emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
This April 03, 1946, photo from the Spokesman Review shows Dave Zimmerman and his band/radio show ensemble stuffed into a jeep. With a Detroit transit strike raging, a borrowed jeep was the only way to get everyone to their radio show gig.
According to this page, Dave Zimmerman was a long time announcer at WWJ in Detroit. He hosted a popular radio program called Coffee Club and was on the air for Detroit’s first television broadcast from the 47th floor of the Penobscot Building.
In May of 1964 newspapers across the country shared the news of the Army testing out an idea where v-shaped flexible wings were attached to vehicles such as jeeps, allowing them to be pulled behind aircraft and flying to their destinations.
I tried to find photos of the jeeps with V-wings, but I had no luck. There is this example of the Army testing the v-wing concept they called a “Fleep”, which may use a similar flexible v-wing.
Ryan RV-8 Fleep Final Report 1964 US Army; Rogallo Wing Aircraft from Jeff Quitney on Vimeo.
This first article appeared in the May 10, 1964, issue of the Press Democrat out of Santa Rosa, California: 
This second article was published in the May 12, 1964, issue of the South Bend Tribune, out of South Bend, Indiana:
This is a real X-ray of a real jeep developed as a life-size image. Life Magazine, March 25, 1946.
In 1946 the wiz kids at the University of Rochester, NY, and Eastman Kodak built the world’s largest radiograph, one that could create an X-Ray photo of a large machine, say a jeep, which is precisely how they tested it. In the jeep’s case, the team used the million-volt x-ray machine to create a radiograph 12′ 1″ long by 4′ 1″ tall, or large enough to contain a life size jeep. The larger goal was create the ability to X-Ray large machinery.
The February 8th, 1946, issue of Rochester Democrat Chronicle shared the story:
The next month, Life Magazine also ran the story, this time with a copy of the X-ray photo (seen at top):
The jeep’s hood number is 20200556
This unusual ad appeared in the December 18, 1945, issue of the Poughkeepsie Journal. I guess marketers figured adding the “jeep” name to most anything was a good bet for increasing sales?
This pledge for Jeep-O club drivers was published in the July 07, 1943, issue of the Leaf Chronicle out of Clarksville, Tennessee. This pledge appears to have been unique to the Clarksville area.
In April of 1943, the Kiawanis Club of Anniston, Alabama, started the Jeep-O Club, an effort to alleviate the transportation problem facing soldiers by pledging to give rides in their vehicles to soldiers who needed one. It was an early Uber system, only with volunteer drivers.
It’s possible the Kiwanis Jeep-O movement got is name from the previous November’s Jeep-O gram movement in Texas.
This photo shows an actual Jeep-O stop. It appeared in the April 15, 1943, issue of the Huntsville Times:
By May, the Jeep-O club idea had already spread to 22 states:
A couple months later, in the July 07, 1943, issue of the Leaf Chronicle out of Clarksville, Tennessee, the paper reported how a Jeep-O club was staring up there: Continue reading
This full page article with photos shows a group that called themselves the “Jeepological Survey” exploring the Panamint Range Canyons. This was published in the November 13, 1953, issue of the Valley Times out of San Fernando, California.
This March 24, 1955, article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel shows Boys Scouts readying a jeep display to demonstrate both traffic safety and jeep camping.
Pictured are Bruce Donald, Bill Scout, Pete Schipper and advisor Charles Cloud. The group was affiliated with Explorer Post 89.
Columnist Russ Leadabrand thinks the jeep is the best way to see California. This column appeared in the June 29, 1960, issue of the Pasadena Independent:
This “Figment to Face” article about the jeep’s conception-to-reality story landed in a variety of newspapers across the US, though this is the best scan of it so far (which doesn’t speak too highly of the other scans, as it shouldn’t). I wondered how many other drawings were made that weren’t realized with the standardization of the jeep.
The article appeared in the Daily Reporter out of Greenfield, Indiana, on October 19, 1942:
UPDATE: Here’s an example of a Windsor, Canada, data plate, one of the CJ-5s that was imported from Canada to keep up with sales demand in the US.
===================
On August 21, 1959, the first Canadian-built jeep, a CJ-5, rolled out of the assembly plant in Windsor, Canada. Below are two articles and one advertisement that celebrates the acheivement.
This first article appeared August 22, 1959, in the Windsor Star and shows the actual first CJ-5.
This second article appeared September 19, 1959, in the National Post our to Torono, Ontario, Canada, and shows the actual Windsor Plant.
This third item is an advertisement that appeared in the August 25, 1959, issue of The Province, a Vancouver newspaper.
This press photo appeared in multiple newspapers, including the July 20, 1950, edition of the Austin Statesman.
View all the information on ebay
“AMERICAN SOLDIERS In JEEP w .50 CAL MACHINE GUN In KOREA 1950 Press Photo. Size is approximately 7×9 to 8×10 inches. If significantly smaller or larger the specific size will be accurately described.”
