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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 .
This keepsake brochure lacks any date, but I presume to be the second tour of jeeps around part of the country, probably in 1948. The brochure cover page shows a Mahl Loader attached to one jeep and a Blue Star hardtop on another jeep. I wonder if a similar brochure was made for the first Cavalcade.
Barney Goodwin shared the exciting news that his parts business acquired an early neon Willys Jeep sign to hang in his Waverly, Ohio, store. It is 80″ long and 30″ tall.
Barney is hoping to learn more about this sign’s place in Willys-Overland history. I shared with him my thoughts on it, but he is hoping to find documentable evidence about the sign. So, he figured he would reach out here.
In my opinion, he has two challenges. One, finding evidence for a date of manufacture would help place the sign in context (though there is plenty of physical circumstantial evidence in my opinion) and, two, finding documentation that indicates this was an OFFICIAL design offered and promoted by Willys-Overland (and not some dealer-created custom item).
I will update this post with the thoughts I shared with Barney at a later point, but I hoped to get some input from others before then.
Barney wrote, “I had wanted to announce this last summer but life got in the way. Last Spring we purchased this 1946 Willys Jeep neon sign to display inside our business.
We found it at the nation’s largest indoor antique mall in Springfield Ohio, and after 6 months was able to negotiate a price.
After we do more research, we hope to have an article in the Dispatcher Magazine about it.
In the meantime, we wanted to share it with the forum and invite comments about it, perhaps helping our research.
We believe, and have been told by the sign collecting world. That his is Willy’s first dealership marque sign from 1946. Notice that it does not have “CARS” or “TRUCKS” on it like the later ones did.
One sign collector said it was the only one of 2 known to still exist and the only one operational.
It is a 2-sided, bull-nosed, neon sign. It’s about 80” long and over 30” high.
The can is original paint – much more valuable than repainting it. The neon has been completely restored by a neon professional here in Ohio.
For our research, we are especially looking for comments with verifiable details.
With over 50 personal years involved with Jeep since high school, the appreciation of owning this cannot be overstated.”
Barney,
Barney’s Jeep Parts LLC
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To the best of the my knowledge, the only other sign like this that I’ve documented on eWillys is this one: http://www.ewillys.com/2015/10/29/rare-jeep-sign-bloomington-in-4500/
This 1975 tri-fold brochure from San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours out of Ouray, Colorado, doesn’t show and FC Tour Jeeps, but it does have a wide photo that includes a Wagon Tour Jeep. Below the brochure is the front and back of a Scenic Jeep Tour postcard that features a wagon.
Here is the postcard I mentioned:
UPDATE: Any experts out there familiar with 1950s corn pickers? Barry Thomas from Farmjeep.com asked me to ask you all if anyone knows who built the Corn Picker branded by Willys-Overland (see brochure below). He thinks it was CO-OP, but doesn’t know for sure. You can view his whole corn-picking post here: https://www.farmjeep.com/farm-jeeps-at-corn-harvest-time/
In the meantime, enjoy this video of a CJ-5 pulling a corn picker:
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Originally Posted May 15, 2020:
This ‘Jeep’ Corn Picker brochure is form FS-514014. Any of these pickers survive?
UPDATE: The latest issue of the Europe-based 4X4 Story Magazine has images of a rare surviving Duriez jeep (see ads for the various Duriez models here).
https://www.4x4story.fr/index.php/2022/10/20/jeep-willys-de-1944-carrosserie-duriez/
There is also a video of the jeep here (in French): https://www.facebook.com/jeepvillage/videos/1170152156865967
Here are some additional pics:
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Originally posted Dec 14, 2014: Marc found these vintage Duriez Ads from France. Duriez used the jeep platform (and other vehicles) to create more transportation options.
3. View all the information on eBay
The four page brochure on the right is one I haven’t seen previously. Given the vehicle outlines shown in the second pic, I’d put this at around 1960. If I didn’t already own the Jeepster brochure on the left, I’d get this combo.
View all the information on eBay
I just purchased this Tour Jeep postcard off of eBay that shows an FC-170 tour jeep in the Virgin Islands in 1968. I searched for additional information on FC jeeps in the Virgin Islands, without success.
Back in 1987 (like 10 lifetimes ago!) I toured St. Thomas in a tiny Suzuki Samarai and in the back of a taxi. The FC would have been a much cooler way to see the island.
The Clemson 4-Wheeler Center shared this vintage 1978 Hinkle’s brochure. Hinkle’s billed themselves as the world’s largest jeep dealer.
The center seats shown on page 9 for the CJs was something I don’t think I’ve seen. I also thought it was interesting that the company listed X-style and PCV-style Desert Dogs, but not the standard type.
UPDATE: This post was originally posted July 29, 2016:
I finally snagged this “Jeep Multi-Stop Truck” brochure off of eBay. It is only seven pages. There are no details provided about the chassis used, but it does use the F-head.
The date on this proposal is March 1960. The first ad I have for the FJ-3 is in 1961. My guess is that this may have been 1) a competing idea for a cheap delivery vehicle or 2) the basis for what was restyled as the FJ-3. That AM General made a version of the Multi-stop right after jeep’s general and Military product division was spun off (1971) into the AM General Corp likely isn’t a coincidence.
According to some magazines of the day, the FJ was considered a Multi-stop van, so the description was used, though I don’t believe it ever appeared in any advertising. For example, this 1959 article except from Google notes the following, “office requirements for pickup and delivery of mail on multi – stop routes . The Fleetvan ” Jeep ” trucks , equipped with automatic transmissions , will feature compact cargo space , high maneuverability , maximum driver visibility ”
I bought this brochure off of eBay. I don’t remember seeing this version of a jeep camper brochure. The seller has one more for sale.
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Later model Dualmatic-style-Free-Lock hubs. The name was originally part of the Free-Lock Hub Corporation
Ann’s longtime friend invited me to look at a jeep yesterday that they just inherited from her uncle. They were confused about the model, so hoped I could identify it.
From the front, the jeep was clearly an early M-38A1 (turned out to be a 1953), with the hinged grille and early fenders. The dash was also correct, the correct large hole fuel inlet, and it had the early M-38A1 cowl with screws. However, it also had a tail gate that didn’t appear added. The body itself was in great shape, yet the body wasn’t mounted using all the holes, in fact some holes were missing. The cowl also lacked both the “JEEP” stamps along the side of the cowl AND the passenger side indent common for M-38A1 bodies.
Thankfully, the uncle had kept receipts, one of which was an invoice for a replacement body. Aha, that’s why it did not have JEEP or WILLYs stamped anywhere.
But, more interesting to me than the jeep, was that another document they had was an original set of instructions for Free-Lock hubs (more on Free-Lock Hubs), the style that looks just like the Dualmatic hubs. This is the first time I’ve been able to document that at some point Free Lock branded hubs were made exactly the same as Dualmatic hubs.
As you can see in the two images below, we have basically the same set of instructions for both hubs, with one that is labeled Free-Lock and the other Dualmatic. The Dualmatic is dated “8-28-74”, which the Free-Lock has hand written instructions, which I believe indicates the Free-Lock hub instructions were from an earlier date.
Free-Lock document:
Dualmatic document:
These two pics show a few more details, including that there are two sets of screws on opposite sides of the hub.
This Willys Makes Sense banner from 1950 was used to promote the Willys Makes Sense campaign that was part of Willys-Overland’s marketing shift toward “Willys” as an overarching brand, away from the use of “jeep”. It is listed on eBay for $499.
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