emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
This looks like it may have been a full-page ad for Carl’s Motor company, despite the news stories sprinkled within. Note the photo of Bob Hope in a CJ-2A that seems to be promoting Carl’s Motors (I wonder if Bob Hope knew it).
As of December 1946, Wyoming County Schools in West Virginia still had 52 one-room schools attended by 1200 students. To serve and maintain those schools throughout the year, the county purchased a CJ-2A.
More details about the rural schools in this article from the December 27, 1946, issue of the Beckley Post Herald out of West Virginia.
Roger Martin pointed me to a Facebook photo from the 1964 movie Ride the Wild Surf. Pictured is Shelley Fabares (who had a higher billing than her female co-star) and Barbara Eden. The beach party movie also starred Fabian and a DJ-3A Gala.
This is a video clip from the beach scene:
Here’s another short video clip of a Gala in the movie:
This article in the June 28, 1948, issue of Newsweek covers how the Keystone Automobile Club’s three jeeps were transformed into mobile video units for the 1948 Republican and Democratic Conventions that were being held in Philadelphia.
Six months earlier in January, the same jeeps had been setup with radios to help manage road patrol issues (multiple news articles mentioned this), so adding television service expanded, albeit temporarily, the capabilities of the jeeps.
Last year we saw a different pic of one of the jeeps that is housed in Philadlephia’s free library:
PHOTO CREDIT: Free Library of Philadelphia .. PHOTO CAPTION: Keystone Automobile Club – Road Patrol Service.
Screen shot from The Salzburg Connection.
Bill spotted a scene with a jeep in the 1972 movie The Salzburg Connection (it might appear other places, as I didn’t have a chance to watch it). You can see the jeep scene between 41:45 and 42:35. It looks to be an MB.
By the end of the scene, the driver is deliriously (Psychotically?) happy. Maybe he was just really happy to be driving a jeep?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7RyQw1g8fU
Here’s a photo that was posted to the IMCDB site:
Jay just purchased a WWII jeep with this unusual exhaust modification. There are lots of guesses on Facebook about what it is or why it existed. Any thoughts?
(This is the only pic he currently has, as he is still awaiting delivery of the jeep.)
This Merry Christmas card with Santa in a Jeep promoted war bonds for the 1943 Christmas season.
View all the information on eBay
“1943 Santa Claus World War II Military Jeep Buy War Stamps Merry Christmas Card. has some glue and paper on the back from the scrapbook it was in. See photos for details.”
The Dolds’ family wishing their friends and family Merry Crhistmas. The windshield and the passenger step have already both been modified on this jeep.
View all the information on eBay
“This Auction is for 1 VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH TYPE CARD
1950’S-60’S ERA? MIGHT BE BY BROAD RIPPLE, INDIANA?
CHRISTMAS CARD-JEEP-DACHSHUND DOG IN INDIANA
THE PHOTO IS CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, THE PHOTO IS CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS, BUT DARK. OPEN FACE CARD, BLANK BACK, WITH CAPTION. THESE CARDS WERE MADE MOST LIKELY FROM A DEPARTMENT STORE AND GIVEN TO NEIGHBOR’S, FAMILY & FRIENDS DURING THE HOLIDAYS.
CAPTION:” THE DOLDS? ”
A whole ‘flock’ of Slat Grilles flying over a battle field.
View all the information on eBay
“What It Is
A wonderful original magazine ad from 1942 for
Tobe Deutschmann Corp. Filterettes and Capacitors – Canton, Massachusetts
wonderfully illustrated by Walter Richards
Those Jeep Riders have an ear cocked for radio instructions.
Specifications
Ad is about 7.5 x 11 inches
Condition Note
It’s rather difficult to get the color and the contrast of the original in a scan AND preserve any flaws, which tend to get muted, so this text will describe flaws, if any.”
A September 23, 1956, article in the Lansing State Journal (Michigan) tells the story of an auto parts dealer who bought some surplus fuel, only to find out it was a special type of fuel.
Mike shared this June 18, 1962, Willys Motors Service Bulletin that has an updated 1000-mile inspection checklist. It’s both a handy checklist for the inspection of your current vintage jeep or for use when checking out a new jeep.
PDF Version of Checklist
(or an Alternative Checklist create by a reader years ago)
This photo shows New York Governor Lehman and Col. Broadus sitting in a jeep.
View all the information on eBay
“1942 Press Photo New York Governor takes ride in military jeep. This is an original press photo. New York – jeep – Lieutenant … reviews, Colonel Broadus salutes, Governor Lehman takes a ride Photo measures 8.25 x 5.25 inches. Photo is dated 04-07-1942.”
A 1955 newspaper ad for jeep looks familiar to me. Noticing that the spare tire was mounted like that of a CJ-2, I realized that the CJ-5 portion of the photo had been illustrated and an extra tree added.
Here’s how the ad looks, edited and cropped, in 1955 (ad is on eBay):
Here’s how the original 1945 press photo looked:
A guy in Seattle sold several lots of jeep stuff from his collection on eBay and I was a the fortunate recipient. So, Merry Christmas to me! The items that particularly interested me were the two different Baier lighters and the two wooden jeep pipes.
The Baier lighters were heavier and in better shape than I expected, while the two wooden pipes are both from France, each with engraved differently on the bottom.
The jeep toys range in quality, but I didn’t have any of them, so they were just a fun bonus.
Here’s a close up of the two Baier lighters. To ignite the lighter on the large jeep with the map on the top, you turn the door handles (either the passenger side and drivers side). Turning the handle releases the hood piece, causing the lighter to spark (no fuel in it currently). The smaller jeep is the same principle, only there’s a single button above the driver’s door and the lighter piece that pops up is in the top, not the hood.
My growing collection of jeep lighters and smoking related jeeps hasn’t been planned, but does seem to be growing….
Jesse shared this FJ-3 ornament information. Last year, I posted about Sesame Street’s use of an FJ-3 as Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck. What I didn’t know was that Jesse sold an FJ-3 that was renovated into real Cookie Monster Foodie Truck that is now at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. But, it doesn’t serve food. Instead, it is a kids interactive challenge (there’s an online version at PBS):
Cookie Monster food truck interactive spot. (photo by @bioreconstruct from this website).
Here’s another one:
When you momma and poppa frogs hop in line for food, let the tadpoles play at the nearby foodie truck challenge. Help Cookie Monster and Gonger prepare delicious meals by following along with the video instructions and pressing the correct buttons for the right ingredients! Photo Credit: Undercover Tourist.
As for the ornament, you can order it here: https://www.hallmark.com/ornaments/keepsake-ornaments/sesame-street-cookie-monsters-foodie-truck-ornament-with-sound-1999QXI2734.html
And, if you don’t want an ornament, you can buy a kids FJ-3 Cookie Monster Food Truck at Target for $14.99:
https://www.target.com/p/sesame-street-cookie-monster-39-s-foodie-truck/-/A-76614704
Or, for only $6.99, you can purchase a Cookie Monster Board book:
Nice photo with some history showing 2 Ford GPs.
View all the information on ebay
“Offered is an original WWII time period photograph. It belonged Lt. Salvador Joseph Cuttitta who was enlisted with the 6th Armored Infantry and trained with 1st Armored Division. He was then transferred to serve with the 5th Armored Division. There is some tape on the corners. Picture measures approximately 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ inches.”
This unusual poster shows a pretty complete list of production civilian jeeps (though no FC-150). It advertises Jeep Parts out of Portland, Oregon, and is priced at $99, but the seller is accepting offers. It was an Oregon company.
View all the information on eBay
“Jeep Parts Ad Vintage 1981 Wrangler & Sexy Bikini Girl Poster Oregon 18 x 24
The company’s name is Jeep Parts. I can not find a date on the poster but the most recent model listed for part available is 1981. Lots of great old Jeeps depicted: Wrangler, Cherokee, panel delivery, fc170 truck, commando, 2500 truck, jeepster, scrambler, 475, f4-134, tuxedo park mark IV, universal, dispatcher, surrey, station wagon, cj-7, cj-3, cj-6, cj-2a, cj-101, …awesome!
