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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 .
I believe these two CJ-3B brochures were put out in 1954. The red one was published initially, followed by the yellow one, which was printed without the KW logo and other minor changes.
This revised version of the CJ-3B brochure was also printed in 1954.
UPDATE: There are more of these five-brochure sets on eBay. View all the info on eBay. These are five out of the 20 issued (Form 600-01 through 600-20) during 1960. Slightly different, but similar brochures were published in 1959 (Form 59-01 through 59-20). The form number can be found at the bottom of the brochures. I’m working on assembling an entire list for each year.
(02/09/2017) I bought and received a set of these. By the time you factor in the exchange rate, this is a good price.
“These are five small format (22 x 9 cms) six page two colour sales brochure folders for the 1960 Jeep range for the US market.
Produced by Willys Motors Inc in Toledo Ohio, in English and undated, but they are around 1960
All open out to about A4 size with good pics and specifications.
Covers the following models:
1960 Jeep Universal CJ-6
1960 Jeep Utility Wagon
1960 Jeep Pick-up Truck
1960 Jeep FC-150 Forward Control Truck
1960 Jeep FC-170 Forward Control Truck”
Anyone have this brochure?
I don’t have it; but do have these old pics from a 2013 post. The problem is I can’t quite tell what the date (aka form number) is from 1959 or 1960. If you have this brochure, the date would be great. Scans would even be better, but I know that’s not simple for everyone.
I’m also interested in other 1958-1962 brochures. These all have date related-form numbers. I have a bunch, but not all of them. At some point this month I will create a list of what I have and what I need to more fully document the brochures from this era.
This is listed at $14.00. It’s a two-sided comparison chart.
View all the information on ebay
“1960s? Jeep station wagon salesmans features slid card, size 4 by 9 inches, condition is good with light handling, any questions please send an e-mail, USA shipping will be $5.00”
Seller has it priced at $10, but is accepting offers.
View all the information on ebay
“Description – This auction is for a vintage sales mailer covering the Jeep FC-150, FC-170, Universal, Pickup truck & 4WD Utility Wagon. Not sure what year it was published.
Condition – The covers have dirt and wear as shown but the book is otherwise OK.”
(pics from my collection):
These two nearly identical jeep brochures were published in different colors a year apart. The red version was published in late 1959. The blue (or green-blue?) brochure was published in late 1960.
Differences:
Page 1: The truck at the mid-far-left of the page on the 1960 version has the ‘hockey stick’ styling, where the 1959 version has the older styling. Curiously, the wagons are identical.
Page 2: The ‘hockey’ stick 4WD utility wagon moves from the right to the left hand side on the 1960 brochure, while the older-design 2WD wagon is dropped in favor of the Harlequin-design wagon. The plain version of the truck is swapped for the ‘hockey’ stick truck. There are a variety of small text edits as well.
Page 3: Some very minor edits. The red version of the brochure is marked Form NO. 59-19, while the blue version is marked Form No. 600-19. Both brochures were part of a 20 series set of brochures both years. Once I get both sets of brochures complete, I will do a post for each year of brochures.
1959: 
1960:
This very unusual item is priced at $39. Here’s more information about the Hong Kong TV series / ‘Jeep’ partnership.
View all the information on eBay
There was a mention of both Maverick and Hong Kong TV series at the very end of this Jeep Commercial. This is one of at least three commercials Buster Keaton did for jeep.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dave, we have some additional Koenig history:
“The son of the founder built the company up into a successful business making winches, “truck bodies”, and other stuff. His name was Herbert Koenig and he died in 2011 at age 95. An obit mentions that Koenig Iron Works (of Houston) was sold in 1978, and is now known as “RKI” and makes truck equipment (in Houston). They are RKI-US.com. Nothing indicates they care about Jeeps anymore!
Also, a Danish guy seems to have a website named Koenigwinches.com and it seems he makes parts for Koenig winches.”
=========================
Original Post November 2019:
This is a good example of simple post that spun out of control. Initially, I wanted to look at some changes in Koenig’s CJ-5 hardtop model numbers over the years; But, that then expanded to a look at twenty years (or so) of brochures.
