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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 .
Maury spotted these schematic drawings for sale of various Willys Jeep vehicles on eBay. Each appears to be 8.5″ x 11″.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/goodstuff013/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
CJ-6:
WAGONS (several options … eBay):
Maury shared this unusual item.
View all the information on eBay
“NOS 1969-70 KAISER JEEP CHEROKEE FAST ORDER PAD DEALERSHIP ADVERTISING NEW RARE
THIS AUCTION IS FOR A 1970 JEEP DEALERSHIP ORDER PAD
THIS ORDER PAD IS IN GOOD SHAPE BUT DOES HAVE SOME WATER DAMAGE TO THE PAGES
VERY RARE TO FIND ONE
THESE ARE HARD TO FIND
This was also on eBay. I assume one of the Tux Park guys hopped on this unique resource. Unfortunately, only a couple photos were provided on eBay.
1958 Photo of Arthur Gaeth: Source
Arthur Gaeth had a career that ranged from being a pre-WWII LDS missionary and tour conductor in what is now the Czech Republic/Slovakia, to reporting on displaced citizens in Europe. In 1946, he reported on the Nuremberg trials. In 1947, he provided more details on his life during a Senate hearing where he encouraged the loosening of travel restrictions in Europe. He subsequently had his own radio broadcast and Washington Correspondent for the Mutual Broadcasting System. In the 1950s he became the “Voice of the Denver Post” and a News Commentator for Denver’s KBTV News.
The reason for the background information on Arthur Gaeth is that In January of 1950 he delivered a scathing review of Willys-Overland’s management, which was printed out in the January 1, 1950, issue of the Arizona Sun. While there’s likely some exaggerations within, it still provides some interesting tidbits, such as Mahoney’s Technical Services, Incorporated, side deal. Also, if the name Empire Securities isn’t familiar to you, I’d suggest reading this 1946 Fortune article.
Here’s the 1948 Report On The Universal ‘Jeep’ in Conservation I mentioned last week. At twenty-three pages, it’s larger than I expected with lots of photos. All but three of the photos were taken at the Rio Grande College Farm in Ohio (see last page for more info).
This early Warn manual No. WD-255 sold on eBay for $36.20. My last bid was $35.20, so someone out there outbid me.
This unusual set of drawings highlight some Parkway Conversion details and some DJ-3A Hardtop details. Each sheet is 29″x18″. Asking price is $47.50.
View all the information on eBay
“”Jeep Model CJ-3A Dispatcher”, Plans for the Parkway Conversion Utility Delivery Vehicle canopy assembly and attachment, by the writers and illustrators of Willys-Overland Motors, Toledo, Ohio. No Copyright, but a 1956 date. Published by Jeep, Willys Motors, Toledo Ohio. NOT Ex-Library. Note – the photos you see are of these diagram sheets – no ‘Stock Photos’.
A tight firm clean set of three sheets, each 29″ x 18″, each detailing the assembly and attachment of these canopies to the Jeep CJ-3A vehicle of that day. clean and very well illustrated pages.
Sheet 1, illustrated with paragraphs of text, dated March 1958;
Sheet 2, Close-up with all dimensions including window dimensions and attachment detail;
Sheet 3, An Isometric view with attachment directions.
A splendid set of plans for that splendid old barn find or the Jeep Dispatcher passed down to you. Direct from a postwar Jeep dealer’s library. No dogears, No mustiness, No smoke smell. Splendid for the owner rebuilding that old find. We do try to describe them correctly – We want you back as a customer – hundreds of repeat customers.
A wonderful set of directions for the Mechanic, collector, historian, author. No names. Darkenings but no markings. NOT Ex-library. NOT Remainder-marked. We combine S&H on multiple purchases. Check out our eBay store – Navalperson 2 – Navalperson Books and More – 1,600 and more items waiting for you there. Buy with confidence – over 30,000 satisfied Internet buyers can’t be wrong!! Don’t let this one get by you – this is a marvelous Jeep find.”
Seller’s asking price is $295. The contents are likely very similar to this one, which has been scanned and made available for free.
View all the information on eBay
“”Product Merchandising Manual” by the writers and illustrators of Willys Motors and Willys-Overland Export Corporation, Toledo Ohio. No Copyright information. Assembled and Published by Willys and the Jeep Division in the early 1950s – we make a presumption of 1955 based on the Jeep CJ-5 described herein., Presumed First Edition, NOT Ex-Library. No ISBN. Note – the photos you see are of this binder and sections no ‘Stock Photos’.
A tight firm clean binder containing Forty (I through XL) tabbed sections of promotion information for the Jeep dealer to sell Jeeps to the public. The purpose-made three-ring binder is deep blue/yellow-green lettered and decorated with the large Willys ‘W’, although the information is for Jeep. The binder is 11 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ if you count the big graceful curve of the 3 1/4″ spine. The hinges for the binder are separately hinged so the binder could hold additional information as developed by Willys and Jeep. The pages are 11″ x 8 1/2″ with 3/8″ color-coded plasticized tabs identifying the sections. Those sections, again, total 40. Continue reading
I purchased this cool booklet off of eBay. It has some great pics. I’ll share once it arrives.
Maury spotted this one. It was on eBay (sold for $17.50). This 1979 guide seems a clever way to diagnose transmission problems.
“”Kaiser Jeep Corporation Automatic Transmission Circular Slide Rule Calculator” by the writers and illustrators of Kaiser Jeep Corporation, Toledo Ohio. No Copyright data; research indicates Kaiser Jeep used Borg-Warner transmissions at least 1970-1972 – probably longer. Here is a guide for use while servicing those transmissions. Kaiser Jeep published the wheel as a Mechanic’s tool, and as an advertising piece, for their dealers selling retail product in that era. Note – the photos you see are of this mechanic’s tool and advertising piece – no ‘Stock Photos’.
A tight firm clean double-wheel ‘slide rule’ calculator in tan/black, unmarked, a trifle darkened after a half-Century on a shelf. 7 1/4″ in diameter; the inner wheel is 5 1/2″ in diameter.
A guide to when service is required on these transmissions;
The order in which the tests should be made;
The reverse shows the Pressure Levels, where the Transmission selector (gearshift) should be place and what RPM or MPH should be utilized in those tests;
Speeds at which downshifts should be made.
A solid clean circular slide rule – lots of data on the reverse. Direct from a postwar Jeep dealer’s library. No mustiness, No smoke smell. We do try to describe them correctly – We want you back as a customer – hundreds of repeat customers. “
I found this cool and rare brochure for the ill-fated Sierra Dana 20 overdrive on eBay. It’s printed on 8.5″x11″ paper, so the marketing budget must have been tight (as I understand it, working capital was an early issue, which played a part in the demise of the company). A few years ago there was a post of an article that also highlighted this rare overdrive.
The following instructions and schematics were tucked inside the brochure above:
It I hadn’t already bought five pieces from this seller, I might have also bought this one.
View all the information on eBay
“Jeep Vintage Catalog on conversion components by Novak Enterprises Inc. Manufacturers of quality adapters and motormounts.
13 pages in good condition.”
This is the last page of the Press Release. One thing that caught my eye is that every jeep shown here, based on what I can see, came equipped with dual windshield wipers. I tried to discover when wipers were required on all vehicles, but did not locate that info.
This is part II, the Jeep Line of Vehicles, of the Willys-Overland April 22, 1948, forty-seven page Press Release. Part I, the History of Willys-Overland, can be viewed here.
This is part I, the History of Willys-Overland, from the Willys-Overland April 22, 1948, forty-seven page Press Release. Part II, the Jeep Line of Vehicles, will be published on Tuesday.
Thanks again to those who’ve made donations making it possible to purchase unique items like this so that we I can obtain and publish them for all our benefit. This particular item was poorly marketed on eBay. Only one page was shown and no description of the number of pages was included. I took a chance and it turned out to be a great piece for only $13!!
UPDATE: Here’s another version of the 24-page “A Report on The Universal Jeep in Conservation” available on eBay. You can view all the pages of the report here. It’s priced at $29.95.
View all the information on eBay
In the summer of 1955, Edgar Kaiser Sr. provided testimony to the United State Senate, Subcommitte on Antitrust and Monopoly, regarding the car industry, specifically the history of the Kaiser Motors Company, it’s post war challenges and how/why it merged with Willys Overland.
There’s lots of interesting details in here, but my takeaway is that Kaiser didn’t believe Willys-Overland was properly leveraging the opportunities of the consumer market for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Moreover, Kaiser had a better dealer network for selling vehicles than Willys-Overland had been able to create.
So, some of this info is useful for understanding the mindset of Kaiser as to the challenges Kaiser Motors faced, before buying the assets of Willys-Overland, and the reasons the company purchased W-0. Given we will be covering the marketing aspect of this time period, it makes more sense why the new Kaiser Willys entity produced so much new literature for the sale of jeeps. Kaiser simply didn’t believe Willys-Overland execs were doing enough to promote jeeps and their capabilities to consumers.
I’ve taken snap shots of the entire testimony, which can also be found online here.
The 1946 Bulletin “The Jeep as a Source of Power and Transportation on Farms and Ranches in Texas” was written by Harris Pearson Smith, Chief of the Division of Agricultural Engineering in the State of Texas. It is available for download off of the Hathitrust.org site. The pamphlet includes a variety of farm images.
Cover of booklet:
Image 1 compares a WWII jeep used for testing vs. a CJ-2 (note the lack of a fuel inlet and the WWII grille; also looks like JEEP is printed on the windshield) received in April of 1945 for additional testing:
Image 2 describes an early drawbar experiment that was later ruled too narrow:
The last image of the bulletin provides evidence that the jeep can get stuck:
I found this M-38A1 Installation Instructions Conversion Power Plant Heater Kit 32 page manual on eBay. It seems a well done and detailed look at how to install the heater kit. Hopefully, someone can use the information.
The Koenig Standard Cabs Model 330 Full and 335 Half fit CJ-3As, CJ-3Bs, DJ-3As and possibly others.
Another installment of my series on how to assemble Koenig stuff. These instructions help guide the installation of a Koenig 3J90 bed extender.
This 1959 instruction document ought to be helpful for the owners of Koenig Super Cabs Models 350 Full and 355 Half Cabs.
The models covered in the pages below are the Koenig Standard Hardtops 530 Full and 53 Half for the CJ-5 and Models 630 Full and 535 Half with adapters No. 3863 for CJ-6 Jeeps.
The models covered in the pages below are the Koenig Super Cabs 550 Full and 555 Half for the CJ-5 and Models 650 Full and 555 Half with adapters No. 3863 for CJ-6 Jeeps.
It seems a shame that these documents are released for public consumption. The price on these is quite high. It looks like the earliest tests on the theory of the Rotabuggy occurred in August of 1941, which is earlier than I would have thought.
View all the information on eBay
“1941 to 1944 – Original RAF confidential and restricted file of the most bizarre World War II invention, a “flying jeep”, which became known as “Hafner Rotabbugy”, or “Hafner Gyroplane” in honour of his chief inventor Raoul Hafner (1905-1980), Austrian born British helicopter pioneer and engineer, known for his major contributions to the aerospace industry.”
