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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 .
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).
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“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:
UPDATE: Here’s a second example of these press photos that includes a different caption. I could not locate an example published in a newspaper.
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“1954 Press Photo Sgt Curt Anderson of Sweden Army Does Stunts in Special Jeep. This is an original press photo. Sgt Curt Anderson shows students at a mechanics school how a specially-equipped jeep can be made to turn somersaults and still come out alright. Photo measures 7.25 x 9.25 inches. Photo is dated 07-07-1954.”
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Originally Published Aug. 5, 2015: “You are bidding on an original press photo of Swedish Army Sergeant Demonstrates Rolling Caged Jeep. Newspaper markings on photo. If listing shows thin red and/or green lines, they are the result of a bad scan & they are NOT on the actual photo. Photo measures 7 x 9 inches and is dated 7/9/1954.”
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Associated Press Reporter Sigrid Arne was 47 years old when she rode in a Bantam BRC-60. By that time she was an experienced journalist, a fearless investigative reporter with the smarts to decode and explain New Deal programs to the point that the authors of the programs asked her to join their efforts. She traveled all over the United States, even buying a baby for $50 in Oklahoma at one point to expose how babies were being sold like groceries.
Her report on her first jeep ride sounds like she was thrilled/awed by her experience, but I’m unsure how she concluded that the Bantam had 9 speeds. Sigrid’s article landed in the Montana Standard on May 05, 1941, as well as other newspapers.
This ride wasn’t her last in a jeep, as we will see tomorrow morning.
This contains a variety of parts information, including “models 67/71 Jeepster, 62/71 Universal, 72 & 73 Commando CJ DJ 5 6 (various open body, fire engine, gas, diesel, convertible, roadster, station wagon, full cab, pickup, half cab, etc.” So, it might have some interesting info.
View all the information on eBay
“Item Description: Original Jeep Dealer Parts Catalog, 1962 – 1973, with original reddish heavy 3 metal post binder “American Motors / Jeep Parts Catalog”. Covers: models 67/71 Jeepster, 62/71 Universal, 72 & 73 Commando CJ DJ 5 6 (various open body, fire engine, gas, diesel, convertible, roadster, station wagon, full cab, pickup, half cab, etc.). Illustration and Text, parts only, no price list. About 4″ thick. September 1974 print date. Good for looking up NOS part numbers. Good condition, light wear, metal and edge darkening, scuff, small plastic tab on binding edge 1″ top gone. Item has reddish covers, pages are whitish color (camera error kept trying to correct color to reddish background). Inside printing all good condition.”
UPDATE: **SOLD (fast)** These were on eBay.
These are copies, but are priced as such. I’m sure they would be interesting to someone. They ship from GB.
“Over the years my interest in British ww2 airborne troops has been high, and amongst my collection I converted my jeep to full glider-borne specifications
The drawings I used were from originals which I copied and give full details on the placing of parts and how to make them, with measurements and good details
They’re on A3 paper and come as 10x sheets. They cover:
Pannier carrier
Spare wheel carrier
Bonnet ammo carrier
Steering wheel quick release
Front bumper
Positioning of parts in the jeep
Jerry can carrier reposition
Radio aerial/battery carrier base
A frame for towing”
1. Ford GPs on assembly line: This March 28, 1941, image shows Ford GPs on the assembly line. It is posted on a Henry Ford’s history page.
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2. Ford gets Priority over Bantam for axles: This January 22, 1941, article in the Indiana Gazette notes a claim by the President of the United Automobile Workers–CIO that Ford was given priority over Bantam on orders for axles, forcing Bantam to miss its deadline for filling their order for the BRC-60s.
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3. Duke of Kent: This photo shows the Duke of Kent riding in a Ford GP at Holabird, Maryland. The photo appeared in the Salem News (Ohio) on August 29, 1941:
A March 25, 1941, set of photos in the Kansas City Star shows a Bantam BRC-60 flying high at one point, but then being dragged across a river by a horse at another point.
Sam shared this photo which he spotted on a Facebook Porsche page. It looks like this early Jeepster is pulling about 12(?) carts full of kids.
The Meyer Snow Plow brochure includes a large section about the ElectroLift. Labeled form no. 3-163, the brochure is a standard paper side with a half-paper-sized section that folds out horizontally to reveal more details about the Electrolift. There is not date on this brochure, but I’d guess early 1960s.
