This keepsake brochure lacks any date, but I presume to be the second tour of jeeps around part of the country, probably in 1948. The brochure cover page shows a Mahl Loader attached to one jeep and a Blue Star hardtop on another jeep. I wonder if a similar brochure was made for the first Cavalcade.

Barney Goodwin shared the exciting news that his parts business acquired an early neon Willys Jeep sign to hang in his Waverly, Ohio, store. It is 80″ long and 30″ tall.

Barney is hoping to learn more about this sign’s place in Willys-Overland history. I shared with him my thoughts on it, but he is hoping to find documentable evidence about the sign. So, he figured he would reach out here.

In my opinion, he has two challenges. One, finding evidence for a date of manufacture would help place the sign in context (though there is plenty of physical circumstantial evidence in my opinion) and, two, finding documentation that indicates this was an OFFICIAL design offered and promoted by Willys-Overland (and not some dealer-created custom item).

I will update this post with the thoughts I shared with Barney at a later point, but I hoped to get some input from others before then.

Barney wrote, “I had wanted to announce this last summer but life got in the way. Last Spring we purchased this 1946 Willys Jeep neon sign to display inside our business.

We found it at the nation’s largest indoor antique mall in Springfield Ohio, and after 6 months was able to negotiate a price.

After we do more research, we hope to have an article in the Dispatcher Magazine about it.

In the meantime, we wanted to share it with the forum and invite comments about it, perhaps helping our research.

We believe, and have been told by the sign collecting world. That his is Willy’s first dealership marque sign from 1946. Notice that it does not have “CARS” or “TRUCKS” on it like the later ones did.

One sign collector said it was the only one of 2 known to still exist and the only one operational.

It is a 2-sided, bull-nosed, neon sign. It’s about 80” long and over 30” high.

The can is original paint – much more valuable than repainting it. The neon has been completely restored by a neon professional here in Ohio.

For our research, we are especially looking for comments with verifiable details.

With over 50 personal years involved with Jeep since high school, the appreciation of owning this cannot be overstated.”

Barney,

Barney’s Jeep Parts LLC

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To the best of the my knowledge, the only other sign like this that I’ve documented on eWillys is this one: http://www.ewillys.com/2015/10/29/rare-jeep-sign-bloomington-in-4500/

The four page brochure on the right is one I haven’t seen previously. Given the vehicle outlines shown in the second pic, I’d put this at around 1960. If I didn’t already own the Jeepster brochure on the left, I’d get this combo.

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The Clemson 4-Wheeler Center shared this vintage 1978 Hinkle’s brochure. Hinkle’s billed themselves as the world’s largest jeep dealer.

The center seats shown on page 9 for the CJs was something I don’t think I’ve seen. I also thought it was interesting that the company listed X-style and PCV-style Desert Dogs, but not the standard type.

Continue reading →

UPDATE: This post was originally posted July 29, 2016:

I finally snagged this “Jeep Multi-Stop Truck” brochure off of eBay. It is only seven pages. There are no details provided about the chassis used, but it does use the F-head.

The date on this proposal is March 1960. The first ad I have for the FJ-3 is in 1961. My guess is that this may have been 1) a competing idea for a cheap delivery vehicle or 2) the basis for what was restyled as the FJ-3. That AM General made a version of the Multi-stop right after jeep’s general and Military product division was spun off (1971) into the AM General Corp likely isn’t a coincidence.

According to some magazines of the day, the FJ was considered a Multi-stop van, so the description was used, though I don’t believe it ever appeared in any advertising.  For example, this 1959 article except from Google notes the following, “office requirements for pickup and delivery of mail on multi – stop routes . The Fleetvan ” Jeep ” trucks , equipped with automatic transmissions , will feature compact cargo space , high maneuverability , maximum driver visibility ”

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I bought this brochure off of eBay. I don’t remember seeing this version of a jeep camper brochure. The seller has one more for sale.

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This Willys Makes Sense banner from 1950 was used to promote the Willys Makes Sense campaign that was part of Willys-Overland’s marketing shift toward “Willys” as an overarching brand, away from the use of “jeep”. It is listed on eBay for $499.

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This 1957 FC-150 Brochure is Form No. CS-4-57. I’m sure most of you have seen this brochure, but I hadn’t documented it. I got it off eBay and it came with an unopened FC-170 brochure Form No. CS 5-57 I.S.B. I’ll think I may have another one of those brochures. I’ll have to check my folders.

This is the front of the brochure:

This is the back:

The brochure opens horizontally:

Then, the brochure opens vertically:

Here is the back fully open:

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UPDATE: This may be the early version of the Value-rater. An updated version with 1960 dates was reportedly published in 1960 according to the March 1960 issue of Jeep News, page two.

This ebay brochure find is not one I’ve seen. Form No. 59-17, it details comparisons between jeep models (FC-150s, FC-170s, Wagons and Trucks) and the competition. I’ll update it with the real pics when I receive the brochure.

Somehow, I’ve never posted this brochure. I’m sure folks are fairly familiar with it. I’d guess it’s one of the first FC-150 brochures produced, so it likely arrived at some point around January of 1957. It is Form No. W-FC1-CS. It measure 8.5″ x 11″ folded and 25.5″ x 22″ when unfolded.

This is the front when folded:

This is the back when folded:

The front unfolds horizontally to show this wide part of the brochure:

The brochure unfolds vertically twice. First, these two frames appear:

Then another third is folded down to reveal this full view:

Here is the back unfolded: Continue reading →

I am guessing that based on the reference to right-hand driving, and given that jeep manufacturing was introduced in the summer of 1958 in Australia, that this brochure is likely from 1958.

Here is the front of the brochure:

The is the back when folded:

The brochure opens horizontally at first:

Next it opens vertically:

Finally, it opens to the full page:

Continue reading →

The seller only wants $10 for this ad. I suspect there aren’t many of these ads out there. It appeared in the July 22, 1948, edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

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“This ad is included in a full page that came from a July 22, 1948 edition of a Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. ”