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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 .
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1650.
(10/16/09) It runs, but has a clutch problem.
“
Complete. Has all components. Great project for the jeep enthusiast. Engine runs like a clock. Smooth and quiet. Seems to have a clutch problem. Call (do not email) Jerry for details.”
It’s been two years since I launched eWillys. The growth during the first year was modest, though not unexpected, since I didn’t have much content and I never advertised the site. Below is what the site looked like originally. Clearly it’s matured.
Growth in 2009
In 2009, traffic grew dramatically, increasing monthly from March through December. The number of visits per month increased 437% over a 12 month period, reaching almost 70,000 visitors in December. The number of Monthly Page Views jumped even more, growing 610% for a maximum of 338,000 page views in December.
I suspect the growth reflects increasing referrals from readers, better google results, and successful purchases and sales. This has lead to more readers contributing their stories. And, unlike the one complaint I had the first year, I had no complaints this year, which amazes me. I must have pissed off at least one person? Maybe I’m not doing something right? LOL.
Finally, the installation of some advertising has created just enough income to cover the hosting costs of the site for the past two years and the cost for the upcoming year. And, especially in regard to the ebay content, the advertising is perfectly relevant to the site, so it’s a win-win for ebay, me and you.
International Participation
This year readership expanded beyond the US & Canada with readers contacting me from Germany, Columbia, Italy, Phillipines, Switzerland, India, Costa Rica, Israel, the UK and more. We even got some pics from Afghanistan by US troops, demonstrating that the United States armed forces (probably unknowingly) are backing the eWillys effort.
Readers can now choose from over 5000 posts & pages to view and probably close to 10,000 images (I don’t have a good way to measure this). I’ve done my best to categorize the posts and pages in ways that provide unique ways to view, learn and enjoy the content. The eWillys main folder on my computer (which houses the entirety of the photos, movies, etc) has grown to 4.5 GB — reminder to self, back up computer!!
The Platform
During 2009, the folks at WordPress did a fabulous job of updating a stable, dependable platform capable of serving the large amount of content you see daily. They continue to provide significant updates to the platform (in fact, I have to make a major update soon), which has allowed me to easily organize data and provide new types of services at zero cost to me or you — that’s a price I can handle.
Despite all the improvements, there are still somethings I’d like to ad, especially in the content department. So, there’s plenty of work left to do over the coming year.
The Future
Today, January 1, is on target to be the busiest traffic day ever. That’s a great way to start the year. I expect to continue meeting the same level of service, tracking the sales/purchases of jeeps, and providing the types of stories I hope you find interesting.
In addition, this year I hope to move more offline with eWillys. For example, I’m investigating the possibility, with Randy’s prodding, of launching a magazine that covers old Willys. However, instead of being about Willys directly, it would be about the people who own, like, dream or have caught the Willys sickness and their similar interests. I’m still investigating, so my final decision has not been made. But, my next step is to mockup an issue, which I have the software to build, and see if I can create what I want.
My second project for the year is to raise the seed capital I need to begin work on my Willys Exploratorium project. This would include creating a 501c3 foundation and an LLC.
So, thanks to everyone for their interest in this Quixotic Project. I know I’m learning lots from everyone else and I hope you are learning something new now and then as well. Have a Happy New Year!
– Dave
Mike emailed me pics of his beautiful custom build this morning. He’s taken his time over the past few decades to build something nice. I especially like the heated seats :-). But, this build isn’t just pretty; Mike takes it out on some ‘severe’ trails in the Northwest with his friend Phil, whose CJ-3A you can see here.
“Here are some photos of a CJ3B that I have worked on over the years. I have had this jeep for over 20 years. The frame started life as a 1950 CJ3A but the body was shot and I really like the 3B style. I purchased a new steel body kit from 4 wheel parts wholesalers and at the time it was on sale and cost $900 complete.
The way it is now is the final version. The color is Impact orange, The motor is an all aluminum 5.3 L33 engine that only had 6 miles on it. The transmission is a turbo 350 mated to a Dana 300. The rear end is a 1975 CJ5 Dana 44 with full floating axles and disc brakes with 4:56 gears. The front end is a dana 30 with the same gears and disc brakes. It has power steering and an aluminum radiator .
The interior is 2008 Corvette buckets with power and they are heated (great in colder weather) Lokar shifter, autometer gauges, Flaming river column plus a lot of other things.”
