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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 .
This is a 1950 CJ-3A body grafted to a 2010 Ford Ranger.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/238527360590791/
“1950 Willys Jeep body cut and modified to fit the frame and motor of a 2010 Ford Ranger. It has the motor and tires from the Ranger, 28,000 miles on it”
A few items I found on my phone. I think all these photos were on Facebook?
Some thought when into the mods on this jeep:
This sedan jeep is odd even for custom hardtop jeeps.
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was $25,000.
I don’t see any of the APU equipment left, so while it’s a rare jeep, it’s also no longer an APU jeep. I don’t see anyone paying the asking price for it. That said, it’s got some interesting mods, including a custom lengthened rear cargo area, a custom spare tire well and holder, what appears to be the Hudson steering mod, and a custom modified top (shortened CJ-6 top perhaps). This also utilizes doors from a late model CJ-5 hardtop by Kelly. The rear portion may even be a modified Kelly CJ-6 top.
“Up for sale is a CJ3A Willys APU Jeep .
This APU Jeep was built for the military Navy and Air Force to start jets by the Valentine Welding Co. they made a total of 75, this is one of two know to still exist, and the only one with a windshield and top .
The newer F head engines were placed in and a custom hood made by the manufacturer
Asking 25k”
UPDATE: Originally posted to Flickr in 2012 (https://www.flickr.com/…/71473…/in/set-72157629836314396 )
According to the photographer:
This was taken in Durkee, Oregon – about 1 block from the Durkee, Post Office. (I am not sure if the Post Office is still open). You can actually see this vehicle in Google Street View if you look in the field at the southeast portion of the intersection of Old US Highway 30 and Oxman Ranch Road in Durkee. ….
Link to Google (you can see all sides of it pretty well): https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5810948,-117.4643278,3a,75y,91.3h,96.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syRerHg5QL0Xrk9L1y8brfg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
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Originally posted in 2014:
Doug sent this beautiful photo of a Jeep Rambler hybrid he spotted on Flickr. One commenter called it a Jambler. All-in-all, this combo could have looked a lot worse! Note the builder even stenciled ‘JEEP’ onto the back tailgate.
The photo was taken by ‘Old White Truck’. There are some beautiful photos and some humorous captions on his Flickr photostream.
This press photo and caption was posted to Facebook.
“THIS IS A “TWEEP”
MAJURO– This combination truck and jeep was constructed by Seabees fo materials salvaged from six abandoned jeeps. With a wheelbase one-half times longer than the standard jeep, the “Tweep” accommodates eight person and gear, carries gas in its fenders. Red Cross Field Director Robert De Lawny, Spring Lane, Ithaca, NY , Stands by the Vehicle.
CREDIT (Red Cross PHOTO FROM ACME) 11-20-45″
UPDATE: Price dropped to $2000.
(01/20/2020) Runs and plows.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1043158436040498/
“1974 Jeep CJ5 rebuilt straight 6 cylinder 4×4 new aluminum radiator runs good 7.5 ft Meyers plow electric over hydraulic will push snow all day long no title”
UPDATE: Still Available.
(11/01/2019) Here’s an odd one.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/541451926430647/
“Clone willys truck/flatbed. Runs drives stops, needs seats. No rot that I see, bought off a coworker who’s moving to Florida. Was going to put axles and tires and make a woods rig, but too many projects to dedicate time on it. Has plow set up but no blade. Open to offers and trades”
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was $2500.
(02/11/2019) “You may have a cool jeep but you dont have one made into a bar. The only bar ever made from an original 1945 Willys jeep. Great for a patio bar or man cave. seats eight comfortably. Jeep is pretty small compared to newer version. The interior is wrapped in stainless steel for outside commercial food service. Can fit coolers under the dash
and propane grill in back area. Seats 8 or 12 standing. the stainless speed rail is located at the passenger side opening. rolls easily Call 517-599-178six. The only bar made from an original WWII era Jeep.”
Thanks to Kelso Bob for sharing this unusual creation. I am curious about how the builder went about the Chassis’ ‘Bomb protection’ strategy. It’s not clear if the $40k is a real price or just a place holder.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/558752301516432/
“EXCEPTING OFFERS… This 1974 JEEP AMC was the brainchild of a very creative man. (( Firstly You won’t find another one like this on the planet. Just being honest )).
SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY ( COMBAT OR PREPER READY! )
(FIRSTLY) This is the only jeep on the road like this, I repeat the only jeep on the road like this. There is not another on this entire planet, IT WAS BUILT FROM 3 JEEPS, created not purchased. – SHALOW WATER AMPHIBIOUS – RIGHT HAND SIDE DRIVE – SEATS 6 PASSENGERS! – *** SIT ON THE ROOF, GRAB A BEER AND WATCH THE STARS IN THR DESERT *** – Clean title – MUCH BIGGER IN PERSON! SITS 7ft HIGH – Gun racks – Knife Locations – 4WD – 2WD SWITCH – 360 CUBIC “ (5900cc) V8 – 3speed AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION – TVs – GPS – HIGH MOUNTED EXHAUST FOR SHALLOW WATER MOVEMENT – “FULLY ENFORCED CHASIS FOR BOMB PROTECTION” OVER 100k went into creating this jeep.”
The engine fires on this creation. Looks like a 3B hood on a CJ-5 grille with a CJ-2A windshield?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/744581559343462/
“1943 Willy needs restoration or great a toy..does fire up..cranked it a few weeks ago..”
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was $2700. This was previously listed in Irvine.
(09/16/2019) From the pics, it looks like there was some good work done on this.
“Very cool Willy’s Jeep all original drivetrain does not run. It looks like the cowl and windshield were grafted from a Willy’s wagon, and the steel cab is all one piece. Probably not a prototype vehicle or a relative to the CJ4, but a cool “missing link” CJ2a built with awesome craftsmanship 40+ years ago. Possibly a non-US made Jeep wagonette. Suicide doors latch. Great patina. This will be the coolest Jeep at Easter Jeep safari.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $4800.
Ken shared this cool custom utility wagon.
“Custom Willies with manually operated snow plow, dump bed, hydraulic boom lift. Chevy 283 V8 engine. Ready to plow. Cash.”
This is an unusual project. Maybe it’s a swamp rig?
https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/d/fort-lauderdale-jeep-willys-1953/6968641698.html
“I HAVE A 1953 JEEP WILLYS READY TO WORK OR PROJECT HAVE NO TIME TO DO THE PROJECT WITH IT AND I HAVE THE SHAFT NO TIME TO PUT IT ON
BUT YOU HAVE TO SEE IT IF YOU KNOW ABOUT JEEP WILLYS
ENGINE CLEAN AND START ONE TURN TRANSMISSION PERFECT 3 SPEED GOOD TIRES
4 CYLINDERS”
UPDATE: Price dropped to $7500.
If you are looking for something different, this might fit the bill. It’s a custom body on a 1962 wagon chassis.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/383433208981693/
“1962 willys station wagon frame. handmade body 225 dauntless oddfire rebuilt engine 4 wheel drive with hubs, 3 speed with warn overdrive front disk brakes everything new or rebuilt runs down the road fine or would be a great storefront addition open to offers”
UPDATE: David Crawford reports that his father built 36 different Empi’s that ended up all over the western US. In the comments below, he wrote,
“My dad, Bill Crawford, of Tuolumne, CA, “sparkplugged” the build, on those 2’VW based cars. He bought a set of plans for the EMPI Sportster, and made a whole bunch of mods. He planned to build one article, and 20 years later, there were @ 36 of them built, and running around.
Three of them went to South Dakota. A friend in the Phoenix area, over the years, took 3 of the cars from Norcal, and sold them in the Phoenix area.
Most of the cars were built in his home shop, and about 10 of the cars were assembled by students in a high school auto shop survey class that he taught. There are still several of them floating around Norcal.
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Original Post June 2012:
The Empi Dune Buggy was an early metal kit for VWs. There were several styles. According to tunacan.net, “The EMPI Sportster was a sheet metal buggy built on a modified VW Beetle floorpan. It was available in a two passenger model or a four passenger model. All Sportsters featured a “Deluxe Folding Windshield” and were constructed of 20-, 18-, and 12- guage steel.”
Jim, who pics are shown below, wrote:
“We got the Empi running and driving the night before the Durango car show. I washed, scrubbed and entered this quality piece of early 1960s dune buggy Americana and am shocked that I didn’t win a trophy! Crazy huh? All sarcasm aside, little kids loved it, old men remembered it from “back in the day”, rat rod guys thought it cool, I was really surprised at how much attention and photos it created. Still though, no trophy? People just don’t appreciate a good old fashioned, fugly, all metal dune buggy these days, sigh…”
Jim notes that he strategically positioned himself near the only flat fenders at the show. You can see some of his older flatties here.
Nelson’s Empi Dune Buggy
UPDATE: SOLD. Was $750.
This is a unique item that Roger Martin spotted. If you are a CJ-5 collector, you probably don’t own a CJ-5 chassis sporting an original Frank Zamboni-created Model FH!
