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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 .
Maury spotted this blog article by Brian Albrecht at Cleveland.com. It’s a great article detailing how some letters led David Keckan on a search for a jeep in his Grandfather was photographed.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/10/search_for_grandfathers_world.html
Brian wrote me tonight to share this story about himself and Ron the Jeep Man. In a follow up email he included a picture of his CJ-5 called the “Mudd shark” (shown below: Brian is in the driver’s seat). It included a couch in back that was popular with the college ladies, popular at least until it started smelling a bit too much from being outside.
I understand that not everything is for sale, including the FCs, but there is plenty there that is.
Dear Dave,
After reading you site for the better part of two years, I thought I’d send this along for you to post and to give you a bit of a break . My little ‘thank you’ for all your hard work. [editor’s note: the break is appreciated!]
About a year and a half ago I purchased a 1960 CJ5 out of Champaign, IL. It was an eBay drop-out that no one bid on and I made a private offer that was accepted. I had a buddy at the University of Illinois take a look at it for me and give me a good report back. My CJ had led a pretty charmed life as a farm Jeep that had been well maintained and stored in the barn. A Koenig top and 33,000 miles, it was in very good condition but got parked some time ago when the throw-out bearing froze and started to burn the fingers off the pressure plate. I had, had a 1956 CJ5 all through college 33 years ago and I always thought it would be fun to have another one but not try to kill myself in this one.
Similar to your book, my father and I worked an entire summer to get my first CJ on the road and it was only fitting that he, at age 89 rode shotgun with me from mid-Michigan to Champaign to tow the second one home. I cherish all the time I have spent working with my Dad over the years on various projects, the first CJ being one of the best.
Like many of your readers, I own several other vehicles and have a good group of car buddies who travel from garage to garage in search of free beer and on occasion actually lend not just their mouth but a hand with a project. When I got the CJ home, one of them gave me a piece of paper with a phone number on in and said, ‘If you need anything, this guy’s got it, Ron-The-Jeep-Man 989-654-2922.
I put the piece of paper in my wallet and called him a few months later when I had my list of things I was looking for, the main item being a 15 inch stock steel wheel so I’d have a spare. Ron said he had lots of wheels and that I should come on up and see him. Sterling, Michigan is about 110 miles north of my home and I thought, one of these days I need to run up there and see what this guy has.
Well, today was that day. I had the day off, Momma had gone to visit her mother and Dad and I needed a ride. We were not disappointed.
Ron said he had 60 jeeps on the property, by my count he had more. Missing was anything MB, the only thing close was a tired and rusted out Bantam trailer. What he doesn’t also have is internet. He even asked if I’d spread the word that he was looking to scale back. We’re talking a 40 year collection.
We’ve all met the guy with either sky high prices or the guy that had everything but nothing was for sale or where met on the porch with a 12 gauge. Ron is none of these. He (by my best guess) has come to the recent decision that he will never get to everything and he needs to start selling and use the funds to finish a couple of projects and actually drive one of them. From what I could see, nothing had been seriously touched in about 8 years based on the dirt and dust and abandoned projects here and there.
Organization and cleanliness are not his strong suit. Most of the time we had to climb over stuff in the buildings and walk sideways to get between vehicles but he was happy to show and share everything he had and he talked my ear off. I don’t think he gets many visitors where he is out in the sticks.
His main focus seems to be on 1940/50/60’s wagons, panels and pick-ups. By my guess, 40 total, most complete, about 3 or 4 running, mostly 4×4 wagons. At this point I kicked myself for not bringing a camera. Heck I was there for a wheel.
His next niche is the Tornado engine. Ron had at least 20, many of the above vehicles were so equipped. It became evident he really had a soft spot for that engine and knew all the fixes to correct the oil leak and oil consumption problems that plagued this engine when introduced.
Several CJ2As in pretty good shape. One an early job with column shift.
A CJ3B with a plow. This appears to be only one of a couple vehicles that actually gets out and gets used. Think he needs to keep this one to keep his long drive cleared.
A couple of CJ5s in rough shape.
Two fire trucks. One, a pick-up that looked like a Howe unit but was made by Valley Fire Truck of Bay City, Michigan. I found a picture of it on line if you search for a 1959 Valley Fire Jeep. The second, an FC dually with and aerial extension ladder used by the City of New York to get down narrow alleys. This was the only FC.
A 1950 Trench-a-Jeep. Missing the trencher but otherwise complete including the agri-weight on the front bumper and all the hard to find controls and PTO stuff.
1960’s Power Wagons. The styled modern square ones, not the WWII style. One with a factory special ordered 440 big block.
Wheels. By my guess, 100+. 15 and 16 inch. Most with petrified tires still on them. Didn’t see any MB take-aparts. My nice wheel ran me $20.
Parts. Piles of front and rear axles and related chassis parts that he had parted out years ago. I saw every brand of locking hubs including some of the rare early ones you don’t see.
A mine field of brake drums strewn across a wooded lot.
Snow plow hardware.
Stuff. Piles of it. Crammed in many of the vehicles. He knew what he had and where it all was. 40 years worth.
As I mentioned, Ron does not have internet but he does answer his phone. Tell him Brian sent you (I know he has a nice set of hubcaps for my CJ somewhere with my name on them!). Bring cash, tools and wear your hunting boots. I did, and when you find a brake drum with your toe under six inches of leaves you’ll be glad you did. Someone with a good digital camera needs to get there.
– Brian
Here is Ron’s contact information: Ron Hattner 175 Bishop Rd, Sterling, Michigan 989-654-2922
Steve snapped some photos of the Veteran’s Day Events on Saturday and Sunday. He also added some information, too!
Steve writes, “Sunday I photographed Jack and his restored MB and M-100 trailer at the ceremony on Veteran’s Day,at the new Veteran’s Cemetery 10 miles West of town. Jack restored this Jeep exactly like the one he drove in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. It’s complete with machine gun mounted on the passenger’s side. I asked, and he said that most of their Jeeps were beat up MB’s left over from WWII. They didn’t see many “new” M38A-1 Jeeps during his tour.
