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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 .
Charles found some jeep pics in the Jalopy Journal archives. This first photo of Edsel Ford in a Ford GP is from Wayne State University.
This ad depicts a Bantam BRC-60.
“From a 1941 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, this is an ad for Champion Spark Plugs with art by Vickery. Illustrated are 8 uses for Champion Spark Plugs:
1. Bomber, Trainer, Airliner or Light Plane
2. Tanks
3. Reconnaissance Car or Jeep
4. Motorcycle
5. PT Boats of the Mosquito Fleet
6. American Industry
7. Farm Tractors
8. Trucking Industry
13 5/8″ x 10 1/8″
Excellent condition”
View all the information on eBay
UPDATE: It seems that a number of posts I’d created over the last few weeks hadn’t published correctly. My visit to the July MVPA Conference was one of them. So, there are a bunch of extra posts today! Enjoy.
Vern and Dennis in front of Vern’s Ford GP. Vern has restored a number of different jeeps. Dennis is working on his first, a 1943 GPW.
On my way to Seattle today I detoured through Portland so I could spend some time at this year’s MVPA Conference. The event was held at the Portland Expo Center. The event seemed well attended, with many different vehicles and vendors. There were over thirty jeeps, too!
I couldn’t stay at the event too long, so I didn’t get a chance to mingle much. Besides Vern and Dennis, I spent some time talking with Joe from Vintage Wiring of Maine. He and Josh were discussing a wiring harness for Josh’s GPA project. I also spoke with the guys organizing the convoy trips that honor/celebrate some of the early trans US Highways. We discussed both using eWillys to promote the event and joining the 2015 Bankhead Route Convoy for part or all of the thirty day venture.
I’ve landed back in Renton for the next week. My mother has a long ‘sonny-do’ project list. I’ll also be disassembling Biscuit. I’m gonna be busy!
Here’s a bunch of pics from today. That’s all I have time for:
She looks pretty happy with the Bantam.
“from soldiers photo album, no locations, though some from Louisiana maybe (car with 1941 license plate at barracks, Dr Pepper sign, ) & Oregon marked on one & one photo had Wisconsin on it.”
View all the information on ebay
Here’s a reproduction of Joe Frazer with his Willys MA.
“I have here a nice reproduction 8 x 10 photograph. The picture shows 1940’s era co owner of the Willy’s Jeep Joe Frazer. The picture shows Joe at the smoke house getting a nice Ham and of course driving a Jeep”
View all the information on ebay
UPDATE: Sold. Was priced at $2500. They went quickly!
“For your consideration are two 1942 Ford Army Jeeps and a trailer. One has a production date of Feb 26, 1942 and the second has a production date of March 26, 1942. The Feb production Jeep has a serial number of GPW 557 which according to “All-American Wonder” The Military Jeep 1941-1945, this is the second lowest production number known, only surpassed by number 500 produced Feb. 13,1942. The second jeep produced in March has a serial number of GPW 9945, so as you can see, these are very early production Army Jeeps. Both are Script Jeeps which have the Ford lettering on the rear panel. Candidly, the March Jeep which is complete, is not as nice as the Feb. Jeep which would be worthy of a restoration. The Feb Jeep is totally disassembled. The engine for the Feb Jeep has been rebuilt, and the transmission/transfer case are good. The front and rear axels are also good. These are project Jeeps. There are more parts than are pictured. The trailer has a production date of December 1942. There is a set of 5 combat rims for the Jeep. The trailer has combat rims on it. There will be a lot of work to make a great restored Jeep, but all parts are available from advertisers in the publication “Supply Line” a publication of the Military Preservation Association which is a great organization for Military vehicles and would be worth joining. I have titles for both jeeps.”
Tony forwarded these photos. The first shows Tony’s father in his Willys MA. If you recognize that Willys MA please contact Tony (just leave a comment — and I already searched Gavin’s WillysMA site). The second is his father and some buddies in a Ford GP.
This ad was forwarded by Marc. The jeep appears loosely based on the prototypes.
“A wonderful original half-page magazine ad from 1942 for
Continental Red Seal Engines – Muskegon – Michigan
The Grasshopper and the Jeep
Ad is about 5 x 11 inches”
View all the information on ebay
Here’s a neat postcard. Interesting that the back includes directions about where to write.
View all the information on ebay
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was listed at $32000
“FOR SALE is his 1941 Ford GP “PROTOTYPE” jeep that has been restored by him. The jeep has many original parts but also has some reproduction items. The engine is a GP engine but is missing the (holy grail) carburetor. The air cleaner is a reproduction. This jeep runs well and looks very very good.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
“You are bidding on a 1941 Ford GP military jeep Serial Number 9512 & DOD 4/30/41. This jeep is a 1st series GP and was part of the first 1500 contracted from Ford by the military for testing. This jeep is of course is a project and does not run or drive currently. Both Frame stamping and dash data plate do match. Much more info on eBay”
Several protoypes pictured in this photo.
“Type I, News Press Wire Service photo. Measures 9×7″. This is part of a collection from a former employee of the UPI in Tribune Towers before this collection was moved to New York.”
View all the information on ebay
Here’s a rare photo of a BRC-60 and a couple cows.
“Type I. Original Henryk News Press Wire film measuring 4″ x 5″. This is a piece out of a collection from Henryk, former employee of the ACME and UPI News Service Office located in Chicago Tribune Towers. Henryk covered many events in Chicago and beyond during his days as Ace photographer for the news service. These images are absolutely very rare and are limited in number.”
View all the information on ebay
Josh spotted the ad for this Ford GP.
“mortor- 4×4- tranny work- needs some brake and stering work”
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/clt/3710752793.html
Thanks to Josh for forwarding this listing.
“Up for auction is my 1941 Ford GP. This GP has the original motor. The number on the block is GP- 8641 which matches the data plate. The number on the head is GP-6050. The carb,air cleaner,distributor and fuel pump are missing. The motor still turns over by hand. The seats are missing. I have an orginal gas tank that will go with the jeep but it is rusted out. the rear bumperetts are all there and in good shape. some one welded a hitch to the pintel hitch but it will cut off easily. The tub has some rust in it. the floors will need replacing but the rear body panel is ok. The front sheet metal is in nice shape no rust and it’s not beat up except for the hood which has a hole in it from what looks like a fan blade going through it but it will repair easily. This GP has 5 correct solid wheels.This jeep will come with two correct tail lights and a 1941 jerry can. The grill is in nice shape and the headlights and brakes are correct but the black out lights are missing some pieces. I have a clear title in hand. You can call me at 507 329 4551 with any questions. I may be slow to respond to email. Pick up only I can help load only after I am paid in full.”
View all the information on eBay
Buz spotted a variety of photos from the Library of Congress. Here are two of them.
1) Fort Benning Jeep Driver: Fort Benning. Jeeps. Jeep driver — and it takes a good man to put a jeep through all the fancy paces that are in it. This driver is near graduation from the training school at Fort Benning, Georgia.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b02766/
2) Loading a jeep onto a transport trailer in Detroit, Michigan. April 1943.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d15688
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
The point of this ad is that the force on the tires of a B-29 landing is equal to that of a jeep flying straight down from the Empire State Building.
“Nice quality vintage print ad from Shell Industrial Lubricants during WWII , featuring a jeep dropping from the Empire State Building. Mentions Goodyear and B-29 Superfortress.
there’s a small dark stain on the lower left corner, but it could be covered up by a picture frame.
Measures 10″x13″ From 1940’s Fortune Magazine”
Several other photos are included with these two Willys MA photos.
“From a lot of 29th Inf Regt photos I’ve selected a small group showing highlights from the motor pool. Of particular interest are the two shots of the early Willys MA jeep. You can just barely make out the unit stencil on the front bumper. I’ve included shots of a couple Dodges with better unit markings – all vehicles are parked in front of same garage (Ft. Benning?) Period photos of the MA jeep are not all that common. All images have same back mark and are all 3.25″ x 4.5″.”
