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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.
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This Hong Kong Extra Edition didn’t include a date, but the Volume and No suggests this is the September 1960 issue. Much of this issue covers the Hong Kong TV show, but there is some Surrey info on page six and seven. Also, the way the paper unfolds is kind of awkward, so I’ve added a few extra scans below.
Page two through page five are all connected physically. Here’s what it looks like when fully open:
Here are the pages in an easier to read format:
This 8-page issue of Jeep News starts with the announcement of the USPS’s purchase of 4,010 FJ-3s. Willys Motors announced on page 2 the launch of new brochures, including these red and blue jeep family brochures. Page 3 is all Surreys. Pages 4 & 5 are mostly dealer related. Don’t miss the Surrey like FC-170 on page 6 operated by the Hilton Inn of New Orleans. Page 7 shares more Surreys, FCs, and other jeeps. On the last page is a story about the First Company of Sheriff ‘Jeep’ Reserve Corps, out of El Paso County, Texas.
This eight-page issue includes stories about Country Maid’s FC-150s ice cream trucks and Prade Ranches wagon. The Boyd’s FC was included as part of a story on the Boyd family’s travel to South America. Two different articles highlight DJ-3A dispatchers. There are two very different examples of FC-campers, which one looking quite a bit like Dan Horenberger’s old streamline camper (discussed in this Motor Trend article by Jim Allen). Also, don’t miss the last story which shows an FC with two sets of duallies on the rear.
This June 1953 issue is Volume 2 No. 4. I’ve only documented a few of these, so I don’t think many of these “Booster News” newspapers were saved. This one is on eBay for $99. Anyone know if they have copies of the Booster News in the Toledo Public Library?
View all the information on eBay
“Here is a rare vintage, Willys Booster News UAW Local 12 Employee newspaper Toledo Ohio. The newspaper is in good condition. It is complete with 8 pages in it.”
This 8-page issue has lots of DJ-3As, Surreys, FCs and Wagons. Note the six-wheeled wagon on page six. The issue includes a photo of a CJ-6 being used as a tour jeep at Hell’s Half Acre near Casper, Wyoming (page 3 lower right).
This 8-page edition of Jeep News showcases a wide variety of Surrey and FC stories. There’s an interesting story about a group of five adventurers from Brecksville, Ohio, who planned to drive an FC-170 with a camper around the world.
I thought I had published this one, but I hadn’t. Much of this issue is about TV shows and a dealer trip. There are a few jeeps on the last couple of pages.
The good news is that I won 10 issues of Jeep News 1959-1961 issues, which I will be publishing once I receive them.
The bad news is that I missed out on the four issues pictured below. I suspect the winner of these is a Surrey guy, as the Surrey, the Pepsi Surrey are mentioned in two of the four issues.
I was hoping that someone might have scans of any of these four issues they could send me???
The best way I have found to scan these is to use a phone scanning software like “Scannable” on the iPhone. It’s not perfect, but it does a very good job on flat scans and is super helpful with oversize (bigger than 8.5×11) images.
The first is the September-October 1959 Issue of Jeep News. One head line reads, “New Surrey Proves Popular Addition to ‘Jeep’ Family …
This March 1960 issue mentions the Pepsi-Cola Company and Surreys. I’m also interested in the 1960 Jeep Special Equipment story.
This May-June 1960 issue highlights several different marketing documents (New parts-service mailers) and the product line changes story, which includes a reference to the one-piece windshields.
Finally, this June-July 1961 issue appears to announce the new FJ-3As.
UPDATE: I have updated the post to include the entire newspaper.
First published Jan 22, 2014: The photo below shows the cover of a rare edition of The Willys War Newspaper. Published on September 28, 1945, this appears to be both the last issue of The Willys War News and the first issue of The Willys News. I base this on three facts: 1) the word ‘war’ is scratched at the top, 2) the small explanation at the bottom of the front page and 3) the publishing date.
Searches of “The Willys War News” yielded the following:
The Willys War News, Vol. 3, No. 3, May 19, 1945 http://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/HTML_findingaids/MSS-072.html
The Willys War News, Vol. 1, No. 10 in 1943 (8 pages) http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1943-jeep-willys-overland-war-238396381
Based on those clues, I would estimate that there were were at least 24 editions IF there were 10 issues in 1943 and 10 issues in 1944 and at least 4 issues in 1945. Anyone know of other examples of this? This seems as rare as the Globe Trotter Magazine.
Though the issue doesn’t explicitly say it is the January issue, given it discusses things happening in the future in January of 1967, I believe it is the first issue of 1967.
UPDATE: This dealer Advertising and Merchandising Bulletin from February 6, 1961, was sent to dealers explaining the Pepe Movie promotion and possible promotional tie-ins dealers could try. The package included a movie poster also.