Jack is a great man because he goes around to the local schools teaching kids how war is not a good thing, but it is necessary to protect our freedom from those who want to change us. He saw heavy action. Now he see that we are gradually losing our freedom as time goes on. He is now growing frail, and cannot go to as many schools as before. I told him I know someone who can make a professional video tape of him to preserve his presentation. He would like to do that.
He has a Korean friend who was 8 years old living through the Korean War. She accompanies Jack to the schools and shares her story of what their civilian family endured throughout the war in Korea. I don’t know her name, but she was the lady in the back of his Jeep in Korean attire during the Saturday’s Shasta City parade shown below.
The medallion Jack holds was from the Mayor of Seoul, South Korea marking the 50th anniversary of the war. The Mayor visited all the Korean Veteran’s groups and awarded that medallion to those who fought for his country. His gratitude meant a lot to that soldier, who never went back to that forsaken land, until much later in life. The City of Seoul was devastated during the war, and is now one of the most modern cities in the world. He didn’t recognize the airport when he landed several years ago. The old airport he remembered was a swampy land that was weathered by war.
Juan wrote to me the other day. He wanted to share his life long passion with jeeps that started when he was a young boy in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico. Juan doesn’t speak English and my Spanish isn’t much better, so I have done my best to translate his email (and any mistakes are my fault). Thanks for sharing Juan!
DAVE good afternoon.
I am a 60 year old retired Veterinarian. My Father was born and lived in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico, land of the best coffee. My father always used Willys jeeps or trucks to access our ranch because they were the only vehicles that could make it. When I was eighteen months of age he gave me Kings Pedal Jeep as a gift and I treasured it.
In 1969 I left my country and moved to the port of Veracruz to study veterinary and animal science. I went to work at the state of Oaxaca. Each week or two back I returned home to help my father in his old age. When I retired, I return to Coatepec to launch a small veterinary pharmacy. My parents had both passed away by that time. After returning home, I found that many friends asked about my father and whether he had any jeep parts for sale. After enough requests, I got the idea to buy some jeeps and rebuild them or part them out.
In 2007 one of my children taught me to use the computer and showed me lots of different willys sites. After seeing the Willys clubs in Colombia, I got the idea to form a Coatepec Willys clubs with some friends. We changed the name to Jeeperos Coatepec, because we have many friends that had 4×4 vehicles other than Willys. We hung out every month, attended cultural events, sports exhibitions, and were invited to participate in events on the beaches of Veracruz chachalacas, where every year all the republic clubs totaling more than 200 jeeps gathered. We have participated in movies of Che Guevara Arnold, in a French movie, in some commercials, and more.
Unfortunately, one of my children died eight months ago. This depressed me to the point where I stopped wheeling and being active in the group. However, I have slowly been overcoming this tragedy with help from my friends. And, thanks to websites like yours, I feel more motivated to keep up with my jeeps. We hope some day you can make it down here [editor’s note . . . so do I!]. If you do, you can enjoy a jeep ride through the plantation, canals and farms of these places .
In the first three photos below show the small collection I have. A 1947 CJ-2A, 1953 CJ-3B, a CJ-5, a CJ-7 and more.
Many Thanks.
Juan Lopez Badillo
=============================
From these first three pictures you can see that Juan has a nice variety of complete and incomplete jeeps.
This has the potential for a Colorado Tour Rig!
There are some other photos that Juan included:
Yes, the readers of “Finding Virginia” now span from the Northern reaches of Norway, thanks to Even, and to the Southern region of South Africa, thanks to Claus. There are even a few books at points in between the two!
Even wrote to tell me he was sharing his copy of my book with a friend of his named Reider Haugen. He added, “Reidar is among many Jeepers in Norway that keep himself updated with Ewillys every day He is also one of the members of Flatfender Fellows here in Norway. I brought my sample of “Finding Virginia” for him to have a look as you see from the picture.
Reidar is almost done with his very nice Willys Utility Delivery with a GM engine and some Scout parts underneath. This is going to be a nice daily driver next to his Willys Pickup Truck sporting a Volvo engine. Remember we are close to the Swedes . . .
In the middle you can see my Jeep Cj-7 Golden Eagle that I have owned for excactly 24 years today.
Now you know how far your book has spread around the world! We both wanted to thank you for the best webpage ever for us Jeep-enthusiasts”
Thanks guys, I love the picture!
UPDATE: David Silberman has filled in some gaps from a story told by Jacques yesterday.
David writes, “Ira Fryer was an associate dealer, did not have a franchise. He was located at 714 Walnut Street in Reading. During the mid to late 50’s into the early 60’s he also sold Simca and Goliath cars. They knew their product, had a good service department and an excellent parts department. Mr. Fryer wore a shop coat while at work, something you don’t see now.
His son, Robert, also worked there. They had a 1940 Willys pickup and a 3-wheel Harley Davidson for the parts/service department. They went out when Hettinger Brothers got the franchise. The building was torn down to make way for a parking garage.
I seem to remember that he also sold Renault Dauphine at the time. It was an old fashioned garage, showroom in front, passage to the rear along side of the showroom. Mack, the parts guy, rode a motorcycle.
Hettinger Brothers got the franchise and Mr. Fryer disappeared from the scene when the building was torn down to make room for a parking garage. I think that was in 1965.
Hettinger Brothers didn’t last long as the Jeep dealer, as they had the Chrysler/Plymouth dealership and didn’t push the Jeep line. J.F. Kohler ended up with the dealership in 1963, and had it until the Renault fiasco of the early 80’s, at which time many of the dealers turned in their franchises due to the actions of the company.
An interesting side note on Hettinger Brothers. They had the Chrysler/Plymouth dealership for many years, and when the building was demolished they didn’t even take the time to remove the old parts inventory from the basement.”
