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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: **SOLD** Was $4500.
“Willys Jeep – original motor – 4 cyc. 4×4 rebuilt brakes and caburator – needs some work but runs good”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1800.
The body looks good from the pics. This is a project.
“This truck is is part way through a body off restoration. Their is no rust and only minor body work left to do. The body it primed inside and out with undercoat on the bottom. It comes with a rare Kaiser Fraser flat top L-6 motor. Photos are old and some more work has been done. Will consider a trade for 400cc + sport ATV.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $7500
(09/28/09) This looks like a nice, stock, early CJ-3B.
“This is a 1953 cj3b that has been frame off restored . The engine has 800 miles on it . The engine was gone through top to bottom . It has been painted back to original color. I am the third owner . I have owned the jeep sence 2003 . The seats are in new condition . It has a heater and a defroster that both work very well . The tires have about 1/2 tread and the spare is brand new”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $450.
(11/12/09) For $450, this looks pretty complete. The body is fiberglass.
“i have a old 1963 jeep willys cj5 it has a fiberglass tub and fenders it needs alot of work needs engine, gas tank, brake lines, tires,dash, wireing, seats, the windsheild frame is roted. good for a restortation projected the axle are dana 44 rear dana27 front with 538 gears and a t-90 3spd has a good soild frame. i have a engine to go with it that will runs. i have the mass title to go with it. towing availble at xtra $$. thanks for looking.”
Not sure which parade to watch on New Year’s Day? Then watch the Rose Bowl Parade. One of our reader’s, Kevin, tells me his daughter Alyson will be waving on float #83 (out of 91 floats) in the Rose Bowl Parade, so look for her and wave back! She is Ms. Wheelchair California 2009 and Kevin’s a very proud papa, as he should be. Congrats Alyson, Kevin and the whole family!!
On New Year’s weekend last year, Gerald and his brother towed home a Craigslist find. One year later, they are almost done with a great looking budget build. Gerald tooks some pics and tells the story. Thanks guys — and I agree with you on those tires. They look great!
Gerald writes, This started as a Craigslist ad for a 1948 Willys CJ-2A basket case. He wanted alot more, but after a month of trades and low balls he took the 1000 dollars offer for the lot. Much of the dirty work was done and lots of parts were included. The jeep finally arrived home over new years weekend, January 2009.
Because we didn’t trust any of the work done thus far, our first task was to take it apart the rest of the way. Once apart, we first focused on fitting the body correctly, which was a 10 + year old MD Juan generic (m-38 / mb) body, along with the stock hood and grill. We also fabbed up a rear crossmember and hitch.
As we examined some of the running gear parts, we discovered the rear axle was shot (which we replaced from a spare beater jeep out back) and decided to add new 11 inch brakes for the front (from craigslist). The springs were new, so that saved time and money. We tore down the motor, transmission and transfer case to make sure they were in good shape, and then refit them properly to the frame, including fabbing up some motor mounts.
Then, we went to work on the roll cage, which was partially built out of some bar from our old family jeep along with some new tube. After we got everything mocked up, we tore it back apart to get ready for painting.
There was stripping and sanding, more stripping and sanding, and then, finally, we sprayed it a deep blue. We took the time to paint the underside of the body first, along with many of the parts. Then, we assembles the body to the frame and gave it a final coat.
Next came the small stuff such as gauges, wiring, linkages, fuel system, windshield and exhaust. BTW, I have never seen a head with a fixed rear outlet. Does anyone know if this could be from a truck?
One of the most critical steps occurred this week, almost one year from the start date of the project: The Jeep gets the right set of wheels and tires. As you could see in the earlier pics, the jeep came with some new tires, but we felt they weren’t right (700 15), so my brother sold them on Craigslist.
Instead, he went with these Interco Super Swamper Radials 265 80 16. They are mounted on 8 inch wide alum wheels, which was another Craigslist find. I think these are perfect tires for a Willys in my estimate. He picked them up today in Wheeling, West Virginia, at National tire.
After seeing Chad’s build yesterday, Gerald sent me pics of the ‘Swamp Rat’, which also sports a flathead V8. Of course, it’s got a bit more wear and tear on it than Chad’s, but i have to say I really like the way that fits in the engine compartment. This sure has an old school feel to it.
Gerald notes, “Check out Johnny’s wood cab and side pipes. The paint chipped off the windshield, but it used to say RAT. It’s a star attraction at one of our local yards.”
UPDATE: The website for Tippman is down. I can only assume that these kits did not sell well enough and the company went out of business.
I know what you are thinking … how can I turn my boring Yamaha Rhino into a flat fender looking offroad vehicle? I’m sure this has kept you up at nights? Well, you need not lose any more sleep, as Tippman Design has developed exactly the package you need. It’s like a VEEP for the ATV crowd.
According to the Tippman design website, “the first of our products [is] the GI Kit for the Yamaha Rhino 660 and 450 with the ability to be installed on all Rhinos built prior to 2009. We are working on the fitting of the new 2009 Rhino design. The club car GI Kit is on the drawing board as well, production date to be announced.”
The base price for the package is $2200 plus shipping.
Here’s a standard Yamaha Rhino (Ok, I think this is standard; I don’t really know)
And here’s a Rhino with the Tippman GI Kit installed.
One day as I was going through some old brochures, I started recording some of the slogans. Here’s just a few of them:
Jeep: The world’s most useful vehicle
The sun never sets on a jeep
Ten Billion Miles of Proof
Willys puts the F in Farm Power
Keep America on the Move
Do it quicker; do it better with 4wd
A revolutionary vehicle for a thousand jobs
There’s a Jeep vehicle for your toughest job
Willys Builds the Universal Jeep
The Worlds Hardest Workers
The Worlds’ most willing workers
Sign of the times, Willys Jeep Vehicles
You’ll be ‘busy as a bee’ in your new vehicle from Jeep
Two things Willys is known for, Beauty & Stamina (which referred to the Aero and the Jeep)
(I meant to publish this yesterday …)
Continuing the VW theme, David Barrett has created a prototype for a VW Kit version of the 4wd Kuebelwagon, which of course was originally developed by Volkswagen. I think it looks pretty cool. You can learn more over at the Samba website about David and this project. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=766513
Here’s an original Kuebelwagon:
An here’s some pics of David’s kit project:
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5000
This CJ-3B started at $8000 this summer and has just dropped to $5000. It looks like a great price on a very nice, stock looking CJ-3B.
“For sale 1953 Jeep please call for more details.”
Here’s a nice looking CJ-5 for a good price just a few miles from my folk’s place.
“call for more info: 253-561-2870”
http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/1532373091.html
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $150.
You got to appreciate the seller who apologized on Craigslist for putting a jewelry ad in the parts section (as if violating the orderly sanctity of Craigslist was a mortal sin), but I appreciate his sensitivity and his logic is sound. Not the greatest pics.
“sorry posting in parts but dont think to many of jeep guys are looking in jewlery. nice and unique, call mark”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
This looks like a great rebuild.
“This auction is for a 1953 Willys Jeep CJ3B. We were asked by a friend of ours if we could list it for him so here is the information that I got from the owner. The Willys has a new reproduction steel body. 4 CYL “F” head motor, 3 Speed Manual trans, high and low range 4 wheel drive. The vehicle has undergone a complete frame off restoration. The motor has been rebuilt, trans and transfer case gone through, front end, complete brake job, Interior, etc… There is only 310 miles on the vehicle since the restoration. He has a reciept folder totalling just over $9,000 in body and parts alone. This is not counting the labor at all. Everything appears to have been done quite nicely! Jeep runs and drives great as it should. He does not have a top but from what I understand, these are availble at a reasonable price. The only reason he is selling this is that he is starting a restoration on a original millitary Jeep and he is going to use the proceeds from this sale to help fund the project.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $10,5000.
(10/12/09) Lots of mods on this flattie.
“1984 Buick V6, SM420 4 Speed manual, Dana 44 axles, Mosier shafts, 4:88 Spicer gears, Dana 18 transfer case, Detroit soft locker front & rear, new Painless wiring harness, t:h steering, power steering, 8,000# Warn winch, new Best Top, Newer 35″ GY Wranglers, 4 wheel disc brakes, racing buckets seats w/ Simpson belts, Tuffy console, CD, original steel body w/ fiberglass hood, $10,500. Miller’s US 31 Sales, north of town,”
Here’s a wonderful build, an experiment by a reader named Chad. He wanted to know what a Ford Model A Roadster would look like if Willys built it. So, naturally, he built one himself!
He writes, “Did all of it myself except the upholstery, in my home garage. It’s got a flathead V8 for power and took between 6 and 8 years start to finish. The dDrivetrain is flathead V8 adapted to a C-4 automatic adapted to Dana 18. Front axle is Dana 27 w/Corvette discs….rear is Dana 44 with one piece axles and Lock-rite geared 4.27. I thought maybe it would be a four year job, but stuff happens and there was a whole lot of headscratching to make things look ‘somewhat factory’. I used as many factory parts as I could but not necessarily the way they were used ‘by the factory’…..(those are Jeepster tailights, but they aren’t mounted that way on a Jeepster, just as an example).”
Great work and thanks for sharing!
UPDATE: Additional links — The Hadley Engineering Brochure and VEEPS vs. SCAMPS and other model.
Based on a reader’s inquiry, I decided to do some research regarding the Veep. I’ve seen a few of these for sale over the past couple of years, but it doesn’t happen often and I really knew nothing about them. So, here’s the little bit I learned.
According to the Dune Buggy Archives, the Veep was sold as both a completed jeep and as a kit by Hadley Engineering, which was based at 1778 Monrovia, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (maybe they are still there). The company claimed that any Beetle or Karman Ghia could be used to build a Veep in about 40 hours.
I’ve only seen two engine sizes so far, a 1600 cc or a 1800 cc VW motor. The suspension, frame, and running gear is all VW. Most of the veeps appear to use a replacement M-38 body, though one ad below claims a ’42 body (mb or gpw) was used. The gas tank is mounted in the front, which simply looks odd when you open the hood. Below is a couple brochures and some misc Veeps. In the posts below are some additional Veeps.
I’m still hardly an expert on these, so if you have additional information, I’d love to learn more.
Learn more about Mike’s custom VEEP here.
This veep had a good description and some interesting pics.
“this is a 1951 M38 body put on a custom built chassis, chassis was built by a former welding instructor, not mickey moused together…running a VW bug front axle and the rear section of a VW bus…looks like a real jeep but will do 70 mph down the highway, get 40+ miles to the gallon, and fly thru the woods like a dune buggy, it has independent suspension at all corners…It is fully street legal, titled and inspectable…it has custom vehicle title…until you look under it you would swear that it’s a real jeep The body hasn’t been hacked or cut up at all it has normal surface rust, nothing major…the motor is in the back and a cover has been built to go over the motor, the motor sits where the back seat was…the gas tank and battery is under the hood up front…
Motor: 1800cc dual port from a bus, new carb, new alternator…runs strong
trans: deep ratio, 4 speed posi, bus tranny (stronger)
It has longer travel shocks at all four corners, brand new tiger top soft top and doors…factory roll cage…custom bumpers, the front bumper is set up with a tow bar that swings down so the vehicle can be towed very easily…”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $450.
The tub sounds like it is in bad shape, but lots of other jeep parts there.
“Hadley Veep project for sale. More a collection of parts from an original Veep along with additional parts needed to complete the project. Original Frame, Jackman 4 bolt wheels with the original Armstrong Norseman tires, fiberglass bucket seats, two hoods, two windshield frames, windshield glass, one set of good front fenders, front grill, tailgate, front and rear bumpers, irs transmission, original gas tank, replacement front beam, two roll bars, steering column, assembly manual and magazine articles from the 70’s when the kits were being sold. I also have a tub that can be used for fitting or with a lot of welding could be utilized. I may be able to arrange delivery within 50 miles from my location.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $3350. Here’s another one from SAMBA
t’s not quite a VEEP, but I’ve lumped it into that category none-the-less.
“These were built for the US Forest Service out West, back in the 70’s. I understand they used them to go up in the mountains to rescue snowmobilers that ran out of gas.
All metal body, fiberglass top (not removable). Rear torsion housing on back, is mechanically a ’70 Bus. Pans (shortened) on forward is a ’70 Bug. As far as I can tell, stock 1600 DP engine. Bus tranny has ridiculous gears, top speed 50 mph. Has built in tow bar and front mounted winch that operates from inside the cab. Windows go fully up or fully down. No back seat, the whole area is taken up by an aluminum 25 gal. gas tank. New tires and wheels. Includes spare, stock 5-lug bus wheels with snow tires that hold air (4 plus spare). Everything works except the horn. Starts and runs well. Needs new ignition switch (part included with vehicle) ….. Very rare unrestored and collectible piece of VW history. Asking $3,350 No trades, please. ”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
These are images of the one shown on the Samba site.
No engine.
“1953 Jeep willys CJ3B, no engine, everything else complete, will consider possible trade for? $1800 o.b.o. matt 916-765-9275”
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/1530890973.html
This looks like a solid build.
“Rebuilt ’46 Willys cj-2a. new brakes, rear axle, clutch, transmission, gearbox, exhaust. 24000 miles on odometer. ’74 buick jeepster engine inside (V-6). fiberglass body. No room to store it anymore.”
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/1530371063.html
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5650.
This looks in good shape. I wonder how the appraised value was determined.
“For Sale: 1957 Willys 4WD Utility Wagon. Daily driver until garaged for the winter. T-90 trans./Spicer 18 transfer case. New radiator/ New rear Springs/ New interior. Currently powered by a Ford 4.3L 4-cyl. Good trim. Good tires. Good brakes. Shows well. Appraisal value of $6750.00. Some extra parts. See pics. $5650.00 or Best Offer”
It looks like a parts jeep to me.
“1946 Willys Jeep CJ2A , 134 engine , extra parts , no time to finish. 650 359-7901”
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1531191212.html
UPDATE: Was $13,000. **SOLD**
I’m not entirely sure if this is a CJ-2A or MB.
“
1946 Willys CJ2A. Runs Great. Stock Running Gear. Warren Overdrive. Full Roll Cage. Best Top. Front Locking Hubs. 12 Volt System. 8000 lb Warren Wench w/ Remote Control. Rubicon Rack w/ Cans.”
