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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 .
A May 1957 article from Willys News reported that the first FC-150 to Alaska was sent by plane. Unfortunately, to fit on the plane it had to be disassembled. Look how close that cab is to not fitting. Someone in Alaska sure wanted that FC badly!
This May 1957 Willys News article provides some interesting history about the Warn Manufacturing Company. Apparently there was some early resistance to using the first generation of the warn hubs, because jeep owners felt they’d purchased their jeeps for the four wheel drive capability. The initial hubs turned the jeeps into two wheel drive, which some owners felt defeated the whole point of owning a jeep. However, through education and marketing, the Warn folks slowly turned naysayers into advocates.
From a 1995 Field & Stream Magazine article:
These were the first locking/unlocking hubs Warn developed. These were advertised as early as October of 1953 in the Popular Mechanics:
This February 1956 photo and caption from Willys News reported that the Louisville Apothecary, which had used jeeps for delivery since 1946, was welcoming their first DJ-3A Dispatcher to their lineup.
This September 1957 article from Willys News highlights an 11 mile jeep race as part of the World Championship Burro races that year (Burro races are still held). The course was originally from Leadville to FairPlay over Mosquito Pass, but heavy snows shortened the course from Alma to FairPlay.
If I read the article correctly, Denver’s Mile High Jeep Club had 600 members in 1957? No wonder it was considered the largest jeep club in the world!
This map roughly highlights how far the race was. Cutting the race back to Alma shortened it considerably.
UPDATE: Paul Barry shared some photos of the truck shown below. The hamilton toy wrecker is cute.
Paul wrote, I kept asking about the tow truck. I guess the owners got tired of me asking and said if I wanted the tow truck I had to buy all the Willys stuff left over from the dealership. Shucks!
The story behind the truck is it was ordered from Toledo with a Canfield wrecker and was delivered in 1955 along with a new CJ-5. The truck arrived in red primer, as it was to be painted the yellow and blue AAA colors, the business was a AAA station since 1927. The pair of jeeps arrived very late at night and as was the custom the transport just dropped them off in front of the store. When morning came, only the CJ-5 was there, no tow truck to be found. I suppose phone calls were made and the truck was supposed to be right in front. Someone came into the station later that morning and said they saw a tow truck stuck in the riverbed back at the crossroads. So they took the old wrecker and recovered the new one In the Eel River (ed note Ferndale is just south of the Eel River). The local hooligans stole the truck and since it was delivered with only a couple gallons of fuel, ran out of gas while “wheeling” it.
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A Ferndale Willys dealer originally used this truck wrecker to tow disabled vehicles. He also used it as a customer demonstration vehicle.
According to a February 1956 article in Willys News This jeep owner was using a jeep-a-trencher to launch his pipeline business.
This June 19, 1942, Milwaukee Journal article describes early farm jeep tests at the Auburn facility.
This September 1957 article from Willys News shared the news that the NYPD was testing jeeps for use in New York’s Central Park, Coney Island, and the Rockaways. I’ve tried to find subsequent photos of the green and white jeeps in color, but haven’t had any luck.
I forgot to publish these on Tuesday. Here’s a link to the crossword puzzle.
This article appeared in the February 1956 issue of Willys News. No pics were added, but I thought the article itself was interesting.
The September 1957 issue of Willys News devoted a full page to Frank and Helen Schreider’s 20,000 mile trip from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America.
Too bad this isn’t in color. Note the DJ-3A with the convertible top at the lower right. the photo was published in the February 1956 issue of Willys News.
This February 1956 explains how jeeps are used at a riding club at Iron Mountain, Michigan.
We’ve seen a poorer quality version of this photo. Here’s a better scan of the June 1955 photo from Willys News with the caption in tact. Though the caption doesn’t mention the movie name, it probably refers to the movie released in 1956 called the Proud and Profane.
Deborah Kerr (I think) on the left and Thelma Ritter on the right. Note the lack of a rear floating hub, which suggests the jeep in the background wasn’t a MB or GPW. Brett noted it’s probably a M-38.
A McHenry, Illinois, dealer created an obstacle course for potential buyers to test jeeps. The February 1956 issue of Willys News reported this.
Pankey Motor’s Wagon was featured in this photo from the February 1956 issue of Willys News.
This February 1956 story in Willys News tells the story of an Ohio Willys dealer who tried a creative way to market DJs in his town.
Perhaps this CJ-5 was the first fringed jeep? The photo was published in the February 1956 issue of Willys News.
A February 1956 article in Willys News told the story of a special promotion in Wenatchee, Washington. Drivers who brought their jeeps could get into the local baseball game for free.
The February 1956 issue of Willys News featured this CJ-2A-turned-concrete-mixer.
These two photos appeared in the June 1955 issue of Willys News.
This June 1955 photo shows the huge cougar caught by four hunters using Willys Trucks and Wagons.
Nashville Willys Dealer Neely B. Coble launched a demonstration series to show just what jeeps were capable of doing. This June 1955 article highlights his effort.
This June 1955 article highlights a 30-hour Jeep PTO generator test run.
Let’s end the year on this cheery note. This article discussed the usefulness of jeeps following atomic bomb attacks and other, more natural disasters. It filled two pages of the June 1955 issue of Willys News. Given the ‘blast’ artistry in the middle of the article, it didn’t reformat for the web as easily as most articles.