The arrow is pointing at an old disintegrated rubber band mark near the top.
Size / dimensions :
18 x 24 inches
46 cm x 60.5 cm”
In 1942, the Amarillo Globe-News and the Amarillo Daily News published messages called Jeep-O-Grams in both the hometown newspapers and a special Holiday Greeting edition of the Globe News Jeep. They did it as a way for families to send their family members world-wide Christmas wishes (though they did charge 4 cents a word).
What is the Glove News Jeep? Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to track down an example. According to the Volume 20 (sometime in 1942) issue of Newsweek, “Employees of The Amarillo ( Texas ) Globe – News get up a weekly soldiers ‘ and sailors ‘ edition in their spare time called Amarillo Globe – News Jeep . Carrying no advertising , the eight pages are packed with pictures and stories of men in the military”.
While acknowledging it was an imperfect system for sending greetings to soldiers, the Amarillo Daily newspaper noted that the cable systems were expected to be jammed with messages during December 1942. So, a Jeep-O-Gram in the holiday edition of the Globe News jeep was better than nothing.
I’ll start with the published page of Jeep-O-Grams and then work backwards. The messages in the N-Z image are easier to read. I can publish a link to a higher res version of A-N if anyone is interested.
This article on the Ford “Pygmy” was published in the March 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics. You’ll note there is no reference to the vehicle being called a “GP” (though, to be fair, the term GPW never appears in the magazine either), nor is there a reference to it being “General Purpose”.
These photos popped up one Facebook recently, likely pulled from the Just A Car Guy blog. I believe these were originally from some kind of video of Disney driving, because I was able to find an animated gif on Pinterest of the same event. I could not locate the original video, but I’m sure it is digitized and out there on the net somewhere …
No date on this photo of a Slat Grille MB being loaded onto a plane.
View all the information on ebay
“Press Photo Military personnel watch Jeep being loaded on aricraft. This is an original press photo. Military personnel — Jeep – aircraftPhoto measures 10 x 8inches. Photo is dated –NONE.”
The February 1957 issue of Science and Mechanics introduced readers to the FC-150 with this short article.
UPDATE: Mike shared some additional Canfield information, which I’ve added to this post.
1. Mike’s Canfield Wrecker Mailer Postcard. 8 x 9 Folded , 11 x 9 Unfolded. This is the outside back and front. Note the Overload Springs and Push-Plates (aka Push-Bumpers), which Canfield marketed for years (Koenig also had push plates/bumpers, but with slots for a winch).
This inner portion allowed recipients to resend the postcard back to Canfield for more information.
2. Canfield Wrecker Mailer Postcard from eBay. These images came from eBay and don’t show the whole card. From the eBay ad: “original Postcard, 8.5 x 5.5, Canfield Tow Truck Equipment.”
3. Additional Canfield information. Mike provided these bulleltins about how to sell the Canfield wrecker to prospects. These first two pages deal with incentives for Jeep dealers for installing Canfield wreckers.
This photo of a couple jeep maneuvering through mud and over a series of logs was published in the October 14, 1944, issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
UPDATE: Here are three Western JEEP toy ads on eBay.
1. This ad appeared in the May 1946 issue of Toys and Novelties. It looks to be an early ad for the Western Jeep. I didn’t realize it was manufactured out of Seattle.
2. This ad appeared in the Playthings Magazine in September of 1946. It announced that the Western Jeep had proven too popular and was sold out. There was a kiddie ride called the Western Jeep that look like it used this style of jeep (see post below this one).
View all the information on eBay
3. This ad appeared most likely in a 1946 issue of Toys and Novelties. The seller of this ad is purposefully obscuring the date and magazine, so it isn’t clear whether when this ad was published.
View all the information on ebay
4. This ad appears in a 1947 magazine, probably Toys and Novelties. It announced a new low price (though the price of the ad on eBay is anything but low):