“This is a 1959 FH model zamboni built by Frank Zamboni himself. The serial number is FH197 less than 20 of these were ever built. It is the high capacity model designed for outdoor ice rinks. It needs a complete restoration it’s built on a Jeep cj5 frame and Jeep 4cyl concerted to propane. It was running and being used in Lake Placid up until about 6 years ago when a new machine was purchased. At that time this one started to be stripped down to restore bc it’s such a fascinating piece of history, but have run out of time to put into it. I am going to put the listing up for 7 days no reasonable offer will be refused”
Mike spotted this odd combination of parts. It’s a fiberglass CJ-5 replica body on a 1966 VW Chassis powered by a 16hp Kohler air cooled engine. Starting bid is $6000.
View all the information on eBay
1946 jeep willys on A 1966 Volkswagen Sedan Chassis. Turn key, powered by a 16 hp Koehler air cooled engine, RWD . New York State street legal Top speed is 40-50 mph Sold frame with no rust. Stored in a climate controlled pole barn. This Jeep has drum brakes, 15’ tires, like new, 4 speed clutch less Volkswagen transmission. Fiberglass Jeep shell, collapsable front windshield. Front hood opens for storage This Jeep is perfect for a beach house, campsite or campgrounds. Sold as is and buyer is responsible for shipping or pick up .”
This Canadian jeep has some unusual modifications. The image was featured at https://captainstevens.com/military/mv/mvmarkings/, which takes a look at Canadian Military Vehicle marketings.
Photo Credit: http://Captainstevens.com W-LU GOC_4th Canadian Armoured Division (Canadian Army PA211629_jpeg) This appears to the the same jeep as in the colour photo above, just after it was customized for the General Officer Commanding 4 Canadian Armoured Division. They added roof, doors, flag staff and light and extension on rear of vehicle. It is carrying at least one wireless set.
It’s believed that this is the front of the above jeep. As you can see, a rounded topper has been added to the windshield. It appears to be a nice bit of work. The windshield has also been converted into a vertical windshield.
Photo Credit: Major-General Worthington in the 4th Armoured Division GOC’s jeep Late 1943 or January 1944 L&AC
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Thanks to Roger Martin for sharing this unusual vehicle. The buy-it-now price on this highly modified GPW/truck is $14,995. I’m not clear how the seller arrived at the price, but the vehicle itself is a whimsical item that seems to need some work.
“This is a very special vehicle I found a few months ago that came from a ranch in eastern Montana. Perhaps some handy rancher wanted a Jeep pickup before Jeep ever offered one. Perhaps he could not afford or justify the cost of one and decided to build one from a WW II Jeep, an extra WW II Jeep frame, an early Dodge pickup cab and the front of an as of yet unknown early steel pickup box.
This truck appears to have a chassis made out of a pair of WW II Jeep chassis that were cut off and butt welded together in the center to make a chassis that has a wheelbase just over 2 feet longer at 105-1/2”. That is 25-1/2″ longer than the stock WW II Jeep chassis that has an 80″ wheelbase. Someone then added a cab from a 1933 to early 1935 Dodge pickup or 1-1/2 ton truck so they would have some weather protection from the sometimes wild weather here in Montana.
What really impressed me about this truck the moment I first saw it is the amount of work some reasonably skilled craftsman went to to build a 4 wheel drive pickup out a tiny WW II Jeep. I have seen literally hundreds of WW II and later Jeeps in my life so far that have had cabs added to the original Jeep body but I have never seen one that had a pickup or truck cab installed on it like this truck has. Add to that the fact that the cab on this truck has the very attrractive backward opening “suicide” doors from the early 1930’s and one has a very special vehicle.
Not only was a completely different cab installed on this “stretched” Jeep chassis, but that cab was subjected to some very interesting modifications. The most obvious modification is the very special rounded cowl that adapted the cowl of the Dodge cab to the back of the flat Jeep cowl right bvehind the Jeep hood. I am very sure that that cowl adapter was not hand formed but I have not yet figured out what that specially formed piece of sheet metal may have been used on originally.
Please also notice the very significant fact that the as of yet unknown Jeep builder adapted a “V” windshield to the front of the Dodge cab that originally came with a flat whidshield. I have yet to figure out what vehicle that “V” windshield originally came in. Please help me here if you possibly can. Another modification to the Dodge truck cab would be the fact that it has a steel insert in the top of the roof rather than the original fabric roof that it came with when new. I have seen hundreds of Model A Ford and other similar vehicles from the 20’s and 30’s that had similar steel roofs installed when the original fabrick roofs went bad.
Continue reading
UPDATE: Price now $10,000 (and old pics back up). This was for sale back in 2015 You can see a very similar 1966 CJ-5 posted at Cherrybronco.com.