Note that the left side of the back of this brochure is the same as the image above. It’s the right side that folds out.
These two two-page brochures from Meyer once again highlight the company’s snow plows.
This first brochure showcases the Meyer Angle Dozer and is dated July of 1962 and is form no. 3-114 (though on the backside it shows 3-114 R2, suggesting the backside may have been a 1st or 2nd revision):
This second one is an undated form no. 3-283, but given it includes a Jeepster Commando, it is likely from the late 1960s.:
UPDATE: The Herald-News of Passaic, NJ, published an image of a Ford GP going through its paces. Given the chained tires and other similarities, it appears this photo was likely taken at the same time as one published at the bottom of this post.
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Originally posted May 30, 2020, as part of this post: Here’s an article and a photo showing a couple Ford GPs being run hard, originally printed in the March 09, 1941, issue of the Battle Creek Enquirer:
These two brochures offer optional equipment for Meyer snow plows. I’ve been unable to make sense of the Meyer brochure numbers.
Form No. 3-208 is a four page brochure that highlights optional equipment for Meyer snow plows.
This center section utilizes two pages:
This is the back page:
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Form No. 3-217 is a one page brochure that highlights marker kits installed atop Meyer Snow plows to make them easier to see.
This ad is slightly larger than a postcard.
View all the information on ebay
1945 CANADIAN CANADA AD WWII PATRIOTIC WILLYS JEEP COMMANDOS MACHINE GUNS
100% ORIGINAL NOT A COPY OR REPRINT.
MEASURES ABOUT 5.5 X 6.5 INCHES
THIS ORIGINAL ITEM WOULD BE NICE TO FRAME
GOOD CONDITION.”
UPDATE: This auction has a buy it now price of $9. The last batch of pencils sold for $8 on eBay.
View all the information on ebay
“You are bidding on a group of 8 Willy’s Motors pencils Most are the same ..There is “Willy’s on the Move” .Also a couple ‘H’ pencils $4 Shipping”
(October 29th auction of Willys-Overland pencils: Continue reading
I’d guess this ad was published in a Canadian magazine?
View all the information on ebay
“1961 CANADIAN CANADA AD WILLYS OVERLAND GIANT JEEP PICKUP TRUCK.
MEASURES ABOUT 8 X 10 INCHES.”
Maury spotted this image of an early Warn dash sticker on a Gladiator that was posted to the EarlyCJ5.com website. Anyone have a better example of it?
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/warn-locking-hub-dash-sticker.144960/#post-1613141
An April 12, 1941, article from the Escabana Daily Press out of California shows that it wasn’t always easy producing the Ford GPs. In this case striking works (and some reported sabotage of machinery) delayed manufacturing.
Long article from the same paper: Continue reading
These series of photos show Edsel Ford riding in a “Blitz Buggy”, which we now know as a Ford GP. Note that there’s no reference to the “Ford GP” in any text.
This photo appeared in several newspaper, including the April 11, 1941, issue of the Sikeston Standard out of Missouri.
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Originally published Nov 11, 2014: This photo includes Edsel Ford and was shot at the same event this video was taken.
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Originally published July 12, 2017: The original press photo that appeared in the newspaper at the bottom of this post.
“1941- Edsel Ford, in rear seat, and Brig. Gen. Charles Bonesteel go for a ride in the first Ford GP prototype jeep delivered to the U.S. Army after it rolled off the assembly line at the Ford River Rouge factory in Dearborn, Michigan. Photo measures approx. 7″ x 9″”
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Original posted 06/30/2016:
This photo and caption were published in the March 7, 1941, issue of the Owosso Argus Press. No article accompanied it.
Were the original Gala key chains encased in Acrylic like this? Maybe the dealer ones were? Price of this is $99, but seller will consider offers.
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“Rare Vintage Jeep Gala Tropical Motors St. Thomas V.I. Acrylic Keychain in Excellent Used Condition. My Father obtained this keychain while working in fleet sales for Willys in the Carribean and Central & South America in the 50’s and early 60’s. Measures approximately 1″ in diameter x 1/4″ thick. A must have for the Jeep Gala Surrey owner!!!”
