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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 .
UPDATE: This appears SOLD, but was listed at $800.
I could be wrong, but the slopes and cut of the passenger and driver’s sides look very similar to a Willys MA, thought maybe a Ford GP as well?. This has been hacked up a bit, but it’s worth a look. Check out what appears to be an emergency brake as well.
“Clear title has orignal old style pink slip non op for 20 years but probably off dmv record now… 4×4 ran when parked 10 years ago”
Bruce forwarded me these unusual and rare posts cards of some unusual Surreys (here’s a compilation of Surrey & DJ info). Bruce has attempted to contact the Las Brisas Manager to learn if they have a historian of sorts for their jeeps in use, but he hasn’t had any luck. If anyone has any Las Brisas connections, please let me know! Thanks for sharing Bruce.
Check out the guy driving the jeep, a stick no less, carrying a tray of food!
Brian writes, “
These 2 jeeps offer clues but also leaves one with more questions. The extended tub, tailgate, baby moon hubcaps, valance panels, and an absence of chrome bumpers. Also, there was no date stamp on the card, but it looks to be from the late/early 50-60s.
On the back of the postcard, written in both English and Spanish, it reads Room service by jeeps- unique at hotel Las Brisas in Acapulco where every room a has it’s own pool.”
In 
an email today, Jeff mentioned a movie I had not heard of called DIRT (IMDB Link). Released in 1979, the movie follows a narrator around as he explores the wide-world of offroad racing. It’s got some especially great/scary clips of early auto racing. The rest of the movie shows all kinds of different offroad racing in the US during the late 70s (sand, water, hill climbs, baja, snow climbs, and more). One item I had hoped to see, but didn’t, was PNW racing, though I didn’t have time to watch every clip.
Currently, you can watch the movie for free via YouTube. However, you can also order a DVD from Turner Classic Movies (about $11) or from Amazon.com (About $6).
Here’s the first YouTube installment. At the end of each installment, there is a link to the following installment (10 total).
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=MfByldRKTo4
After seeing some of the posts about the old Desert Dog and Bobcat ads, Jeff dropped me a note saying he’s been enjoying the old ads and old pics as it reminds him of the busy Northwest days of jeep clubs, playdays and racing in the northwest. So, he forwarded me a pic of one of his jeeps (he also has a sand drag jeep listed below for sale).
He’s been nice enough to let me post it. I really love the creative paint job — I haven’t seen anything quite like it.
Jeff writes, “This bobcat jeep was bought back in 1983 as a project. It was a body and a HUGE pile of parts, to which I’m sure your readers can relate. Currently, it runs a 355 chev w/ ford toploader 4 speed, a dana 20 case, a ford 9inch w/ 35 spline summers axles spool nod case and 6.00 gears. The front is a gutted mdl 27 w/ a mustang rack. The cage is chromoly. The car weights 2250lbs w/o a driver.”
As I mentioned yesterday, besides his grandkids mini-jeep, Colin has worked on several different Willys. Here’s his Jeepster that was featured a couple times in JP Magazine, specifically the June 2007 issue and the January 2008 issue.
