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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 .
This 4-page station wagon brochure, that I think was printed in February of 1947, is a common one on eBay. It’s got a form number of 472-A-500. One clue to it’s early printing is the prominent use of the term ‘Jeep’, a term that disappeared from wagon advertisements by 1950.
The CJ-3B makes an appearance in this 1953 Willys Ad from Canada.
The December 19, 1945, issue of the Los Angeles Times noted that the county sheriff’s department hired 85 deputies and purchased 25 jeeps to tackle a jump in criminal activity in the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. This may have been the largest and earliest attempt to employ jeeps by law enforcement in the US (Outside of the military of course).
Steve shared this photo that includes some specific information about the jeep and its occupants. I’m wondering if these photos are related to the Brenner Pass counter intelligence operation described in this book? I’ve included more photos from Lt. Kradeskis below this one. You can see many more photos here that were taken by Lt. Kradeskis.
View all the information on eBay
“Original WWII Snapshot Photo of COUNTERINTELLIGENCE CORPS JEEP & TRAILER of Lt. Kradeskis at BRENNER PASS between Austria and Italy, 1945. Photo was taken by Lieutenant William (Bill) Kradeskis of the Counterintelligence Corps (CIC). Lt. Kradeskis was variously assigned to the 6th Armored Division, 101st Airborne Division, and 7th Army in France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. He was from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and married (to Bee) on 18 December 1943 just before shipping out for the ETO and did not get his honeymoon until after the war starting 6 January 1946. See the other photos I have listed from this officer. Search for “CIC” in the titles of my listings.”
There are more photos that include jeeps. Lt. Kradeskis seems to have documented a lot of his travels during WWII.
2. OFFICER McGRATH COUNTER INTELLIGENCE JEEP “CAPTURES” KAISERSLAUTERN 52
4. COUNTER INTELLIGENCE HQ SIGN GUARD AUGSBURG 9
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This French-Canadian ad was published in the October 1947 issue of Le Bulletin des Agriculteurs.
Steve spotted this unusual NOS transfercase.
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pts/d/wynnewood-us-military-nos-m38-dana-18/7255426110.html
“NOS US Military Dana 18 Transfer Case for a M38 Jeep in its Original Shipping Container. This is a Museum Quality M38 Dana Transfer Case.
This was packaged in 01/12/1959.
Note: This was advertised as a Dana 18 for an M38A1 but I have just been informed that it is an NOS Dana 18 for an M38 Military Jeep. This can be installed in an M38A1 if you swap out the Emergency Brake with an M38A1 Emergency Brake.”
UPDATE: Coincidentally, I received a better version of this brochure in the mail today as part of a packet of brochures, so the pics are much improved. This brochure is Form 46 SWMI-3CM-11-49.
This is how the back side of the brochure when unopened.
The top 1/4th of this foldout is a different page than the lower 3/4. The lower 3/4 folds down. Also, note the ‘Jeep’ badge that appears subtly in the lower right corner.
This page shows the brochure fully opened.
This shows how the back side looks fully opened.
This description on this photo isn’t too helpful: [T-5 William R.] Shapiro sits [in what’s left of a Jeep]. You can see other wrecked jeeps in the background. The photographer was J. Malan Heslop.
https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/JMHes/id/2126
This story about a jeep trip that turned deadly was repeated across the country. I tried to find “Amazon Canyon”, which is supposed to be east of TwentyNine Palms, but couldn’t locate it.
This version of the article appeared in the June 27, 1955, issue of the Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, Nebraska).
This sedan delivery brochure has the odd form number of PDCM1-3CM-949. It’s one of several early wagon brochures that had forgotten to post.
Nice shot of a CJ-2A at Hobcaw Beach in South Caroline.
https://cdm16016.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p163901coll005/id/454/rec/1
“In a 1952 photo two guests, one believed to be French artist Eugéne Blocaille (left), pose on Hobcaw Beach beside the Bellefield Plantation vehicle.”
This January 15, 1942, article in the Amarillo Globe-Times highlights the continued debate concerning the jeep vs. the peep.
This French-Canadian ad was published in the August 1947 issue of Le Bulletin des Agriculteurs.
This press photo looks a bit staged, but still a goo photo of the General.
View all the information on eBay
“1944 Press Photo Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower in Military Jeep. This is an original press photo. General Dwight Eisenhower, supreme Allied Commander, sits at the wheel of his jeep as he prepares to drive to meet representatives of each Allied country to deliver his Christmas message to all Allied forces.Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 12-28-1944.”
There’s no date or form number related to this colorful brochure. You’ll note that sometimes “Deluxe” with a small “l” is used and in other places “DeLuxe” is used. It may be the first brochure that highlighted the “DeLuxe” model (see a later one here).
Mario posted these photo on Facebook. After using Google image search, I determined they may have originated on the website OMNIA, a site that aggregates digital collections (a site I’ve never seen before … looks like a useful resource for me).
