivered to Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Presidential Inauguration of Lyndon Johnson on January 20, 1965. Each float in the parade would be towed by a new 1965 CJ5.”
I hoped to find the above photo in a newspaper, but didn’t have any luck. I did find this short article from the January 30th, 1965, issue of the San Angelo Standard-Times:
Based on this article, I would guess that the white showing through from underneath the green suggests this was one of the white jeeps for the parade.
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Originally posted May 04, 2022: Listed as a 1963, this was more likely a 1965 as that’s when the Tux Park IV first arrived. This jeep has a plaque indicating it was used in Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration parade. This was listed for $800 on FB and sold within a day. Thanks to Jordan for forwarding it to me.
“HistoricalJeep- metal tag on glove box says it was in the 1965 inaugural parade,no title,runs good, good working four wheel drive, no breaks”
In about a week and a half I will be making a quick trip to Minnesota (about an hour north of Minneapolis) to finally pick up a wrecked former racing jeep with a fiberglass Parkette body. David Franz has been great about storing this while I found a time to snag it.
The timing of this hasn’t been finalized, because mom’s title issues have been solved to the satisfaction of a title insurance company, so we’ll be listed her place this coming Wednesday, which means renting a U-haul to complete one last cleanup, but that will only take one day.
So, if you need something moved between Washington and Minnesota, I may be able to trailer it on my way to or from Minnesota.
Steve Carter mentioned that, coincidently, this race rig is a sister rig of sorts to my racing jeep. Mine sounds great and feels read to race, but it is just too tight of squeeze in the driver and passenger seat. Rather than rework the space, body, and cage with my race jeep, my plan is to drop the cage and body below onto my racer, which will give me more room (the body and cage are both wider). This also has a better clutch/brake setup than mine.
I received my second booster shop on Thursday, the result of which kept me hunkered down yesterday with a few chills and aches, so I took the time to scan the following document.
This unusual catalog from Miller Tools highlights tools specifically for Willys vehicles, both jeeps and automobiles. It is catalog F-618 printed in May of 1952. There are 92 pages in the book, including three order forms. I’ve broken it up into multiple sections for easy of downloading and zipped the PDFs together in one file (63mb), should you want to check it out. Unfortunately, my PDF management/editing apps don’t work under the newest Mac OS, which is another reason I didn’t combine them (have to locate a new PDF capable app). If you have a problem dealing with the zip file, then I can send you independent links for the various sections.
http://www.deilers.com/miller/1952-05-miller-tools-willys-overland-catalog.zip
Here are a few pages:
This brochure, No. 761, highlights Koenig’s King brand of winches in a single sheet with three folds.
