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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 .
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.
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.
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 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.
The Maricopa County Jeep Posse held the 4th Annual National Jeep Search and Rescue convention in 1963. As part of the event, wives and daughters of the Maricopa County Jeep Posse planned to pose as models for a pool-side fashion show. They would model clothes from the Scottsdale Wigwam. I can’t speak for the Scottsdale outlet, but I am just old enough to remember our local Wigwam store and ‘fashionable’ isn’t a word I’d use to describe it. It was more like the precursor to the Dollar Store.
This February 29, 1948, article in the Salt Lake Tribune describes Utah Reserve Train Center’s rescue jeep, describing how it works with the new mobile radar truck.
UPDATE: This photo shows the crowds at the Benicia Arsenal. It was published in the June 30, 1945, issue of the Beatrice Times out of Beatrice, Nebraska:
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Originally published November 5th, 2020: The June 25, 1946, issue of the San Francisco Examiner shared the news that more than 5000 veterans lined up begining at midnight to purchase just over 1500 available jeeps, though not that many jeeps would actually sell. For most veterans, there multi-hour waits were in vain. The buyer of the first jeep discovered that his jeep wouldn’t start, but the motor pool helped him get it going.
No year listed on this press photo that shows a slat grille MB being loaded into a Globemaster. The photo appears to have been ordered on July 2nd, 1947, but that’s likely not the date of the photo. My attempt to find the photo in a newspaper failed, but I did find a few other photos of jeeps and the Douglas C-74 Globemaster.
View all the information on eBay
“This is an original press photo. Military – Jeep – Globemaster aircraftPhoto measures 10.25 x 8inches. Photo is dated –NONE.”
In the summer of 1946, a Globemaster was loaded with 15 jeeps. A few photos of the event made the newspapers. This first one appears to have an illustrated jeep on the elevator:
CREDIT: June 22, 1946, in The Sentinel out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania
This photo shows a broader look at the lineup of jeeps.
CREDIT: June 23, 1946, in the Quad City Times out of Davenport, Iowa.
This article in the September 06, 1945, issue of the Daily News out of Los Angeles introduces the world to the new Globemaster. The bottom image shows two jeeps loaded next to one another.
This 1942 advertisement in the Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) informs readers that they need to get their gifts in the mail by November 1st if they hope to reach military personnel in time.
Tyndall Field in Florida is credited with creating the first “jeep range”, a place where jeeps carried objects for gunnery practice. Here are a few pics and articles about “jeep ranges”.
This photo appeared in the Atlanta Constitution Sun newspaper on June 06, 1943:
A year earlier, a model plane was attached to a jeep in the first iteration of a jeep range:
Here are some larger photos of the ones shown above from the July 12, 1942, issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram:
An article in the June 22, 1978, issue of the Longview Daily News highlighted an upcoming Road Rebels jeep club payday. The reference to 199 trophies to be awarded reminded me of just how big of an event the Sunday evening trophy awards could be. They could last hours. People usually lumped together by clubs in one large group. Each name would be called. Imagine it takes one minute to hand out each trophy; in the case of this event you’d be looking at over three hours for 199 trophies.
UPDATE: The press photo at bottom was published in several newspapers, including the February 04, 1945, issue of the Knoxville News-Sentinel:
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Originally Posted May 14, 2016:
“1945- Barrage rockets are readied for firing from an experimental rocket firing jeep at test range in Inyokern, California. Photos measure approx. 7″ x 9”.
Actress Jane Wyman was captured in this photo while visiting Kirkland Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May of 1942. The jeep driver doesn’t seem too unhappy to be escorting her.
May 20, 1942, Visalia Times-Delta in Visalia, California.
To speed up relief pitchers, a bright red Jeepster was employed to run pitchers from the bullpen to the infield. This picture appeared in at least one newspaper, the Times Dispatch out of Richmond Virginia, May 20, 1950 (but the scan of it is terrible, so no need to share it here).
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“1950 Press Photo Marino Pieretti climbs out of jeep for game in Cleveland. This is an original press photo. Cleveland. To hurry up ball games, the Cleveland Indians inaugurated jeep service last night for relief pitchers. Here’s Marino Pieretti climbing out of jeep after that long ride from the bull pen to the infield. He relieved Bob Feller on the mound at the start of the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Athletics and was the first to use the service. Baseball. Mario Pieretti. Photo measures 10 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated 05-18-1950.”
The use of jeeps did NOT help the Indians defeat the A’s during their first game, as Cleveland dropped the game 7-5:
May 18, 1950, The Tribune out of Scranton, PA
Not everyone was impressed with the new idea. A few days after the above photo was taken, one writer thought the jeep (or any vehicle) wasn’t going to speed up the game all that much.
