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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 .
As of December 1946, Wyoming County Schools in West Virginia still had 52 one-room schools attended by 1200 students. To serve and maintain those schools throughout the year, the county purchased a CJ-2A.
More details about the rural schools in this article from the December 27, 1946, issue of the Beckley Post Herald out of West Virginia.
This article in the June 28, 1948, issue of Newsweek covers how the Keystone Automobile Club’s three jeeps were transformed into mobile video units for the 1948 Republican and Democratic Conventions that were being held in Philadelphia.
Six months earlier in January, the same jeeps had been setup with radios to help manage road patrol issues (multiple news articles mentioned this), so adding television service expanded, albeit temporarily, the capabilities of the jeeps.
Last year we saw a different pic of one of the jeeps that is housed in Philadlephia’s free library:
PHOTO CREDIT: Free Library of Philadelphia .. PHOTO CAPTION: Keystone Automobile Club – Road Patrol Service.
The Dolds’ family wishing their friends and family Merry Crhistmas. The windshield and the passenger step have already both been modified on this jeep.
View all the information on eBay
“This Auction is for 1 VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH TYPE CARD
1950’S-60’S ERA? MIGHT BE BY BROAD RIPPLE, INDIANA?
CHRISTMAS CARD-JEEP-DACHSHUND DOG IN INDIANA
THE PHOTO IS CLEAR 1-2 FEET AWAY, THE PHOTO IS CLEAR UNDER MAGNIFY GLASS, BUT DARK. OPEN FACE CARD, BLANK BACK, WITH CAPTION. THESE CARDS WERE MADE MOST LIKELY FROM A DEPARTMENT STORE AND GIVEN TO NEIGHBOR’S, FAMILY & FRIENDS DURING THE HOLIDAYS.
CAPTION:” THE DOLDS? ”
This photo shows New York Governor Lehman and Col. Broadus sitting in a jeep.
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“1942 Press Photo New York Governor takes ride in military jeep. This is an original press photo. New York – jeep – Lieutenant … reviews, Colonel Broadus salutes, Governor Lehman takes a ride Photo measures 8.25 x 5.25 inches. Photo is dated 04-07-1942.”
Nice photo with some history showing 2 Ford GPs.
View all the information on ebay
“Offered is an original WWII time period photograph. It belonged Lt. Salvador Joseph Cuttitta who was enlisted with the 6th Armored Infantry and trained with 1st Armored Division. He was then transferred to serve with the 5th Armored Division. There is some tape on the corners. Picture measures approximately 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″ inches.”
In 1942, the Amarillo Globe-News and the Amarillo Daily News published messages called Jeep-O-Grams in both the hometown newspapers and a special Holiday Greeting edition of the Globe News Jeep. They did it as a way for families to send their family members world-wide Christmas wishes (though they did charge 4 cents a word).
What is the Glove News Jeep? Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to track down an example. According to the Volume 20 (sometime in 1942) issue of Newsweek, “Employees of The Amarillo ( Texas ) Globe – News get up a weekly soldiers ‘ and sailors ‘ edition in their spare time called Amarillo Globe – News Jeep . Carrying no advertising , the eight pages are packed with pictures and stories of men in the military”.
While acknowledging it was an imperfect system for sending greetings to soldiers, the Amarillo Daily newspaper noted that the cable systems were expected to be jammed with messages during December 1942. So, a Jeep-O-Gram in the holiday edition of the Globe News jeep was better than nothing.
I’ll start with the published page of Jeep-O-Grams and then work backwards. The messages in the N-Z image are easier to read. I can publish a link to a higher res version of A-N if anyone is interested.
This article on the Ford “Pygmy” was published in the March 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics. You’ll note there is no reference to the vehicle being called a “GP” (though, to be fair, the term GPW never appears in the magazine either), nor is there a reference to it being “General Purpose”.
These photos popped up one Facebook recently, likely pulled from the Just A Car Guy blog. I believe these were originally from some kind of video of Disney driving, because I was able to find an animated gif on Pinterest of the same event. I could not locate the original video, but I’m sure it is digitized and out there on the net somewhere …
No date on this photo of a Slat Grille MB being loaded onto a plane.
View all the information on ebay
“Press Photo Military personnel watch Jeep being loaded on aricraft. This is an original press photo. Military personnel — Jeep – aircraftPhoto measures 10 x 8inches. Photo is dated –NONE.”
This photo of a couple jeep maneuvering through mud and over a series of logs was published in the October 14, 1944, issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Coast Guard’s “Invader Jeep” (with photos here and photos/article/film here) was apparently also called the “Miracle Jeep”. The designer was Chief Petty Officer Charles D. Benjamin.
For starters, this short news reel clip has a reference to it in the Descriptive Log as a Miracle Jeep: https://www.historicfilms.com/tapes/14555_1773.97_1798 . Here’s a screen shot:
The March 18, 1944, issue of the Dayton Herald refers to the Coast Guard Super jeep as a “Miracle Jeep” as well:
The June 25, 1944, issue of the Indianapolis Star also refers to the jeep as the “Miracle Jeep”.
Nick Oxander found and shared these photos on Facebook. It appears this lightweight prototype was manufactured by the Valentine Welder & Manufacturing Company; yet, this same vehicle has been credited in other places, such as Hemmings and on eWillys, as the KEL Kaiser extra-light jeep. Anyone have an insight into this conundrum?
The Maricopa County Jeep Posse held the 4th Annual National Jeep Search and Rescue convention in 1963. As part of the event, wives and daughters of the Maricopa County Jeep Posse planned to pose as models for a pool-side fashion show. They would model clothes from the Scottsdale Wigwam. I can’t speak for the Scottsdale outlet, but I am just old enough to remember our local Wigwam store and ‘fashionable’ isn’t a word I’d use to describe it. It was more like the precursor to the Dollar Store.
Is this some kind of diesel engine? This photo comes with a second photo of a fluid cargo carrier.
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“Here I have a set of 2 Willys File Photos featuring:
* PROJ. 8511-01 T.C.P. Engine Number 14371 (1) Dated 5-28-54
* Fluid Cargo Carrier
Photos measure about 8 ½ x 11 inches including the borders and are punched. Punch holes do NOT affect the photos (See Scans).
Here’s the Fluid Cargo Carrier photo:
This M-38A1 press photo with a mine detector made it into a lot of newspapers. Here’s an example from the April 20, 1966, issue of the Crowley Post-Signal out of Crowley, Louisiana:
View all the information on eBay
“1966 Press Photo U.S. Army jeep mounted mine detector shown in St. Louis. This is an original press photo. St. Louis: New mobile mine detector perfected for Vietnam will allow the jeep mounted detector to clear 6 foot path at speeds from 10 to 1 mph depending on terrain. The transistorized probe is counterbalanced by large spring in front of jeep to prevent the wheels of the device from exerting enough pressure to set off a mine. On detection of mine the device automatically brakes and declutches the jeep. The mine detector was demonstrated at United States Army Mobility Equipment Center in St. Louis 4/19.Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 04-19-1966.”
This February 29, 1948, article in the Salt Lake Tribune describes Utah Reserve Train Center’s rescue jeep, describing how it works with the new mobile radar truck.
I couldn’t locate a corresponding photo of this in a newspaper. The rig looks interesting.
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“1969 Press Photo Rescue Jeep for Albany Police Department, New York. This is an original press photo. Rescue Jeep for Albany Police Department, New York. Police garage. Photo measures 9 x 7inches. Photo is dated 08-07-1969.
Steve shared this link to an article on Con-Ferr, which also had links to the McQueen archive. (I thought I had shared this archive of Steve McQueen and his CJ-5 Super Jeep at some earlier point, but it appears I hadn’t.) There are more details and pics of the build in the 1970 Con-Ferr Catalog… See pages 48-51 on this post: http://www.ewillys.com/2019/10/02/1970-con-ferr-catalog-pages-43-96/
Here’s the article from Steve: https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/08/con-ferr-incorporated-in-burbank-made.html
Here’s the McQueen album: https://archiveimages.com/licensing/public-gallery.php?id=441&pageNum_rsImages=7
Steve McQueen and the CJ-5 Super Jeep from Con-Ferr.
Roger shared this color photo of a Chicago Fire Department FC-170 designed to eject smoke. It was posted to this Fire Engine Facebook group. This appears to be engine #1.
A similar black and white photo was printed in the February 1969 issue of Popular Science. This appears to be engine #2.
Mark shared a link to this great photo of a Fire or Special Utility FC-170 working at the New York City World’s Fair in 1964-1965. The photo can be found here.
UPDATE: This photo shows the crowds at the Benicia Arsenal. It was published in the June 30, 1945, issue of the Beatrice Times out of Beatrice, Nebraska:
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Originally published November 5th, 2020: The June 25, 1946, issue of the San Francisco Examiner shared the news that more than 5000 veterans lined up begining at midnight to purchase just over 1500 available jeeps, though not that many jeeps would actually sell. For most veterans, there multi-hour waits were in vain. The buyer of the first jeep discovered that his jeep wouldn’t start, but the motor pool helped him get it going.
No year listed on this press photo that shows a slat grille MB being loaded into a Globemaster. The photo appears to have been ordered on July 2nd, 1947, but that’s likely not the date of the photo. My attempt to find the photo in a newspaper failed, but I did find a few other photos of jeeps and the Douglas C-74 Globemaster.
View all the information on eBay
“This is an original press photo. Military – Jeep – Globemaster aircraftPhoto measures 10.25 x 8inches. Photo is dated –NONE.”
In the summer of 1946, a Globemaster was loaded with 15 jeeps. A few photos of the event made the newspapers. This first one appears to have an illustrated jeep on the elevator:
CREDIT: June 22, 1946, in The Sentinel out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania
This photo shows a broader look at the lineup of jeeps.
CREDIT: June 23, 1946, in the Quad City Times out of Davenport, Iowa.
This article in the September 06, 1945, issue of the Daily News out of Los Angeles introduces the world to the new Globemaster. The bottom image shows two jeeps loaded next to one another.
This undated article and photo from an unknown newspaper was posted to Facebook where Roger Martin spotted it. The “classy jeep” is driven by Lieut. Commander W. P. Tyler, USN, of Medium Seaplane Squadron Three. There were eighteen privately owned jeeps undergoing modifications. My guess is that the photo was taken post WWII given the jeeps were privately owned.
This article from the December 30, 1942, issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram shares a press photo that has been available on eBay a couple times. Camp Hale was located just north of Leadville. It sat at 9500 felt and must have been a difficult place to train (cold + high altitude .. even the USO didn’t go there). The camp was only active until 1945.
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UPDATE Posted Feb 14, 2018: Here’s the same photo with nearly the same caption on eBay. The one shown at the bottom of the post was for sale on eBay in 2015.
“1942 Press Photo Soldiers driving jeeps through snow at Camp Hale, Colorado.
This is an original press photo. Snow jeeps—Parka-clad soldiers whip howitizer-carrying jeeps through unbroken snow at Camp Hale, high in the Colorado Rockies. The pack artillery of the Camp Hale mountain troops use the rugged little jeeps to carry dismantled sections of 75 millimeter howitzers until the going is so rough that mules have to take over (United States) (Wars) (World War II) (Camp Hale, Colorado) (Mountain troops) Photo measures 9.25 x 7 inches. Photo is dated 12-23-1942.”
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Original Post May 2, 2015: “1942 WWII Parka Clad Soldiers In Jeeps Camp Hale Colorado Press Photo”
UPDATE II: Unfortunately, while the photo sold, the seller was unable to find it.
UPDATE: This photo shows two photographers riding through the water taking photos as Sgt. Roy Harmon, from Washington, D.C., navigates the jeep (named The Reluctant Turtle). Given it was taken in October, the water can’t be very warm. Below this photo are two additional photos that also include Roy Harmon from the same event.
“This is an original press photo. Bay Ridge, Maryland — Photographers hitch a ride to photograph the progress of the “underwater” jeep demonstrated by the Navy today (October 17). Sgt. Roy Harmon, USMC of Washington, DC, clothes in a Marine wading outfit, drives the jeep in 6-foot of water. The underwater operation is made possible by a waterproof kit, which contains an ignition system, waterproof battery, distributor and coil, and aviation-type spark plugs. Two periscope-like pipes serve for the air intake and the exhaust. The jeep, which cannot float, can cavort around in water 6-feet deep for a period of 45-minutes and will make amphibious operations much easier.Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 10-17-1946.”
The October 21, 1946, issue of Hope Star (Hope, Arkansas) featured this image:
An October 21, 1946, article in the The Morning Call (Paterson, New Jersey) provides some great additional details about the ‘submarine’ kit:
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Original Post in 2017: The below photo was likely taken by the intrepid photographers pictured in the photos above:
As part of the post, Luis added the following comment: “Its a true USMC jeep as seen by the use of the electric “Dynamo” windshield wiper motor which were used only on Marine Corp jeeps, these motors are quite rare and highly desirable for a true USMC jeep restoration.”
From the eBay ad: “1946 Press Photo Bay Ridge MD Sgt Roy Harmon USMC in underwater jeep. .This is an original press photo. Photo measures 9 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 10-17-1946.”
