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About eWillys
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.
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 .
The weather has warmed up some, which made working outside much more pleasant! Since the last set of pics, I made some corner brackets and added them to the cage. I’ve also added a cross bar that will be the base for the sets and some curved support bars on eat side of the front loop.
I’ll post some pics of the cage below, then add some pics of how I made the brackets (in case that’s of interest to anyone.
Below I show how I made the corner pieces.
This first pic shows 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ 16 gauge steel squares. The paper above it shows my attempts to figured out the rough size I wanted:
The other day Nate forwarded me the following images of a Willys home power plant, built by both “Willys Light” and the “Electric Auto-Lite Corporation”. Not knowing much about any of this (and not having the time to source original info from newspapers of the time), I took a break from house painting to venture down internet rabbit holes. What follows is more of a work-in-progress than a finished piece. Hopefully, folks can add or correct the following.
Let’s start with the pics that Nate sent:
Now, stepping back a little in time … These days we in the US are generally pretty spoiled in terms of our access to 24/7 electricity. Of course, this wasn’t always the case. Because of my work on SLAG, I am aware that there was a revolution in mines and smelting with the introduction of power plants. My great great grandfather first introduced an electric plant into his smelter in Leadville in 1881 (followed shortly by electricity in the Salt Lake City’s Germania plant). By then, Broadway in NY was lit with a power plant, as were parts of major cities.
January 04, 1818, from the Leadville Daily Herald.
Such power plants would have been expensive, which is why large municipalities or successful businesses were utilizing them. But, such plants would have been outside the financial reach of the average folks. Still, there was an interest among home and farm owners to replace the gas and oil lamps used in homes.
I found this photo on eBay. It shows a VEC CJ-2A with a wood-based hardtop. The back of the photograph suggests that the builder of the hardtop may have been manufacturing these for sale for $265. The seller of these called them Jeep Station Wagon Bodies and built at least one of them (as shown in the picture). It appears these were built in or near San Francisco. There was another manufacturer who built similar tops out of Cleveland, Ohio, and advertised them as Station Wagon Bodies.
Tom shared pics of a “Planter” in Oracle Arizona back in 2005. The front crossmember looks like a GPW to me.
Tom grew up just north of me in the Yakima area. As a kid he used to watch the Yakima Ridge Runners cruise through the Ahtanum area, which ignited his interest in them. Over the years he owned a variety of jeeps.
Blaine shared this recently completed auction for a nice looking truck. However, it looks like the trim is incorrect for a 1960. Strangely, the file name of the pic below was listed as a 1957 (1957_willys_pickup_1957_willys_pickup). That also makes more sense with the split windshield. Finally, the title lists this as a 1962.
“1948 CJ2A CJ 2A Willy’s Jeep Great Condition Front Disc Brakes 12V Heat Runs Great I bought it at auction because I always wanted one and time to sell for something else.”
“1948 cj2a 3 speed Flat 4 cylinder Runs great drove it all summer! Have another jeep now looking to part with this one. Would trade for a truck or trade and partial cash. 9000 obo thanks !”
“1944 Frame and Running Gear
GM V6 Motor with a 4 Barrel Carb and Headers with Dual Exhaust
Full Roll Bar
Spare Tire Rack with Built in Tow Hitch
New Master Cylinder
New Battery
Like New Bucket Seats
Dual Gas Tanks
Super Swamper Tires. (33X1400-15)
Eagle Alloy Wheels”
Chris shared this footage from a 1962 ‘Jeep’ Commercial hosted at Indiana University’s Media Collections Online.
The video’s summary: The commercial shows which Jeeps were used in the movie “Hatari!”. The commercial portrays the different Jeeps as actors that were cast for specific roles and worked with the movie stars John Wayne, Red Buttons, and Elsa Martinelli. The Jeeps are shown in several movie clips driving across Tanzanian and herding animals.
UPDATE: Barney nots that this may be the original paint color. That makes me happier!
This was the first chance I had at getting an Al-Toy truck, so I snagged it off ebay in the last few seconds. It seems pretty original, other than the phone number on the side. The truck has a great weight and is slightly longer than the jeeps.
Chris shared this footage from a 1962 ‘Jeep’ Commercial hosted at Indiana University’s Media Collections Online.
The commercial’s summary: A man receives a distress call from someone stuck on the side of a cliff. The man race across difficult terrain in his Jeep. The man rescues the person from cliff by using the winch on his Jeep
Mike shared this video of Steve Magnante’s close look at an FC-150 in a junkyard. There’s some parts value. For information on buying this vehicle, send email to: paulcrosiervt @ gmail.com (remove spaces around the @).
The starting price on the auction for this brochure is $30 (plus $10 shipping). This multi-page brochure isn’t one I’ve seen before, so likely pretty rare. I’m dating this at around 1957 dude to the round-blue jeep sign in the last image.
“THIS AUCTION IS FOR A WILLYS JEEP BROCHURE TITLED: “THE DOUBLE-DUTY FAMILY CAR”
FEATURES THE WILLYS JEEP STATION WAGON MODEL.
ORIGINAL – NOT A REPRODUCTION.
IN GOOD CONDITION. GOOD COLOR AND GRAPHICS
8 PAGES.
CONTAINS COST SAVINGS INFORMATION, , CARGO SPECIFICATIONS, UTILITY, ENGINE CHOICES, VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS.”
Andy share this great price on a Sears David Bradley trailer.
“Vintage ECJ5 David Bradley Trailer- Very good condition, No Rust. Stored in garage always. No Papers- I will post better pics if there is interest. Need room in the bar”
“1953 Willys M38 flat fender with original Army data tags with Bill of Sale only, never titled or registered and not street legal. This little Jeep is in great shape with very little rust and lots of maintenance and upgrades. Includes a full top and doors, tow bar, rear hitch rack, rifle rack and a tote full of spare parts. It starts and runs, but can be a little finicky to drive smoothly and does leak oil from various places. It has a full new fuel system, new fuel tank, electric fuel pump and new downdraft carb. Overall this is a great rig and would be perfect for a deer lease or to teach a kid to drive a manual on a country road. Will consider trade offers for TJ Wrangler or ‘97-‘01 XJ.”
“1960 Willys FC 170 4×4 tow truck with 292 Chevy 6 motor and 4sp manual transmission. Run and drives good. Listing for a relative. Call Jim at [hidden information] for all questions and inquiries.”