May 23, 1950, Arizona Republic.
As I mentioned yesterday, Sigrid Arne (1894-1973) enjoyed a second big jeep adventure. This time it was a trip to Alaska, then a trip down part of the Alaska Highway while it was still under construction. As you’ll see below, there were a variety of photos that were included in newspapers related to her story about the highway.
Below the Alaska Highway articles are more information about Sigrid and other articles by her. Unfortunately, I can still not locate an obituary nor a biography related to her. So, I’m attaching these articles to this thread so that later I can draft a good wikipedia biography about her.
THE ALASKA HIGHWAY ARTICLE AND PHOTOS:
This first photo was published in the June 15, 1942, issue of the Decatur Journal. It shows Sigrid interviewing Pvt. Levi Schrock and and Prv. Albert Tomaino.
A day earlier, in June 14, 1942, the Knoxville Journal published Sigrid’s experience watching the military build a road through thickly wooded and boggy areas.
The June 15, 1942, issue of the Spokesman Review featured this series of photos on its back page. It’s hard to believe that Melba Bergeron Mince was working with the military in that outfit (how did the mosquitos not attack all the exposed skin?
OTHER SIGRID ARNE STORIES:
A month prior to the above articles, Sigrid wrote about a woman who lived by herself in Alaska and remained unafraid of the Japanese Military:
Associated Press Reporter Sigrid Arne was 47 years old when she rode in a Bantam BRC-60. By that time she was an experienced journalist, a fearless investigative reporter with the smarts to decode and explain New Deal programs to the point that the authors of the programs asked her to join their efforts. She traveled all over the United States, even buying a baby for $50 in Oklahoma at one point to expose how babies were being sold like groceries.
Her report on her first jeep ride sounds like she was thrilled/awed by her experience, but I’m unsure how she concluded that the Bantam had 9 speeds. Sigrid’s article landed in the Montana Standard on May 05, 1941, as well as other newspapers.
This ride wasn’t her last in a jeep, as we will see tomorrow morning.
1. Ford GPs on assembly line: This March 28, 1941, image shows Ford GPs on the assembly line. It is posted on a Henry Ford’s history page.
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2. Ford gets Priority over Bantam for axles: This January 22, 1941, article in the Indiana Gazette notes a claim by the President of the United Automobile Workers–CIO that Ford was given priority over Bantam on orders for axles, forcing Bantam to miss its deadline for filling their order for the BRC-60s.
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3. Duke of Kent: This photo shows the Duke of Kent riding in a Ford GP at Holabird, Maryland. The photo appeared in the Salem News (Ohio) on August 29, 1941:
A March 25, 1941, set of photos in the Kansas City Star shows a Bantam BRC-60 flying high at one point, but then being dragged across a river by a horse at another point.
UPDATE: The Herald-News of Passaic, NJ, published an image of a Ford GP going through its paces. Given the chained tires and other similarities, it appears this photo was likely taken at the same time as one published at the bottom of this post.
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Originally posted May 30, 2020, as part of this post: Here’s an article and a photo showing a couple Ford GPs being run hard, originally printed in the March 09, 1941, issue of the Battle Creek Enquirer:
An April 12, 1941, article from the Escabana Daily Press out of California shows that it wasn’t always easy producing the Ford GPs. In this case striking works (and some reported sabotage of machinery) delayed manufacturing.
Long article from the same paper: Continue reading
The May 30, 1954, issue of the Nevada State Journal reported on the practice maneuvers of a squadron of jeepers unique to Nevada that worked with the local Civil Air Patrols on rescues. Nevada had two different squadrons, one in Washoe County and the other in Churchill County.
As you can see, the squadrons accepted a wide rand of jeeps. One is a slat grille MB, while others are CJs and wagons.
An article in the Hartford Courant on August 05, 1945, did a nice job of combining the initial press photos and press release information.
This article was published in the July 15, 1945, issue of the Journal Herald out of Dayton, Ohio. The title of the article is “Jeep Has a Rendezvous With America’s Postwar Era”. It proceed the official press release kit by a few days, so neither photo came from that first press kit.
The jeep shown on the right is a Willys MA. Back in 2013, a full press photo was sold on eBay. Curiously, the headlight on the driver’s side was missing.
The Ventura County Star-Free Press published an article on the new FC-150 Jeep in the December 04, 1956, issue of the paper.
A July 27, 1948, article in the San Bernardino County Sun introduced readers to Willys-Overland’s Jeepsters.