Jacques emailed me yesterday with a digital copy from a color slide of a 1946 CJ-2A.
He writes, “I was raised in Reading PA but have been living in Australia for the last 37 years. Attached is a colour slide I scanned of my Dads 1946 CJ2A when very new. He bought it 1n 1947 as a demo model from a dealer in Reading who gave rides in it at the airport, now Spaatz Field to promote sales.
It was Harvest Tan with Harvard Red wheels. He had it until 1962 when he traded it for a new IH Travelall 4 x 4. Believe a mechanic at the IH dealership bought it.
Seem to remember the Jeep dealership in Reading was named Ira J Freyer. Wonder if it still exists?
Forgot to mention Dad so loved the military jeeps he used in New Guinea in the Signal Corps in WW2 that was the reason he bought a “new” CJ2A after the war.”
Glenn wrote this nice story which was published in the June 2010 issue of Jeepster News.
(ABOVE:) At The Pearl Harbor Memorial- ’50 Willys Jeepster, Left- Randy Spangler, Middle- Glenn Byron, Right- Maurice Goguen.
EAST MEETS WEST – 6000 MILE JEEPSTER EVENT By Glenn Byron
Sometimes we take for granted the many benefits our membership in WOJC [Willys Overland Jeepster Club] pro- vides. For example, that booklet you received titled “ WOJC 2010 ROSTER” is just something that arrives. Larry & Shirley Wozniak volunteered a bunch of time and effort to get this quality product to club members. Using it as a tool is a bonus for paying our meager dues. Let’s look at where this can take us. Recently, in planning for a cruise to visit our 50th state, Hawaii, I noticed a scheduled one day port call in Honolulu.
Just for kicks, I grabbed that Roster to see if we had members there. Garage tours and visits with other enthusiasts are always great sidelines to get away from usual tourist activities. Sure enough, all of Hawaii has one lonely WOJC member, Randy Spangler, right there in Honolulu. A quick email to Randy to intro- duce myself and inform him of my visit, yielded a friendly response with encourage- ment to see what we could put together. Nothing concrete, just loose parameters to keep both of us available as all the unknowns could allow. Our first port was Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii, with Honolulu, on Oahu, the following day. “Call me from Hilo and we’ll see what the cards hold” was Randy’s invitation. Here’s how it came down.
ABOVE: Randy Spangler’s Island Cruiser, a ’50 Willys Jeepster mounted on a Chevy Blazer chassis- A great performing unit for Boulevard or Beach.
Three couples on a cruise ship make too large a load for a Willys Jeepster, so careful strategy had to happen to be sure no one felt compromised. The girls were anxious to see Waikiki Beach, and with great personal sacrifice, I crossed that off my list. The other two guys, though not car oriented, agreed to back seat status and a full load resulted. Contact with Randy was made from Hilo and plans laid down for Willys Jeepster to meet Golden Princess at the dock in Honolulu. How’s that for a welcoming committee? Heads turn when ever we put our Jeepsters on display, but this may be a first! Randy’s 1950 Jeepster is especially suited to the hustle and bustle of Oahu gridlock traffic.
As a five year old in 1944 Belgium, you can only imagine that Jean Luc’s experience with soliders, jeeps and planes left a indelible landmark upon his imagination. During his life as a successful illustrator, you can see him revisit that landmark many times over in his drawings. You can read a brief biography of Jean Luc here (click on the biography link) and view some of his amazing work.
Below is an image of Jean Luc’s 2010 Christmas Card. It features an image of him as a boy leaning up against ‘Toot Sweet”, his 1942 GPW which he still drives around the L.A. Area. Recently, Jean Luc got a taste of how few old jeeps are seen by kids these days. He was “driving my GPW the other day and some teenagers asked me if I built that “contraption” myself . . .” As he noted, “Not very encouraging but we can not blame them.”
Now ‘retired’, Jean Luc is working on a graphic novel about G.I.s, Jeeps and Piper Cubs in Paris in 1944-45. Below is an example of his drawing talent. Thanks for sharing!
If you’ve never really looked at a map of Idaho, pull one out (or, I suppose you could use Google Maps). Between where I live in Boise and Coeur D’ Alene in the North is one significant route — US 95. Look to the East of US 95 and you’ll see National Forest after National Forest. Then look about halfway between in central Idaho and, if you look close, you’ll see the town of Kamiah. That’s where a reader named Randy and his boys, Devon and Dusty, call home. And, at their doorstep are endless National Forests they can explore with their friends. It is a regular jeeptopia.
Before you get to Randy’s story, keep in mind, that each of these jeeps started as basket cases, so there is still hope for your project! Also, a big thanks to Randy for taking the time to put together detailed descriptions of their rigs. Finally, check out the last pic … I think Biscuit would fit in just fine there :-).
Randy’s Blue 1946 CJ2A: This Jeep was purchased new by my wife’s grandfather in 1946 and was used for decades on the family farm. After her grandparents passed away we were able to purchase it from the estate for $200 in 1993; it was about $199 to much considering the shape it was in.
We completely rebuilt it from the ground up with a new steel tub and repaired fenders, grill and windshield. The tub is for an M38 but was all that we could locate at the time. I did most of the body work and my brother in law painted it in our garage. The motor, transmission and transfer case were all rebuilt and 11” brakes were installed, we also installed a rollbar, stereo, CB and a back seat.
I built a spare tire/gas can carrier/cooler rack on the back and we also have both a bikini and full soft top. I run 32×11.50 tires in the summer and fall; 33×12.50 tires in the spring when running in the snow for better flotation. The low range 2 wheel drive pill has been taken out of the transfer case and lock rights have been installed in both axles. A Warn M8000 winch was installed a few years ago.
Dusty’s Green 1946 CJ2A: I (Randy) purchased this Jeep for spare parts around the year 2000. It was a total basket case with a rusted up headless motor and most of the back of the tub missing.
