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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 .
Paul Barry from Willys America and his wife Jane discovered these two jeeps on the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Moored at Pier 45 in San Francisco, it’s the last unaltered Liberty Ship from WWII. These days it operates as a living museum teaching tourists. You can learn more at the SS Jeremiah O’Brien website.
Mike discovered this jeep toy by Salido in a small antique shop in Moneterey, California.
Roger shared these photos from his Midwest FC Gathering. He reported that the weather was great. He had more than 30 people and 9 FCs at the event. He also wanted to acknowledge & thank everyone for all the spontaneous help with food.
-Linda & George “The Grill Master” McGuire
-Sharon & Walter “The Grill Master” Calhoun
-Dan Laity, Dutch Oven “Chef”
-Everyone who set up canopy’s, tables, chairs, and helped clean-up.
He’s already looking forward to next year!
FC150, Greg Houk (OH), Houk’s Jeep Parts,Fayetteville,OH
170DRW, Ronnie & Susie Talkington (WV)
George McGuire (PA), Dan Laity (OH), Wayne & Sally Trent (FL)
Steve shared this funny story about the seizure of jeeps in Paris to put a halt to free rides for pretty French girls. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3316764/posts
Craig’s friend Mario put his jeep to use this weekend moving some hay bales.
The prisoner doesn’t seem all that upset about being captured.
“1943- Wounded German soldier is brought down from the hills around Salerno in a jeep ambulance for treatment at a dressing station behind Allied lines.”
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These old photos I bought off of eBay show aren’t the best. They capture a weekend of jeeping somewhere in California, possibly the Rubicon.
According to this story, Buddy Cowger lost the use of his legs due to cyanide poisoning. That didn’t stop him from driving the backroads of Utah in search of Uranium. He was a friend of Charlie Steen, a famous Uranium hunter out of Moab.
This testimonial was published in the July 1955 issue of Willys News.
Richard Michalsky builds “mini-jeeps” out of his shop in Bolivia. These jeeps are all metal. The first vehicle, an MB look-a-like was completed in 3 years. It is 25% Smaller than the original vehicle and is 2WD, but has made of the same details. It is powered with a 3 Cyl engine from a Kia 1000cc. It weighs around 1250lbs.
This second jeep is a civilian model. It’s styled different, but appears to be built in a way similar to the MB-like jeep. It too is only 2WD. They look like a kick to drive around.
I spent far too much time in the sun today. I could have used an umbrella like this!
“1943- British Signaller W. Bale working on his jeep using an umbrella for shade on Sicilian beach.”
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Don shared these photos of jeeps from his visit to the the New Mexico Museum of Military History Albuquerque, New Mexico (That is the Facebook page … it’s website doesn’t appear to be working). This place is only about a mile away from the jeep dealership that has the CJ-2A in it. Note the Ford GP! Don sent a selfie this time 🙂
Anyone familiar with West Virginia’s Top Kicks Military Museum? If not, it’s worth a look. Merlin stopped by the other day and filed a detailed report on his blog. The museum has an extensive Jeep collection that even includes a copy of the CJ4 Jeep and a 6 wheeler.
https://hansonmechanical.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/a-million-jeeps/
Pete from the Old Willys Forum shared this news with me. Click on the links to learn more.
Joseph is working on his high school senior project this summer. He is planning to build a CNC Mill machine that will mill wood, plastic, and aluminum. He just launched a Kickstarter Campaign to sell his Willys Station Wagon LED tail lights as a kit, to fund the purchase of the CNC parts.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192462920/willys-station-wagon-led-tail-light-kit
Once he has the CNC machine together, he will use it to produce the circuit boards for the LED tail lights, and other small parts that he can sell to help fund his ’51 Willys Wagon build.
http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/showthread.php?2989-Joseph-s-51-Wagon-Build
He is hoping to sell 25-30 sets of the lights to fund the CNC project. It is an ambitious senior project for a 16 year old kid, but he has already raised 2/3 of the 30 day campaign goal in the first 10 days… There has been lots of interest in these lights on www.oldwillysforum.com and hopefully from others who might not visit the forum to find the info on them.
Even folks don’t need a set of the lights, they can support Joseph’s Kickstarter campaign by pledging $25 or more and get a cool shirt he designed for the project. If they are feeling philanthropic, they can donate any amout to the campaign…
Here is what comes in the “kit”, for each tail light, which bolts in to the stock Willys tail light bezel.
A couple days ago Glenn Byron was driving to a local Parking Lot Hot Dog Stand Display in his DJ-3A “Miss Willy” when a 90 year old driver pulled a left turn right in front of his bright yellow Jeep. The driver claimed the sun was in his eyes and he didn’t see glenn. Glenn hit the brakes, leaving about 5 foot skid marks from all four wheels before impact.
A nearly new Subaru was the victim, hit on passenger side, side air bags deployed, and probably totaled. The impact caused Miss Willy to flip onto her drivers side and slide a very short distance.
Miss Willy has bent frame, broken windshield, whole nose screwed up, and who knows how much more.
Fortunately, Glenn seems to be okay, though he did get hit on the head pretty good, causing him to be a little foggy. He’s not sure, but he believes he was ejected. No one seems to know of for sure.
Here’s the Subaru:
Miss Willys before the accident:
These two photos were taken at Kendall’s Rare Bird Farm in 1948 showing Frances Freeman. It has since closed, though I have no additional information. Note the odd rear rim.
Field Marshall Sir Thomas Albert Blamey was memorialized in a monument in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. It shows him standing while gripping part of a jeep windshield. The way a July 1955 Willys News described it, I thought there’d be a whole jeep!
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Blamey_statue_Melbourne.jpg Blamey is mounted on a jeep instead of the traditional horse. This conveys Blamey’s role in the technological transformation of the Army that occurred during his years of service
This was part of the training exercise at the Air Force’s Advanced Glider Detachment in Mobile, Alabama.
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Steve spotted this postcard that shows both the snowplows and the options for equipment behind the jeeps.
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Paul reports that this year’s Willys America Open House was a big success. He’s posted photos on his Facebook page. Below are just a few of them.
Keep an eye out for this stolen 1944 MB(?) taken from the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, UK. Its registration is AMB644 and the hood number is 20497753-S. It was formerly stationed at Pearl Harbor.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-33537724
Pfc. Harold B. Whiting of Plainfield, New Jersey, built an award-winning model jeep that in 1946 that landed temporarily on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This article was featured in the February 2, 1946, issue of the Afro-American. I wonder where that model is now??
An October 26, 1951, article from the Times-News of Henderson, North Carolina, reported that the State Supreme Court of Texas ruled jeeps were “uncouth . . . without beauty of line or body”! Obviously, this didn’t sit well with Willys Overland.
Last week I dropped by my parents house to visit. Naturally, I also had some sonny-do chores to finish, including my annual ‘sweeping of the roof’. Their tall fir trees might look beautiful, but eventually fall from the limbs and have to land somewhere. How they all seem to reach the roof remains a mystery to me.
The good news is I did manage to get a little work done on Biscuit. After swapping rear leaf spring combinations more times than i care to count, I finally got a grouping that puts the jeep level and the pumpkin at the right angle. That completes the changes necessary for the rear. Now I just have to finish off the engine compartment, brake, and clutch changes. I’m in no rush as the next book is the priority project, but hopefully by years end the jeep will be running again.
Looking for a modern truck in a vintage package? Thanks to Guy, we now know of at least one option: Legacy Classic Trucks. Based out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the company specializes in rebuilding classic trucks of all kinds, including Jeep Scramblers and Dodge Power Wagons. The Four Door Power Wagon below is one example. According to their website, most of their trucks are built to order with a variety of power train options and are priced accordingly.