“Custom 1960 Willy’s Jeep. One of a Kind. Will Consider trades of equal value.”
Current Pics:
UPDATE: Back in 2012 I ran across a pic of this CJ-5 on Flickr (1st one shown below). Now, thanks to rob, we have a series of photos of this North Carolina CJ-5, custom built by the owner. Sure looks handy!
UPDATE 3: There are some broken links, so I’ll need to spend some time and clean up this post.
UPDATE 2: Daniel Strohl over at Hemmings provided a solid background update about Wally Cohn.
“Born in 1924 in Germany, his father and stepmother sent him to the Chicago area in 1937 both to live with family and to escape the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in Germany. After Kristallnacht, his older brother Herman, his father Siegfried, and his stepmother joined him in Chicago. Walter flew 30 missions for the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier during the war, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star and rising at least to the rank of Sergeant. After the war, he served as a member of the chief justice’s staff during the war crimes trials in Nuremberg, then returned to the United States and founded W&W Foreign Auto Parts in Blue Island, Illinois.”
UPDATE: A reader named Clint just determined what type of vehicle Wally was using — A 1936-1940 Opel Olympia. Here are two links to images: Link 1 & Link 2. Thanks Clint!
ORIGINAL POST published in 2010: I ran across the images shown below and others. I didn’t think much of them until I looked more closely. It appears the builder, who I assume is Wally Cohn, has merged a 1936-1940 Opel Olympia with a MB to create, arguably, the first Jeepster-like vehicle, except it is four wheel drive. The ‘Wally’ appears to use the entire jeep drive train. If you look in back, you’ll even see this car can tow a trailer!
Who is Wally Cohn? I have no idea. I can’t seem to find anything about him, other than his name was Wally Cohn and he was nicknamed the Jeep King by photographer Walter Sanders.
Photographer Walter (Wally) Sanders worked for Life Magazine from 1944 to 1961. After growing up and leaving Germany for the US in 1937, he returned in early 1946 and lived the rest of his life in Europe, mostly in Munich. You can learn more about his biography here.
Because Walter was in Europe during December of 1946, and because these photos were snapped during that month, and because of Wally’s uniform (which Bob noted is an Army Airforce Uniform), I have concluded that Wally Cohn was a member of the armed services trying to merge cars and jeeps into a Wally vehicle of some kind (note the name Wally is displayed prominently on the dash in one of the pics).
This would be a great collector’s item — and a cool jeep too!
UPDATE: This is the original patent for the Jeep-a-Loader! The application was first filed on February 07, 1955, by the Minneapolis Freeman Mfg, Co. (Out of Minneapolis??). I am guessing that the Jeep-A-Loader Corporation was a subsidiary or offshoot from the above parent company. The drawing shows that the Jeep-A-Loader was designed to fit over a CJ-3B (perhaps a CJ-5 as well), though the only one I’ve seen documented is fitted on a CJ-3A.
The filing date likely means this was manufactured around 1955, plus or minus a year. The patent was granted February 11, 1958.
This photo is from 2009:
From June 2008: A reader named Ed sent me some pics of a rare find he just purchased: A front end loader for a jeep from a manufacturer called Jeep-a-Loader. The serial number is 1001. The hydraulics system is powered by a Hy-lo hydraulic pump, which has been used to power other Willys devices. You can see an example of a Hy-lo pump here and here. Here are some pics below.
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was on ebay
(last listed on ebay in Jan 2015) “This is a custom, one-off Willy’s Jeep. It was made for Henry Kaiser, when he retired to Hawaii and became involved in tourism and land development. He had the custom pink long-wheelbase Willys wagon built for exploring the island. Kaiser’s wife loved pink and all of his construction equipment was painted pink, so that seems to be where the pink color for the Jeep came from. This can all be seen on the following web page, along with a photo (which is the black and white photo provided in the photos of the vehicle) of the Jeep in Hawaii : http://cj3b.info/Siblings/SurreyHawaii.html
We also have documentation from the Kaiser Jeep Corporation stating that this Jeep is an authentic one of a kind Jeep. Please only serious inquiries only and please do not try to convince us that we are wrong about it being a one of a kind, this is most definitely not a railroad Jeep. We know what we have and are willing to answer questions of those with serious inquiries about this vehicle.”
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The seller claims to have documentation to prove that this is the only four door limo-like wagon made. to Willys Country this wagon was once used as a limo for an airport. Whether there was only one built or remains an undocumented issue at this point. Is the wagon above the same one that’s in the photo below? Hard to say for sure.
I’m not sure what this is or was.
https://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/d/hoquiam-willies-jeep-1950/6806355235.html
“1950 Willie’s Jeep serious inquiry only $2000 firm”