We decided to rebuild and modify it for my two sons to share; at the time Dusty was a sophomore in high school and Devon was in junior high. We started the project in November of 2004 and completed it for its first run on Memorial Day weekend of 2005. The 4 banger was removed and a Buick 231 V6 was put in its place, the T90, Dana 18 and stock axles were all refurbished and reinstalled as were 11” brakes.
New front and rear floorboards along with new wheel wells were welded in and we decided to take out what was left of the tailgate area and welded a flat back MB style back panel in its place. The lift is all from a spring over and we installed Saginaw power steering up front. Racing seats and harnesses along with a full rollcage were installed for safety and a rear seat was put in for passengers. A console contains a stereo and a CB is mounted to the front of it.
The tires and wheels are 35×14.50×15 TSL Boggers mounted on 15×12 Mickey Thompson wheels. I did all of the body work myself and my brother in law painted it Olive drab in our garage, a star was put on the hood just for fun. A Warn M8000 winch along with a winch mount and bumpers that we built ourselves were installed as well. The Jeep stayed pretty much this way for 5 years until after we found another Jeep for Devon that had bigger and better components than were in this one.
Once it became Dusty’s Jeep alone, he decide to box the frame and install a warmed up 350 Chevy with an sm465 transmission, Dana 20 transfer case that has been twin sticked and axles from 1975 CJ5. The axles are Dana 44 in the rear and Dana 30 in the front 3.73 gear ratios. New gears and ARB air lockers have also been installed in both ends in the past year. He currently has a set of wider Dana 44 axles to be installed some time in the future. Dusty did the entire drive train swap himself with only minor advice from me. He has since built a spare tire/gas can carrier/cooler rack for the back and plans on putting on a set of 40 inch tires after some fender trimming behind the back tires is done.
Devon’s Green 1942 MB: I purchased this Jeep off of E-bay for too much money but it already had the running gear that I was looking for which included a small block Chevy (283 not a 327 as advertised), sm420 transmission (no ceramic clutch as advertised), a twin sticked Dana 20 transfer case and Scout II axles; Dana 44 rear, Dana 30 front with 4.27 ratios.
The body was pretty rough and it had a thin skin of sheet metal installed all of the way around the tub that hid lots of holes and rust. A home built gas tank was in the back where a seat normally goes and a heavy spare tire carrier/cooler rack was mounted on the back. We started rebuilding this one on November of 2007 and had it mostly finished by Memorial Day weekend of 2008.
A warmed up 350 Chevy built to the same exact specs as Dusty’s was installed along with the refurbished running gear that came in the Jeep. All new spring hangers and reversed shackle mounts were built and welded on the outside of the frame in the front because of the wider Scout II axles, a new mount for the Saginaw power steering unit was installed and the frame rails were boxed.
The rollbar was cut apart and welded back together then installed in the correct place. The floor boards front and back were all replaced and the area between the rear fenders was increased by using narrower rear inner fender wells, as a result we were able to put in some comfortable small bucket seats. The rear fenders were opened up 2 inches and the rear axle was moved back an inch to make room for bigger tires.
Racing seats and harnesses were also installed in the front along with a stereo and CB radio. I had injured my shoulder during the winter and was dreading the thought of all of the sanding that would need to be done getting the body ready for paint when a friend of ours that owns a body shop (Orofino Body Shop) volunteered to do all of the body work and paint the Jeep as a graduation present for Devon; what a fantastic gift. We also had a star put on the hood and Devon built a rear bumper with a spare tire/gas can/cooler rack mounted on it.
A Warn M8000 winch was mounted on a winch plate and front bumper that Devon built as well. This winter he upgraded the axles to newer Scout II Dana 44’s in both ends with disc brakes in the front. We turned the front knuckles 15 degrees which gave it 6 degrees of caster and turned the back of the pumpkin up 9 degrees for a better drive line angle, new perches were welded on to get the angles correct. The axles now have 4.10 ratios with OX cable actuated lockers. He built a center console that houses the locker shifters and cutting brake handles for each rear brake. New shock mounts were welded on the axles and he built new shock hoops for the front, he added Bilstein 5150 shocks on both ends and a heavy duty tie rod and drag link set that is designed for Dana 60 axles was also installed, the tubing is 1.5 inch OD with .250 wall thickness and huge tie rod ends.
The tires and wheels are 13.50x37x15 TSL Boggers on Mickey Thompson wheels; 40 inch tires will be coming in the next year or two. All most all of the work done recently has been done by Devon, I helped him with turning the knuckles and installing the lockers but he did everything else himself.
Here are the boys Jeeps at the inlaws cabin in OroGrande which is near Elk City and Dixie as well. Every time the boys take their windshields off it rains, we got caught in a nice shower on this trip.
And, finally, this is a Jeep run with friends of ours that have cabins in the old mining town of Dixie (near Elk City) about 100 miles from Kamiah.
A few months ago William shared the story of Buttercup. Well, he now reports that he found Buttercup a new brother. He also reports, definitively, that a CJ-2A will fit into the back of a Toyota Tundra. I think Toyota ought to add that to their tv commercials.
Here is the proof:
Roberto got a change to take Altona out and play in the snow in Spain. I too got out and drove in the snow in Biscuit, but I don’t have a top … it was really cold! In fact, at one point a truck drove by me at about 40mph and launched slushy snow/water onto the hood, into the windshield and over the windshield into my lap! Fortunately, I had my snow bibs on and was dressed warm, so no damaged done …
Here’s some pics from Roberto:
With winter descending on Alaska, the time has come for Paul to direct his focus back on his beloved, shiny, stainless steel M-38. One exciting difference between this year and the previous 24 years is that he is almost done — But no pressure Paul! Click on the pic to see the original post and followups.
Last spring, Paul reported that after some investigation, he discovered a M-151 radiator would fit perfectly into his engine compartment. Recently, he took over an auto parts store (ok, maybe just a hose booklet in the store) to figure out a hose solution. With that problem solved (it took 2 different hoses and a tube to link them), he now must figure out a fan solution.