Colin writes, “Here are some photos of our 48 Jeepster. We have had this car for over 33 years and when we bought it, it had a non running Studebaker Champion 6 engine in it. Once we got it running and back in decent visual and mechanical condition, we drove it that way for many years. Around 1990, I stored it in our garage and worked on other vehicles and a house remodeling project (a happy wife makes for a happy home!). I did our Corvette restoration from 1994 until 1998. After I retired in 2003, I began putting ideas together about re-doing the Jeepster. I wanted a car that looked original on the outside, which it did already, but with an improved drivetrain and suspension under it to keep up with Phoenix area traffic. After a lot of research, I decided a Buick V6 was the way to go. I found a freshly rebuilt (still in the plastic) 1982 Buick 231 even fire V6 for a very reasonable price. I pulled the front sheet metal off the Jeepster and got to work. With an updated engine going into it, I chose to put a Mustang II front end kit with tubular A-arms, Ford disc brake rotors (I wanted to use stock Jeepster wheels, hubcaps and trim rings), and rack and pinion steering into the chassis. A buddy of mine and I did the majority of the front end work in a weekend. I used a set of engine mounts from Novak Engineering in Utah and bolted the engine to a 1967 Muncie close ratio 4 speed that was in my parts bin. For the rear end, I found a 1969 Ford Mustang 8 inch with 2.79 gears. That rear end is a bolt in for any of the 46-63 Willys 2 wheel drive wagons, panel deliveries and the 48-51 Jeepsters. I also used a front sway bar and on the rear, a Willys Jeepster/station wagon sway bar. I did upgrade the Buick with a set of finned aluminum valve covers from TA Performance, a 4 bbl Holley 390 cfm carb from a 65 AMC 327 engine and dual exhausts. The end result is a Jeepster that runs great( 1750 rpm at 65-70 mph), gets excellent gas mileage(about 26 at 65 mph) and handles like a sports car(better than our Corvette!). All of this work was relatively easy, even though it took me a while.”
In this first pic you see both his Jeepster and the 1960 Surrey he purchased that can be seen here. Colin has been restoring the Surrey as well.
As I looked through Sebastian’s pictures from his trip to Colombia, I noticed the two images with toy jeeps. It’s so shocking to see a toy made out of metal any more that they really stood out. I asked Sebastian about them and this is what he told me.
Sebastian writes, “yes they are metal jeeps and done with such detail that is hard to believe. Even the interior (not shown on the pictures) is done exacalty as the real thing. The cars have stearing wheals and shockers. I never saw those before, the only down side was the price: $75 US Dollars, it is probably worth it because all the labor that requires, but it is still expensive specially in an economy like Colombia. They had red, pink, and olive green. On the other hand, in most cities of Colombia you can find small pottery Willys, they are probably 2 inches long, 1 to 1.5 inches tall, made with clay and decorated Colombian style as the “Yipao”, those are probably $2 US Dollars each; you can see the price contrast.”
Colin contacted me a few days ago. As a tech article writer for the Willys Overland Jeepster Club site, a restorer and owner of multiple willys, and, as you can see below, a very creative guy, Colin has a wide range of Willys experiences.
He’s been kind enough to share images and information from both his restorations and a friend’s as well. I’ll be publishing them over the next week. Tonight I thought I’d share this unusual project. Thanks Colin!
Colin writes, “Here are some photos of a little Jeep I built for my middle son and grandkids. It is a 1/2 scale Bemak 1941 Willys MB Slat Grille body mounted on a 1980 John Deere 111 lawn tractor chassis and powerplant. It has an 11 hp Briggs and Stratton engine with 5 speed manual transmission. I had to do a little cutting on the body to get it to fit the chassis, but most everything worked out pretty easily.
It has a 12volt electrical system with working headlights from Harbor Freight, WW II blackout lights for the front parking lights, and a WW II blackout lens with red LED for the taillight, a Harbor Freight 2000lb winch and a trailer hitch and receiver on the rear. I fabricated the front and rear bumpers to match the Willys stuff. I used EZ Go golf cart front hubs to get 4 bolt pattern for the Harbor Freight wheels and tires. I modified the rear axles to accept the 4 bolt wheels. I mounted a spare tire on the rear and fabricated a “jerry can” mount for the 1.5 gallon jerry can that is the fuel tank. I used the old clutch and brake pedals from the CJ3A and fabricated the shift linkage for the 5 speed transmission. The seat is a 1950s Willys station wagon driver’s side seat that I modified to do a double fold forward, where it covers the 12 volt battery. The windshield has Lexan inserted and a buddy made me a to scale WW II rifle mount for the back of the windshield. He also has restored WW II Jeeps, one MB that he just sold and the other is a 1944 Ford GPW US Navy Jeep. I painted it in WW II US Navy paint scheme, as our son is retired USN.”
See many more images by following the link below ….
I hadn’t heard from Sebastian for several months, so it was a nice surprise to get an email from him. It turns out he just returned from a trip to his native country of Colombia.
Among his exploits on vacation was a 2 day trip in a CJ-3A with his dad that took them from Medellin to Bogota, covering nearly 400 km (about 250 miles) with elevations varying between 1300 ft to 8500 ft.
Sebastian provides images from his trip as the Flat Fender Club of Butler’s website. I’ve linked to a couple below. I’m hoping to sneak into his luggage on his next trip to Colombia — it’s a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing Sebastian!
The earlycj5.com site recently published some great brochures about a CJ-5 truck called the overlander which was available in Australia. Check it out! (Thanks Dan).
UPDATE: Sam has provided some detailed instructions (which will replace mine) and will also be sending some pics when he completes his next installation.
One idea Sam has shared with eWillys readers was the rack and pinion steering modification he has been doing. He describes this as a pretty straight forward installation that can replace the stock steering in any flattie. Sam says this takes him about four hours to complete. Pics are forthcoming on this modification.
Sam describes the process as follows:
1) Remove Steering: Take out the existing steering mechanism and the mounting plate.
2) Remove Drag Link: Remove drag link from old box to bell crank
3) Layout Straight Edge: With front wheels straight ahead, use a straight edge (anything will do, I use a piece of conduit) and lay one end on the passenger side tie rod from the spindle and the other side on the frame rail directly above the drivers side tie rod end at the spindle This will give you the approximate location for the rack and pinion. DO NOT USE original box location as this will put the cross link through the engine block.
4) Where to Mount Vega Plate: Take the Vega box mounting plate (The plate Sam uses is this plate from Unisteer.com) and using a large C-clamp, attach to frame with the top of the plate even with the top of the frame. This will put the mounting holes in the right place. You will notice the top two holes are inside the opening of the frame and the third hole is below the frame as it should be.
5) Temporarily Mount Rack: The rear edge of the Vega plate should be ONE inch ahead of the line from the tie rods towards the front of the vehicle. NOTE….at this point, it is very important to temporarily mount the rack (You may use longer bolts to clear the C-clamp). Once mounted, move the wheels all the way to the right and make sure you have at least one inch clearance between the cross link from the Rack and the oil pan. Do the same with turning the wheels to the left. If you have the proper clearance, you have the right location for the mounting plate for the Rack and Pinion.
6) Weld Plate to Frame: Weld the Vega plate in place and be sure to use the supplied gusset ( I use two of them, as I have found that with one gusset, there is a chance for mount twist under harsh conditions such as four-wheeling……strongly suggest you do the same grin grin)
7) Attach Rack and Pinion: Bolt the Rack and Pinion in place and attach the cross link to the Rack and with the Rack centered and the wheels dead ahead, mark the cross shaft for cutting allowing for the length of the tie rod end. Now you may cut, thread, and install the tie rod. The unit Sam uses is this cross steer rack from unisteer.com (that link is dead, but this may be the one). 
8) Determine Steering Rod Length: Using the conduit, determine the route from the bottom of your steering column to the Rack and Pinion. This varies with engine and frame variations but is very simple. Usually all that is required is to determine if the column needs to be shortened or if a double joint is needed. At this stage, determine what your shaft is…..splined, D shape, square, etc. This will determine which joint to use. If round, (with roll pins) I strongly suggest you modify it to D-shape for strength. Sometimes you have to use TWO rods from the column to the box. If so, USE ROD SUPPORTS before and after middle joint. You can get everything you need from Borgson Joints. If you choose the shorten your column (to use One Rod) you can can get the necessary seal and bearing from them too.
9) Double Check Everything: Double check everything for tightness and clearance and YOU ARE DONE — smile, have a beer.
This sounds simple and it really is, I’ve done soooo many of them, that I can do it start to finish in four hours. If anyone still needs help, just call me or Dave and I’ll be more than happy to walk you through it. The last one I did cost $612.42 for everything, Somewhat cheaper than regular boxes and a whole lot better looking and steering.
If properly installed, you’ll notice the steering much tighter while driving and capable of easily turning under the weight of even a V8 when parked.
Dexter is pretty excited about this find! No bad mods, though there appear to be a few things that need to be changed to make it closer to original. He should get an excellent stock MB out of it with some time. Below are a few pics and here are many, many pics. You can see a discussion about his find at the G503 site. Congrats Dexter!
From the scrapbook archives comes this image of Dad and I readying ourselves for another day of jeeping. I believe this was in 1982 (which would make me 17 and dad 49). I remember the overnight at Milk Lake because we slept in the lean-to (see the blue tarp in the background), which was the first time I can remember doing that.
In the pics you can see the aluminum storage units with some supplies in them. Dad built those from Boeing Surplus leftovers, rivets and a rivet gun. They were light, easy to pack, and stored over the wheel wells, between the roll cage bars, so they were accessible on the trail as well.
While looking for a clean example of the Willys Overland script, I came across an auto-created page, a page of complete jibberish that attempts to make the owner money by getting hits and advertising google and craigslist ads (therefore, I won’t provide a link). However, on this same page I found this odd CJ-5. It looks like the picture is somewhere in southern Utah. Anyone seen this elsewhere?
I was looking up something for a reader when I stumbled upon these two webpages. One page documents some of the differences between very early MBs and later ones. The second page provides detail pics of a British Airborne Slatgrille in Signal Configuration. I thought both pages have nice detail pics and explanations.
The British Airborne Slat Grille in Signal Configuration:
The Early MB Differences Page:
A reader named Bob was vacationing in Thailand when he spotted this pair of nicely restored MBs (one is a slat grille). An intrepid reporter, Bob captured the jeeps on video (download the video here — 11MB) which shows closeups of both jeeps and with a still image (seen below). He also talked briefly with the owner, Pete, who has two blotspot websites devoted to his Jeeps (the 1941 slat grille MB & the 1944 MB & Video of both Jeeps by Pete). Thanks for sharing Bob!
Bob filed this report, “I just came across these MB’s on the side of the road, as I was touring the island on a motorbike. I’m sorry I don’t have much info about Pete. I met him in the small bar across the street ( see in video with balloons across the front ) and we talked a little about the Jeeps. Pete emigrated to Thailand from the UK. He’s a really nice guy with a Thai wife and some kids. He claims you cannot import any of these Jeeps to Thailand anymore. I’m not sure if it is because of the Left Hand Drive or not. He said they are very valuable there too – worth over 1,000,000 Baht each ($31000 USD).”
Randy forwarded me this video about a recreation of a 1943 drive in a Willys Jeep around Killymoon Castle, Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The folks at the Wartimeliving History Association helped make this video. The video is dedicated to the men of the 505th regimental combat team 82nd Airborne Division United States Army, Stationed in Cookstown Northern Ireland 9th December 1943 to 13th February. I don’t have any history about the original drive.
As I have mentioned a few times, I grew up in the Wandering Willys Jeep Club. In 1971, the club lead an effort to record all the members from Clubs in Region one of the PNW4WDA, their names, addresses, phone number, jeep types, jeep names, their jobs, and assorted other info. As far as I know, this was the first and last directory of its type created.
One of my favorite finds in the directory was an early Ad for Bobcat Fiberglass bodies, complete with the watermark logo of a bobcat (which I didn’t notice until I scanned the ad). Below is the Ad with owner Fred Weis listed as the contact person. Apparently, sometime later Bobcat products were owned by H.C. Van Wagner, as shown by this business card embedded in one of my fenders (yes it is still there).
Below is the original Ad, followed by a later business card. One interesting bit of info is that I haven’t seen any Bobcat CJ-3B bodies (that I know of).