Here’s the newspaper clipping:
While searching for this press photo I also spotted this photo of a unique gun mount. It was published in the August 04, 1950, issue of the Arizona Republic:
This was something new to me. Some war bond buyers were allowed to sign scrolls that would then be loaded on bombers and dropped over Axis-controlled countries. This photo and caption appeared in the May 20, 1943, issue of the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis.
This article discusses the ongoing investigation into the jeep name business. Minnesota had a particular interest in this issue, due to Minneapolis-Moline’s development of a vehicle that was called a jeep prior to the completion of the Bantam BRC in late September of 1940. Unlike Willys-Overland, Minneapolis-Moline had no interest in owning the name; instead, they felt the name jeep belonged to the government.
This first article is from the August 21, 1940, issue of the Minneapolis Star and identifies the new Minneapolis-Moline tractor as a “jeep”:
The second article, dated June 05, 1944, goes into Minneapolis-Moline’s views on the jeep name:
In the miscellaneous-facts-that-probably-weren’t-accurate-at-all …. According to the July 05, 1944, issue of the Conneautville Courier (Conneautville, Pennsylvania), the standard jeep weighed 2,368lbs, while the crates used to box jeeps weighted 784lbs. I wonder how many jeeps and how many crates actually weight those amounts?
This September 17, 1949, article in the Green Bay Press-Gazette states that the four-wheel-drive wagon evolved out of a military special order for four-wheel-drive-wagons. I’ve run across that fact previously, maybe on a brochure?
UPDATE: The two post cards at the bottom of this post were on eBay several years ago. I recently came across some newspaper clippings that give background about the Winter Park Villager tram’s purpose. The service began November 28, 1966, but I could not find an end-date.
This first article discusses the jeep tram’s beginnings:
Article dated November 13, 1966, from the Orlando Sentinel
This next article notes that Monday, November 28th, as the launch date for the jeep tram service.
Article dated December 1, 1966, from the Orlando Evening Star
This short article from March of 1967 describes some of the tram’s stops:
March 03, 1967, in the Orlando Evening Star
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
This Winter Park Villager shows a DJ-3A Surrey pulling a matching trailer in Winter Park, Florida. One of these postcards is currently on eBay.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Here’s another view of the same combo. One of these postcards is currently on eBay
The June 13, 1942, issue of the News-Journal out of Mansfield, Ohio, happily reported on the unexpected amount of bond sales at the city’s previous day’s “Jeep Day”. The committee had hoped to sell $10,000 worth of bonds, but topped $25,000 instead. I’m sure it was all due to the jeeps!
Gallup’s local Willys dealer organized a trip to Manuelito Canyon, according to an article int he October 14, 1953, issues of the Albuquerque Journal. Some local Gallup area residents had hoped at the time that the canyon would become a national park. Instead, in 1964, it was named a National Historic District. There is (was?) a visitor’s center, but it is temporarily closed (and was so as of January of 2020, which predated the pandemic).
I like this photo with the line up of wagons. I’d love to find the original or reprint of this.
This May 18, 1944, article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram describes the upcoming “WAC Jeep Day”. The Fort Worth recruiting team would offer free jeep rides to those women who fit the WAC’s specifications. I’m guessing the women had to be “U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 with no dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more.”
Instead of qualifying for the WACs, it might have been easier to wait two years and drive a jeep with no strings attached! This ad published in the May 29, 1946, issue of the Knoxville News for the Sam Horne Company shows a woman test driving a jeep.
This July 28, 1973, article in the Longview Daily News shares information on the rising number of jeep clubs in the Longview area. I figured the text would be easier to read if I posted it separately at bottom. The CJ-5 on the upper left is running the recently introduced Desert Dogs.
This June 29, 1946, photo in the Daily Advertiser shows off an early MB conversion into a Louisiana Forestry Jeep. Developed by the Louisiana Foresty Commission, the state purchased five of these rigs.
The Weekly Town Talk out of Alexandria, Louisiana, also ran the photo on the same day, but with a different caption:
This article shows FDR in jeeps. It was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune February 02, 1943.
The April 27, 1944, article in the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis argues that Ford, GM, and Chrysler did not believe the post-war jeep would be as successful as hoped, due to (1) the hard suspension and (2) a lack of appeal to the “woman of the family”. It seems they were right to be wary from a family perspective, but the big three didn’t foresee the wagons, which attempted to address both of these issues.
This photo captures three friends traveling from Hawaii to the midwest via Minnesota. Akira Tanaka, sitting in the driver’s seat, helped establish the military intelligence company that was part of Camp Savage in Minnesota.This was published in the September 16, 1946, issue of The Minneapolis Star.
I tried to learn more about these three, but didn’t have much luck. There was an Akira Tanaka that went to work for General Motors and built himself a home that was featured in a 1955 article in the Detroit Press. So, it’s possible that he graduated from College in Michigan, then went to work for GM. If that’s the case, he developed several automotive patents for the company.