I’m not sure what this is worth. It is currently priced at a buy-it-now price of $92.
View all the information on eBay
“Wonderful artist rendering of CJ-5 Jeep. 1970s in a coffee plantation or cocoa plantation setting. (I’m thinking inspired by the popular TV icon Juan Valdez). Not sure if this was done for Ford Brazil or AMC given that Ford do Brasil built these for the South American market. In any event, this is a fantastic, original rendering on artist board of the era. You can see pencil lines underneath paint. I’m not an artist so I don’t know if it’s acrylic paint or watercolor or ???
Measures approx 16″ x 11″ and is in very good condition for its age. There Issa bit of very faint spotting in the yellow sky area but it’s barely noticeable; corners are bumped but framing will cover that. The blue strip at bottom of rendering appears to be painted tape.”
This is interesting, as this 1961 photo must have been part of the early introduction to the Tuxedo Park CJ-5 trim package concept.
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1484597/
From the site: Photograph of a window display advertising for Jeep. A large sign in the middle says, “Newest PAAR star! New ‘Jeep’ Tuxedo Park, exciting new 4-wheel drive sports utility vehicle, see the new ‘Jeep’ Tuxedo Park in action on the Jack Paar show NBC-TV.” A small picture of Jack Paar is placed next to the sign in the window. Another smaller sign sits below the picture that says, “as advertised on WBAP-TV Channel 5.
This hard-to-find April 1949 Jeepster brochure has a form number of VJ 3m-I-500M-4-49.
View all the information on eBay
“Original automobile literature, very good condition”
UPDATE: Originally published on February 02, 2014, the pop sci links no longer work, so I’ve now added the complete scan of the article.
This Bantam BRC-40 T2 article was published in December of 1941 in Popular Science (and possibly Mechanix Magazine) under “Tanks CAN Be Destroyed”. In it the author explores different machinery that can stop a tank. You can see variations from what could be the same photo shoot in this Bantam T2 & T2-E1 post.
UPDATE: Apparently, I never published all the pages in this circa 1947-1949 booklet. Also, there’s another one of these booklets on eBay right now: View all the information on eBay
This was originally posted October 23, 2014: Eddie Devlin of the Willys Overland Engineering Art Department sketched a variety of drawings of the factory. Some were published in a book called “WHAT I SAW AT WILLYS OVERLAND”. I’m not sure if the booklet was sold or used as a promotional device.
Here’s another early French Canadian ad for the universal jeep.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $19,990.
(12/11/2020) This is certainly unusual build.
“f Jeep would have started building these in the 70s, they would have never had financial issues. Look at this rare piece.The Jeep was built using all CJ5 parts. The front door is modeled off of a CJ7. The rear door is modeled off of a CJ5.
The bed is extended to the length of a CJ6 or CJ8 Scrambler. The frame is stretched 36 inches in the middle and 14 inches behind the rear axle. The frame was boxed from the front to the rear spring perches. It has Dana 30 and Dana 44 axles (both are open diffs). The transfer case is a Dana 20. The transmission is a 3 speed. I believe it is a T150.
The engine is an AMC 360 from a 1972 Wagoneer. It was rebuilt about 20,000 miles ago. It was bored over. The crank was turned. It got all new bearings, new pistons, new valve guides, and hardened seats. It has an RV cam, an Edelbrock SP2P low rise dual plane intake, and a Holley Street Avenger 570cfm double pumper carb. Skip White electronic ignition/distributor. Warn 8274 Winch. Heavy duty steel front fenders. (Matching Rescue Green CJ5 OEM fenders also included.) Rear corner guards. The motor has more than enough power for a vehicle this size.
Major General Jacob Devers made multiple appearances in newspapers across the country. On February 05, 1942, he announced at Fort Knox that the armored forces could begin personalizing their peeps, jeeps, tanks, and other equipment with names, though they could not be objectionable names. The order does not indicate approval to put names on the windshields, but apparently that became allowed at some point.
On October 17, 1942 (Appeal Democrat out of Marysville, California) the Major General was photographed with other senior leaders discussing issues while sitting in a jeep:
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Originally Posted March 13, 2018: Interesting discussion on peep vs. jeep within the caption. The caption claims it has been misnamed “peep”, but then claims it has been erroneously called a “jeep” and that a “jeep” is a larger vehicle (Command Car, though in this case it is a Willys MA). As we’ve discussed earlier, there was a great debate about the proper term for the vehicle.
“WWII Maj. Gen. Jacob Devers in Willys MB Jeep Original Press Photo”
Mike shared this bulletin from March 11, 1958, that notified dealers a brochure was available for the Koenig-made ‘Jeep’ hardtop. For some reason, the company did not produce a brochure for the top; it took dealers requesting a brochure for them to make one.
