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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. 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.
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: I love it when I can combine old photos with documentation. In this case, I discovered that Stanley W. Smale had filed a patent for his metal sweeper. Stanley filed his Magnetic Sweeper patent on January 10, 1950.
From his patent: “An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of such size and mobility that it can be used to remove ferrous articles from roads, parking lots or any surface over which vehicles may travel, in an effective, speedy and economical manner.
Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile magnetic field of sufficient force to not only pick up loose items, but pieces embedded below the surface which might normally be forced upwardly through the surface by frost or other disturbing influences.”
Most of you have probably seen this, but for documentation purposes, this high-flying kid in a toy jeep made the cover the January 30, 1943, issue of Collier’s Magazine. There are a couple pretty cheap issues on eBay.
This is up for sale again on eBay. Regarding the “1953 Willys MB Jeep F-head” statement, the seller included that to attract hits rather than for accuracy (we had this discussion back in 2014).
For all you zombie haters, here’s a zombie hunting jeep.
“Up for auction, fresh out of the hills of Crossville, Tennessee, the Zombie Hunter! I have been in the paint and body work field for over 28 years, I have restored several Willys Jeeps (CJ2A, MB’s, etc) but I decided this time around to do a custom Willys Rat Rod!
UPDATE: Eric is trying to learn more history about this DJ-5. It is currently has a Harley theme, but previously was blue and white. It has a 350 Chevy small block with a 350 turbo transmission.
“1954 front line combat ambulance, have original top, correct tail gate, 2 replacement front fenders, mostly complete, no litters, not running, has been converted to 12 volt.”
UPDATE: Mario shared this article on Facebook. The fact it mentions the term “Zamechatelno” and it’s translation (“swell”) made us both wonder if the article was the root of the subsequent WWII ad by Willys of the same name (shown below).
The Zamechatelno ad was published three months later in the October 10, 1942, issue of Collier’s Magazine (and subsequently in the November 14, 1942, issue of the Saturday Evening Post). Given Willys-Overland had to commission the work, ready the ad, then submit it for publishing, this timeline certainly suggests the new article could have been the reason for the ad’s creation.
Original Post July 11, 2010: A couple ads from Willy’s-Overland’s WWII ad campaign related to Russians. (You can see a list of all the Willys-Overland WWII ads published, with dates, in the Saturday Evening Post and Colliers).
Here’s another Ad with a Russian theme. This one was published in the August 18, 1942, issue of the Saturday Evening Post. I did not find a similar ad in Collier’s Magazine.
This auction starts pretty cheaply on this very 1960s looking brochure (pics are from an older auction)
“Up tonight I have more from several lots of literature I recently Acquired. Here I have a 1961 Jeep Brochure. This is 7 and 1/2 by 11 inches folded, opening up to 15 by 22 inches. Decent shape with wear as shown. A neat piece of Advertising to display with your classic.”
This ad may have appeared multiple times, but appear at least once in the January 30, 1943, issue of Colliers magazine on page 29. Included below is a color version supposedly published in 1942.
“Born in 1924 in Germany, his father and stepmother sent him to the Chicago area in 1937 both to live with family and to escape the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in Germany. After Kristallnacht, his older brother Herman, his father Siegfried, and his stepmother joined him in Chicago. Walter flew 30 missions for the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier during the war, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star and rising at least to the rank of Sergeant. After the war, he served as a member of the chief justice’s staff during the war crimes trials in Nuremberg, then returned to the United States and founded W&W Foreign Auto Parts in Blue Island, Illinois.”
UPDATE: A reader named Clint just determined what type of vehicle Wally was using — A 1936-1940 Opel Olympia. Here are two links to images: Link 1 & Link 2. Thanks Clint!
ORIGINAL POST published in 2010:I ran across the images shown below and others. I didn’t think much of them until I looked more closely. It appears the builder, who I assume is Wally Cohn, has merged a 1936-1940 Opel Olympia with a MB to create, arguably, the first Jeepster-like vehicle, except it is four wheel drive. The ‘Wally’ appears to use the entire jeep drive train. If you look in back, you’ll even see this car can tow a trailer!
Who is Wally Cohn? I have no idea. I can’t seem to find anything about him, other than his name was Wally Cohn and he was nicknamed the Jeep King by photographer Walter Sanders.
Photographer Walter (Wally) Sanders worked for Life Magazine from 1944 to 1961. After growing up and leaving Germany for the US in 1937, he returned in early 1946 and lived the rest of his life in Europe, mostly in Munich. You can learn more about his biography here.
Because Walter was in Europe during December of 1946, and because these photos were snapped during that month, and because of Wally’s uniform (which Bob noted is an Army Airforce Uniform), I have concluded that Wally Cohn was a member of the armed services trying to merge cars and jeeps into a Wally vehicle of some kind (note the name Wally is displayed prominently on the dash in one of the pics).
This would be a great collector’s item — and a cool jeep too!
