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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 .
The price of these seems kind of high, but maybe they just aren’t my thing?
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“Vintage JEEP Toledo Plant employee badges. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS First Class Package.
The badges are from between the 1940’s to the 1960’s. Notice how many different names the company went by during the years.”
Thanks to Mike for sharing this Turkey photo of a Jeepster Convertible surrounded by poultry.
This August 07, 1947, ad in the Sullivan Daily Times out of Sullivan, Indiana, highlights the services Citizen’s Garage provides. The Hudson and Willys-Overland dealer highlights its full range of services in the ad, which also features a photo with several jeeps.
This ad is for sale on eBay and appeared in the January 31, 1949, issue of Time Magazine, page 56.
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UPDATE: According to the author in the 1964 Jeep News Vol. 10 No. 7, this article was published in the September 1964 issue of Trailer Life (I previously guess it was in 1963).
I bought a wagoner literature combo off ebay that included the “Test the ‘Jeep’ Wagoneer” excerpt from an unknown issue of Trailer Life Magazine that also included the early Wagoneer brochure on the post below this one. There are still two sets of these available for purchased the last time I checked.
The writer, Bruce Grantland, concluded that the Wagoneer was a new type of vehicle for towing, better suited to towing long distances in remote areas better than any other vehicle of the time.
This was purchased on eBay along with the Trailer Life excerpt showcased in the above post. To me, the art and color choices seem particularly good.
The caption suggests that this sniper could be in big trouble, as he was found shooting in civilian dress.
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“as shown …. 7 x 9 .. … vintage original authentic press photo ( most are Army radiotelephoto from Acme Newspictures )
ON THE AXIOUS SEAT:
FRANCE — Perched on the radiator of a jeep, this worried German sniper in civilian clothes holds his neck as he rides to American headquarters after his capture near St. Sauveur Lendelin. There’s good reason for his frights, for under the rules of war he can be shot for sniping in civilian dress. 08/07/44).
On Monday we took our Pom-Schitzu mix ‘Zollie’ to Washington State University for a neurology exam. To our surprise, on the way out of Colfax we spotted an early Jeep Truck with a sign for Maple “K” Farms, a ranch that raised grass fed beef. They’ve been raising cattle for twenty years and sell direct from their farm in 1/4, 1/2 or whole selections. They are located on the east side of Colfax along US 195. The pics aren’t very good, as they are from Google Earth.
This Jeep ad claims everyone is happy with a new Jeep Station Wagon! The ad appeared in Greencastle, Indiana’s, The Daily Banner on April 05, 1949.
This “Gets to the Job… and Gets It Done!” ad appeared a couple times in the Sullivan Daily News out of Sullivan, Indiana. The ad below appears in the September 27, 1946, issue (and August 30, 1946)
UPDATE: Brian bought this frame and now has it for resale. Contact him for the price
THIS INFO ABOUT THE FRAME IS FROM A March 16, 2018, ad:
“THIS IS A FRAME FROM A 1970 JEEP CJ5 CAMPER. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. I BOUGHT THE JEEP & CAMPER IN 1970 NEW IN SO. CALIF.
WE MADE A MOVE TO OREGON IN 1990 & I DISMANTLED THE CAMPER BECAUSE IT WAS LEAKING BADLY & MY THOUGHT WAS TO BUILD A NEW CAMPER ON THE FRAME. I NEVER GOT TO IT. I SOLD THE JEEP A FEW YEARS AGO & NO NEED FOR THIS FRAME.
THE CAMPER WAS MADE BY EL DORADO CAMPERS IN RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA. THEY MADE CAMPERS FOR PICKUP TRUCKS & THIS WAS EQUAVALENT TO AN 8 FOOT PICK UP CAMPER.”
Camper before it was dismantled:
On August 04, 1949, the Wolcott Beacon out of Wolcott, Indiana, published directions on how to build a toy Willys Wagon for kids. The length of this toy is about 7″.
It looks like this has a set of hubs, so this was probably taken in the mid 1950s at the earliest.
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Maury’s assembling a thread at the Early CJ-5 page of factory images or nearly original CJ-5 engine compartment photos. Hopefully, some more folks have photos they can contribute.
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/factory-engine-bay-photos.139291/
These photos/slides all have jeeps of one kind or another in them and are for sale on eBay.
2. Photo taken in 1964 of a late model CJ-3B:
3. December 1959 Icelandic Press Photo of FC Van:
4. Young man holding a present(?) standing in front of a 1960s Wagon:
5. WWII(?) Photo of Soldier in Front of WWII Jeep with Wood Enclosure:
This August 17th, 1948, ad for the Jeepster was published in the Sullivan Daily Times, out of Sullivan, Indiana.
