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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 .
Craig spotted this at the Life Magazine Archives. You can go here to see more archives:
Steve forwarded this photo of a Mighty Mite at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday.
Coincidently, yesterday Ann’s mother saved part of an episode of Pawn Stars for me to view (Episode called PONY UP from December 2011), which included a man trying to sell a Mighty Mite to the Pawn Stars guys for $22,000. They offered $13,000 (based on their expert’s opinion). Unfortunately, I can’t find a free way to view that episode.
http://www.chicagoautoshow.com/show_history/default.aspx?d=1960&y=1961
I ran across this photo of a Seep pulling a trailer from the water at the Army’s website. The vehicle is pretty deep in teh mud. I wonder if it made it out of that.
http://www.army.mil/article/72554/7_decades_of_growth__change/
This is a neat photo.
“Greetings! The bidding is on a 3″ x 4.75″ vintage snapshot of ESSO GAS STATION DOG ON JEEP BETTY & GENE’S FOX HOLE VINTAGE SNAPSHOT PHOTO.”
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Thanks to Dennis for correcting me. Admittedly, I hadn’t had my caffeinated tea before deciding what this was. With that in mind, check out how this CJ-6 is setup for lighting.
“For sale is one 35mm Kodachrome color slide.
Washington, DC Fire Department Floodlight Unit.
1966 Willy’s Jeep.
Photographed by Charles Marcus on 10/7/1983.
From the collection of the late Richard M. Adelman of Memphis, Tennessee.
Shipping and handling is 75 cents in the USA.”
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I wish there was a date stamp on this photo.
“Very good Condition, nice size 4.25″ x 5″, inscription on the back”
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this photo was taken in 1992, so it is possible this truck still exists.
“RGB Original Slide. 1992. Jersey City, NJ. Edward T Gibbs.”
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. . . this photograph seemed appropriate. Boy, that jeep is has got some mud on the underside. The photo itself is from a 2×2 Negative and was a press photo of some kind.
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This 8×10 photograph shows an early CJ-2. Note the “JEEP” on the hood in place of the later “WILLYS”. Also note the position of the spare tire.
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Here’s an odd looking top. The caption from eBay suggests it is a homemade. The jeep appears to be a MB/GPW. The photo is for sale.
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I received a copy of the book “The American Jeep In War and Peace” By Kurt Willinger and Gene Gurney today that I bought on eBay. Between the purchase price and the shipping I don’t think I paid more than $7 total. With more than 350 illustrations, the book contains some drawings and some photographs I’ve never seen elsewhere.
One of the photographs I hadn’t seen shows a Jeep jumping over another jeep in a large Tokyo stadium. The captions reads “A rodeo put on by the military command in Tokyo in November 1945 would not have been complete without a demonstration of jeep-jumping”. After reading that, I jumped on the Googler to see what I could find. I didn’t find much in the picture department, but I learned plenty about Lt. Dick Ryan and his Army Rodeo. For example, I found this post by Wade Burck at The Circus No Spin Zone:
Army Rodeos were staged by Lt. Dick Ryan throughout the South Pacific. Many Rodeos were held for the entertainment of servicemen stationed in overseas bases–including Brisbane, Sydney, Grafton and Townsville, in Australia…Port Moresby, New Guinea; Hollandia, Dutch Indies and Manila…and a final victorious show in Tokyo on Armistice Day in 1945. Dick Ryan a Lieutenant in the United States Cavalry had an interesting and varied career. He was a circus rider, rodeo performer, Hollywood stunt man, motion picture double and finally the owner and producer of his own world famous rodeo and stunt show.
One of Ryan’s signature events was jumping a jeep over another one, as shown in the picture above. According to the US Military Forum (here and here), this image is photo of Ryan jumping a jeep in Brisbane, Australia.
And here is a program from a November 1946 event in Japan that was auctioned in 2007:
Not every one was a fan of the rodeo though. I found an excerpt from a diary written by Herbert L. Martin and published in a book in 2003 where Herbert recorded traveling eighteen miles to see “the much publicized rodeo at the Meiji Stadium in Tokyo” on November 11th, 1945. (This could mean that Herbert saw the very same rodeo in the picture at the very top of this post). Herbert wrote, “To be frank, the rodeo was a flop. The cowboys had no wild steers. They were tame and evidently tired. . . . the bronco busters had no vicious broncos either.” The only good news Herbert recorded that day were two football scores: “Army over Notre Dame, 48 to 0; Navy over Michigan, 33 to 7.”