With that background, take it away Paul …..
The Fan and Shroud
Paul writes, “After talking with the folks at Spal concerning their electric fans I ordered a 13 inch puller fan with straight blades along with a fan relay/installation kit. The crazy part about this deal is when the Spal people wouldn’t sell me a fan over the phone, I would have to hang up and order on the internet and best of all I would pay over $50 dollars more for the fan and temp sensor/wiring kit than a Spal dealer in California was charging for the exact same items. For some unknown reason The Fan Man (California dealer) sells lots of these fans at quite a discount and these are brand new fans. No factory seconds, returns, or rebuilt units.
Anyway, the fan arrived last night undamaged and it looks great. Thank you Fan Man! The total fan thickness is slightly under two and a half inches and I have a little over three inches between the aft side of the radiator and the waterpump shaft. Sweet!
The shroud on the M151 radiator has a 16 inch diameter circle for the fan so I bought a ten dollar piece of thin sheet steel, cut out a 16 inch diameter circle and tack welded this piece to the shroud. After finishing with the tack welds I rough cut a 12 inch diameter slightly offset circle to allow for the correct placement of the new fan. I didn’t have a compass large enough to layout a 12 inch diameter circle so I used a stir stick for paint and drilled a pivot hole in one end and another hole 6 inches away and large enough to hold the tip of a sharpie marker. It worked slick. Tomorrow I’ll finish welding the insert to the shroud, clean up the welds and trim the inner circle for a more precise fit to the fan assembly before I attach the fan to the shroud.
Things are looking good. I really didn’t need the relay kit since I’d wired in a fan relay in the electrical box behind the passenger seat but it was cheaper to get the kit with the temp sensor and I could doublecheck the Willys wiring against the Spal wiring so I could identify any potential problems before mean old Mr. Electricity messes something up.
The Fuel Line
Today I received a 25 foot coil of copper/nickel 5/16th fuel line along with the needed fittings to attach the fuel line to the carb. This is the same tubing I used on the brake and clutch systems (just a different size) and it’s a pleasure to work with. The 3/16th tubing is flexible enough to be bent back to back 180 degree bends (with a one inch bend diameter so the tube now looks like the letter S) with no kinking, flattening or any defects at all. Jeeze, I really like working with this stuff. Check out the fedhillusa.com website, it’s amazing. This latest batch of tubing should be more than enough to do all the fuel delivery and return lines with enough left over to cover any mistakes I might make along the way.
Modifying the Skid Plates
The local metal fabrication shop cut and bent an eighth inch thick skidplate for the V6 oil pan. After drilling a one inch diameter hole for the drain plug (that’s the only size hole saw I have) I hand filed the hole to one and a half inch diameter before welding the skid plate to the pan.
I had to do a little work on the transmission/transfercase skid plate also. When I welded up the exhaust assembly I included a joint below the tranny so the right exhaust pipe could be removed without touching the left side or the rest of the exhaust system. What I forgot to figure in was the thickness of the clamp holding the exhaust pipes together at this joint so the skid plate had to be slotted to allow the clamp to protrude slightly. To prevent rock damage (like I’m going to go bashing this thing thru boulders) I welded up a small deflector from eighth inch steel and welded this to the skid plate over the slot. Just another little OOPSIE which needed to be worked around.
I received an email from Hein a few days ago regarding his CJ-3B. His email is a good reminder that if your engine lacks power, you might consider improving the electronics. Thanks for sharing!
Hein writes, “Since the rebuild last-year, I have been putting-off the replacement of the hand-brake cable. So a call to Marathon-Spares (in Australia) was way overdue! While ordering these spares I had a chat with Neil about my rough running engine, thinking I should get a new set of points and condensor as well as bushes, cap etc for the distributor.
He told me he had just replaced the motor in his MB with a Toyota 2.4, because it is used as a daily-driver and advertising for his business, so he offered me the complete Dizzy out of his motor for a mere $75! Needless to say I didn’t hesitate a moment to include that in the package as well. The interesting bit is that it is a solid-state unit requiring a Electronic-coil and the removal of the wound-wire ballast-resistor (we had to get a Auto-Electrician in to help with the wiring bit), but the result could not have been more Amazing!!!
Suddenly, it felt like I had replaced the whole motor ! The old F-head had so much more punch that it blew out the rusty spots on the muffler, so just yesterday I replaced the whole system with a slightly larger-diametre complete Stainless-Steel system, which not only further enhanced the performance but also gave the old-girl a distincly cocky snarl too. I don’t think I am exagerating if I say the combination must have increased overall output by between 30 and 5o%! Other than finding a completely new one that was preserved in a time-capsule somewhere, this must be as close to driving one straight off the dealers floor in ’53 as you can come today. I won’t even trade it for one of those brand-new Icon Replicas now, although I wouldn’t mind having one of them as a daily-driver too?”
Hein’s CJ-3B has been featured at the CJ-3B Page.
Hein, his wife and their daughter took a 16 day trip in September, 2010, into Australia’s Outback. Hein provides this report and these images of his great adventure. If you missed it, one of their more memorable encounters was with the Camel Man, which I reported a few days ago. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us Hein!
Hein writes, We had a Fantastic trip through the Outback, not totally without its “interesting” moments! We broke the trailer chassis completely on day 2, blew a tyre in the middle of the desert and had to replace that, but the Jeep ran like clockwork trough some extremely harsh terrain.
Some of the roads were so corrugated that even with soft tyres we vibrated clean off the road at 20 to 40 kmh; then there were other sections where we plowed differential-deep trough clay and mud for hundreds of kilometres at a time, but all in the name of FUN!
We covered over 7,000 km (4350 miles) in the 2 weeks, 80% off sealed roads, and camped wherever we got to each day. The average fuel-consumption was just a fraction better than my 7.5 km/L expected, with the average price of fuel about $ 1.75 /L due to transport-costs to these remote locations. It was certainly a trip to remember!
Day 1) We left Brisbane heading due-west trough some farming-country and camped on the bank of an abandoned road-quarry with looming rain-clouds Everywhere!
Day 2) It rained quite heavy during night. We had to pack-up in the rain and head out further west into ever more sparsely populated areas, encountering the first of many roads closed or severely-damaged due to flooding. As a result: the next town was already out of Fuel! The last 100 km of Adventure-Way into Innamincka was barely passable even in 4wd. We passed a few abandoned trucks already stuck axle-deep, pummeled by constant rain.
The light was fading and we had no idea where or if we are going to reach somewhere to sleep. Needless to say, the family was extremely Anxious and Scared! Well after dark we continued travelling, the road now an Absolute Quagmire that the Jeep can barely crawl trough in 2nd/3rd gear.
As we approached about the hundredth floodway (normally dry , now a Raging-River), this one more churned up than most by some previously-stuck truck, I had to really nurse and cajole the jeep to get trough. Slip, slide, bounce, repeat was the process until we barely make it up the opposite bank.
However, there was a casualty, the trailer now sat at a Very Disturbing angle. I launched myself out with the camera and ratchet-strap into the pouring rain and ankle-deep mud, with daughter crying and wife not looking too happy either. Fortunately, my wife is a farm-girl and trusted that I would make a plan. A few minutes later I had the trailer strapped together and we limped into town after another half-hour, and one last river-crossing, straight into the Hotel!
Day 3) With the trailer needing repair, I had to unload everything and find Kbong, a local Trucky with the only workshop in town. After moving the family to a camp in the National Park across the river, I would spend the rest of the day cutting out the remains of the rusted and broken frame. Then in the afternoon, I built a much-sturdier new, vastly-improved little red-trailer, from the only length of 2 1/2″ Square-tubing in town. Then, I got to immediately test it by crossing the now flooding river to meet up with the family at the National Park!
It was 25 years ago this winter … ouch .. has it really been that long ago … that I decided to join a small group on a bicycle journey of the South Island of New Zealand. I was only 20, the youngest member of a troupe that ranged from little ol’ me all the way up to a couple who was 55 (and an adorable, long married, in-love couple they were). Over a period of 3 weeks we hiked, biked, helicoptered, jet-boated, trained, vanned, laughed, talked and drank (well, some of us more than others) our way around the south island of New Zealand. For a pretty sheltered kid of 20, it was an eye opening experience.
I certainly can’t forget New Years Night, 1985, in the tourist town of Queensland, where many people around my age gathered in the town square. Everyone wandering around, hugging, kissing and meeting people from all over the world. For a dorky geek like me, it was a temporary slice of heaven as I got to mack with some good looking women. One beautiful young woman from Vancouver and I got along particularly well and …. ahem … back to our story ….
When the 3 week trip in New Zealand was over, and we were all stuffed with Ice Cream (best on the planet — but their cones sucked!), meat pies (these were soooo good), and stories, most of us adventurers returned home; however, the two ‘guides’ who organized the trip spent the next month or two wandering the Australian Outback in a vehicle they bought in Australia. Several months later, one of the two guides, Brock, tracked me down in the San Juan Islands (I was working up there as a chef). He told me that some day I HAD to go to the outback of Australia and see the stars. He told me that the Outback was truly a unique experience and though we had seen many many stars in New Zealand (very little light pollution there), going to the Outback was even better.
To date, I haven’t made it back to New Zealand nor have I made it to Australia. I haven’t even broken the southern hemisphere since that trip. However, since then I’ve always lusted for Australia.
So, it was with great interest that I have cultivated a new friend from Australia named Hein who recently stumbled upon eWillys. Hein is originally from South Africa and has lived, worked and traveled over much of Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia. Recently, he took a 3 week jeep vacation into the Outback with his wife and daughter and took some photos for us (well, probably for themselves, too 🙂 ). I’ll be publishing the story of the trip in his jeep in the next couple days. In the meantime, one the interesting side stories of the trip involved meeting the Camel Man.
The Camel Man
Hein writes, “I would have loved to spend more time with the Real Camel-man, but it was too early in the day and we were going in opposite directions. Apparently he worked in the mines, oil and gas industry for many years, of which there is plenty out there believe it or not, and just got fed-up with the constant rat-race after money. That old fellow has been doing circuits of the desert for more than a decade with that contraption, at 20 km a day and no towns for up to 800 km in some stretches, can you imagine that life?
I suspect the little van might have had a motor in it initially. When that gave up the ghost he just reverted to a more reliable source of motivation. In parting I actually told him that I might just come and join him in another decade perhaps? I am sure he has a few choice stories to tell and I could really enjoy listening to them while the camels plodded along or over a few camp-fires.”
Based on Hein’s description, I managed to find a couple blog websites which record other run-ins with the Camel Man. They noted he wore a special mosquito mask to keep the flies off and he also had one for his dog, though Hein never mentions seeing the dog. So, on your next trek through the Outback, keep your eyes pealed for this one-of-a-kind traveler. Thanks Hein!
Here’s Hein’s photo:
This photo is from Rod Thomas’s blog:
This image is from Flemming Bo Jensen’s blog:
Buttercup has come home again. Here is the story as told by Buttercup’s current steward.
William writes, “I would like to introduce you to “BUTTERCUP” a 1946 CJ2A. My father “Skip” Taylor bought her in 1973 for $150.00 and brought her out to our family house on Clarks Island in Plymouth Mass.
Out there he put plywood floors in, added yellow paint(out of a can) and named her Buttercup after a cow that was once on the property. For 20 years she was our tractor and stuff hauler. I learned to drive her when I was 10. Sometime in the 80’s Skip added the wire wheels and had a trailer built. By 1990 it was decided that she was getting tired and was replaced by a John Deer tractor.
