emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
While in Canada last summer, Luciano, a videographer from Brazil, joined us for a few days. His task was to interview and record Hugo’s journey. His footage has yet to be released publicly, though he did send me a few clips for the presentation at the Willys Reunion. I decided to take some screen shots and share them. Canada can make you feel pretty small, pretty quickly!
Luciano started the drone close, then backed it way, way into the sky.
Saturday June 16th (yes, this Saturday) is the 2nd Annual Flatties at the Field.
“2nd Annual Flatties at the Field!! Antique jeep & Military vehicle show at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodome,Red Hook NY. This Saturday June 16, 2018.
1940 to 1986 jeep, willys, military and civilian.”
It’s been a while since I’ve posted some of Charles pics. Here are some more he found.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Were $185 on eBay
Gary’s selling these hard-to-find-hubs.
“Up for bid is a nice pair of rare Kelly Locking Hubs [Ten spline]. The Hubs have been disassembled, cleaned, and repacked lightly with grease. They have been primered and painted black. These Hubs lock in and out easily and work as they should, and are all ready to be mounted on your Willys Jeep!”
This photo of Leigh Tedford at the Great Willys Picnic, taken by her father, shows that rain won’t stop her. That’s her 1951 Utility Wagon to her left and a trophy in hand. Looks like a good day to me!
Paul took advantage of a warm Anchorage day and took this shot showing the reflection of his engine on the hood.
Rick shared photos of this year’s wet and rainy Great Willys Picnic. I’ve added a few pics from Bill Reiss, too. Bill captured the rain pretty well during the morning caravan to the event.
Here are Rick’s photos:
I spent much of Saturday catching up around the house from our long absence . I’d planned to do updates in the evening, but I got busy hunting down a mysterious entity that appeared to be using our wifi. So, I had to mess around with our router awhile (update firmware, change password, etc). I expect updates to return to normal on Monday.
<– Day 37 – Monday June 4th: Up and Over the Rockies | OVERVIEW –>
Day 38 & 39: Day 38, Tuesday, was my birthday. We spent the day in Salt Lake City doing almost nothing. We spent some time in the park and I played some guitar. Later, we went out to dinner with my boys. On Wednesday, we drove home to Pasco. Naturally, we had a hiccup: Our Verizon hotspot died (it was pretty old), so we stopped at where our trip started, the Verizon Store in Twin Falls, Idaho. We made it back to Pasco at 4pm PST, very tired.
I want to thank EVERYONE who welcomed us into their homes, offered advice on where we should go, met us at the Reunion, gave us tours, shared their jeeps and stories, purchased our posters and t-shirts, gave us gifts, donated money, bought us or made us dinner, and interacted with us along the way. Without ALL of you, these trips that we make would be far less interesting and enjoyable. Seeing jeeps is fun, but meeting people and seeing new places are the best parts. So, thanks for allowing us to be a part of your worlds, even if briefly.
TRIP STATS: 9,751 miles through 24 states over 39 days. Below is a rough map of the trip.
That’s it for the 2018 East Coast Willys Reunion trip!
<– Day 37 – Monday June 4th: Up and Over the Rockies | No More Additional Posts
I happily did very little on Tuesday, so just this one post for Wednesday. On Wednesday, we drive home. On Thursday, I’ll provide a look back on our trip.
In the mean time, Derek wrote a three page article about his time at the Willys Reunion. You can read it all here:
https://www.cj3b.info/Reunion2018.html
Rick Pacholski aka Scoutpilot demonstrating a fuel pump rebuild at the 2018 Willys Reunion.
<– Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains | Day 38/39 – Tues/Wed June 5th/6th: Road Home – Epilogue –>
Lincoln looking down upon us at a rest stop along I-80.
Day 37: On Monday we drove from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, Utah, with a short stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
On Monday we drove from Denver to Salt Lake City.
We thanked our new-found cousin Gary and his wife Kathy for hosting us, then off we went to find a place they think serves the best Bagels in Denver, the Woodgrain Bagels. They didn’t have a very wide selection of bagels, but they had the proper chewiness. I enjoyed them (of course, Ann can’t eat them because of her gluten issues).
Along with a half-dozen bagels, I bought some poblano cream cheese. Oh boy, was that excellent!