Paul wanted to wish everyone a happy ‘stainless’ new year and to tell you to remember to play with your Willys!
Paul writes, “By 7:30 this morning (Jan 1st) I was back in the garage working on the Willys (fitting the door seal upper attach flanges) and starting my twentyfifth year on this rebuild. I hope to have the stainless Willys fully finished and on the road within the next two years where folks seeing it for the first time and unaware of the time I spent on this project will deem it an overnight success! We do have long winter nights and the winter’s are kind of long but not THAT long. Anyway, after the Jeep is done I have a 1951 military 1/4 ton trailer I plan on rebuilding out of stainless steel to match the Jeep. This will be an easy job and shouldn’t take all that much time.
After all I’ve learned while fabricating the various stainless parts over the years I figure I could crank out another stainless Willys in fifteen years or so but I have other projects waiting for attention so I believe I’ll stop after completing this one.”
If you haven’t seen Paul’s project, click here.
And a pic of the Alaskan Wilderness:
These wooden Jeeps and Broncos were built by a craftsman named Jack who posted these photos to a website called Cherry Bronco.com (site was live in 2010, but has been down for years). He made wooden vehicles and furniture as a hobby in his spare time.
In the case of the 1977 Cherry Ford Bronco below, as you can see in the before and after pics, the body was pretty trashed and in need of something new. The pieces are all 7/8″ to 1″ pieces glued and screwed together. The bumpers and trim are done in Oak and Ash. A single coat of linseed Oil and three coats of Marine Varnish protect the finish and the owners clean it with furniture polish. Surprisingly, the new wooden body is actually 300lbs lighter than the original metal.
Here’s a 1956 CJ-5
Here’s a 1966 CJ-5
Here’s a 1969 CJ-5
And a 1977 CJ-5
Here’s some CJ-3B parts.
“Gotta go need room nice orig CJ3B body frame, axles, trans transfer case. New old tires Dual rear wheel. Great for restoration or awesome trail Flattie. Excellent grill Radiator, Windsheild, Hood, Dash, Solid 56 Rear CJ5 tub 1/2.”
http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/1528036148.html
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5500
This looks good.
“700 OD Trans, 305 engine, sits on 1988 Chevy Blazer frame, Duel Exchaust, 4 wheel drive.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $750
“1956 Willys Jeep complete rolling frame with original motor, tranny, etc. Solid driveline. Motor is complete, good radiator, original carter carb. Body tub, fenders and windshield frame have been removed. I do have the hood and grille. Frame is in good shape. Has lockout hubs. Would be a good restore candidate or a great parts machine.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $4500.
“Willys Jeep – original motor – 4 cyc. 4×4 rebuilt brakes and caburator – needs some work but runs good”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1800.
The body looks good from the pics. This is a project.
“This truck is is part way through a body off restoration. Their is no rust and only minor body work left to do. The body it primed inside and out with undercoat on the bottom. It comes with a rare Kaiser Fraser flat top L-6 motor. Photos are old and some more work has been done. Will consider a trade for 400cc + sport ATV.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $7500
(09/28/09) This looks like a nice, stock, early CJ-3B.
“This is a 1953 cj3b that has been frame off restored . The engine has 800 miles on it . The engine was gone through top to bottom . It has been painted back to original color. I am the third owner . I have owned the jeep sence 2003 . The seats are in new condition . It has a heater and a defroster that both work very well . The tires have about 1/2 tread and the spare is brand new”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $450.
(11/12/09) For $450, this looks pretty complete. The body is fiberglass.
“i have a old 1963 jeep willys cj5 it has a fiberglass tub and fenders it needs alot of work needs engine, gas tank, brake lines, tires,dash, wireing, seats, the windsheild frame is roted. good for a restortation projected the axle are dana 44 rear dana27 front with 538 gears and a t-90 3spd has a good soild frame. i have a engine to go with it that will runs. i have the mass title to go with it. towing availble at xtra $$. thanks for looking.”
Not sure which parade to watch on New Year’s Day? Then watch the Rose Bowl Parade. One of our reader’s, Kevin, tells me his daughter Alyson will be waving on float #83 (out of 91 floats) in the Rose Bowl Parade, so look for her and wave back! She is Ms. Wheelchair California 2009 and Kevin’s a very proud papa, as he should be. Congrats Alyson, Kevin and the whole family!!
On New Year’s weekend last year, Gerald and his brother towed home a Craigslist find. One year later, they are almost done with a great looking budget build. Gerald tooks some pics and tells the story. Thanks guys — and I agree with you on those tires. They look great!
Gerald writes, This started as a Craigslist ad for a 1948 Willys CJ-2A basket case. He wanted alot more, but after a month of trades and low balls he took the 1000 dollars offer for the lot. Much of the dirty work was done and lots of parts were included. The jeep finally arrived home over new years weekend, January 2009.
Because we didn’t trust any of the work done thus far, our first task was to take it apart the rest of the way. Once apart, we first focused on fitting the body correctly, which was a 10 + year old MD Juan generic (m-38 / mb) body, along with the stock hood and grill. We also fabbed up a rear crossmember and hitch.
As we examined some of the running gear parts, we discovered the rear axle was shot (which we replaced from a spare beater jeep out back) and decided to add new 11 inch brakes for the front (from craigslist). The springs were new, so that saved time and money. We tore down the motor, transmission and transfer case to make sure they were in good shape, and then refit them properly to the frame, including fabbing up some motor mounts.
Then, we went to work on the roll cage, which was partially built out of some bar from our old family jeep along with some new tube. After we got everything mocked up, we tore it back apart to get ready for painting.
There was stripping and sanding, more stripping and sanding, and then, finally, we sprayed it a deep blue. We took the time to paint the underside of the body first, along with many of the parts. Then, we assembles the body to the frame and gave it a final coat.
Next came the small stuff such as gauges, wiring, linkages, fuel system, windshield and exhaust. BTW, I have never seen a head with a fixed rear outlet. Does anyone know if this could be from a truck?
One of the most critical steps occurred this week, almost one year from the start date of the project: The Jeep gets the right set of wheels and tires. As you could see in the earlier pics, the jeep came with some new tires, but we felt they weren’t right (700 15), so my brother sold them on Craigslist.
Instead, he went with these Interco Super Swamper Radials 265 80 16. They are mounted on 8 inch wide alum wheels, which was another Craigslist find. I think these are perfect tires for a Willys in my estimate. He picked them up today in Wheeling, West Virginia, at National tire.
After seeing Chad’s build yesterday, Gerald sent me pics of the ‘Swamp Rat’, which also sports a flathead V8. Of course, it’s got a bit more wear and tear on it than Chad’s, but i have to say I really like the way that fits in the engine compartment. This sure has an old school feel to it.
Gerald notes, “Check out Johnny’s wood cab and side pipes. The paint chipped off the windshield, but it used to say RAT. It’s a star attraction at one of our local yards.”
UPDATE: The website for Tippman is down. I can only assume that these kits did not sell well enough and the company went out of business.
I know what you are thinking … how can I turn my boring Yamaha Rhino into a flat fender looking offroad vehicle? I’m sure this has kept you up at nights? Well, you need not lose any more sleep, as Tippman Design has developed exactly the package you need. It’s like a VEEP for the ATV crowd.
According to the Tippman design website, “the first of our products [is] the GI Kit for the Yamaha Rhino 660 and 450 with the ability to be installed on all Rhinos built prior to 2009. We are working on the fitting of the new 2009 Rhino design. The club car GI Kit is on the drawing board as well, production date to be announced.”
The base price for the package is $2200 plus shipping.
Here’s a standard Yamaha Rhino (Ok, I think this is standard; I don’t really know)
And here’s a Rhino with the Tippman GI Kit installed.
One day as I was going through some old brochures, I started recording some of the slogans. Here’s just a few of them:
Jeep: The world’s most useful vehicle
The sun never sets on a jeep
Ten Billion Miles of Proof
Willys puts the F in Farm Power
Keep America on the Move
Do it quicker; do it better with 4wd
A revolutionary vehicle for a thousand jobs
There’s a Jeep vehicle for your toughest job
Willys Builds the Universal Jeep
The Worlds Hardest Workers
The Worlds’ most willing workers
Sign of the times, Willys Jeep Vehicles
You’ll be ‘busy as a bee’ in your new vehicle from Jeep
Two things Willys is known for, Beauty & Stamina (which referred to the Aero and the Jeep)
(I meant to publish this yesterday …)
Continuing the VW theme, David Barrett has created a prototype for a VW Kit version of the 4wd Kuebelwagon, which of course was originally developed by Volkswagen. I think it looks pretty cool. You can learn more over at the Samba website about David and this project. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=766513
Here’s an original Kuebelwagon:
An here’s some pics of David’s kit project:
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5000
This CJ-3B started at $8000 this summer and has just dropped to $5000. It looks like a great price on a very nice, stock looking CJ-3B.
“For sale 1953 Jeep please call for more details.”
Here’s a nice looking CJ-5 for a good price just a few miles from my folk’s place.
“call for more info: 253-561-2870”
http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/1532373091.html
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $150.
You got to appreciate the seller who apologized on Craigslist for putting a jewelry ad in the parts section (as if violating the orderly sanctity of Craigslist was a mortal sin), but I appreciate his sensitivity and his logic is sound. Not the greatest pics.
“sorry posting in parts but dont think to many of jeep guys are looking in jewlery. nice and unique, call mark”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
This looks like a great rebuild.
“This auction is for a 1953 Willys Jeep CJ3B. We were asked by a friend of ours if we could list it for him so here is the information that I got from the owner. The Willys has a new reproduction steel body. 4 CYL “F” head motor, 3 Speed Manual trans, high and low range 4 wheel drive. The vehicle has undergone a complete frame off restoration. The motor has been rebuilt, trans and transfer case gone through, front end, complete brake job, Interior, etc… There is only 310 miles on the vehicle since the restoration. He has a reciept folder totalling just over $9,000 in body and parts alone. This is not counting the labor at all. Everything appears to have been done quite nicely! Jeep runs and drives great as it should. He does not have a top but from what I understand, these are availble at a reasonable price. The only reason he is selling this is that he is starting a restoration on a original millitary Jeep and he is going to use the proceeds from this sale to help fund the project.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $10,5000.
(10/12/09) Lots of mods on this flattie.
“1984 Buick V6, SM420 4 Speed manual, Dana 44 axles, Mosier shafts, 4:88 Spicer gears, Dana 18 transfer case, Detroit soft locker front & rear, new Painless wiring harness, t:h steering, power steering, 8,000# Warn winch, new Best Top, Newer 35″ GY Wranglers, 4 wheel disc brakes, racing buckets seats w/ Simpson belts, Tuffy console, CD, original steel body w/ fiberglass hood, $10,500. Miller’s US 31 Sales, north of town,”
Here’s a wonderful build, an experiment by a reader named Chad. He wanted to know what a Ford Model A Roadster would look like if Willys built it. So, naturally, he built one himself!
He writes, “Did all of it myself except the upholstery, in my home garage. It’s got a flathead V8 for power and took between 6 and 8 years start to finish. The dDrivetrain is flathead V8 adapted to a C-4 automatic adapted to Dana 18. Front axle is Dana 27 w/Corvette discs….rear is Dana 44 with one piece axles and Lock-rite geared 4.27. I thought maybe it would be a four year job, but stuff happens and there was a whole lot of headscratching to make things look ‘somewhat factory’. I used as many factory parts as I could but not necessarily the way they were used ‘by the factory’…..(those are Jeepster tailights, but they aren’t mounted that way on a Jeepster, just as an example).”
Great work and thanks for sharing!
UPDATE: Additional links — The Hadley Engineering Brochure and VEEPS vs. SCAMPS and other model.
Based on a reader’s inquiry, I decided to do some research regarding the Veep. I’ve seen a few of these for sale over the past couple of years, but it doesn’t happen often and I really knew nothing about them. So, here’s the little bit I learned.
According to the Dune Buggy Archives, the Veep was sold as both a completed jeep and as a kit by Hadley Engineering, which was based at 1778 Monrovia, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (maybe they are still there). The company claimed that any Beetle or Karman Ghia could be used to build a Veep in about 40 hours.
I’ve only seen two engine sizes so far, a 1600 cc or a 1800 cc VW motor. The suspension, frame, and running gear is all VW. Most of the veeps appear to use a replacement M-38 body, though one ad below claims a ’42 body (mb or gpw) was used. The gas tank is mounted in the front, which simply looks odd when you open the hood. Below is a couple brochures and some misc Veeps. In the posts below are some additional Veeps.
I’m still hardly an expert on these, so if you have additional information, I’d love to learn more.
Learn more about Mike’s custom VEEP here.