Finally, I guess Lt. Dick Ryan made enough of an impression on the troop entertainment circuit, that Dick Haynes would play him in the movie “Four Jills in a Jeep“.
UPDATE: SOLD Was on ebay.
I guess nothing makes lobster look more tasty than being photographed in front of a Willys Overland CJ-2A.
“Original vintage small slide transparency, circa late 1940s. Couple holding up lobsters in front of “Bailey’s Seafood.” The man is smoking a cigar, and there is a dog sitting in their Willys Jeep with Virginia License Plate Tag, tag topper and Mack Truck bulldog hood ornament. FAIR-GOOD conditon – shows some fading, minor dust and other defects common to old slides, otherwise as seen in scan. 2″ x 2″”
I’ve seen a variety of PTO items, but this is the first Corn Binder I’ve seen. This short reference was published in the January 1946 edition of Popular Mechanics.
Mark forwarded me this great picture, but I don’t have any additional information about it. The jeep behind the men is being used as a hoist, with the man marked as ‘3’ doing the pulling.
Here’s a great old Kodachrome slide of a little girl with a jeep behind her.
“Original 1949 Kodak Red 35mm Kodachrome slide.”
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From the Hawaii War Records Depository, the two women shown below in this Ford GPW were the only women authorized in Hawaii to drive jeeps as of November 1942. According to the caption that accompanies the photograph, “Meet the jeep girls–Lorraine O’Brien and Nina Smith! These women drivers are the only two who have been authorized by the army automotive office to operate jeeps and armored half tracks and to convoy any type of army vehicle in Hawaii. Lorraine, an island girl, and “Smitty,” from Houston, Tex. . . . By Betty MacDonald.” The photo was taken November 3, 1942.
Click here to view the high resolution image: http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/hwrd/hwrd_gifs/494f.gif
You can view more information about this photo by going to the Hawaii War Records Depository and scrolling down until you see the picture above.
Here’s a photograph from a December 1941 issue of Mechanix Magazine that shows a Ford GP participating in war games at the dawn of the US’s official entry into WWII.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/news-of-war-and-defense/
In the January 1950 Issue, Modern Mechanix took the Jeepster and Station Wagon for test drives. Below is page 1. You can see all the pages at the Modern Mechanix Blog. In summary, the review isn’t all that flattering.
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mi-tests-the-willys-jeepster-and-station-wagon/
UPDATE: This is back on eBay. A couple new pictures were add, too.
When I first noticed this ebay ad, I was confused about it. It took me some digging to understand that this family out of Entlebuch, Switzerland, once sold jeeps. Then, some members turned to making toy jeeps. Apparently, there are about 50 toys left? They have listed the toys, the website, and photos for sale if I understand correctly.
According to the seller, “Shortly after the war (1945) Family Enzmann imported 60 Jeeps to Entlebuch, where they were rebuilt and sold to the farmers as commercial vehicles. At the weekends my father together with his classmates from university, drove the vehicles from Geneva to Schüpfheim. ( Which always turned into a big party afterwards.) My grandfather organised special events on which the Jeeps were presented to all customers.
Besides the garage my grandfather also owned a cinema and a hotel and he liked to advertise his garage and Jeeps in between the films. After a while the Jeeps were also sold with a closed driver’s cabins due to the very hard winters in Entlebuch.
The images below are from the website that is part of the auction:
And a couple images of the toys:
Jim created a post in honor of his Uncle and Cousin. Below is a small version of one of those pictures. The caption reads, “Men and Vehicles of Baker Co. 23rd Regft, 2nd Infantry Div. Hong chon (?) May ’51”. Visit Jim’s site to see a larger version of the photo below and the rest of the pictures. Thanks Jim!
http://bus-plunge.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-uncles-car_31.html
Here’s a cool photo of a FC-150 Tow Truck at work on a race track, though the FC doesn’t take up much of the image. I’ve made the FC portion a little bigger in the photo below.
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From http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/07/bizarre-stuff.html comes this rare fleetvan photo from 1974. It shows Ron Elizada in front of a 1962 FJ-3 Fleet Van.
I spotted this picture on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/5122433858/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Was this just a one-0ff creation or were there a number of CJ-3Bs modified like this?
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