View all the information on eBay
UPDATE: The auction reached $39,100, but the reserve was not met. Was on eBay
“For sale is a 1940 Willys MA prototype military jeep. It is my understanding that there was only 1,500 of these jeeps built and offered to the Army. This body style was never used again. I have learned that there are only around 30 of these jeeps left in existence. I have also been told by another MA jeep owner that this might be the only almost complete, running, original unrestored MA jeep in the world with visible WWII numbers on the hood. I feel that this jeep should never be restored or there will be no originals left. I don’t want to mislead you: the seats, bumper and gas tank are professionally reproduced duplicates. The gas tank was done by John Geesink from New Zealand. And the grill & seats were done by Jimmy Strauss in California.
This jeep was bought by my father almost 50 years ago. It was always kept inside. There is no rust problem. Has all 5 original wheels. The rebuilt original MA tranny needs to be installed. I have the shifting column. The windshield is off a Willys WWII slatgrill jeep. Motor is original. Radiator is not original. I have an extra MA head, extra bell housing, other top bow parts and machine gun strap footman loops (they are longer to allow for wider strap to secure machine gun to rear of jeep on both sides.) Jeep is not totally original, but close. It has wrong steering bell crank. Needs 2 notched axles, proper radiator, carburator, air filter, fuel filter, horn, back seat. What you see is what you get. As seen in pictures, the jeep has very little rust or damage to hat channels and body underneath. Forgot to mention: the rear wheel wells behind both seats, as seen in pictures hae been cut to allow seat to go back further. When my dad bought it, it had a bench seat in it.
I have mentioned that this jeep is a running jeep. Tires are no good and carburator may or may not need to be rebuilt before trying to start this jeep. Other than that, the new gas tank needs to be hooked up, a battery put in it and it should run, just like it did 50 years ago, when I watched my father shut it off and park it in the garage. Hope you get as much enjoyment from this jeep as we have. It is time for Dad to retire. Long live the Willys jeep!”
This is a do-it-yourself Ford GP postcard at Zazzle.com. It appears you can print just one card, or print more and get some discounts.
Clck here to learn more at Zazzle.
Here are two different Canadian Champion Spark Plug ads that include jeeps. The first one looks Ford GPish.
“ORIGINAL STUNNING 1945 WWII ARMY SOLDIERS CHAMPION SPARK PLUG AD CANADA WILLYS JEEP ARMY. Magazine ad, measures 5″ x 6″ approx, in very good condition.”
View all the information on eBay
* * * * * *
“ORIGINAL 1944 CHAMPION SPARK PLUGS MOTOR AD CANADA JEEP ARMY RATION COUPON GASOLINE. Magazine ad, measures 5″ x 2″ approx, in very good condition.”
View all the information on eBay
I ran across this photo of a Ford GP at the LIbrary of Congress.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b09264/
I spotted this Ford GP set up to lay wire (according to the caption). I’m not sure what pix “D-575” is.
“New 1/4-ton “bantam” truck being used for wire-laying during demonstration at Fort Myer, Virginia. For more complete data, see caption for pix D-575″
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b09268/
UPDATE: I posted this article back in 2010. It’s been a few years, so I wondered if anyone newer to eWillys knows anything about the York-Hoovers?
A few days ago I was searching and came across a reference to the York-Hoover prototype. I’d never heard of the York-Hoover All-Terrain Prototype, but according to the YorkBlog, such a vehicle existed and could be viewed at the York County Heritage Trust’s Agricultural and Industrial Museum in Pennsylvania. So, I contacted the museum and received a response from the curator notifying me a few years ago the vehicle had been moved to the Motts Military Museum in Columbus, Ohio. I tried contacting Motts, but had no success.
Anyone familiar with this story or the vehicle?
According to yorkblog.com, “Before World War II, the York-Hoover Body Co. produced a prototype for a military vehicle that could navigate all types of terrain. The company then successfully completed orders for 69 more vehicles.
But, alas, York-Hoover turned down another order for 4,500 sturdy vehicles because it had pledged its resources elsewhere. Future work on the Jeep, with the York-made design and minor modifications, went to Willys Co. and the Ford Motor Co.”
