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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: This brochure appeared on Facebook a while back.
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Originally published October 2016: The American Chain & Cable Company’s Manley Division produced these Jeep Wrecking Cranes in the late 1940s. I can’t imagine there are too many of these around. This brochure is from a 1948 Industrial Equipment book.
This issue of Willys News includes a variety of FC-related articles, but also takes a full-page look at the Truth-or-Consquences, New Mexico, 2nd Annual ‘Jeep’ Derby.
I bought this off of eBay. I imagine this pencil is from the late 1940s based on the “J” logo. The lead remains nice and snug in the pencil, so it’s still very usable. Thanks to Marty for spotting it!
During the late 1960s, a couple different Jeep dealers in Hawaii offered DJ-5 Jeep Galas for sale. There were at least two different styles of ads published. The Gala was a Surrey that was sold by the export arm of the company.
In 1967, a Kaiser-Jeep dealership owned by Von Hamm-Young Mercantile, flew the 1968 model of the DJ-5 Gala Jeep to Hawaii. From the story below, it would seem that this may have been the first example of a DJ-5 Gala Jeep arriving in Hawaii. Note that the photo’s caption only describes this jeep as a Gala.
Over the next two years, the dealer published ads hoping to spur sales. We’ll likely never know how successful sales were, but I’d suspect not too many were sold.
1) The first ad appeared between April and September of 1968. The example shown below was published in the May 30, 1968, issue of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. There are a variety of things that struck me with this ad. First, it’s the first ad I’ve seen for a DJ-5 Surrey/Gala. Second, it is advertised as a “Surrey Gala”, rather than one or the other. Third, it came in six different color schemes. Fourth, later in the year (specifically September 24th in the Hawaii Tribune Herald), Big Island Rambler was the dealer name at the bottom of the ad, with no specific link made to Von Hamm-Young.
Apart from all those points, it’s generally just an odd ad for a vehicle!
2) This ad appeared multiple times, but only during April of 1969 (I could find no other ads for any other month in 1969), isn’t quite as odd as the 1968 campaign. The ad also doesn’t mention the multiple package options. This particular example was published in the April 4th, 1969, issue of the Honolulu Advertiser.
This 1958 L&M cigarette ad included a CJ-2A.
View all the information on eBay
“1958 L&M Filter Cigarettes Smoking Miracle Tip Dam Jeep Vtg Magazine Print Ad”
In May of 1960 there was a Pepsi contest that offered a Pepsi-styled DJ-3A Surrey as the first prize. Subsequently, in July of 1960, there was a second contest, Pepsi’s Sociable Sweepstakes, where another Pepsi-styled DJ-3A Surrey was given away. Learn more about the Pepsi Surreys at the CJ-3B Page.
Contest 1: This ad appeared in the May 05, 1960, issue of the Miami Daily News-Record, Oklahoma. To enter the contest, folks had to fill out and mail in this entry blank, “Pepsi Cola, The ___________ Refreshment”. This was a nearly-full-page ad (this version of the ad shown below is slightly different from the one on the CJ-3B page; it can also be found in this Miami, Oklahoma, newspaper).
This next image demonstrates just how large the ad was:
Contest 2: Two months later, Pepsi announced its Sociable Sweepstakes in July of 1960. The contest was part of Pepsi’s Sociable advertising campaign and it, too, offered a Pepsi-styled DJ-3A Surrey as the first prize. The ad below was published in the July 18, 1960, issue of the Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina. The ad was another large one, taking up most of the page.
This next image demonstrates just how large the ad was:
This is the last of the 1951 Farm Jeep / Jeep Tractor Brochures that I have. It’s form FS-514101.
I find this ad from the June 22, 1964, issue of the Staunton Leader out of Staunton, Virginia, a good early example of a begining move from the jeep as a utility vehicle to it as a vehicle for outdoor recreation. Though the ad still focuses on the jeep as a way to get to these fun endeavors, it wasn’t too much longer before an inflection point where the jeep-journey itself was advertised as fun.
Remember that by 1964, Four Wheeler Magazine had been out for two years, a publication that helped spread the message and the hobby of four wheeling pursuits (clubs, jeeping, modifications, and racing).
Did the Newgren Terracing Blade become this blade, then become the Stockland Terracing blade? See the Newgren and Stockland brochures in the next post. This is form FS-514103.
To me, it looks like the Newgren terracing blade became the ‘Jeep’ terracing blade (with a minor modification .. angled piece added to the top for strength), which then became the Stockland terracing blade. Thoughts?
Page from the 1951 ‘Jeep’ brochure with the terracing blade:
1955 Stockland terracing blade brochure:
Jeep Dealer Frank Woods appeared to have high hopes for sales with this advertisement in the March 22, 1960, issue of the Charlotte Observer.
This ad for Marine versions of the L-134 engine appeared in the October 06, 1947, issue of The Key West Citizen newspaper. As the ad notes, these are the “J1” models, which I take to mean that the serial numbers might start with “J1”?
Roy Rogers and Post Cereals had a licensing agreement for an unknown period of time, but it at least covered the period between 1952-1955 (I’m sure the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans archives can better answer the time period question). Together, the entertainer and cereal manufacturer produced a series of TV spots, print ads, and merchandise.
Here’s an example of a Post Cereal Commercial with Roy Rogers, Pat Brady and a hint of Nelly Belle (see many more commercials here):
In 1952 and 1953, Roy Rogers teamed up with Post Cereals to produce a series of 36 pop-out cards about Roy’s epic adventures. View references to the names for the entire list of cards here.
Card #4 “Pat Brady and Hi Jeep, “Nelly Bell”. Of course, the front is actually the same size as the back. See better images here.
Post Cereals also released a series of 3D cards with Roy Rogers, a few that included jeeps, that required the use of 3D glasses. Here are two examples that include jeeps (there are some of these 3D items for sale on eBay).
And one more off of eBay:
In 1953 Post Cereals joined Roy for a series of pins, one of which included NellyBelle on it.
This mower in this brochure looks like a Newton design. It’s form FS-514100.
Newton brochure from the late 1940s (See five early mowers here):
Marked form FS-F514105, this brochure highlights some of the tool bar implements available for jeeps, including the Rotary Lister Planter, the Conventional Moldboard Middle Buster, The Roatry Bottom Middle Buster, the Field Cultivator and the Row Fertilizer Attachment.
Barry Thomas suggests that some or all of these may be ex-newgren items that, following Newgren’s struggles, Willys-Overland began to market and sell under ‘Jeep’. I’m not as versed as some folks on the individual implements, so maybe someone can confirm this?
One thing is clear to me; Willys-Overland did not devote much marketing resources to this sales effort. These brochures are pretty simplistic compared to many other marketing documents of the time. Maybe there was a small team with a tight budget assigned to try to make something happen with this niche of farming and implements?
Unlike the other brochures in this group of seven, this was the only one-page brochure and it lacked a form number.
I can’t imagine that Willys was fielding enough Land Rover questions that the sales department thought it needed to highlight the Jeep’s advantages over it?
This modest four page brochure was spotted by Maury on eBay along with five other cool brochures which I’ll share over the next few days. They are great brochures at a killer buy-it-now price.
Each of the brochures had consecutive form numbers, from FS-514100 to FS-514105. The brochure below included extra digits at the front: FS-4 FS-514102.
I do think it’s odd that while the brand ‘Jeep’ dominates much of the consumer facing literature by 1958, the marketing department still uses the ‘Willys’ term. Of course, the company’s name is Willys Motors, but that’s pretty much a legacy name by this time (at least in retrospect).
UPDATE: The March 19, 1948, ad art was later used for this 1949 CJ-3A brochure.
The firm of Caver-Wiggins advertised jeeps for sale in the Pascagoula, Mississippi, Chronicle Star newspaper from July 1946 to November 1947.
In October of 1947, the Caver-Wiggins corporate charter was changed and the firm renamed to Runnels-Wiggins, with Julius Wiggins and Davage Runnels taking control of the entity.
In November of 1947, a week after the final Caver-Wiggins jeep ad, Runnel-Wiggins began advertising jeeps in the Chronicle Star. The ads only appear to last through April of 1948. No additional information appeared in the Chronicle Star about Runnel-Wiggins.
Later that year, in December of 1948, Coast Cities Motor Sales announced its status as a new jeep dealer in Pascagoula and began advertising in the Chronicle Star.
Below are some Runnels-Wiggins ads:
November 14, 1947 The Farm Vehicle That Works 12 Months a Year:
February 06, 1948 Get the Facts and You’ll Get a ‘Jeep’:
February 13, 1948 Winter Chores are Easier with the Universal ‘Jeep’:
This Ramsey brochure highlights some of the different Dana 20 PTO options avaialble.
This issue of the Willys Salespower notes multiple fleet sales citing specific vehicles to specific clients.
Just a few updates today…
Jeep dealer Caver-Wiggins began operations in January of 1946 with three people incorporating the company: W. Ed Wiggins, Julius E. Wiggins, and J. B. Caver. Mr. W. Ed Wiggins was President of Pascagoula’s Rotary Club at the time.
The firm of Caver-Wiggins advertised jeeps for sale in the Pascagoula, Mississippi, Chronicle Star newspaper from July 1946 to November 1947. Caver-Wiggins also advertised Crosley automobiles in October of 1946 and Kaiser Frazier vehicles in November of 1946.
In October of 1947, the Caver-Wiggins corporate charter was changed and the firm renamed to Runnels-Wiggins, with Julius Wiggins and Davage Runnels taking control of the entity.
Subsequently, in February of 1948, Runnel-Wiggins became the Chronicle Star’s main jeep advertiser. Runnels-Wiggins ads began in February of 1948, then stopped in April of 1948.
Later, in December of 1948, Coast Cities Motor Sales would supplant Runnels-Wiggins as the main advertiser.
Below are some Caver-Wiggins ads:
July 05, 1946 Get a ‘Jeep’:
July 19, 1946 If you have Tough Jobs … and lots of ’em GET A ‘Jeep’:
March 28, 1947 The Versatile Farm Vehicle:
April 25, 1947 Speed Up Work with the Vehicle that Does More Jobs:
Originally several different posts, this post aggregates some of the Bros Rotary Sno-Flyr brochures.
This was from circa 1955:
