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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.
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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.
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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 .
A big thanks to Tom for sending me some Willys Rally swag. He reports that he had another great time at this year’s Willys Rally! The pic below includes there printed posters from previous years that he sent me last month. The shirt fits great (I’m wearing it as I type this).
On Sunday I turned 57. The years seem to be churning by all too quickly! To celebrate my aging, I spent more time removing parts off both the green chassis and the black chassis (no updated pics of that). While spending time thinking and measuring how to use as much of the existing green chassis and black chassis parts as I can, I made an unexpected discovery.
The green chassis is 5 inches wider than the black chassis!. The black chassis is a standard size (29.5″ from inner side to inner side) and seems to be most likely a CJ-3A chassis. The green chassis has the side mounts for the springs and was most likely a DJ-5 chassis as some point. For whatever reason, someone decided the frame rails should be widened, so all the crossmembers were removed but one (which was simply cut and patched using angle iron). The rest of the cross members are all rectangular tubing.
Given the widening, I don’t feel the need to outboard the rear springs at this time (perhaps a winter project). Unfortunately, the wider frame rails mean that I can’t just reuse the sway bar on the back of the black chassis (though I can reuse the mounts). I just need a sway bar that is 5″ wider than the one I have.
I am awaiting the delivery of an adapter so I can try out my new YesWelder plasma cutter to clean up more of the frame and am awaiting delivery of my new MIG Hobart MVP 210 Welder (I have a very very old arc welder that’s a big workhorse on heavy metal, but I wanted something for finer work). I had considered something as cheap as the YesWelder MIG (it is well-rated, but some folks complained about support problems) and something pricier as the Miller Multimatic 215 (which came highly recommended, but may be more than I need right now), but finally decided to get something more in between.
Anyway, here are a few pics of the progress. There’s nothing particularly exciting .. just the drudgery of cutting, grinding, and smoothing areas …
The seat mounting frame (1″x1″) tubing was uneven and not the best system in my opinion, so I cut and grounded the welds flat:
With the seat mount frame gone, you can see the floor base (also 1″x1″ square tube). It’s not welded level (ugh), so it will likely go away as well.
The side rails needed to be replaced as they were built for the narrower body, so off they came. I also plan to do a side bar similar to the way the other frame is done (more on that later).
Also gone are the mud flaps on the back (racing requirement), as they were welded onto the inside of the rear tubes (ugh). I will cover the rear tube with plates to hide the parts welded inside, then will cut off and mount the flap system used on the other frame, which is a long tube welded under the rear bumper with flap mounts that are bolted onto the tube (again, more on that later).
We plan to have a garage/estate sale this weekend, so work will slow for a few days. At least I will finally be able to get rid of a bunch of junk that has filled the shop. As Ann has been finalizing stuff in the house, more items have ended up in the shop, so I will be happy to have this stuff gone and have more room to work.
Finally, I am awaiting a new fuel pump for Patterson (which has taken more than 2 weeks to get here). Once that is here, I will test things out once more, then put Patterson up for sale (essentially trading up for a different jeep, but I will announce that later).
Tom shared a pic of this cool CJ-6 with a restored willys-engine-powered compressor in the back. It was at the Willys Rally.
Here’s a second pic that Tom took of the same jeep a few years ago:
A couple days ago I took disassembled some of the black and green race jeep. The cage for the narrow body is tool small to be useful for me. So, I will bend my own cage, built for the yellow parkette body, and outboard the rear springs while I am at it. I will also swap out the current swing pedals for the ones on the yellow racer. Hopefully, I can get this project done by August, in time for Summer Convention. We will see….
Here is a comparison of the Parkette full-size body vs. the narrow body. The difference is enough to give a person more room at the feet (more room for gas, brake and clutch). The narrow body would probably work better for an auto transmission with just a gas pedal and brake (I prefer to have enough room to the left of the clutch to help brace myself.
The narrow body seems better built, perhaps a slightly thicker fiberglass job. The Parkette needs some reinforcement in my opinion (which I will do).
Her’s the narrow body racer without the body. Thankfully, unlike the other racer, this cage was bolted, rather than welded, to the frame.
Well, the seat support piece was welded to the rollcage and to the frame, but it was easy to cut. I will have a different setup for the seats. Note the broken driveline ‘safety’ loop, that wasn’t very safe. I have a much stronger one from the other chassis.
Here is a trail run of Parkette body on the racer.
Besides the new roll cage and the rear springs being out-boarded, the side bar will need replacing (it was built for the narrower body). A new firewall needs to be built (it will be wider, thanks to the wider parkette body, than the current one). The steering wheel needs to be angled differently and will have a tilt column (my preference).
Thankfully, the power train can remain in tact, as will the front spring setup. So, that saves a bunch of work.
Roger shared these pics from the Willys Rally
This scale-model toy jeep and trailer is really neat, too:
Thanks to Roger for sharing these photos from Saturday’s Willys Rally.
This CJ-5 has a 3-point lift:
UPDATE: Bill Norris shared a few pics of his jeep following the trail ride. It looks like they found a little mud. He said they had a great time.
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Chris recorded a couple more videos. Many thanks to him for doing this!
You may need to tilt your phone or computer sideways to better see this video. This group of drivers is heading out for a trail ride.
This group of drivers is heading out for a road excursion. This one you don’t have to tilt your head…
Thanks to Chris Rutherford for shooting this video showing Friday morning at the Willys Rally. In the video I saw a few familiar folks, including Cowboy near his Jeep truck and Russ’ wagon, along with Barney manning his parts booth.
For some reason, when Chris spins the camera part way through, the video doesn’t spin, so some of the video you have to tilt your head to see. No matter, the effort is greatly appreciated!
This letter, written by PFC Carl W. Eklund in 1943, describes how he was lying under a plane, trying to get some rare rest, when a jeep ran over his legs just above the knees. The injuries weren’t very severe and he felt he’d be recovered after a few days of rest.
Carl went on to serve as an aircraft mechanic in North Africa, then in Italy. In 1945, he received an honorable discharge and returned to Texas. Unfortunately, his brother Rudolph, who was captured in Java in 1942, died in Burma in 1944 while still in captivity.
Carl was living in Kenedy, Texas, as of 1969. I could find no updates about him after that.
View all the information on eBay
Barry published three rare Newgren Lift Service Bulletins created in 1947 by the Newgren Company, sent to him by Keith Buckley. Learn more at Farmjeep.com.
https://www.farmjeep.com/newgren-service-bulletins-may-1947/
Brian shared this video. I don’t have away to embed it here, so you’ll have to view it on FB. The narrator notes that the jeep has been sitting since 1994, but it only required a little oil to make them work again. The narrator concludes that because of this the design was a good one.
My only caveat on that compliment is that near the end there’s a closeup that shows how bent one of the arms is. For better or worse, the bending of the levers has been one of the weak spots of these of this design.
https://www.facebook.com/17841402371748118/videos/1430888580667593/?fs=e&s=m
Closeup of bent lever:
UPDATE: Don’t forget the Willys Rally this weekend!
This year’s Midwest Willys Rally is June 03-04 this year. This event takes place at Heuston Woods State Lodge in College Corner, Ohio. Learn more here: http://www.mw-willysjeep.com.
UPDATE: Don’t forget that the Great Willys Picnic is next weekend.
This year’s Great Willys Picnic occurs June 12th, 2022.
“Sunday June 12, 2022 from 9 am – 4 pm at the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern Railroad located in Kempton, Pennsylvania.
The Willys Picnic will be in compliance with all regulations in effect on June 12th. Be prepared for possible changes from past events.”
Ann has dubbed the yellow racer “Little Miss Sunshine”, due to the yellow color. I don’t know if that’s the end-all name, but it’s a fine name for now.
Yesterday, I decided to remove the body so I could get a better look at the condition of the cage and the suspension.
Let’s take a look first at the rear suspension. The suspension in the rear consists of 2.5″ ranch springs that have been outboarded, to which a sway bar and arms have been added. In the pic below you can see the sway bar behind the axle and the arms in front, connected under the frame. The springs are outboarded six inches. For example, the spring holder in the back consists of a 2×4 rectangular tube, positioned horizontally (under which the spring holder is welded), was welded to a 2×3 tube positioned vertically, which was welded to a 1/4″ plate that was then welded to the frame.
The front of this rear setup is similar, only for additional strength, a 2.5″ tube was welded to the spring holder and frame, which is then welded to the side bar that sits outside and under the body.
Blaine forwarded photos of a Willys Wagon with the one-lever-style Dualmatic hubs that include a center bump. I don’t have docs that conclusive identify this one-lever hub as a Dualmatic, but it seems highly probable. Given the design, an attempt to secure the lever with a bump to keep it from shifting, it is likely it was an iteration of the original Dualmatic one-lever hub.
Below is what I have documented for the one-lever Dualmatics and my related guesses as to why. (For two-lever variations of the Dualmatic hubs, try this link)
As a reminder, here is the original patent by Simonsen for the Dualmatic:
Here’s what I believe that original hub looked like:
This was likely the second version, this time with two circular bumps:
One of the issues with both of the early versions was that the internal forces apparently could cause the lever to bend. Here’s an example:
To halt that from happening, as photographed by Blaine on a Willys wagon, Dualmatic may have gone with this design:
A similar design was photographed on a Dodge truck (or I was told it was a Dodge truck):
Perhaps Dualmatic concluded that the simple one lever design simply didn’t hold up, so the company shifted to a two lever design. This is the point where it would be good to compare the internals of the one-lever vs. two-lever design.
Bob shared the photo at the bottom that appeared on a Craigslist Ad for a 1977-J10. It shows what appears to be a Cutlas hub, but it’s a design I don’t have documented. Let’s review the Cutlas Selective Drive Hubs:
The first design was model 100-2 and had no slot:
Later, Cutlas came out with the slotted form of the hub. Note that the slated knob has a “506-1” part number, suggesting that this whole hub was model 500-1.
Arguably, the Bulldog was the next iteration of this general design. It too has the slotted knob, but lacks a model number:
The hub Bob spotted was on a later model jeep, so maybe Cutlas offered this version of the hub for a short time? It seems to be an further iteration of the Bulldog; unfortunately, I have no brochures that document it.
This 1960 brochure labeled Form No. DM60-09 took some patience to finally locate on eBay, though I had to purchase 10 brochures (8 of which I already had). At least the price was low.
This 1963 one-page double-sided brochure printed in Canada announces the new Wagoneer and Gladiator models. What I found interesting was on the back. The chart shows the electrical setups for all vehicles as of 1963. I was surprised to see that while the Surrey DJ-3A still had the 6 volt battery option, the standard Dispatcher DJ-3A did not. I was surprised to see the FCs also had a 6 volt option still.
It is possible this was unique to Canadian made jeeps, but I can think of no reason that would be the case.
This desk comes with drawers.
https://denver.craigslist.org/fuo/d/wheat-ridge-willys-jeep-desk/7478669675.html
“This a one-of-a-kind, Willys Jeep desk that is perfect for a Jeep enthusiast or anyone looking for a very unique piece of furniture. This originally sold for $1500.”
A set up Dualmatic-style two-lever hubs appeared for sale on Facebook the other day. What made this set unique was that the hubs were private labeled for Kelly Manufacturing. It’s the first set I’ve seen with Kelly’s information on it. I doubt there are many other hubs bearing these stickers.
This shouldn’t be too big of shock, as Kelly also private labeled Kayline tops for sale in the late 1950s. And, of course, Dualmatic was offering to private label their hubs for Sears, Allstate, and other entities.
UPDATE: **SOLD**
This rare Parmley-Bodied sold quickly on Facebook. Not many of these around and even fewer with a hardtop.
I haven’t seen ads with a “How 4-Wheel Drive Works” section quite like these two ads from 1951 have.
1. View all the information on eBay
2. View all the information on eBay
I’m guessing this is a late 1940s or early 1950s postcard.
View all the information on eBay
“Unwritten, undated, unstamped, unmailed UNLESS stated otherwise above.”
I should have some updates on Friday morning. In the meantime, thanks to Don for giving us a guided tour of the 2022 Willys Reunion.
Mom’s house is under contract, so I need to make one last trip to round up the misc stuff in the garage, along with a bunch of boards. So, I’ll be away from my computer all day Wed and probably some of Thursday. The new folks are excited about the place, so that’s great. And they are even taking mom’s cats, so that’s a plus as well.
Given the above is a boring paragraph, we’ll turn to Blaine and a photo he shared with me that appears to be a Tri-ang pedal jeep out of Australia driven by a young girl.
https://www.shannons.com.au/club/enthusiasts/popsss/garage/1955-jeep-1942-ww-ii/