After a while she was sold to a gentleman with the agreement that my father would get “right of first refusal” if she was ever put up for sale. Well, 3 winters ago that man kept his word and sold Buttercup (painted red) back to us with new floors and a rebuilt original motor.
She is now back on the island, going back together once again. She has new brakes, a tune up, the wire wheels(off a 35 ford) and her bright yellow paint (out of a can). Buttercup is running great and driving the property cleaning up branches and taking the kids out for rides. She is a part of our family and hope to keep her going for another sixty years.”
I asked William about the wire wheels and he said his father had the centers of some jeep rims cut out and welded into the 35 ford rims. Not road safe but good for an island.
Here are some pics of Buttercup. Thanks for sharing William!
UPDATE: Was $4000. **SOLD**
(08/21/2010) Last night I spotted this Truck for sale. The seller, Brian, doesn’t provide much detail, however he does provide a link to stories about his Truck. And let me tell you, they had me laughing (in that kind of Oh SHIT manner). For example, two stories involved failed brakes in precarious spots. Oh, and throw in a 15ft drop over a rock face and, well, you get the picture. Visit Brian’s Willys Blog.
“Back in the Spring of 1976 I bought my 1960 Willys Jeep pickup. It’s been at the center of many fine adventures, including driving it to Seattle from Bozeman in 1980. Recently, though, it’s pretty much been relegated to my garage and I think it’s time find someone who can care for the old guy the way he deserves. You really need to see this truck to to fully appreciate this virtually all original vehicle. If you’re interested in some of the adventures see my blog at http://geezergleanings.blogspot.com/ I’ll be around most of this weekend. If you want to check it out let me know.”
I hadn’t heard from Sebastian for several months, so it was a nice surprise to get an email from him. It turns out he just returned from a trip to his native country of Colombia.
Among his exploits on vacation was a 2 day trip in a CJ-3A with his dad that took them from Medellin to Bogota, covering nearly 400 km (about 250 miles) with elevations varying between 1300 ft to 8500 ft.
Sebastian provides images from his trip as the Flat Fender Club of Butler’s website. I’ve linked to a couple below. I’m hoping to sneak into his luggage on his next trip to Colombia — it’s a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing Sebastian!
A reader named Bob was vacationing in Thailand when he spotted this pair of nicely restored MBs (one is a slat grille). An intrepid reporter, Bob captured the jeeps on video (download the video here — 11MB) which shows closeups of both jeeps and with a still image (seen below). He also talked briefly with the owner, Pete, who has two blotspot websites devoted to his Jeeps (the 1941 slat grille MB & the 1944 MB & Video of both Jeeps by Pete). Thanks for sharing Bob!
Bob filed this report, “I just came across these MB’s on the side of the road, as I was touring the island on a motorbike. I’m sorry I don’t have much info about Pete. I met him in the small bar across the street ( see in video with balloons across the front ) and we talked a little about the Jeeps. Pete emigrated to Thailand from the UK. He’s a really nice guy with a Thai wife and some kids. He claims you cannot import any of these Jeeps to Thailand anymore. I’m not sure if it is because of the Left Hand Drive or not. He said they are very valuable there too – worth over 1,000,000 Baht each ($31000 USD).”
A trip to the local Military show turned out to be just what Paul needed. BTW Paul, you don’t owe us anything. You are putting on a show for us up there in “The Last Frontier (which is the official state nickname)”. No doubt there’s a few readers who might benefit from this mod.
Paul, take it away! “This past weekend the local military vehicle collectors had a show at a car dealership near my house for the general public and it was free so I went. Before leaving the house I grabbed my camera and a steel tape just incase I ran across a shining gem of a radiator nestled among the antique olive drab metal. In addition to the WWII Willys and Ford Jeeps on display, the Dodge command cars, M 38’s and M 38 A1’s there were a couple of M 151’s and one of them had it’s hood up. Naturally I began checking out the radiator, first by eye and then measuring the height, width and thickness and ending up on my back under this Mutt where I noticed the radiator was a bottom mount. Most interesting!
The original M 38 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 21 1/4 inches wide by 19 inches high and 5 inches thick. These dimensions are overall and they include the radiator cap. The core dimensions are 13 inches high by 20 inches wide and 3 inches thick.
The M 151 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 20 1/2 inches wide by 19 inches high and about 4 inches thick (I didn’t measure the metal shroud so I’m guessing here) and once again these measurements are overall. The core is 13 1/2 inches high by 19 1/4 inches wide by 2 inches thick.
Both radiators have a drivers side inlet (top) and a passenger side outlet (bottom).
Gentlemen, we have a winner !!!!!!
For the past 55 years E. A. Patson Parts and Equipment has been dealing in new and used surplus military vehicles and parts here in Anchorage but Elmer Patson is 86 years old (his son, Rod, is only 63 but he’s been working at the business since he was 12) and would like to retire so everything’s for sale. I asked about M 151 radiators and they have both new and used radiators. I was able to borrow a used radiator so I could do a bit of metal massaging and fabricate a lower mount and the top brace rod and when the snow melts some and they can get into one of their outbuildings where the new radiators are stored I’ll buy one of those. For now this used radiator will allow me to continue my progress with the Willys resurrection until the end of March when I’ll officially declare the winter to be over and it will be time to do outside (summer) projects.
Thanks again to all the Willys fans for their much appreciated suggestions, ideas and help. I look forward to the day when I can return the favor, but until then I owe you. “
Paul continues to make progress on his Stainless M-38. However, he recently ran into a problem getting the radiator he needs.
He needs some ideas or suggestions.
I’ll let him explain:
Paul writes, “I’ve run into a bit of a problem with my perpetual Willys project and I need information and ideas. I ordered a brand, spanking new radiator from KaiserWillys for the Buick odd fire engine I installed in my M38 thinking this was the best way to prevent overheating and additional problems down the road. Boy, was I wrong!
