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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 .
So, why trademark the term? My guess is that W-O had noticed that the term was, at times, being used to describe the jeep. For example, the third paragraph in this 1941 article that appeared in a variety of newspapers describes the jeep as “jeep-mobiles” or “blitz buggies”:
September 09, 1941, The Daily Reporter out of Greenfield, IN.
The application claims the term was first used by the company on March 01, 1943, which likely means it should appear in some ad some where, but I couldn’t find any ad with that term.
Perhaps securing the term was a defensive measure against others using it (especially Ford)? We’ll likely never know.
After the war, the term pops up several times in newspaper articles as well. So, in some form, the term was used by the public most likely in casual conversation rather than as a formal description by W-O.
UPDATE: This topper has reached $229.83 with several hours to go. There’s some concern that this plate topper is not really vintage. Read through the comments to see some valid issues with this topper. There are certainly fakes on eBay, indicated by the comments of some buyers of these toppers.
One of my concerns about the topper is that no dealer is mentioned. I would expect a dealer name to be included if this were a dealer-created topper. But, then, if the seller went to all this trouble to create this topper, you’d think they would have added the dealer associated with the ad below.
I spent some time looking at other 1940s era license plate toppers. The shape and design of the one below seems consistent to me with some others shown on Google Images. But, then, are the ones shown on Google also fakes? I just don’t know.
Still, I like the piece. If you purchase it, but then determine it is fake, complain to eBay:
“If the merchandise is fake, report the listing to eBay and let them take action to enforce their policies. … Your purchase is covered by the eBay Guarantee, which entitles you to receive your money back if the item you receive doesn’t match what is listed. The seller has three days to respond”
Since the seller is claiming this topper is vintage, if they lied, they have no recourse. eBay will likely refund your money and not expect you to return the item (Unfortunately, some buyers are scammers themselves and use this very tactic to get free stuff).
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Maury spotted this CJ-2A topper eBay a few days ago. It’s already at $122.50 (and will likely go higher) with just over a day to go (as of this writing). It’s a really neat piece. I expect this will hit several hundred dollars.
The “Truck Utility Plus Tractor Power” wasn’t a tag line that was used very often. In fact, the only documentation that I can find for it was on an ad for Willys-Overland dealer Caver-Wiggens on May 23, 1947. I have found other ads from that dealer from 1947, but can find no evidence that phrase was ever used again. Whether Caver-Wiggens was responsible for the plate topper or not I can’t say for sure, but it is a possibility. Below is the 1947 ad (from this page):
UPDATE: I’ve added information to the bottom of the post which discusses the shift of employees from the Transport Motor Company to the Kurland Motor Company in late 1948.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to export this topic further, but Barry Thomas is doing research into California’s Transport Motor Company, which was the earliest supplier of Willys farm equipment in California. If anyone has more info about the company, Barry of would like to know about it. Comment below or email me at d@deilers.com and I’ll connect you.
Transport Motor was already a strong Willys reseller by the time WWII started, so they were were well positioned for post-war sales and service. This ad was published in the October 19, 1941, issue of the Oakland Tribune as part of a larger article:
After the war, the company pushed Willys Jeeps and the associated farm equipment, though it is unclear which specific models/manufacturers of the equipment was being sold, as evidenced by this October 27, 1946, classified ad in the Oakland Tribune:
This article from the March 28, 1947, issue of the Ventura County Star claims that Transport was the first company to make farm equipment especially for the jeep (I would need to see more evidence to believe that):
For unknown reasons, in late 1948 many key personnel from the Transport company left Transport for a new Willys dealer, Kurland Motors. Whether Transport survived this event is unclear (perhaps the Transport company was already defunct by this time).
Maury shared a pic of four of his lighters. I don’t know the exact dates, but made my best guess as to the order they might have been manufactured. Maybe someone else has a better guess?
My guesses:
1) The Willys Motors is likely the earliest, possibly not long after the merger with Kaiser. It didn’t take long after the merger for “Willys” to take a back seat to ‘Jeep’, so my guess is 1953/1954.
2) The 4 Wheel Drive one is my guess for second, maybe 1954-56. Kaiser was ramping up the advertising and “4 Wheel Drive” was definitely a prominent element of that.
3) The yellow-blue logo is from 1957ish. That logo appeared on a number of brochures of that era, including this one from 1957.
4) I can’t tell if the red ‘Jeep’ light is plastic/glass or a combination, but I will guess that one is the newest one? It kind of feels like late 1950s or early 1960s to me.
“This is a super hard to find Lightup Jeep sign from the late 50s. It also has Authorized Willys Dealer on it! Lites up and has no cracks or fading to the lens. The back was broken and removed some time ago. Has the original hanging bracket and all original electronics. Been stored indoors for the last 50 years! This sign is aprox. 3ft x 4ft w/o the arms”
UPDATE IV: Barney sent a photo of his rare Whitco Bikini Top attached to a 1971 CJ-5 (with his dog Manny smiling in the back). While not exactly like the bikini tops we saw in the later 1970s, it likely represents the first production example of what became the bikini top (if defined by attached to the windshield in the front and held in place by straps in the back)
UPDATE III: It appears the definition of the Bimini top is that it is open in the front, which isn’t consistent with the tops we’re discussing below …. I’m trying to determine when/where the top cover originated that, in the front, connects to the windshield, then goes over a mid-bar (usually a roll bar), and, in the back, is held in place by two straps from either side of the top.
UPDATE II: This Whitco brochure shows that the company was advertising a “Bikini” top during the 1960s, though it isn’t the design of top (like the one below) I was hoping to document. This top is closer to a Surrey top design.
UPDATE: Vernon notes that these were also called Bimini tops, a term I think came from the boating world?
Maury asked me if I knew when bikini tops were first produced. I don’t have any information on this. My guess is they arrived for jeeps in the mid-1970s as none of my earlier parts catalogs show the bikini top as an option. Anyone remember when they first started seeing them?
“Great original WW2 poster sent to schools for bond or stamp drives to buy jeeps. It measures approximately 35 by 45 inches. Some condition issues, but a great vintage poster. See other auctions for more WW2 posters.”
“Post WWII vintage matchbook for Jeep – Fort Worth Willys Overland Co., Fort Worth, Texas. Willys Overland Motors, Inc. Toledo Ohio. Great image is very similar to the 1945 press release of the CJ-2A Post-hole digger demo.”
Adam shared this ebay auction for another Quackpot poster. The image below is from a 2013 auction (it’s a better quality image than the one posted to eBay).
UPDATE: This video is making the rounds on FB, again, so, I figured I’d repost it.
Original Post March 2017: Listed as a 1940s promotional film, the inclusion of CJ-5s and the exclusion of DJs and FCs suggests to me it was created in 1955. There’s an extended look at a cargo personnel carrier near the end of the video There are also a variety of specialized equipment and hardtops shown.
