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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 .
Mark has just posted a new feature story over at Warjeeps.com. Read about how David Egerton spent three years restoring a 1942 GPW that had been civilized.
http://warjeepstories.blogspot.com/2015/01/honoring-veteran-42-gpw.html
David Egerton’s 1942 GPW
Robin shares this photo and caption. It describes the close combat course in North Carolina.
We are hoping someone recognizes the type of camper on this Willys Truck. It looks like it was built for Willys trucks it fits so well. Below the color photos are a couple of black and white photos showing a similar but slightly different example.
Jay Lewton is rebuilding his grandfather’s racing jeep. He’s looking for a few hard-to-find parts.
My grandpa and Dad owned Lewton’s Jeep Sales and service from 1952 until 1989 when chrysler took over. My dad still has the shop and now does minor repairs and vintage jeep service work. The jeep I am restoring is my grandpas 1948 Willys race jeep. He raced this at Tri County 4 Wheelers, which he and 13 friends started in 1963 in Lisbon Ohio. I am now the proud owner of the jeep and trying to find the same rims and tires he used to run. 15×10 5 slot rims and Formula Desert Dog Tires 31×10.50 r 15. Luckily I still have the rims for the paddle tires but along the way I am not sure what happened to the aluminum rims. My dad tossed the Desert dogs about 10 years ago because they were falling apart.
I am looking for some Desert Dog tires and alumuinum rims. I am also looking for a 3a or 3b frame because of the many years of offroad racing the frame on the jeep has gotten week and stressed and I would much rather put another frame under it to make it safe if I decide to show or run the jeep again.
I am including a picture of my grandpa in his jeep from the early 90’s when he was still racing. Any help in searching for these parts would be greatly appreciated. I am lucky to finally add this Jeep to my Jeep collection here in Phoenix Az where I live now.
At 3.5″ x 5″ this isn’t too big, but it sure looks interesting.
“THIS IS A RARE OLD AND ORIGINAL 1941 ONE-OF-A-KIND “65TH COAST ARTILLERY” FORT BARRY, CALIFORNIA WATER-SLIDE DECAL.
GREAT ILLUSTRATION OF A DOG SOLDIER MANNING A HOOD-MOUNTED MACHINE GUN ON HIS JEEP AND TOWING A 3-INCH ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN.
THE 2ND BATTALION 65TH COAST ARTILLERY WAS STATIONED AT FORT BARRY ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IN THE MARIN COUNTY HEADLANDS. MADE UP MAINLY OF 3-INCH ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNERS FROM WASHINGTON, OREGON AND CALIFORNIA STATES, THEY DEVELOPED A FRONT-PEDESTAL MOUNT FOR 50 CALIBER ANTI-AIRCRAFT MACHINE GUNS FOR THEIR JEEPS. MADE BY THE FAMOUS ILLUSTRATORS AT THE LACQUER GRAPH PROCESS COMPANY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
THIS UNUSUAL BEAUTIFUL DECAL SHOWS ITS AGE, BUT DISPLAYS WELL IN EXCELLENT UNUSED CONDITION.
IT MEASURES ABOUT 3 1/2 BY 5 INCHES IN SIZE.
IT WOULD BE A NICE ASSET TO ANY 2ND BN 65TH COAST ARTILLERY REGIMENT, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA STATE OR TRAVEL DECAL COLLECTION.”
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Sometimes, you have to sacrifice the jeep! This photo was taken in Fulda Gap, Germany.
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UPDATE: Ooops. I forgot to make a PDF. Thankfully, Joe made a PDF and MS WORD version for us.
If the Superbowl isn’t keeping you busy today, then maybe this Jeep crossword puzzle will give you something to do. I twas published in the February 1956 issue of Willys News. I’ll publish the results on Tuesday.
This is a PDF that should print out two pages, one for the puzzle and one for the clue.
Otherwise, click on the images below and print them.
These are an assortment of WWII, 1950s Sahara and Algeria, and 1980 maneuvers in Belgium.
The September 1957 issue of Willys News devoted a full page to Frank and Helen Schreider’s 20,000 mile trip from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America.
Thats some serious weight.
“eep Pulling Freight Car in Dakar WWII Dispatch Photo News Service
This is thin stock, put out by the Dispatch Photo News Service in New York during World War II. Measures roughly 10 3/4 x 12 1/2. Blank back. Has caption along the bottom telling about the picture. A friend told me this is offset lithography (dot pattern)”
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Here’s another one of these vintage jeep game boards on eBay.
” WW2 JEEP BOARD COMPLETE WITH THE PEGS. I HAVE DESCRIBED THIS AS NEW CONDITION. THE OUTSIDE DOES HAVE SOME WEAR AND TEAR AND A FEW SMALL TEARS, BUT INSIDE, EVERYTHING IS VERY CLEAN AND SHOWS NO SIGNS OF BEING USED. ”
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UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $8000.
(06/23/2015) It’s street legal, too.
“Chevy 454, tunnel ram, roller rockers, chromolly pushrods, Isky cam, lifters, and springs, complete MSD ignition system, gear drive, Turbo 400 trans. with 2400 stall converter, narrowed 9″ Ford rear end with 5.29 gears and spool, tubed back half, Mustang II front end, wheelie bars, all Auto Meter gauges, 33 X 15.50 Mickey Thompson Pro tires on the rear, 15 X 14 Weld wheels in the rear, 15 X 3 Weld wheels up front, PRP seats with 5 point harnesses, lots more goodies!
This Jeep is street legal with current tags. Great cruising vehicle. Must see!!!”
Too bad this isn’t in color. Note the DJ-3A with the convertible top at the lower right. the photo was published in the February 1956 issue of Willys News.
On April 20, 1997, the Toledo Blade devoted an entire section of its newspaper to the jeep history, going all the way back to the construction of the Jewel sewing machine factory in 1885. While it isn’t a perfect history (for example Jeep did not copyright the name JEEP in 1946, they tried, and failed, to trademark it at that time), it’s still interesting with some photos and a historical time line.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I2oxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6687%2C7138684
In the photo above Willys MAs are rolling off the assembly line.
The Miami News reported in 1956 that wives will love driving the new FC-150. I wonder if anyone bothered to interview any wives on that topic . . .
That’s some serious mud!
“WWII Line of U.S. Jeeps Bogged Down in Mud on Ledo Road in Burma Press Photo”
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Ouch!
“1943 Press Photo A destroyed American jeep after it hit a land mine, Navy beach”
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This photo appeared in a September 06, 1943, promoting the jeep as a tractor.
A 1943 an interview with Barney Roos appeared in a Palm Beach newspaper that explored his automotive history. In the article, Roos promoted the jeep as a practical alternative to the standard tractor. Another article in the Milwaukee Journal seconded farmer’s optimism regarding the jeep (there were many articles promoting the jeep as a farm tractor. Here’s a September 06, 1943 article).
A year later, two Canadian Agricultural specialists were much less confident in the jeep’s potential, suggesting the jeep drove to fast, the transmission was not strong enough, and the jeep lacked power to be a good farm vehicle. Willys Overland must have agreed with those researchers, because they addressed those issues by installing lower gears, which both added power and slowed down the jeep. They also updated the transmission to the T-90.
I’ll begin with the 1944 Canadian article first as that is comparatively short.
By April 1942 newspaper editors weren’t sure what to call the new fangled quarter-ton bantam-willys-ford invention. The problem was highlighted in this Sarasota-Herald-Tribune article which surveyed editors’ uses of different descriptive words. Note the naval editor’s response at the very bottom of the article.
Eventually, a decision was made. In May of 1942 newspapers announced the armored division officially named the quarter-ton command/reconnaissance car the ‘Peep’, while the half-ton armored car was called the ‘Jeep’. The Milwaukee Journal published two photos to help readers distinguish between the two.
That’s a Ford GP at the top, while at the bottom is what I believe to be an early Dodge Command Car. You can view other earlier examples like the one above at the Command Car site.
This article in the Pittsburgh Press, in May of 1942 confirms that the names “jeep” and “peep” had been transformed from slang into legitimate words that could appear in dictionaries.
As late as 1984, some WWII vets didn’t know why they called the jeep a peep. According to this article in the Spokane-Review, Patton’s 3rd Army Armored Division continued to call the jeep a peep throughout the war.
This is interesting. I don’t know how rare it is. One of the charms is a jeep.
“Circa 1940’s-50’s military-themed silver charm bracelet
Willy’s Jeep, tank, USN symbol, plane, machine gun, paratrooper, sailor charms”
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/clt/4864225571.html
Joe and his GPW attended the 24th Annual Military Vehicle Show held by the Arizona Military Vehicle Collectors Club this past weekend. It looks like he was having plenty of fun!
Here’s Joe posing with some new friends.
Here’s Joe and his GPW
Another new friend Joe?
An ad printed in the December 29, 1957, issue of the Toledo Blade highlighted the number of factories and sub-assembly plants Kaiser Willys had all over the world. They also had dealerships serving 134 countries.
Buz sent me a note about the Rescued Film Project Archive. The Project finds undeveloped canisters of film and works to restore them. They have an online archives. Recently, they found thirty-one rolls from WW II. A few of those rolls include jeeps (seen below).
Check out this video about the WWII archive: http://vimeo.com/116735360
The August 11, 1958, issue of the Sydney Morning Herald featured a long review of the CJ-3B, whose parts were imported into Australia and then assembled there. You can review the article at Google news as it original appeared or read my re-arranged version (for space purposes) below. The reviewer’s biggest complaint was due to the way the jeep is converted from left to right-hand drive, leaving the gearshift to the left of the transfer case shifters.
From the August 11, 1958 issue of the Sydney Morning Herald Page 5.
Marc spotted this photo. Can anyone interpret the markings on this jeep?
“Original WWII photo of a Jeep from the 388th Bomb Group. Has a crease on the extreme right side. Measures 4.75″ x 4″.”
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