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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 .
Scott spotted these NOS Dualmatic hubs on eBay. I am not as familiar with the red stickers, but this looks to be a later version of these lever-activate hubs, solely based on the style of ribs.
View all the information on eBay
“NOS Dualmatic Locking Hubs Willys Jeep 10 Spline, Willys Mb, GPW, CJ2A Cj3a M38. New in the original box, I’m guessing from the 1950’s, or 1960’s. Some storage wear. All mounting bolts are there. Shipping $16”
This late 1956 ad introduced the FC-150 its Longview, Washington, audience.
December 06, 1956, in the Longview Daily Times.
Cool photo and a nice shot showing Scenic Tours on the back. I imagine this the Ouray area?
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“This is an original press photo. Colorado’s high mountain country is custom made for the rugged individualist who likes to get off the beaten path into areas where man is seldom seen. Many communities rent jeeps, and some schedule jeep cavalcades that take you into areas of breathtaking beauty that have been hidden from the eyes of man since the beginning of time.Photo measures 8 x 10.25inches. Photo is dated 12-30-1966.”
The July 14th, 1955, issue of the Auburn Journal, Auburn California, highlighted events from a recent jeep trip in the Sierra Mountains from Wentworth Springs to Lake Tahoe.
Andy mentioned he didn’t recognize this tin toy jeep. Neither do I. It looks similar to a Marx. The toy is about 4″ long. The grille’s uneven-ness suggests it is home made, but the rest seems manufactured to me. Any guesses? It sold for $29.99.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Small-Red-Tin-Toy-Jeep-with-Wooden-Wheels-/233685380233
These two “No Roads Needed For a ‘Jeep'” ads appeared during the late spring of 1953 in two different California newspapers. I don’t know if this was just a regional or a national campaign.
This first ad appeared in the April 29, 1953, issue of the Sacramento Bee, sponsored by the Winter Willys Company:
This second ad appeared in the May 12, 1953, issue of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, sponsored by Mosso & Puccinelli:
This custom build is a little different.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/301274604531502/
“86 Stainless steel Willis jeep 9 inc Ford Rear end 4 speed transmission 350 motor bord 30 over with a 280 comp cam”
William F. Baggerman in 1946 standing in front of his 1946 VEC CJ-2A. Behind the jeep is a trailer (a box on wheels). Standing to the side of the jeep is Charles Mum of the Laredo, Texas, AAA. William is just about to enter Mexico in 1946.
Wiliam F. Baggerman was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area around 1914. He attended Washington University and Edinburgh University. He started Modern Management Co., a real estate management firm, in 1936, and later was employed with Sycamore Investors, Inc., a shopping center development company.
He entered what would become the Air Force right after Pearl Harbor and spent 20 months in the Pacific theatre, stationed for at least part of the time in Guam. While in Guam, for some unknown reason, he decided to travel to Central America after the war.
A year after the war ended, he purchased a jeep and, along with a trailer, headed south to Laredo, Texas, where he began his adventure.
After his trip, he wrote an 60 page book: Driving to Managua, Nicaragua (A Guide to the PanAmerican Highway Through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua).
The book is part guide book and part travelogue, as most of the text describes dryly how to travel through the various countries. Yet, the pics feel far more personal; there are at least 10 photos, almost all of which include the jeep. You can view the entire book online at Hathitrust.org.
The jeep he used appears to have been a VEC with indents and a column shift, but without the rear hubs. So, I’d guess a 15xxx to 30xxx serial number. The trailer is a box on wheels … anyone know what model?
Let’s look at some pics!
This is a map of the Pan American Highway. It’s not clear to me how much he veered off the highway:
This pic shows him just entering Mexico:
Those are some beautiful mountains. But who is looking at the mountains when you can peek inside the cab and see the column shifter:
Apparently, even the jeep couldn’t take William everywhere:
1. This first image shows a Cowboy in front of a CJ-3B with the jeep’s hood serving as a temporary desk. There is no description or date provided.
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2. These next three pics are included within one auction. View all the information on eBay. given the signs in the first photo, it would seem possible to locate where it was originally taken.
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“Original WW2 photos (2.5 x 3.75 inches), curled from age, with some handling wear. These belonged to Corporal Alton Gilbert, a soldier in Company A of the 506th Military Police Battalion.”
3. These three photos were taken near a mine in 1961. Based on the terrain, my off-the-cuff guess is that the scenes remind me of the area around Cripple Creek, Colorado. Anyone who knows the area better have different thoughts?
View all the information on eBay
“3 1960s 35mm Slides Family Enjoys Off Road Jeep Willys Mining Town Tour 1961”
UPDATE: Here’s another “Bond Wagon” ad for sale on eBay.
View all the information on ebay
“Grade per Six Grade System: Near Mint
Page size in English units (approximate): 10 1/4″ X 13 3/4”
This 4-page brochure from D.L. Beck Manufacturing included a separate price list that dates the brochure around August 1, 1955. Curiously, the “Econo” hardtop was no longer featured in the brochure (see a 1954 example brochure at the bottom of this post). Apparently that “Econo” line of hardtops wasn’t good enough after all (see letter at the bottom that explains the reference).
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Originally Posted December 14, 2014 —
These three ads are each listed separately on eBay. Two of the ads are from 1947 and one is from 1948. All three are the same size, approximately: 13.5 x 18.5 cm (5.31 x 7.28 inches).
UPDATE: As best as I can tell, it looks like 1963 was when Don Pratt’s Jeep Tours began working with the Kachina Cab company. The article appeared in the August 13, 1963, issue of the Arizona Republic:
===============================
Originally posted June 2019: According to this Pink Jeep Tour site, Pink Jeep Tours is the oldest continuously operating Jeep Tour Company in the United States. It was started in 1958 by a Sedona Realtor named Don Pratt, who would drive clients to see homes at Broken Arrow Estates. The Broken Arrow tour is the original Jeep tour and is still today the most popular tour in Sedona.Why did he make the jeeps pink? Mr. Pratt got the idea while visiting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach, where everything was pink.
But, that’s only part of the story. In her book Echoes of Sedona Past, Mary Lou Keller explains how her and her husband cleared the first trail and how, when Glenn Keller decided not to open a jeep tour business, their friend Don Pratt asked if he could do it instead. Mrs. Keller covers the story in five pages of her book available to read on Google.The book also includes the image below of Mary Lou Keller with her do Pico in her (probably) 1946 CJ-2A:
The negative of this below image was spotted by Steve. I wonder if the handling felt odd when the tank was full?
View all the information on eBay
“Original one-of-a-kind amateur 2 1/4″ square negative. Excellent condition. The listing image was created using PhotoShop to make a positive digital image. I did very little adjusting; you should be able to produce a much better print/image than the one shown in this listing.”
Oops .. this was supposed to appear on Wed morning … Oh well!
This ad for Winter Willys was published in the February 21, 1953, issue of the Sacramento Bee. It highlights the availability of the Jeep branded implements. some of which was saw in these ‘Jeep’ brochure posts.
This 1946 brochure was produced as part of the GET A ‘JEEP’ campaign that lasted through most of 1946.
UPDATE: It turns out that I didn’t have to scoop this up this toy myself after all; Tom from Kentucky obtained it, then mailed it to me. It surely was a cool surprised. In this note to me he mentioned it still runs, so I popped in some D batteries. Sure enough, this jeep still goes backwards and forwards. The only glitch on it is the broken windshield, but I’ll see what I can do to repair it. Many Thanks Tom!
This appears to be a rare Andy Gard G I remote control jeep. If it was near me, I’d scoop it up.
Steve shared this July 2, 1943, article in the South Western Adviser (Perth, WA, Australia) about a couple of soldiers in a jeep who decided to join an English hunt.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/149800975?
July 02, 1943, South Western Adviser, Australia
“JEEP HUNT”
THE UNITED STATES ARMY JEEP, ITS DRIVERS SAY, CAN GO ANYWHERE, AND DO ANYTHING, BUT, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, ONE WAS USED TO RIDE TO HOUNDS IN AN ENGLISH | STAG HUNT.
It happened “somewhere in England,” as soldiers developed their shooting eyes for Jerries on a rifle range. A firing group had just taken up places;’ adjust rifle slings, and were aiming, when the officer in charge yelled, “Hold it, men!”
Directly across the row of distant targets bounded a , magnificent stag. Soldiers’ mouths fell open as out of the; woods a Jeep hurtled in hot pursuit. In it rode two yelling, khaki-clad Robin Hoods.
The sergeant driver sent his vehicle bounding across small streams, missing trees by inches. A few seconds later a pack of hounds appeared in full cry. In fourth place, and well out of the
money, dashed mounted huntsmen.
An officer promptly ended the Doughbouys participation in the hunt. Huntsmen made it clear that chasing stags in Jeeps is definitely frowned upon in England. They also added—politely—that hunting is done only by invitation.
—Canadian Press Dispatch. J
Joe shared these two Albany Police Department police photos posted by Albany’s Times Union online newspaper. The CJ-2A riot jeep is pic #30 of 35. The Wagon is pic #2 of 35.
Roger Martin shared this photo of, most likely, a CJ-2A or CJ-3A that was modified and outfitted with a camera. He spotted on Facebook. It was used on the set of the original Road Warrior Movie.
I was unable to find another photo of the camera jeep, but I did find a modified CJ-3B used for the Road Warrior (Fury Road) remake.
Steve discovered this short article on a problem caused by jeeps in the Philippines (though this is a more complicated situation than just the existence of jeeps). The article was published in the October 11, 1945, issue of the Guinea Gold, a newspaper out of Australia. On the same page, there were two additional stories about Australian war brides getting preferential treatment for their trips (one article noted ‘secret’ trips by ship and another by a few women who got to fly to Hawaii) over returning service men.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250680929?
October 11, 1945, Guinea Gold
“Filipino men are trying to put US jeeps cut of bounds to all their women under 40 years, states Ray Johnston, war correspondent, in Brisbane Sunday Mail.
Almost any hpur of the day and night, American jeeps carrying attractive Filipino girls can be seen in Manila’s grievously war-damaged streets. Timorous mothers and jealous boy friends have been complaining against the attraction the jeep exercises on local girls.
In China, Government officials and citizens became alarmed over the fact that the Chinese took to jeeps, as ducks to water, so they prohibited their girls riding inthem.
“Maybe such a law would be considered rude in Manila, but we should do something about the
situation,” says the Manila Chronicle. “After all, we don’t want it said in future that the jeep won the war and our women, too!”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $100.
Steve shared this ‘all original’ Tonka Fire Jeep. It appears in good condition, but it’s missing a few items, including the ladder, the hood light, and one of the vertical cylinders on the back bumper. The rear bumper unit is also bent backwards.
“BEAUTIFUL RED TONKA JEEP, BETTER CONDITION THAN MOST, I HAVE HAD IT FOR YEARS BUT I AM MOVING AND SELLING OFF SOME TOYS – LOCAL PICKUP”
Bill shared this photo taken by a young Jefferson Siegel during the 1968 Democratic Convention. He wrote about being a 16yo photographer during the eventful convention.
6am, the morning after intense street battles in downtown Chicago. Photograph: Jefferson Siegel
UPATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
A color slide from 1941? That’s a rarity.
“Original 35mm film slide.
Subject: U.S. Army MP Willys Jeep at Camp Sibert (or Siebert) in Boulder City, NV.
Date: Oct. 1941
Mount/Film Type: Kodachrome, red border
The scan below has not captured all detail, but shows the relative sharpness of the slide. The green text reading “embitt scan” was superimposed after scanning.”
This ad just expired on eBay and will likely be reposted at some point. It’s a Willys Export Company magazine ad, but unclear to me who the audience was. If this were a Canadian ad I imagine it would be tagged with a Kaiser Willys of Canada moniker, so it’s unclear to me what magazine this might have been.
View all the information on eBay
“1956 4 Wheel Drive Jeep Vintage Print Car Ad – Rare International Life Mag Ad
Aprox 10″ X 14 ” – Excellent condition
This is an ORIGINAL, AUTHENTIC print ad from a Life or Saturday Evening Post Magazine. Not a reproduction or copy. There may be some yellowing or chipping around the edges.”