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Original posted June 29, 2020: Instead of the usual eight pages, the 1960 issue of Jeep News is limited to four pages. Still, there’s some interesting information inside.
First, the front page article on the movie to-be-release movie “Pepe” described the forty-jeep-gala ballet filmed in Las Brisas as spectacular. I tried to find some clips from Pepe online, but have yet to see any. The CJ-3B page does a good job describing the Gala’s role, along with a few pics, in Pepe: https://cj3b.info/Siblings/SurreyPepe.html.
Second, on page three the article about the Hy-Rail FCs contains a noticeable goof. The title refers to the FCs as “FC-170″s, while the pics and text correctly show them as FC-150s.
Third, there’s a good photo of an FC-170 flatbed with a Mobile Drill mounted on it, the first example of an FC with a mobile drill that I’ve seen and the latest reference to the sale of a Mobile Drill.
Fourth, the article on the Fresno Four Wheel Drive Club underscores why so many jeeps continue to emerge from the Fresno/Clovis area. As of December 1960, the family-friendly jeep club had more than 350 members, likely making it the largest jeep club in the US. The club even had a newsletter, which at that time was edited by Mr. Otto Traeber and called “Four Wheeler”; sound familiar? This newsletter was also shared with other jeep clubs. One year and two months later, in February of 1962, a new vehicle magazine was introduced to the public, published out of Southern California: Four Wheeler Magazine.
UPDATE II: wilpenney brought up an important point. Page 2 of the Feb 1960 issue of Jeep News (shown at bottom) distinguishes between the “Ashtray”, with the semi-circle whirly part that includes cigarette holders, and the “Hostess Tray”, which lacks the semi-circle part. (Perhaps I am the only person who didn’t realize the difference — I was calling them both ashtrays?)
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UPDATE: These two February 1960 documents reference the “Corner the Market” contest also referenced by the February 1960 issue of Jeep News, as well as the January 1960 issue and the April 1960 issue (I don’t have the March issue).
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Originally Published June 03, 2020:
This issue of Willys News shows that Jeep dealers were experience continued growth. This issue also suggests that the ashtrays and cuff-tie-links were introduced in 1960. Anyone have the full page 1959 Nieman Marcus catalog ad of the newly introduced DJ-3A Surrey mentioned on the last page?
UPDATE: Here’s is a postcard from White Springs (data unknown) that highlights the jeep-train-wagons. It appears the train was still being pulled by a 3B, but this color photo shows some black styling was added to the cow, giving it a Holstein look.
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Originally posted Jan 18, 2013: On the evening (2 nights ago) that Craig became a grandpa, instead of doing whatever grandpas should do to celebrate, he was busily scanning stuff for us! It’s clear his Willys Sickness is far more advanced than I thought! However, to his credit, this really is a cool picture. In fact, it’s so cool, that I managed to skip over the part where he said he became a grandpa! It wasn’t until I re-read it tonight that I felt like a total doof.”
This photo comes from the March 1957 issue of Willys News. The jeep wagon train operated at the Stephen Foster State Folk Culture Center – White Springs, Florida.
Floridamemory.com has a variety of photos related to the wagons. Below are a few of them.
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/41660
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/73660
This photo looks like the jeep is a CJ-5 rather than a CJ-3B. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/87462
UPDATE: This post originally appeared August 14, 2015:
1) Lining up on the first really flat ground they have seen on the entire caravan, the Jeepers stop at Miller Meadows for their Sunday lunch.
This 1955 article in the 1955 July/August issue of Willys News covered the recently completed Jeep Jamboree. The author reported that as part of an awards ceremony, the award for the oldest passenger went 68 year-old Mike Millard who was a former Rubicon Springs-Lake Tahoe stage coach driver. He must have had some great stories!
On another front, compare photo #5 to an original at the online archive of California. There it is dated 1958. Given this appears in a 1955 Willys News I’d say their date is incorrect.
This is the last of the Jeep News issues from the 1970s and early 1980s that I have. I hope folks have found it somewhat interesting.
Flyer 1:
Flyer 2:
UPDATE: I had this as a 1978 issue, but I think it may actually be from 1979.
After a year of 20 page newsletters, this one and the next one were cut to twelve pages. This includes an extra flyer advertising jeep equipment. The readers letters section (pg 2-3) contains descriptions of clubs that match my memories of being in a club.
This twenty-page issue of Jeep News includes a second advertising flyer, but one focus on special equipment rather than swag.
This (I think) is the Fall 1976 – Winter 1977 issue of Jeep News. It is 20 pages, plus a 2-page ad flyer. I see now that my camera-scans of this aren’t the best. My apologies.
This issue may cover from the Fall of 1975 through January 1976 (the next issue is Feb/March 1976). It is one of the largest at 18 pages plus a one page advertising insert.
The flyer:
Here’s another Jeep News. This one has the months, but not year. I used some article details to estimate it is from 1974.
