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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. This section used to be split into jeeps, parts and other categories, but recent changes to eBay will require this information to be recoded.
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 .
Seller listed a price of $1000, but I suspect that’s just a holding price.
“As is parts or projects”
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/171726783589802
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1000.
Bill shared this one.
“1941 willys mb body in 1/2 scale with 12.5 briggs engine and the steel to build the frame”
Includes a variety of parts.
“For sale one Willy’s CJ-2A and most of a second for parts with rear PTO and one never run rebuilt engine and a second engine of unknown condition lots of additional parts not picture $1500 or best reasonable offer”
https://providence.craigslist.org/cto/d/willys-cj-2a/6477188982.html
Plenty of work remains.
“1942 Willy’s mb ww2 jeep. Complete body and original frame. Cj2a seats are the only civilian parts on it. In very good shape with floors very much in tact. Gas tank sump is excellent and original. Frame has been painted and straight. Axles are ww2 and appear in good shape. Comes with ww2 radiator. Steering shaft and wheel included. Body tag on frame is original. Very straight and great ww2 jeep restoration. Don’t have the title but will include a 1942 GPW title for collector purposes. Amazing condition for 70 year old Jeep. Includes tool lids, glove box door, floor pedal assembly, repair panel for left side and some other sheet metal.”
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/6472059040.html
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $2300.
There’s value here.
“1959 and 1954 project Willy’s Jeeps for sale they both have the Kaiser Buick v6 engine both should make one. The 1959 on the left I have started and runs. I am asking $2300 or best offer for both.”
This is listed on FB’s marketplace.
“1954 Willy’s 3B needs to be restored $2500.”
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/309651466204204
UPDATE: Still Available.
“I HAVE A 1946 WILLYS CJ2A PROJECT OR PARTS RIG. IT HAS A BUICK V-6, T-90 TRANSMISSION AND DANA 18 TRANSFER CASE. I HAVE THE ORIGINAL TITLE IN HAND. THIS JEEP IS IN ROUGH CONDITION BUT LOOKS COOL. WE USED IT AS A BACKGROUND FOR SOME FAMILY PHOTOS. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHATS THERE. $500.00 WITH TITLE WILL HELP LOAD ON TRAILER.”
https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/pts/d/1946-willys-jeep-cj2a/6475208803.html
I’m tackling some other projects, so next updates will be Monday morning.
Yesterday morning, SteveK asked to know more about the Bobcat products. Were they race products or something else? The terminology is so second hand, that I thought everyone knew it by now. I decided to send him a link to an article I thought I had published about Fred Weis and the Bobcat body from the February 1970 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine. It turns out I never published that article!
So, I’d like to publish (perhaps I am republishing it) to better explain the Bobcat body and products. At the post’s bottom I’ve included a number of additional examples and information about the Bobcat. Then, on the next post, I discuss the Bobcat & Parkette fiberglass body histories.
Note the Cascade 4×4 club sticker on the hood.
Paul Parker, maker of the Parkette bodies, racing up a hill climb in Calgary in the summer of 1970. Photo courtesy of Ed Bray.
This is a companion article for the Fred Weis and Bobcat Body post. Much of this history is built from conversations, emails and comments on eWillys. I welcome corrections and additions.
In the late 1960s Fred Weis, who I understand ran a fiberglass products company, experimented with a fiberglass jeep design until he found one he liked. At the time he had been jeeping and jeep racing for a decade as part of the Cascade 4×4 Jeep Club. His first complete body was completed in 1969. By 1970, he was ready to produce them for resale. Fred’s bodies were built to be rugged, using fiberglass and wood.
The body was not intended to be an exact replica of the original body; instead, it met the needs outlined by Fred, who styled them (i would guess) to make them a little cooler. For example, the side steps reached the length of the body bend. The rim around the body edge was wider. The dash came with no holes. At some point, the body could be purchased with or without a tailgate and with or without a floor.
Fred also came up with two custom fiberglass raised hoods that provided more room in the engine compartment. One was a teardrop design (few were made) and the other was highly recognizable.
Long time jeeper Paul Parker decided to get into the fiberglass body business about the same time as Fred, so according to Ed Bray, Paul joked about buying Fred’s bodies, adding a side stripe, and calling them Parkettes. Another source told me that Paul did indeed do this, which led to a falling out to some degree between Fred and Paul.
Paul, who had been in the jeep parts business with his brother in Georgia before moving to the Tacoma area, began to build his own Parkette fiberglass tubs out of molds he built. They were very similar to Fred’s body. The biggest difference was that Paul’s jeep included a side stripe, similar to a hockey stick, that was designed to make the body side more rigid and set it apart from Fred’s body. Besides the side stripe, the body of the Parkette was better designed to fit the curve of the CJ-3A windshield. Fred’s body did not support the windshield well at all (I know this from personal experience with my Bobcat body).
You can see the Parkette stripe “hockey stick” on the side of the body. This was likely just a racing shell, given the lack of a tailgate.
A family friend ran into the windshield issue as well. Jim Carter bought a Bobcat body in the early 70s. The body arrived rough. The Carter’s sanded and primered the body, but when it came time to mount the windshield, Jim discovered it didn’t fit. He was angry. Many phone calls ensued. Next, Jim turned to Paul Parker, eventually buying a Parkette body. Jim, Pattie, and their two boys raced, trailed and streeted the jeep for years.
Early 70s photo of the Carter family’s “Otis” not long after the new Parkette body was installed.
At some point, Fred passed the business and molds on to someone else. The Bobcat molds were divided into at least two groups. I have some of the molds. I hope some day to make my own Parkette body.
A Parkette racing shell mold sits in the middle. A CJ-3B shell is at the far side. A floor is shown in the foreground (I believe that’s a 3B floor).