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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 .
UPDATE: This is back on eBay
(01/26/2010) Here’s a right hand drive CJ-3B for all of our Australian readers .. if there are any? This looks great.
“This is our 1953 restored Jeep, runs great,We live in the bush and it is not registered.New body,tyres,electrics,windscreen, fuel pump .radiator,canvas,brakes, plus many other parts.Always stored inside.A big box of spares available”
As usual, searching for something unrelated to Toyota lead me straight to the Toyota BJ (I was searching through some automobile history). I knew very little about the Toyota Land Cruiser history, so the threads I’ll share below were very interesting to me. The pics all came from the IH8MUD.com website, where there are plenty more pics of both the AK10 and the BJ.
THE AK10
According to Wikipedia, in response to a request by the Japanese government, Toyota developed the AK10 in 1942. Apparently there are few surviving images and no surviving vehicles. You can view the AK10 discussion thread at the IH8MUD.com website.
JEEP BJ
Again, according to Wikipedia, in 1950 the Korean War created demand for a military light duty vehicle. The United States Government asked Toyota to build 100 vehicles based on Willys specs. The following year, Toyota designed the BJ prototype. While longer and more powerful (6cyl) than the 1/4 ton jeep, the BJ had no low range. The National Police Agency (NPA) was impressed enough to put in an order for the Jeep BJ’s, which became their official patrol vehicle. The BJ would have 3 different Models, a Touring model (BJ-T), a Radio model (BJ-R), and a Fire Engine Capable Model (BJ-J) [technically, I suppose these would be the english equivalent translations …].
In 1954, Willys-Overland put pressure on Toyota to cease using the “Jeep” name. Technical director Hanji Umehara had the responsibility to rename the vehicle. Interestingly, rather than compete with the Jeep label, he chose to compete directly with the Land Rover label. He notes, “I had to come up with a name for our car that would not sound less dignified than those of our competitors. That is why I decided to call it ‘Land Cruiser’.”
Here are several images of the BJ that I found on the IH8MUD site. You can see many more here The Toyota BJ ‘Jeep’ thread at the IH8MUD.com website.
Roberto‘s friend Javier de Luelmo took a few images of a scale modeling contest held at Torrent, Valencia, Spain (9 to 11th April 2010). You’ll note Robert’s t-shirt design was a centerpiece!
Many thanks to Tim from the WillysJeep.com site for sharing these unusual images. He notes he has many more. I suspect over the next few months as the site grows it will become an important library of information. Thanks Tim!
The timing of these photos is fascinating, as early 1959 was the ending of the Cuban Revolution and the assumption of control of Cuba by Castro. Based on a few searches I just completed, it appears Fidel was a fan of jeeps and there are multiple references of him riding in a jeep.
And, in the last photo, that is Fidel himself.
Here’s a pic I’d like to get. After recieving the pics from Tim, I did a little research. Here is a video of an image of Fidel and Che Guerva posing in a Jeep in April of 1959. Unfortunately, I do not understand what the narrator is saying.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-rg8DEFuhE
As the eWillys Senior Envoy to Colombia, Sebastian continues to bring back some great pics and information. This time he’s posted them at the Flat Fender Club of Butler’s website. Below are a few of them. Thanks Sebastian!
Right in the middle of drafting a post about DJ-3As vs Galas vs Surreys, the internet managed, once again, to derail my efforts. In the middle of doing a picture search, I stumbled upon the Islamabad Jeep Club. Hmm .. that’s in Pakistan … could that really be a jeep club? Not only is it a jeep club, it is one of the three clubs from Pakistan on the internet with sites published entirely in English.
I admit, this is something I didn’t expect. I admit, despite my attempts not to preconceive, my entire conception of Pakistan is desert, Camels and a mirror of Afghanistan — a montage of movies and news footage. That was my view of Pakistan.
Here’s a video from 2008:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mt6hwbkmG0
Now I’ve learned there’s more. So, for your educational pleasure, below are snapshots from each of the three websites I found in Pakistan and a pic of the wide range of 4wd vehicles that attend the Islamabad Jeep Club events. You’ll see a wide mix of old flatties, new 4wd vehicles, and everything in between. Finally, while checking out the Offroad Pakistan websites, I ran across a wonderful post about the rebuilding of a Ford F1 from California, which I cover in the post below this one.
And, from the Islamabad Jeep Club, comes this photo that shows the wide range of vehicles that are in their club and/or attend their events. You can view more photos here.
I never get tired of looking at old jeep pics. These came from this Italian site: http://www.vignaclarablog.it/200909167279/a-caccia-vecchi-cimeli-militari-a-roma-nord-dodge-willis/
Here’s some a couple great pics of an early Ebro Cameador. You can view more images at http://www.angelfire.com/nb2/jeeppickups/Ebro.html.
Jeeps first started being assembled in Spain in 1952 by a company called VIASA, which means Vehículos Industriales y Agrícolas, S.A in spanish. I am not sure if VIASA ever made pickups, as I cannot find any records of them being produced. However, in the late 1970’s VIASA was absorbed into EBRO, another spanish company. The only pickup that I know of produced by EBRO was called the Campeador. It was a forward control pickup available in either single or double cab version, which was called the Duplex, as well as a van, called the Toledo/Furgon. At some time, Hotchkiss in France also produced these vehicles, but I can’t find any pictures of them. Production of these vehicles was from 1971-1985 in France. The Ebro name was discontinued in 1980.
