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 brochures shows that Meyer was well established in the plow industry before the arrival of the jeep.
View all the information on eBay
“1940’s Meyer Snow Plows Advertising Foldout Brochure
Description: Up for sale is a 1940’s Meyer Snow Plows Advertising Foldout Brochure.
Approx Measurement: 11″ x 8.5″.
Condition: VG-. Age and handling wear throughout. Nearly split along the fold. Still a nice rare item.”
This photo shows General MacArthur returning to Corregidor Island and crossing it via jeep.
“1945 Press Photo General MacArthur Riding in Jeep at Corregidor Island. This is an original press photo. General MacArthur returned to the Rock March 2, 1945, nearly three years after leaving for Australia, and inspected the ruined fortress. Corregidor IslandPhoto measures 10 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated 03-02-1945.”
A July 27, 1948, article in the San Bernardino County Sun introduced readers to Willys-Overland’s Jeepsters.
This March 21, 1943, photo and article highlight Rockridge School’s (Elementary?) WWII war efforts.
Maury shared this unusual booklet. I can’t imagine many of these survived.
View all the information on eBay
“Complete booklet, with no missing pages. A guy I know cleaned out a dealership years ago, and I got this from him. It is pocket sized and measures 2.5 inches by 6 inches. Box 11.”
The July 27, 1943, issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer included two photos of the newly developed “Amphibious Jeep”. The writing on the side of the top SEEP reads, “Ike’s Invasion Taxi”.
This October 21, 1946, article describes the effort one jeep driver made in hopes of saving a dying soldier and the confusion of trying to find their aid station.
These two pre-1940 news items highlight how “jeep” and “jeeping” already had definitions prior to the launch of Bantam’s prototype.
In 1937, this article on “Jeeping” as a swing dance, as testified in court by Detective Fred V. Boye, was widely distributed among newspapers. I have been unable to isolate exactly what moves define the “jeeping swing dance”. This example article comes from the July 28, 1937, issue of the Park City Daily News out of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Two years later, in 1939, a couple of Washington State vagrants (no, they aren’t relatives of mine) got caught “jeeping” pin ball machines using a “jeep”. A woman, along for the ride, even had a marijuana cigarette! This article is from the November 29, 1939, issue of the Green Bay Press Gazette:
I thought I would win this auction, but I didn’t bid quite high enough. It looks like an interesting book. The guy who sold it on eBay said he used it to build a “bullet proof” AMC 360 engine. This book was printed in 1993.
Here are the pics posted on the auction:
This trencher brochure from Auburn Machine Works was on eBay before I snatched it. Given it features a CJ-3B, I figure this is a 1953 or 54 brochure. There’s no form number.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
The Hill Huggers 4WD Club was locates around Butler, Pennsylvania. This is a metal club plaque for the club. I’m not sure when this club existed.
“Hill Huggers 4wd 4×4 Club Butler Co. PA plaque plate car club Jeep Pennsylvania. Condition is “Used””
Tim’s father-in-law purchased these Dualmatic hubs, but Tim’s unsure what vehicle they fit. Given the hub model number is F-230, we believe these were likely used on a Ford truck (possible the F-250, as that was the model of truck his father-in-law had). Anyone recognize them or know if they’d fit on a 1960s/70s Ford truck? The hubs are 19 spline.
This July 22, 1945, article in the St. Petersburg Times employs both the pics and much of the text used published the press release covered by these posts.
This May 11, 1945, article in New York’s Brooklyn Eagle shares some stories from Lt. Paul Vermylen’s adventures as a jeep driver in Europe.
Paul Vermylen would go on to live a full life (obit here). He married right after the war, then ran his family’s pasta business, A. Zerega’s Sons (was family owned through May of 2020, now owned by Philadelphia Macaroni). He passed away in 2015 at the age of 96.
This undated photo from the Netherlands asks citizens in Dutch to “please be gentlemen in traffic”.
View all the information on eBay
“A jeep parked in the city with a sign on his car. ‘Be a gentleman in traffic’.
The Netherlands. Photo size: 6.8″ x 7.1″ inches”
A sale is pending on this model jeep, but it looks to be a model based on the prototypes.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/373333757197973/
“Vintage 1940’s US Army Jeep Toy. This was a wood model assembled and painted very well. The windshield isn’t attached but kind of just sits on the frame. Awesome display piece.”
This “honeymoon” jeep was bedecked with whitewall (painted) tires and plenty of wedding finery. Inside the jeep was the price, WAC Cpl. Forence L. Bauer of Lyndhurst, Ohio, and Capt. Wilson W. Hopkins, Jr., of Durham, North Carolina. They spent their honeymoon in the Italian mountains during the late August of 1944.
This photo appeared in the August 20, 1944, in the Sunday News out of Ridgewood New Jersey.
This first article from January 22, 1950, in the Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, California) provides purchase numbers and eventual destinations for some Forest Service Jeeps.
This second article, from May 05, 1954, in the Sacramento Bee, notes the sale of 10 USFS jeeps that had been part of the Forest Service since 1947 and 1948.
UPDATE II: Here are two more Willys Make Sense ad that were featured in Sunday newspapers (seller indicates both were from 1951):
This one is currently on eBay for $20:
This one is currently on eBay for $20:
===========================
Originally posted May 29, 2019: Here’s another Willys Makes Sense ad from the February 13, 1951, issue of the Evening Star newspaper that differed from the others.
==================
Original Post: May 21, 2019:
In 1950, Willys-Overland launched a Willys Makes Sense advertising campaign. Unlike past campaigns, such as the 1948 City and City ads, which were about encouraging the sales of wagons and positioning the wagon as a luxury vehicle, the Willys Makes Sense appears to have been organized to re-imagine how the public should view the brand.
Before I get too deeply into this, I’d like to note that the way I’d prefer to write this article is to document specific reasons behind Willys-Overland’s decision to make such a big change. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to enough financial material as I’d like (especially annual reports). So, conjecture and theory will have to do for now.
BACKGROUND: After WWII, pent up demand meant lots of sales for automakers. That could explain, in part, why post-war sales were pretty good for Willys-Overland. For example, sales increased from almost 79,000 jeeps in 1946 to 159,000 jeeps in 1948. But, in 1949, sales plunged to almost half, coming in at 86,000. I don’t have details into why sales dropped so much, but likely parts or material shortages or labor disputes could have had an impact. Certainly, the recession of late 1948 – late 1949 didn’t help sales at all!
Future sales might not have looked too good for 1950 and beyond either. As of 1950 the US produced 76% of automobiles, but given the post-war rebuilding/resurging of industry world-wide, I expect automakers must have realized that international competition would return soon (by 1955 US market share would drop to 67%). This may have stimulated management to clean up their branding as soon as possible to protect against increasing competition (remember that Willys-Overland had expected to sell 25% of their autos internationally, based on the 1946 Fortunate Magazine article).
Another issue Willys-Overland was facing was that going into 1950 the company still didn’t have a registered trademark for the term JEEP (wouldn’t get it until June of 1950). Added to that, the company was not only producing 4WD 1/4 ton jeeps, trucks, and wagons, but also 2WD trucks, wagons, Jeepsters, and an upcoming automobile. Such a portfolio of non-4WD vehicles must have concerned management that it wasn’t just a “jeep” company; so the challenge of how the company should represent itself to dealers and consumers had to have become an issue.
Finally, in a similar vein, up until 1950, the company had been positioning itself as the ‘Jeep’ company, with ads that emphasized the Universal ‘Jeep’, the ‘Jeep’ Truck and the ‘Jeep’ Wagon. Perhaps with the introduction of the Jeepster (note that the company did not call it the ‘Jeep’ Jeepster nor was there any ‘Jeep’ branding on the introductory brochure), the branding issue must have really came to a head. Because of the entrenched nature of Willys-Overland’s efforts to become ‘Jeep’, management may have felt that a company-wide retooling of the company’s branding was in order.
Perhaps one, two, or all of these issues resulted in the 1950 rebrand of the company as a WILLYS manufacturer with a wide range of 2WD and 4WD vehicles for sale. (For a look back at 1952, see Derek’s post “When the CJ-3B Was New“).
NON-JEEP BRANDED ADS:
Willys-Overland began 1950 with an ad that felt similar to past ads, but excluded the ‘Jeep’ brand. For example, in January of 1950 Willys published this ad in the Saturday Evening Post. Note the reference to ‘Jeep’ has been replaced with a small ‘Jeep’ badge.
January 07, 1950, ad in the Saturday Evening Post
As did Colliers Magazine on January 21, 1950:
UPDATE: This article from the San Juan Record dated October 22, 1965, provides more information on Kent Frost’s jeep Ruby and his treks over Elephant Hill.
A better example of the photo appeared in the January 1966 Four Wheeler Magazine
=========================
Original Post November 08, 2016: In January of 1966, Four Wheeler Magazine reported that Kent Frost’s CJ-5 Ruby had surpassed 100,00 miles. During that time Frost estimated he had crossed Elephant Hill 195 times through all kinds of weather, both day and night. Fittingly, the birthday celebration was held at the top of the hill. Here are a few pics of Ruby:
Continue reading
It appears this seller has separated these photos from the August 1959 Jeep convention with Castro in Cuba, listing them in multiple auctions.
“Fidel Castro Willys Jeep 1959 Convention Photos. These are from an original 1959 willys Jeep South American convention folio the year of Castros takeover. A variety of shots,including Castro Holding a Willys manual. Printed 2 sides. App. 31/2” x 5” each.Condition is “Used”. Shipped with USPS First Class”
This is a 24 page manual.
View all the information on eBay
“1950s Kaiser Willys Jeep Mechanics Supercharger Manual 24 Pages, Good+ Condition wear. Shipping to US only, Free Shipping.”
This photo dated July 11, 1941, shows actress Patricia Morrison sitting in a Ford GP, presumably for a photo shoot. In 1942, she joined the USO tour, entertaining troops in Great Britain. I suspect the men around her are fellow actors, but I can’t say for sure.
CREDIT: The Utah State Historical Society July 11, 1941.
CREDIT: The Utah State Historical Society July 11, 1941.
This wooden jeep puzzle out of Japan and currently in France is similar to one I bought a few years ago.
View all the information on eBay
“À vendre Jeep Willy’s 80848 Made in Japan Bois Wood voiture miniature model car auto”
This article featuring a Kent Frost jeep tour through Needles was published on May 2, 1958, in the San Juan-Record out of Monticello, Utah. At the bottom I’ve included an image of the whole paper as I thought the illustrated header of the paper was well done.
