Credit Colin and Glenn for uncovering this information.

A rare 1945 Christmas Al-Toy that was on eBay recently

Mr. Stub Cole, at the right, and Harold Bell, Sales Manager for Willys, at the left, seated at a table with an unnamed WGN radio announcer. On the table is an Al-Toy Jeep and on the bookcase behind Mr. Bell is another Al-Toy Jeep and a smaller model of a Jeep towing a trailer.

“About one year ago, Glenn Byron and I became involved in correspondence with Mr. and Mrs. David (Sue) Cole, part time residents here in Arizona and Michigan. The conversations revolved around the story that David Cole’s father, “Stub” Cole had gone to work at Willys in the latter part of 1945 for the purpose of getting the farm implement accessories and documentation then being supplied for Jeeps out to the dealer network. He left his
family in Michigan and lived in a couple of hotels in Toledo during the time he worked at Willys.

During this time, he took home a tan Al-Toy Jeep for David’s brother and at Christmas 1945, he brought two more Al-Toy Jeeps home. One was tan, like the first one, but the third Jeep, which he gave to his wife, was done differently than the others. It was silver, with a red interior and the underside was painted green. The wheels were cream colored and it had a spare tire mounted on the right rear fender. The Cole family always called this the Christmas Jeep due to its Christmas colors. As close as the family can remember, Stub left Willys in about April or May of 1946 and returned to Michigan.

Fast forward to 2011. David and Sue are trying to plot some of their family history and realized that David still had his original Al-Toy Jeep from 1945. They contacted the remaining family and learned that David’s brother’s tan Jeep and the “Christmas Jeep” were still in the family. With that, Sue began searching the internet for anything on Al-Toys and came up with Glenn’s name. She contacted him and he replied, copying me on the correspondence. Photos of the three Jeeps were sent to both of us and we realized the “Christmas Jeep” was indeed special and we made arrangements to meet with the Cole’s at their winter home in Cottonwood, AZ. Glenn and his family were on a vacation out west, to coincide with the FC Roundup here in Phoenix and we also got to meet Dave and Ann at the FC Roundup as well. We arranged to meet the Coles in Cottonwood on March 25th and look at the Al-Toys and share their findings on Willys history where their father was involved.

The  photos below show the 1945 Christmas Al-Toy Jeep and a tan one in their original condition in March, 2012. We talked about the condition of all three Jeeps and possible things to do with them. The two tan Jeeps had been played with and had some pencil markings left over from nearly 70 years ago and there were a couple of items that they would like to have repaired, but wanted to leave the Jeeps as close to their original condition as possible.

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There are several of these pinball games on eBay.  These have several different vehicles, include a jeep in the lower left side.

“Vintage “Marx” Bazooka Pinball Game “Bagatelle” From Very late 40’s to early 1950’s
The backboard of the game is tin with World War 2 military graphics of jeeps, tanks and Anti-aircraft guns.
Made in United States of America Marx Toys logo.
It measures about 12 1/2″ long, 6 3/8″ wide and ¾” deep.
It is in excellent condition. Has some wear to the plastic. There are no cracks, but some age crazing lower left,  has both it’s legs.
Upper left hand top has some glue left from tape. Other wise in great condition!”

View all the information on eBay

One is priced at $3000.  The other is priced at $3500. Neither is flawless. Both are aluminum cast AL-Toys for Willys Overland Execs and Dealers.

A) View the information on the $3000 AL-Toy Jeepster

B) View the information on the $3499 Al-Toy Jeepster

Here’s a cool FC toy.

“This listing is for a used vintage Bandai Japan 1950’s – 1960’s Jeep FC-170 tin Friction toy stake truck in very good condition. Jeep produced the FC-170 from 1957 to 1964 / 1965 and I would expect this toy was also produced somewhere in that time period. It has 2 small dents in the cab roof which are visible in certain lighting conditions but not very noticeable otherwise. It is about 7 1/2 inches long by about 3 1/4 inches high at the top of the cab. It has a front wheel drive working friction motor. The paint finish is very good. I don’t see anything broken or missing and no rust. I don’t see any cracks in the plastic windshield. Looks like a bit of dust in the interior section. It has an opening rear gate and is overall a very nice example of a hard to find Jeep toy. I do not have the original box.

This came from an estate sale which featured 1950’s / 1960’s toys. I don’t know it’s entire history ( smoking, pets, etc.) and it is offered as is being a 50 year old used toy.”

View all the information on eBay

UPDATE: **SOLD** WAS on eBay.

According to the CJ-3B Page, the Dinky Tow Truck, called a Jeep De Depannage, was based on the French Hotchkiss M201 and sold in France through 1971.  In the case of the toy below, the rubber ‘rope’ that held the tow hook has perished and has been replaced with string.”

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Here’s an unusual set of toys.  I have no idea what the value is.

“Wind-up Jeeps, all are new condition, all are wind-ups and all work good, all are about 3″ long, all made in japan, includes very nice display box (m-881)”

View all the info and pics on eBay

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