Jeepandmedic.com is a great little website that features a French (?) family that is busy collecting jeeps (GPA, GP, Hotchkiss …) and more. It appears to be a total family affair. Their collection of jeep pedal vehicles is particularly interesting. The collection of book titles is worth reviewing as well.
Below are a few of the pedal jeeps. Note the last pic where they are hanging in a garage above what appears to be the Seep covered in canvas.
UPDATE: David wrote to tell me he is moving his website to earlymb.webs.com. So update your bookmarks. His move is a result of the geocities shutdown.
The earlymb.com website snuck up on me. I didn’t think there was much here, but the more I dug, the more I found. There’s an extensive book list, link list, a list on the differences between a GPW and MB, a list on the differences between an MB and a Hotchkiss M201, pics and more.
The website’s owner, David appears to live in the Netherlands. He shows many pics from a jeep he restored, but it doesn’t appear to be the same jeep that’s on the front page.
I tested a few of the links for the list of links, and at least some were out of date.
Sebastian has forwarded a couple great pics from Columbia. I love the colorful jeeps against the colorful buildings. Thanks!
He writes, ” I received these Pictures from a very good friend. They are from a small town called “Filandia”. This is a typical picture of these kinds of towns, many Willys (especially CJ-3Bs) group in the middle of the town, next to the stores so people use them as taxis after buying groceries. As you can see they are pretty much stock even though some modifications have been done to improve performance. Keep in mind this is not a Willys ride, a car show, or anything like that; it is just s typical day in Filandia. The pictures only show a few, but you can usually see more than 20 together. Their drivers have been doing this for so many years and usually with the same vehicles. They always tell you they will never sell their Willys since they have provided a way of living for almost 50 years. Finding a Willys in Colombia is no problem, finding someone willing to sell it is a different story. Enjoy.”
Sebastian forwarded me the Willys Colombia website. I realized I couldn’t find it because I was spelling Colombia wrong (my spelling: Columbia). I have now corrected all the other posts as well. Ooops.
Anyway, there’s lots of great pics. One section includes the official Guinness Book of Records Photos from the parade are there too. However, one thing I haven’t determined is exactly how many jeeps were there. I have seen the figures of approximately 300 jeeps and of approximately 370. I tried to search Guinness, but had no luck. Here’s a few of the pics.
I’ve been sick the past couple days and have been watching way too much poor quality TV. However, I did manage to find a great Discovery Channel show about the Camino de la Muerte (the Road of Death) that runs from La Paz, Bolivia, to a height of 15,000 feet and then downhill into the Yungas region of Bolivia. In 1995, the Inter-American Development Bank listed the road as the most dangerous road in the world, with an average of 100 – 300 deaths a year (various sites were reporting differing averages). This page has a large number of pictures of the road.
Based on the Discovery Channel show, I can see why it’s dangerous, but I have to say it was hard to take the driver/narrator of the show seriously when he indicated being frightened. After all, it is a flat road, albeit with a steep drop off to one side. Just drive slowly and you’ll be fine. I guess I’ve been on enough hair raising, difficult jeep trails that I find it hard to take the ‘fear’ portion of the road of death seriously.
That said, if I ever do my round-the-world jeep trip, it will be high on my list of must visit roads.
Below is an image that was part of an article about Bolivia, however a reader named Allen identified it from a Warn Winch Ad, as seen on this page. It was taken on a formerly narrow section of the Black Bear Pass Road.
On the heals of yesterday’s GPA, I thought I’d do a brief shout out to the Schwimmwagen. You can read more and see more pics about the Schwimmwagen at Brian’s site. Here’s a pic (below) from July 12 1944 (from Brian’s site as well). Here’s some youtube videos.
I’m assuming this is a 1945 MB based on the title of the forum. I found these pics from a spanish website I stumbled across called Willys Argentina. I thought they had a pretty cool logo, so I’ve included a copy of that. There’s plenty more pics and information about Flatties.
Here’s some 1945 MB pics I’ve linked to from the website. You can see more pics on this forum page.
I believe the author of this bilingual (french/spanish) site (jeep42.net) about a 1942 MB is from Europe, though I didn’t get a sense of exactly where they were located. Neither my French nor my Spanish will save me in an emergency, let alone let me navigate a site about jeeps.
Fortunately, the excellent pictures make the site worth visiting even for the most linguistically challenged of us. I especially liked the pic below (there are other pics that provide similar comprehensive views of parts). If anyone knows who operates the site, I’d gladly add their name here so i can properly credit them.
Here’s a good history of the MB-CJ3B Willys-Viasa with a variety of pics.
“In the late 50’s, Willys Overland gave the rights to the V.I.A.S.A. firm to allow them exclusively to build the Univesal Jeep in our country. In 1959, the first permit to import parts and machinery is given by the Trade Ministry, in order to assemble the first units in the V.I.A.S.A’s factory located in Zaragoza. These units weren’t launched until 1960.
It seems that that permit let V.I.A.S.A build the CJ3B model, with different engines and features from the original American model …”