Coincidently, the bagelry and numerous other nearby shops and houses are located at the old Lowry Air Force Base. Ann had spent time there (as did Bob Christy). Needless to say, Ann was shocked at the transformation of the base from one with endless goose excrement (she remembers having to march through goosepoop) into a place with a museum, restaurants, beer garden, high end shops, and storage facilities. It was quite disorienting.
The Willys Overland Rally 2018 in Moab this year was successful again. According David, “The Willys event in Moab went very well. Over 110 people and almost 50 Willys jeeps of various types. People came from Utah, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, and others I can’t remember. Some big bucks beautiful restorations and some low bucks leaky originals ! Red Cliffs Lodge is a great place for an event like this although approx. 20 miles outside of Moab. Trail ride was mild but fun and scenic. Had a fun and challenging rocky hill some of us tried. Jp magazine was there and will have an article later this year.”
View all the photos here: http://www.willysrally.com/gallery18/gallery18.php
It’s a busy weekend for jeeps in Pennsylvania this weekend. Have fun all!
The Great Willys Picnic will be held Sunday, June 10th:
The Bantam Jeep Festival will be held June 8-10:
<– Day 35 – Saturday June 2nd: Following the Western Cattle Trail | Day 37 – Monday June 4th: Up and Over the Rockies –>
Buffalo Bill shooting a Buffalo sculpture at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas.
Day 36: On Sunday we drove from Garden City, Kansas, to Denver, Colorado.
Sunday’s drive from Garden City, Kansas, to Denver, Colorado.
Our day began unexpectedly. While driving to get some coffee Ann noticed a guy in a 3rd story hotel window changing clothes with his back/butt to the window, and I mean almost pressing up against the window. The morning sun was shining right on the window, so he wasn’t hard to see. What happens in Garden City, stays in Garden City?
As we drove to our first destination, Monument Rocks, I learned I was in trouble. It turns out, Ann had a dream about me accepting a job to do a reality show with Trump and Kelly Ann Conway. Kelly and I had to pretend we were married. For some reason, Ann wasn’t happy about this arrangement. Thankfully, her short term memory is awful and, once I found some caffeine for her, she’d forgot all about it.
We had a problem as we drove north. Neither my iPhone nor our Jeep’s nav system was giving us the proper turnoff road for Monument Rocks. I’d mapped out several times on my computer, so I knew approximately where the turn off was (there are actually two of them, but the southern one doesn’t have any signs along the highway). Fortunatley, Ann tried her Android and it found the turn off just in time. (for those traveling from the south, turn right on Dakota, just across from the Keystone Gallery. Dakota becames 450, then Elk, then Gove E, then turn left — north — on Gove 16).
This photo shows the drive up Gove 16 from the south:
Here’s what we saw as we approached Monument Rocks:
The chalk formations are on private land and several signs ask visitors not to climb the cliffs. The early morning sun and blue skies made for some neat photos.
<– Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion | Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains –>
Hanging out with a local in Dodge City. It seems I wore the right shirt today.
Day 35: We spent Saturday driving north from Clinton, Oklahoma, to Garden City, Kansas. Unbeknownst to us most of the day, we were roughly following (from Clinton to Dodge City) an old cow drive trail called the Great Western Cattle Trail. Our route:
On Saturday, we drove from Clinton, Oklahoma, to Garden City, Kansas.
Western Cattle Trail (and the other major trails):
We began the morning with one last Route 66 task: visit the Clinton Route 66 Museum. The outside of the building was cleverly done as a vintage-looking Route 66 motel:
Inside the lobby, we found signs, a car, gas pumps, and other items.
To enter the museum portion, it costs $7. Once paid, visitors enter through a set of doors. Among the sights that greet visitors is this large map showing Route 66, along with some early history of road as it relates to Oklahoma. The museum claims that Oklahoma has more original road than any other state. That certainly seemed like a legitimate claim given the length of the road within Oklahoma..
Chris, Patrick, and Roger all shared photos from the Willys Rally on Saturday. Here’s a compilation of their photos:
<– Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 | Day 35 – Saturday June 2nd: Following the Western Cattle Trail –>
This Route 66 sign was just installed in El Reno a month ago.
Day 34: On Friday we drove from Clarmore, Oklahoma, to Clinton, Oklahoma.
On Friday we drove from Claremore, Oklahoma, to Clinton, Oklahoma. Multiple times we hopped on Route 66, but it proved elusive at times as well.
We started out Friday hunting down the Will Rogers statue in downtown Claremore. It didn’t take long to find it. Having read two biographies about Will, one thing I learned is that he was an early day blogger, always traveling with a laptop typewriter and writing when he had a spare moment. I can relate. So, I thought I’d show him how we do a selfie. He was a natural.
In fact, between our glasses and the hardware in our laps, you can barely tell us apart … (Hint: I’m the one with the ball cap). I could tell right away he liked me. After all, he never met a man he didn’t like, or so he said once.
Thanks to Derek Redmond for sneaking up behind me and taking the photo of me.
Our next stop was the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, which is also in Claremore. On our way, we passed this mural. Below I show two of the three panes (the third has been hidden by a tree).
Chris shared these photos he took from Friday’s Willys Rally in Oxford, Ohio. You’ll may recognize Scotty’s “Rat Fink” CJ-3A and Dave’s blue CJ-5 from the Paris, Illinois, post from a couple days ago.
<– Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas | Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion –>
This section of Route 66 between Miami and Afton, Oklahoma, is the last surviving section from 1922, though this probably is better put: the last surviving easily accessible section. It’s 9ft wide and bordered by cement curbs (though the curbs are even with the road.
Day 33: On Thursday we drove from Ellisville, Missouri, to Claremont, Oklahoma.
Our drive from Ellisville, Missouri, to Claremore, Oklahoma, part of which we did on Route 66.
Late Wednesday night, we repacked our jeep, as Ann and Jim had done a deal for some sewing items. A big thanks to Jim and Tracy helping my wife forget all about our day-1 trials (and for dinner). Thanks also to Jim for the tour around west St. Louis and along the world’s longest strip mall. Whether it’s true or not, I can attest it is long. I was also impressed with the variety of local restaurants and grocery stores. For example, Lion’s Choice, which I test on Thursday afternoon, served a much higher level of roast beef on a hoagie bun. Even better, they offer a gluten free bun with roasted turkey, perfect for my celiac and beef-protein sensitive wife. We hope to return to St. Louis and explore that city in the future.
On Thursday morning, we continue our journey west, following Jim out to Craig “Mr. TheFcConnection“‘s place. It turns out his home is the kind of place that would make Daniel Boone happy, deep in the country. First, it was out a country highway, then we ventured down a long gravel road. Next, we had to cross the kind of cement bridge that might make a city dweller nervous.
Finally, we had to climb a long, steep driveway that only jeepers could love. It was at the top of said driveway that Craig had prepared a welcome of his own for us.
<– Day 31 – Tues. May 29th: Nous aurons toujours Paris | Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 –>
Jim’s showing Ann the finer points of using the emboidering functions on this sewing machine we bought from him. He’s renaissance man of many talents!
Day 32: On Wednesday, we drove from Paris, Illinois, to Ellisville, Missouri.
We pulled out of the Ogle’s lovely Country Bed and Breakfast by following some picturesque back roads. This one was particularly pretty.
Our first stop of the day was the little town of Casey. To get there, we traveled down I-70. Normally, we’d have likely bypassed a town like Casey unless it offered something unusual. The residents of Casey understood this, so in December of 2011, to help draw in some traffic, the world’s largest Wind Chimes were installed near the town’s center.
As word about the chimes leaked, travelers began venturing off I-70 to investigate them. Realizing the potential of having big things, more items began to appear in Casey. According to one woman I met, the influx of visitors ramped up quickly, bringing in unexpected cash and visibility.
Now, the town has multiple “largest” items, along with some other goofy items. Participating businesses offer a checklist for visitors so they can be sure not to miss them. The town’s website touts its “Big Things in a Small Town“.
Signs direct visitors:
<– Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain | Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas –>
David, Russ and Ann in front of Russ’ “Alaska Or Rust Shrine”. Russ lives in Paris, Illinois. The Post title is a French translation of the famous line from Casablanca, “We’ll always have Paris.”
Day 31: On Tuesday we drove from Charleston, West Virginia, to Paris Illinois.
On Tuesday May 29th, we drove from Charleston, West Virginia, to Paris Illinois.
On Tuesday, we started from Charleston early, as we had a long drive to Paris. Our first stop of the day was Huntington, West Virginia, for gas. It turns out the city is considered by some to be an epicenter for opioid addiction. We saw this firsthand.
In Huntington, we randomly chose a Speedy Mini-Mart just off the freeway. As I gassed up the jeep, Ann went inside for a bathroom break. Of the 10 people I saw either milling about outside at the edge of the station’s property or having parked and walked inside, 6 looked addicted to something (funky skin color, haunting eyes … something wasn’t right). Inside the Mini-Mart, The conversation between a customer and the cashier included the difficulties of coming down too fast. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
A couple hours later, we headed into the heart of Louisville from the east, then turned north to cross the river into Indiana. This sent our nav system into a panic, partly because, according to our nav, we were not longer on a bridge. Instead, we were driving on the river itself. The nav system restarted navigation several times trying to make sense of the situation. It took a couple miles before everything righted itself.
Sometime later, while still heading north, we spotted a sign for Goat Milk Stuff. The billboards looked intriguing enough to learn more, so we took a short detour.
There are two buildings, one for goat-based health and beauty products, and the other for goat-milk related products and sweets.
The place wasn’t packed with foods, but what was there tasted good. As goat cheese goes, it wasn’t very “goaty”. Instead, the cheese was smooth and tasty. The store offered free samples. We left with garlic goat cheese.
Bob Christy, this is for Mindy, for you 🙂
With our goat needs satisfied, we left for Paris Machine, a business started in 1944 by Russ Lawton’s grandfather. Russ, along with Cowboy, accompanied us on the trip to Alaska last year with Charlene, the yellow Jeepster.
To make sure Ann and I didn’t miss his shop, Russ put out a couple beacons near the entrance.
<– Day 29 – Sun. May 27th: The Exley House Curse | Day 31 – Tuesday May 29th: Nous aurons toujours Paris –>
Me, my cousin, and Ann.
Day 30: Monday we drove from Chester, Virginia, to Charleston, West Virginia.
On Monday May 28th we drove from Chester, Virginia, to Christiansburg, VA, then on to Charleston, West Virginia.
We said good by to my cousin today, but not until we’d done a few more chores around the house. We didn’t finish everything, so I guess we’ll just have to return soon!?!
About the time we were going to leave, the heavens opened, unleashing a torrent of rain upon our heads. Using umbrellas and a shuttle system, we managed to keep most of the stuff dry. I’m not sure how I ended up carrying the one small bag, while she had my backpack and my guitar, but she’s Army tough. So, you need not worry!
All packed, we began our drive toward Christiansburg, where we planned to meet with Chris. After our onboard Navigation failed us, Chris rescued us via the phone … side note: It’s a mystery to me how driverless cars will ever be expected to successfully navigate our world 100% of the time. I can’t tell you the number of times Ann and I have had multiple nav systems going, yet still managed to navigate places incorrectly because of GPS/Road/Nav flaws.
<– Day 27 & Day 28 – Fri/Sat May 25th/26th: What is Happening? | Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain –>
Repalring the hall light.
Day 29: We spent much of the Sunday working on my cousin’s house near Richmond, Virginia. She bought it a year ago and has discovered it is a little more of a fixer-upper than she’d planned. The more time she’s spent there, the more she’s found odd things. She blames it on the previous family, calling it the Exley house. Why doesn’t something work right? That’s because it’s the Exley house.
Me explaining that there are two kinds of shower heads, Speakman heads and all others. She had a Speakman and didn’t realize how good it was (IMHO). In fact, it’s the biggest one I’ve seen, having 8 water jets.
I felt like we ran into the Exley curse when repairing her downstairs toilet. The toilet had a flap that wouldn’t seal. What should have been a 30 minute job, something I’ve fixed in other places, took multiple attempts over two days. I don’t have time to write up all the sordid details, but after the fifth time of removing the tank, I took everything apart and rebuilt it one more time. That finally did the trick.
The list of to-dos … we won’t finish them all, but we made a good dent.
Needing a break from the craziness, we went for a short walk at Marymont Park, then drove to Petersburg to eat some lunch and then see the Trapezium house, which is odd. Learn more in the video below.
On Monday, We’ll be heading for Huntington, WV; Tuesday will take us to Paris, Illinois; and Wednesday will bring us to St. Louis.
<– Day 27 & Day 28 – Fri/Sat May 25th/26th: What is Happening? | Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain –>
Chris shared this Willys/Jeep license topper. Asking price is $225.
View all the information on eBay
“NEVER MOUNTED”