The KaiserWillys catalog lists the Buick 225 radiator as being 17 inches high, 21 and 7/8 inches wide and 1 and 1/2 inches thick which is just about the perfect size for the space available under the hood. Just to make sure I checked their online site and discovered a cautionary note mentioning this radiator could be either 17 inches or 22 inches wide and I was to let them know which width I needed. To avoid any misunderstandings I called KaiserWillys and, after confirming the 17″h X 21 7/8″ w X 1 1/2” t, I placed an order for a radiator. I even called back after I ordered it just to confirm the dimensions. As I mentioned in a previous email I was told the radiator wouldn’t be done until the end of Feb. (I ordered the radiator the 15th of Feb.) and I was very surprised and pleased when the UPS guy delivered the radiator the afternoon of Feb. 19th. The next day I carefully removed the radiator from the box and placed it into position. Not only didn’t the radiator fit but the radiator cap was about 5 inches above the level of the hood. Not good at all.
How’d they mess that up?
The radiator was 21″ high, not the needed 17″ so I called KaiserWillys again and it turns out the dimensions listed in their catalog, the dimensions listed on their web site and the dimensions they gave me over the phone are all wrong. Not only did the radiator have to be sent back but Mike told me they won’t deal with radiators for the Buick 225 engine and he was sorry but he knows of no source for this radiator. I’m not trying to pin the blame on anyone, I just want to find a this radiator which will fit my Jeep and allow me to attach an electric fan on the engine side without hitting the waterpump pulley.
My questions to you are
1. do you know the original size of the CJ5 radiator with the Buick V6 and did the Jeepster (Commando actually I guess) use the same size radiator?
2. Do you know where I might be able to purchase a used radiator (new would be better but I don’t think that will happen) even if it needs to be recored?
I realize I could notch the front crossmember and move the radiator forward (after trimming the shroud) but I’ll save this as a last resort. The chances of me finding an original V6 powered Jeep here in the Great White North are pretty slim but I’m going to look anyway.”
My ideas
I told Paul that I ran a Pinto radiator with a buick 225 in my first Jeep. I’ve also found some new radiators for sale for various 1980s buick cars. Here’s what I wrote Paul, “I found some other options using thefind.com. I searched for ‘buick v6 radiators’. Here’s a radiator for a buick regal that is $89. It is an aluminum 20-3/4 x 16-7/8 x 1-1/4, 1 ROW (and I’m assuming that is 20-3/4 wide, which isn’t safe to assume as you well know). http://www.shepherdautoparts.com/autoparts/all_aluminum_radiator/buick/regal/w5HDm8OWw5TDl8K7w5rDksORw5HCosKi.htm.”
Anyone else have ideas?
While you think about it, you can marvel at more of Paul’s handiwork – A table made with stainless legs and Ancient Kauri wood, along with a wall hanging from the same wood. About it he writes, “Naturally the table legs are fabricated from stainless in a truss pattern. Each leg is made up of 30 individual parts (not counting the attaching hardware) and by the time I was all done fitting and filing these parts I’d spent 78 hours just making the legs. The wood took many more hours because ultrafine sanding is necessary to get the best grain activity> After sanding the wood to 1500 grit I applied numerous coats of clear marine varnish (Interlux 95), wet sanded the varnish to 3000 grit and then finished it off by hand polishing the varnish.”
Sometimes you have the luxury of 25 years to work on your M-38. Other times, you only have the weekend. Jim and his brothers show how much work can be done in only a weekend — and what a difference another body can make.
You can read all about this weekend adventure on Jim’s brother’s blog: By the Numbers. It’s a funny bit of writing, including the addition of aliases to protect the innocent from thesungoddess perhaps? :-). You can also catch Jim on his blog, Bus-Plunge (he’s got a cool bus & hat). Finally, you can see all three brothers at the bottom of this list of Jeeps, courtesy of the jeepjunkie himself.
Here’s the before — a very cheaply purchased, rolling pile of rust:
And an after shot — all the body parts changed in another low budget purchase of parts … all except for the driver’s side fender. I’d say that’s a 1000 percent improvement. Not bad for a weekend.
I’m sure the February temperatures that have blown into this month Boise are the ones that are rippling across the US. Jim shared with us the effects of storms at his place, along with a note that it dropped to -15 last night …. brrrrr. Jim, I’m assuming you’ve put that new/old snow plow you got to work?
Jim wrote, “Not a single bit of anything on the ground 2 days ago, then we got slammed! Its gonna be a white Christmas around here for sure!”
Dexter wrote me recently about how a 2003 experience made him want to purchase an old military jeep. The jeep shown below was one Dexter happened across in the Phillipines and is an interesting mix of different jeep parts.
“My name is Dexter Abellera, and I’m emailing your from Lodi, CA, about 30 minutes south of Sacramento. I came across your eWillys site, and I must say, I’ve been on it everyday for the past week!
I’m 33 years old. I was born in the Philippines, and migrated to Cali when I was 9. My dad was a Captain in the Philippine military back in the 70s and 80s, and I remember him driving us around in a Government-Issued Toyota Mini Landcruiser. Sure it wasn’t a real Jeep, but I just fell in loved with the open-top, go-anywhere driving.
When I was 18, I bought a new 1995 Jeep Wrangler. Loved it. Unfortunately, I was forced to sell it back in 2005 because my wife and I needed down payment to buy a home. I miss that damn thing a lot!
In 2003, I went on vacation in the Philippines–first time in years. My grandpa passed away four months later, and my dad finally told me some war stories of how my grandpa was one of the soldiers that walked the infamous Bataan Death March back in WWII. He also served time during the Korean War.
During my vacation, I came across this vintage WWII Willys [pics below] along the side of the road in Manila. I’m sure you better than anyone can tell what is original and what isn’t. Anyway, seeing the Jeep lit a fire within me to buy an old MB, GPW or M-38A1 . . . I guess in way to remember my grandpa as well my country’s involvement in the war. Who knows, he probably rode in one of these! 🙂
That’s me on the driver’s seat. 🙂 The owner is the old man with the green top.”