THE EARLY YEARS:
The timeline of the early Koenig brochures are pretty easy to identify based on the jeeps used. In later years, Koenig began using numbered ‘bulletins’ to identify brochures. At first, I thought the numbered bulletins should be ordered by ascending number, but after closer examination, I the later two digits of each bulletin number reflect the year of the brochure. As you will see, other brochure elements back this theory.
Before we start, you can find installation instructions for some Koenig hardtops here.
The earliest Koenig brochure I can find was published in an early Willys-Overland Equipment brochure (1949?). The models consisted of “Full Cab” and “Half Cab”. This brochure was included among a surprisingly large number of hardtop competitors’ brochures, including Worman tops, CarsonCraft tops, Boston Top tops, Sturdee tops, Porter & Reed tops, Body V7 Works tops, Blue Star tops, Lambert tops, Hills Custom Built tops and Meyers tops (which became sears tops and a company that was different from the one that produced later Meyer tops).
This brochure circa 1949 showed half and full cabs on a CJ-3A:
UPDATE: This post started out as a post about Koenig hardtops, but that lead to updates on the Car Craft and Blue Star hardtops. I should have the Koenig post done for Saturday morning.
This updated post provides more info on the CARCRAFT hardtop. An early Special Equipment catalog contained two different versions of the Carson Machine & Supply Company’s Car Craft brochure. I’ve added a third brochure at the bottom which I’d found off of eBay years ago. Here are two real-world examples: one jeep and another jeep.
This brochure was published back in 2017. It features a CJ-2A and does not have the stylized CARCRAFT branding. Instead, it shows a plain “Car Craft” brand with a space added.
This is the first time I’ve published this brochure. It includes the new CARCRAFT branding and used a CJ-3A jeep:
This brochure was available on eBay in 2013. It appears to be the company’s signature brochure for the hardtop. I haven’t tracked down another copy:
Rooney77’s Blue Star Top for sale
UPDATE: This post from 2014 has been updated with additional brochure examples. See all the Blue Star hardtops documented thus far:
(From 2014) This Blue Star aluminum top was built by the Blue Manufacturing Company, founded in Kansas by Max Blue circa 1946. ‘Blue Star’ was the brand name used on several products he produced. There’s some conflicting information, but it appears In 1946 Blue Manufacturing was building aluminum airline parts. About that time, as a hobby, Max began building aluminum boats. He also tried manufacturing and selling jeep hard tops.
Demand was so great for the boats that in 1948 he leased space and built boats full-time. Meanwhile, he either sold or abandoned the jeep top business altogether. Given only a few Blue Star tops have surfaced over the last few years, I imagine he didn’t sell too many of them.
However, Max was able to sell boats. By 1953 the company was building 1,000 boats a year. In July of 1953 he moved the company from Goddard, Kansas, to Miami, Oklahoma. There are various articles into 1960 that talk about the Blue Manufacturing Company. However, the company appears to have ceased boat production in 1964.
A picture of Max Blue in the center of the photo. http://newspaperarchive.com/us/missouri/joplin/joplin-globe/1960/04-17/page-6
This brochure featuring a CJ-2A is the earliest example I have of this top. It was part of an early industrial equipment book.
Here’s another example, this time with a CJ-3A:
Here’s an ad that was featured on eBay.
Here’s an example of the logo badge:
Here is an example of the half tops:
Actual top:
Here are some photos of actual full hardtops:
During the summer of 2013 a seller on eBay had two jeeps with Blue Star tops for sale:
Jeep 1)
Jeep 2)
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $500.
Jordan spotted this unusual combo. This package creates an early jet powered boat using a Kermath modified L-134 and a Hanley Hydrojet. I’ve included a Kermath brochure and links to the development of the Hydrojet by Keenan Hanley at the bottom of the post.
“Willys Jeep engine block casting number 804380, and Hanley Kermath HydroJet. I’ve never attempted to start. $500”
Rear view of the W-O Canvas Top on a VEC CJ-2A. The PTO pump looks to my untrained eye to be an MP Universal Jeep Packaged Pump Model 12M-WJ.
UPDATE II: I’ve added a second version of the W-O Canvas Top brochure (tan brochures). they come from a Willys-Overland Equipment Book that, based on other brochures contained in that book, was likely published earlier than the brochures that appeared in the original version of the post.
This jeep brochure from an early Willys-Overland Special Equipment catalog highlights the first production soft top for the CJ-2A. It was labeled a W-O Canvas Top. The material used wasn’t your average canvas, at least according to the brochure. Instead, it was 10oz soldenized duck. That description meant nothing to me, so I attempted to decipher it.
These two brochures were published in a Willys Industrial Equipment book. It appears Willys-Overland changed up the name slightly to the Willys Canvas Top, though in the text the W-O Canvas Top name remains the same as above.
The biggest mystery was the term “soldenized”. Not even the internet knows what “soldenized” means. The fact that the term probably describes a means of mildew or waterproofing makes sense, and Robert Ackerson described it similarly in his jeep book, but that’s more a description of the result of the process, not a description of the process itself.
This appears to be an introductory mailer for the FC-170.
View all the information on eBay
“Hello, You are looking at an ORIGINAL bi-fold Postcard
1957 Forward Control JEEP FC-170
Eccher’s Jeep, Ferndale, Pa.”
I suppose the timing of this article is appropriate, given those of us in the north half of the blue ball are plunging into winter quickly (at least the weather in Washington State feels wintery), as a recent Smithsonian Magazine article on the Zamboni Company featured several photos I hadn’t seen of Jeep-based Zamboni vehicles. Here’s the article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-zamboni-changed-game-ice-rinks-180973352/
The article also included this ad featuring the CJ-3B as Model D from the Zamboni Company’s archives:
If you are not familiar with the use of jeeps as early Zambonis, check out my post about the various jeep models that were used for which Zamboni machines. The CJ-3B Page also has background information about the Zamboni Ice Resurfacers.
If you really like pics of Zamboni machines, check out the Zamboni: The Coolest Machines on Ice.
Maury spotted a collection of brochures and parts booklets on eBay that I was lucky enough to win. One of the brochures describes the portable, gasoline-powered Model 800G Warn Winch. On the other side of the brochure is an Electric Marine Model 400E Winch. A post from 2017 about the 800G includes pics of it.
The Model 800G Gasoline Warn winch:
According to Warn Industries, the Model 800G ad below is from 1969.
Between February 1970 and April 1970, Warn also included the winch in a Four Wheeler inner-cover, full-page advertisement. Given the importance of the company’s hubs and vehicle winches to Warn’s profit margins, I’m surprised the company included the 800G in this full color ad. Perhaps management had high hopes for the product? Whatever the hopes, I can find no evidence that Warn advertised the 800G ever again after April 1970.
Real-world example from the Warn website, There are also pics on Warn’s Facebook Fan page.
The Warn Marine Model 400E Electric Winch:
This brochure appears on the back of the 800G brochure. I could find no other information about it online.
As part of the collection of brochures/booklets I received yesterday from my eBay win, I also received three jeep parts catalogs: a 1963 Montgomery Ward, a 1964 Sears, and a 1966-1967 Bergs catalog. I was surprised to discover that the Sears and Berg catalogs are nearly identical. Maury confirmed that his 1968 Sears catalog is also nearly identical. So, if you are bidding/buying late 1960s jeep parts catalogs, I felt folks should be aware of this. Below are some comparison pages.
The covers are customized.
Sears is shown on the top and Bergs on the bottom. The inner cover and first page (labeled page 3) are custom:
Interior pages 4-5 begin the identical part of the catalogs:
Interior pages 18-19:
UPDATE: Barney corrected me. The tops in the first brochure were Whitco tops.
I bought this hoping for more Bestop info (thinking they were Bestop tops), but Bestop isn’t mentioned in this brochure at all. I’m guessing the date of 1975 based on the fact that I don’t see any later dates on ‘the facts’ list.
This selling guide is a four page plasticized brochure for identifying and selling the proper top for the proper jeep.
This was on eBay. I’d say it was published between 1948 and 1950.
View all the information on eBay
“Up tonight I have the beginning of a collection of literature I just acquired. Here I have a Genuine original 1950? Willys Sales brochure. This is about 4 by 9 and 1/4 inches with around 22 pages. Fair shape with some wear and deterioration to the covers as shown. This is a neat piece of Advertising to display with your classic. As with all my parts, if you feel it has an issue once you receive it, please contact me to have it resolved.
I value my reputation and try to provide hard to find parts at great if not down right cheap prices to keep our old cars on the road. . Keeping NOS Affordable. You can buy directly from me at sometimes down right cheap prices or buy from one of the many dealers I ship to weekly for a much higher price. Remember the government is still printing Money but this is decades Old. A nice finishing touch to your Authentic restoration. These little parts really make your restoration stand out. The part number on this is not available. Remember always use genuine parts in your restoration. Don’t miss out!!!”
This CJ-5 Tuxedo Park brochure sold on eBay recently. It’s dated January of 1964.
As often is the case with these company bios, I rarely know the full story, so this is a working draft. (note, I have seen Bestop as BesTop and BESTOP, but I feel Bestop is easier to read for our purposes). If you have other interpretations, thoughts, or corrections, don’t hesitate to comment below.
Bestop Launches:
In the early 1950s, Tom Bradley ran an auto upholstery shop in Boulder, Colorado. After some customers came to him wanting repairs to their soft jeep tops, Tom decided he could build a better top, so he launched Bestop on a part-time basis in 1954. According to the Bestop website, “Working out of an old brick schoolhouse with seven employees, Bestop quickly developed a reputation for quality and the word spread.” And, from 4wd.com, “To [Tom’s] surprise, the Jeep replacement tops began making more profit than the upholstery projects. It wasn’t long before Bradley decided to sell his upholstery business and focus on designing and manufacturing tops.”
Here’s a look at some early brochures. Note the “Vinalette” top, an attempt at branding that didn’t last very long. These brochures are likely mid to late 1950s (these pics came from this eBay auction):
The Bestop site notes that the business continued to grow for ten years under Tom. At that point, the story on the company’s website advances to the mid-eighties, but skips additional history in the process.
Bestop Expands Product Line:
The only evidence I could find that Bestop expanded it’s produced line under Tom was this 1961 brochure introducing rear seats. The seats have a flat, simple design.
The Stengel’s Obtain Control:
In September of 1966, forty-year-old James (Jim) Joseph Stengel filed a patent for a plastic tab that, when placed on the front edge of a soft top, allowed it to hook into the down-facing channel that is attached to most vintage 1/4 ton jeep windshields. This improved the speed at which a top could be mounted to a jeep. What Jim’s relationship to Bestop was at that point isn’t clear to me yet.
As of the 1966 patent filing, there was no assignment to any company, just to Jim himself. In the meantime, at some point between 1964 and 1968, Jim and his wife Marj acquired Bestop (from Tom?) and began operating it, as her obituary notes “Marj and Jim ran their business, Bestop Mfg., which grew to be a leading manufacturer of cloth “tops” for Jeeps and other recreational vehicles”.
One bit of evidence that the Stengels were connected to Bestop by 1966 was that Jim filed the above 1966 patent under the address “P.O. Box 318, Boulder, Colorado”, the same address that appears in this May 1968 brochure published by Bestop.
Two years later, in 1968, Bestop Manufacturing filed for a Trademark on the name Bestop, again under the same PO Box 318 address :
Now, this is where it becomes a little confusing. At some point in 1968, Bestop acquired or expanded into several lines of additional products and, around the same time period, Husky Products appears to have dropped a similar type of products.
Below is a visual comparison of a 1966 Husky brochure and the 1968 Bestop brochure. The first three pages of the Bestop brochure kind of look like reworked versions of the 1966 Husky brochure (it’s this comparison that started my dive into this topic). And, yes, I realize the tops are somewhat different, especially at the back (Husky continued to advertise the full top into the 1970s, but dropped advertising for the half tops, the multiple doors, and other items).
Roger spotted this sign. I can’t tell how large it is, but it looks like a good price.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/571612383646378/
“Nice Jeep light up decor”
Here’s another hard-to-find farming brochure produced by the Newgren Company.
This love company brochure highlights its Spike Tooth Harrows equipment. Based on the first set of pics here, this equipment have have been used with the Disc frame work as well.
Photos of this unit can be seen here (or just look above this post).