Both of these ads from the Sullivan Daily Times, out of Sullivan, Indiana, cover the features of the jeep, but do so in slightly different ways. The March 18, 1947, ad focuses on the job-task utility aspects of the jeep, how consumers can use the jeep. The July 13, 1948, ad is less about what the jeep can do task-wise and more about what it can bring consumers beyond specific tasks, such as great mileage, physical comfort, and convenience. I have not studied other ads to see if this was a general trend in Jeep advertising (in other words, I do not know if this shift directed by Willys-Overland or something Citizen’s Garage did on their own).
These two photos were published in the Sullivan Daily Times on June 6, 1947, which was the three year anniversary of D-Day. One photo shows St. Lo, France, in the summer of 1944. The other, taken from about the same location, shows St. Lo in 1947. After wasting far too much time examine the town via Google Earth, my guess is that the bottom photo was take just below a castle near the victim’s memorial, pointed south with the La Vire River along the right hand side.
This June 3, 1947, ad published in the Sullivan Daily Times, out of Sullivan, Indiana, highlights the ability of the jeep to be an efficient, low-cost option as a road-service vehicle.
This July 08, 1947, article from the Sullivan Daily Times announced the upcoming arrival of the Jeep Caravan to the town of Sullivan, Indiana. It was one of four Jeep Caravans traveling the United State at the time.
The caravan consisted of eight jeeps. One was the CJ-2A fire jeep. Four other CJ-2As sported attachments, including an arc welder, a generator, a compressor, and a line of hydraulic lift implements. Based on the pic below, it looks like 2 wagons and a truck, brand new to the line-up in the summer of 1947, rounded out the caravan.
This July 09, 1947, article from the Sullivan Daily Times announcement was published the next day and featured the CJ-2A fire jeep.
This photo and caption appeared on the second page of the Daily Nebraskan on February 24, 1943.
UPDATE II: There are additional updates throughout as several folks suggested other drain holes in various bodies and windshields.
UPDATE: Barney Goodwin noted that MBs/GPWs also have drains on the gas tank sump, front and rear. He also shared some pics (thanks!). Also, some MB/GPW bodies had 3/8″ drain holes in the tool boxes (seem more here).
A couple months ago Chuck asked a question about drain holes, so I collected the information below. It’s hardly exhaustive, so if I’ve missed something, please comment. Also, I did not find any drain strategies for Wagons, Trucks, Jeepsters or FCs; did they have any interior drains? I’m also unsure if the prototype jeeps had drain strategies.
MBs & GPWs:
MBs and GPWs did have drain holes in the far left of the driver side and far right of the passenger side corners, stopped with brass plugs. There seems to be some debate about whether the plugs should have square tops or slotted tops. You can imagine it might not be easy to locate and remove a brass plug once the floor of an MB was full of dirt/mud/water. Here’s a photo of a square plug from G503 in the left corner of the floor:
Arrow points to the drain plug on the driver’s side of this MB.
Fun fact, the drain plug for the floor is reportedly the same size as the drain plug for the MB and GPW gas tank.
Here’s an example of the square plug alternative, a slotted plug. I would think this could be especially difficult to locate when filled with water/mud:
I didn’t know about the fuel tank sump drain holes (of course, on hindsight, it makes sense they’d have them). Barney Goodwin adds, “MB/GPWs had 2 large drains on the fuel tank sump to clear water out, especially after fording. They are basically a radiator cap and gasget without the temp pressure spring. Even the neck on the drain looks like a radiator neck. There was one fore and aft of the sump. It was especially important because there was felt or horsehair insulators between the tank and the body that would be prone to retain moisture and rust the tank if not maintained.”
CJ-2As/CJ-3As/CJ-3Bs/DJ-3As:
These jeeps had drain holes on the sides near the outside step on either side of the body. When purchasing a jeep, If the body is missing the drain hole, then it’s worth examining the body to see if it has been altered in some fashion. Sometimes the lack of drain hole is also a sign that the body is an M-38 or that the body is fiberglass.
Drain hole for CJ-2As, CJ-3As, CJ-3Bs, and DJ-3As.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
That might be a 1947 Luzon Red CJ-2A. An early Auburn Jeep-A-Trench is mounted on the back. One of the fellows is wearing overalls with “Lincoln City Line, Inc.” (Bus/Transit Company) on the back, a company that was based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Meanwhile, Auburn Machine Works was based out of Auburn, Nebraska. So, I’d wager that this photo was taken somewhere in Eastern Nebraska, probably in 1947 or 1948.
The Burke-Schneider Motor Company out of Lincoln, Nebraska, was also involved in this event. The company had a Willys dealership, which explains the fellow in the center with his white overalls. As early as December of 1946 Burke-Schneider was advertising the new CJ-2A (perhaps earlier, but I have no evidence).
This is one I’ve bid on a few times, but never seem to get. At some point I will.
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“Vintage Willys Jeep Firetruck Brochure CJ2 CJ3 as pictured. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS First Class Package. Thanks for looking. Let us know if you have any questions”