Here are some Bobcat Products:
This is supposed to be the first Bobcat body produced:
Here is an example of a raised hood:
Here’s a body .. note the wide rim around the rear edge of the body. Also, the step doesn’t cut in to the body at the end and there are no drain holes by the step. (similar to mine)
Here’s an example of the body that I purchased, which was a light body racer.
“Note the much wider edge (maybe 2” wide). This body was hacked up a little bit,
but hopefully cleaned up nicely for the guy who purchased it:
Kevin forwarded this to me (note the generator is sitting on a carrier behind the jeep) …
“The owner said to fix his factory installed a/c unit would cost more than the Jeep was worth…He had the generator for his work and used scap 2×4’s and screws from the job site,.. went to Brandsmart and bought the AC Unit for $88.00.”
As I mentioned a couple days ago, a reader named Dave spotted this article and wanted to share it with readers. The article published in the 1960 edition of All American Word follows the All American Engineering Company Testing the air drop of a jeep by a pallet rather than via a parachute. To test this concept, the AAE built a special vehicle to mimic the landing of a jeep atop a pallet at speeds of 135mph. As you can see, the test was successful (at least the one captured in the photos).
Dave writes,”I was in Georgetown, DE recently which is a small town on the DelMarVa peninsula, and I ran across this very interesting use for a VEC CJ2A! I think it might fit your recent “museum” series of posts and I’m sure that your eagle-eyed readers will immediately recognize the historical relevance of this column shift speed demon! Apparently, this was a precursor to what is now known as LAPES or the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System which is still taught, practiced and used today by our Military for forward area resupply missions. I watched C130 crews practice this (with varying levels of success)! at Whiteman AFB in western Missouri in the late 80’s. Fortunately by that point they were only destroying HMMWVs and military pickup trucks! The 8 of 10 or so operations that were succesful were really cool and you could certainly see the advantages of this type of operation.”
Click on the link below to see some closeups
Dave captured a variety of photos about an unusual use for a VEC CJ-2A. I’ll post more about this tomorrow night. For now, here’s a preview pic.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $600.
This is how NOT to stretch the front of the jeep to accomodate a longer frame ….
Just a couple updates tonight. The kids have me sufficiently worn out, so I’ll wait until tomorrow to add some listings.
Paul sent this awesome pic of the most unique radio flyer I have ever seen. Paul reports from Alaska, “Sunday, August first, I went to an outdoor car show even though the weather forecast predicted heavy rainfall. Naturally, with the low lying gray clouds and the expected rain the turnout was less than in years past but with the summer season drawing to a close there were still quite a few interesting cars, trucks and motorcycles but what caught my eye wasn’t any one of these. I’ve attached a picture of this impressive ehicle, just looking at the picture causes me to grin and when I watched it being driven down the road to the show I about fell over I was laughing so hard.”
UPDATE: Brendan noted that this is indeed a LOC image. Here is a link to this image and others http://www.history.army.mil/photos/Holiday/wwii.htm.
I suspect it was just easier to stick the tree in the MA rather than his sleigh? It’s a great pic. I found this during an image search, but I could not locate the source. It looks like a Library of Congress type of image. If anyone knows of the source, please let me know so I can properly credit it.
Continuing with our museum series, Bill Maloney has captured a couple pics of this nicely restored 1943 GPW.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
(06/29/2010) The serial number of 130476 suggests this is a 1947 rather than a 1946.
“This is a ONE OF A KIND Vehicle. Its a 1946 CJ-2A Willy Jeep. It is tagged In Delaware as an antique vehicle. The body is handmade wood. It is the perfect vehicle for the beach. V-6 with extra transfer case and extra transmission. Tow bar so it can be towed behind your RV. In and out Locking Hubs. Sucicde Doors . Clear Title. Also log book of all work done and dates from original owner. Selling for a friend. Seller has the right to refuse sale and end auction at any time sitting for sale out side of residence. This is One of a Kind vehicle.”
