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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 .
I don’t know anything about this book in terms of value. Starting price is $125.
View all the information on eBay
“BOOKLET DOES NOT SHOW ANY WEAR”
Given the “J” logo, this was likely printed in late 1945 or early 1946. I can’t remember seeing the vertical-jeep portion with lines like that one has. I’m guessing that rather than using a two-color printing as was usually for this logo, the lines were added to create the visual separation.
View all the information on eBay
“VTG ADVERTISING BUSINESS CARD WILLYS JEEP AUTOMOBILE ERIE COUNTY MOTORS ERIE PA”
UPDATE: Price for the truck dropped to $7500.
Bill sent a link for Iron City Garage, a unique used vehicle business that both sells vehicles, with a guarantee that the title is good, and rents them for photo shoots and other events.
The business’ goal is to take some of the risk out of purchasing a used project. The owner writes in the about section of the website, “Believe me, “winning” the bid on eBay is just the beginning. Out of the 10 vehicles I’ve bought online myself, 9 have turned out to be completely misrepresented. When we offer a vehicle for sale it is ready to be delivered and pushed into your work shop because we have eliminated any of the risks involved with electronic payments, titling and shipping.”
Iron City currently has a 1950 truck for sale $7500: https://www.ironcitygarage.com/store/p208/1950_Willys_Jeep_Pickup.html
An article in the June 22, 1978, issue of the Longview Daily News highlighted an upcoming Road Rebels jeep club payday. The reference to 199 trophies to be awarded reminded me of just how big of an event the Sunday evening trophy awards could be. They could last hours. People usually lumped together by clubs in one large group. Each name would be called. Imagine it takes one minute to hand out each trophy; in the case of this event you’d be looking at over three hours for 199 trophies.
Thanks to Dave for sending me this custom Warn hub belt buckle that he made! I’ll have this one on a belt next week. If you are interested in one, he charges $50, but can reduce the price a little if you can donate a hub.
This oversize 5″x7″ postcard arrived as part of a multiple postcards from eBay. The postcard was part of the 1950-1951 Willys Makes Sense campaign and was the first image published in magazines as part of the campaign.
It’s unclear to me just how many different images were used from the campaign for Willys Makes Sense postcards, but beware that there are a variety of newly printed postcards on eBay and Etsy.
UPDATE II: If you thought this was the only vehicle to be built in a muffler shape, think again. One Art Car website has pics of a variety of muffler-themed vehicles:
http://artcarcentral.com/muffler-mobiles-and-the-muffler-shops-that-made-them/
That site also had an additional photo of the yellow muffler mobile built on a CJ-2A body, which had been posted to Flickr:
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Originally posted September 03, 2012: Like the Oscar Meyer Mobile (on a FC), this is built on a jeep platform (CJ-2A). This sold on eBay in 2012.
“The Mufflermobile! What is The Mufflermobile? It’s a fully-functional four wheel drive 1948 Willys Jeep CJ2A that’s licensed for the road. The body has been replaced with a custom made wood framed, aluminum skinned replica of a muffler that’s 8 feet high and 11 feet long. This is the most unique advertising vehicle since the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile!
Purchase The Mufflermobile, wrap it with your company’s advertising message, park it around town or show it off at different events, and people will come to your business just to tell you that they saw it! They’ll tell their friends about it; they’ll post pictures of it on facebook and twitter. They will promote your business for you! You can’t buy advertising like that! Oh wait, yes you can! Bid to win or Buy It Now!
The Mufflermobile is located in the Fredericton, NB area and is being sold as-is, where-is, no warranty expressed or implied. It is, after all, a 64 year old muffler.”
This 7″x5″ photo shows a Jeep Station painted up for an American Relief of Poland campaign.
” US Shipping is $4 per photo/lot as listed. Photo shipped in archival plastic sleeve & in greeting card w/ stamp.”
Thanksgiving is a sign that 2020 is almost over …
Mark shared this photo of a CJ-2A and a successful turkey hunt. Per a website about Texas license plate history, the plate indicates this is a 1950 plate, meaning it is likely a 1950 photo. Unfortunately, the KT on the left side of the plate is not a county abbreviation or code.
They aren’t jeeps, but they are definitely off road (and through buildings). Thanks to Roger Martin for sharing this unusual video. The race took place in 1920s New Zealand according to youtube.
This nice little nugget of Willys history has been posted since 2011, but somehow I missed it. The Kaiser Willys blog has three photos of a CJ-2 (not CJ-2A) Fire Jeep that includes the “JEEP” plate across the front of the windshield.
https://blog.kaiserwillys.com/the-postwar-willys-cj-2-fire-jeep
UPDATE: The press photo at bottom was published in several newspapers, including the February 04, 1945, issue of the Knoxville News-Sentinel:
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Originally Posted May 14, 2016:
“1945- Barrage rockets are readied for firing from an experimental rocket firing jeep at test range in Inyokern, California. Photos measure approx. 7″ x 9”.
I’ve seen a Perjeco catalog (note that name is the cable address), but not a Perfect Jeep catalog. I’m not sure how those two companies are related (or maybe one is just a DBA). The catalog is probably not worth much.
View all the information on eBay
“Vintage 1950s Perfect Jeep and Parts Co. Willy’s Jeep Parts Catalogue”
Here are multiple FC-150 postcards advertising FC-150s.
1. This postcard is Form No. W-FC-10 and is currently on eBay. It opens vertically:
2. This postcard is Form No. W-FC-11 and opens vertically. It is currently on eBay:
I’ve been watching for one of these FC-150 fold-out postcards for a while. I found this one the other day included with some others on ebay. This postcard is Form No. W-FC-12 and it opens horizontally. There is another one on eBay:
This narrow track FC-150 postcard lacks a Form No. It does not fold out. It is currently on eBay: Continue reading
Actress Jane Wyman was captured in this photo while visiting Kirkland Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in May of 1942. The jeep driver doesn’t seem too unhappy to be escorting her.
May 20, 1942, Visalia Times-Delta in Visalia, California.
This Willys-Overland Fire Pump needs an L-head, but it seems an unusual item. It looks like the trailer was not original to the unit, based on these two photos from G503:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WillysSwapMeet/permalink/2800695516870376
“1943-dated Willys American fire pump. US Army Corps of Engineers, 250 GPM.
“Willys American” cast into the pump body. Enclosure is gone.
The base is the fuel tank. Mounted on a 2 wheel trailer chassis with antique tires and 2” ball hitch.
No suspension and old tires so needs to be hauled on a trailer.
Has WWII OD paint under the red paint.
I removed the engine and bellhousing for use in WWII jeep restoration. Selling with the engine front plate, manifolds & carburetor, governor, oil filter & bracket, fan and fan shroud and generator. You will need to supply a Willys L-134 motor and bellhousing to put this back in operation.”
Below are Meyer plow install instructions and parts lists for various Jeep models, including CJs, trucks, wagons, FCs, and J-series jeeps.
First up in the two-page Form No. 1-103r5 for the CJ-2A-CJ-6:
Next is four-page Form No. 1-109r6 for trucks and wagons:
IKA factory in Argentina
Hugo shared a link to a brief history of IKA, the licensed builder of jeeps in Argentina. Hugo noted that the last vehicle shown, the Torino, was a popular car that was based on the American Rambler, but was powered by a Tornado engine.
Spanish link: https://www.mdzol.com/mdz-autos/2020/11/22/la-historia-de-ika-marca-legendaria-de-la-industria-automotriz-120518.html
English translation link: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdzol.com%2Fmdz-autos%2F2020%2F11%2F22%2Fla-historia-de-ika-marca-legendaria-de-la-industria-automotriz-120518.html
IKA Torino
Bill shared this news. FCA held a sketch competition to solicit independent designs for electric jeeps. Three winners were selected. The first was a futuristic FC design; the second a buggy design; and the third an extreme buggy design.
This instagram page has more examples of these: https://www.instagram.com/p/CH0cVPJlned/
UPDATE: Long story short, I bought the bottom two jeep lighters. The first winner of the auction didn’t pay, so when I saw them re-acutioned, I made sure to snag them.
This first one is the jeep lighter/ash tray combo and initially sold for $113.50 (plus $12.70 shipping), but the buyer backed out. My purchase price was a little less:
This December 1960 Jeep Service and Parts News is sixty years old this month!
To speed up relief pitchers, a bright red Jeepster was employed to run pitchers from the bullpen to the infield. This picture appeared in at least one newspaper, the Times Dispatch out of Richmond Virginia, May 20, 1950 (but the scan of it is terrible, so no need to share it here).
View all the information on eBay
“1950 Press Photo Marino Pieretti climbs out of jeep for game in Cleveland. This is an original press photo. Cleveland. To hurry up ball games, the Cleveland Indians inaugurated jeep service last night for relief pitchers. Here’s Marino Pieretti climbing out of jeep after that long ride from the bull pen to the infield. He relieved Bob Feller on the mound at the start of the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Athletics and was the first to use the service. Baseball. Mario Pieretti. Photo measures 10 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated 05-18-1950.”
The use of jeeps did NOT help the Indians defeat the A’s during their first game, as Cleveland dropped the game 7-5:
May 18, 1950, The Tribune out of Scranton, PA
Not everyone was impressed with the new idea. A few days after the above photo was taken, one writer thought the jeep (or any vehicle) wasn’t going to speed up the game all that much.
May 23, 1950, Arizona Republic.
Chris has posted some jeep parts and items on eBay. Here’s a link to his items:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/elijah12012/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
One of the more interesting items is this jeep logo placement poster:
As I mentioned yesterday, Sigrid Arne (1894-1973) enjoyed a second big jeep adventure. This time it was a trip to Alaska, then a trip down part of the Alaska Highway while it was still under construction. As you’ll see below, there were a variety of photos that were included in newspapers related to her story about the highway.
Below the Alaska Highway articles are more information about Sigrid and other articles by her. Unfortunately, I can still not locate an obituary nor a biography related to her. So, I’m attaching these articles to this thread so that later I can draft a good wikipedia biography about her.
THE ALASKA HIGHWAY ARTICLE AND PHOTOS:
This first photo was published in the June 15, 1942, issue of the Decatur Journal. It shows Sigrid interviewing Pvt. Levi Schrock and and Prv. Albert Tomaino.
A day earlier, in June 14, 1942, the Knoxville Journal published Sigrid’s experience watching the military build a road through thickly wooded and boggy areas.
The June 15, 1942, issue of the Spokesman Review featured this series of photos on its back page. It’s hard to believe that Melba Bergeron Mince was working with the military in that outfit (how did the mosquitos not attack all the exposed skin?
OTHER SIGRID ARNE STORIES:
A month prior to the above articles, Sigrid wrote about a woman who lived by herself in Alaska and remained unafraid of the Japanese Military:
The brochures below show brochures from Roplas, a manufacturer out of India that produced Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) aftermarket bodies for 91″, 101″, and 104.5″ Mahindra jeeps. These brochures were assembled by Mr. Rahul Ram Amin and shared via the Flat Fender Jeepers Association — FFJA group on Facebook. I’m surprise that none of these bodies made it to the US, at least I’ve never seen them, especially in the Pacific Northwest where fiberglass bodies were readily used.
This fascinating brochure shows a range of special-purpose jeep bodies produced by Roplas, including service vans, police bodies, and ambulance models:
This shows a Roplas body on an MM 540/440 Jeep:
This brochure shows a “Ranger” body on a Mahindra NC 640 DP:
This brochure shows a variety of Jeep body styles built by Roplas for Mahindra models CJ-500D (2Dr & 4Dr) and the NC 665 DP 4Dr Van and Truck. The body products include the Roplas Universal, the Chieftan, the Highlander, the HiRider, and the Cabin. 
This brochure shows a Mahindra NC 665:
