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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 .
Here’s a photo of Hugh’s CJ-2As from this past weekend. He was having so much fun in the 2A on the right that he ran out of gas :-).
He reports, “Spent the weekend driving my jeeps around. put new springs, shocks and hardware on the 47 on the left then added a set of sta super traxion tires. Then i went and got em muddy. I ran out of gas driving the od 47 jeep on the right.”
Hugh spotted this on eWillys and went to look at it. He was pleasantly surprised to discover it was better than it looked in the pictures, so he bought it.
He writes, “This is the 47 cj2a i picked up in niangua missouri. The thing runs like a sewing machine. The previous owner and his brother meticulously maintained the drive train. The shock absorbers are shot, the springs are flat and it needs new tires. I put more than fifty miles on it today and it seems very dependable. Its very original but not a show piece, but heck, i just like to drive em, preferably off road!”
Tony shared these great photos.
“I thought I would share with you a Jeep which my Father built during WW 2 as head of the motor pool in Germany.
This was used to pull engines from everything from trucks to the Tanks with special Cadillac engines… My Dad Steve Giordano is not the one pictured here … If anyone has seen this or knows of its location of course would like to purchase it where ever it is!”
MIke’s from Oxford England. He rebuilt this formerly rotted 1979 CJ-5 Levi’s Edition. He wrote,
This is my own Jeep that I did a complete restoration on 14 yrs ago. It only ever comes out on sunny days which over here is rare. It is an original 304 Renegade with the blue Levi’s seat trim. It was totally rotten when I bought it so I totally stripped it all down and rebuilt it nut and bolt. The body was beyond repair but a sourced a company in Ohio called at the time Willys Overland. They had bought up all of the end of line stock from jeep including original body panels with the Jeep pressed in. I flew over to check it all out and they supplied me with a totally original but brand new jeep tub, I believe now that the CJ 5 panels are all gone. Everything is stock except for the wheels and the blue paint,it was originally blue but not metallic.the Olympic thing I havnt done is put reproduction renegade decals back on.
The result is beautiful. Thanks for sharing Mike!
Congrats to Hugh for completing his fiberglass build. Just in time for summer! Next on his plate is a M-151 Mutt project.
Hugh wrote, “Just got my fiberglass bodied cj2a back from my cousin who painted it. Chose olive drab because we figured if we scratched it off road it wouldnt break our hearts like a shiny paintjob would. Well i consider this jeep done so now we can start on the 48 cj2a with the m151 mutt drivetrain. That jeep is going to be an interesting project.”
<– Day 5 – Wed. May 8th: Don’s 1962 Wagon and Mr. Jangles | Trip Overview | Day 7 – Fri. May 10th: From Iron Mountain to Mackinaw City –>
Following a night at a St. Paul Super 8 that we can’t in good conscience recommend — maybe it was the guy we saw peeing outside near the front door that dampened our enthusiasm for the place — we awoke to rain. It rained all day and into the evening. It can stop anytime!
In the meantime, we started the day by returning to the Minnesota History Center to complete our research. After finishing, we spent some time touring the Minnesota History Museum. The museum’s building is beautiful and many of the exhibits were cleverly designed. We shared the museum with 1,000 grade school kids who must have had sugar injections before they entered. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that many, but it sounded like that many!
We even located a Wurlitzer Juke box, so of course had to take a photo:
We definitely had a ‘blast’ at the museum:
By the time we completed the museum it was lunch time, Ann and I headed to a meeting with Jonathon McDonough, who with his brother Jim, operates the web company and data center out of St. Paul that powers eWillys. Jonathon is a jeep enthusiast who owns a yellow M-38 he’s had since he was 14.
At Jonathan’s urging, we met for lunch at Cossettas in downtown St. Paul. He made a great choice. Ann and I both loved the place. We both chose a lasagna packed full of tasty sausage and covered in a rich tomato sauce. It was fantastic.
After our lunch, we toured the market area of the restaurant. I feel fortunate that we aren’t towing a trailer, because it would now be full of italian food. Forced to limit our selections, we bought some freshly baked italian bread, a small chunk of sheep/cow cheese with black truffle, and some specialty butter. If you are ever near St. Paul, check out Cossettas. It’s a treat for the eyes and the stomach!
Picking one loaf of bread wasn’t easy.
During our meeting with Jonathon I received an email from Adam. He’s got a 1951 CJ-3A that has a pretty beat up body, but a strong power train. It’s even been featured in JP Magazine. Adam suggested we stop by Max-Bilt in Eau Claire, WI.
Max-Built is a jeep rebuilder and product manufacturer that was started a few years ago by Adam’s good friend Phil Norvold. The company’s first shop was the basement of Phil’s home, but after many late nights of basement work, Phil’s wife strongly urged him to find a space far enough away from their home so she couldn’t hear him working at 2AM.
So, in November of 2012, Max-Built moved into its new shop at 6129 Sandstone Road, Eau Claire, WI. It’s located on highway 93 one mile south of I-94. If you are driving by, you can’t miss the place with all the jeeps out front. So, thanks to Phil and his father Mark for entertaining us and showing us around.
Phil and I outside the Max-Bilt shop
<– Day 3 & 4 – Mon. May 6th & Tues May 7th: Bismarck, North Dakota | Trip Overview | Day 6 – Thurs. May 9th: Rain Rain Go Away –>
We started Wednesday morning in Fargo, North Dakota. Ann had been driving more than usual, because I’ve been typing. And typing. And typing.
Wednesday May 8th’s drive to St. Paul.
Because she’s been driving a lot, I’ve become aware of two things. First, she swerves to the side of the freeway it she sees a large spider scamper above her head and race towards the windshield. We never did find the spider; our nerves are back there somewhere, too . So was my heart.
Second, she stops for jeeps using a technique strikingly similar to her spider-veering-off-the-freeway maneuver. I bore witness to her using this technique yesterday after she spotted a flattie just south of Albany, MN, next to a fence along Interstate 94.
Now, I don’t remember how fast our jeep goes from zero to 75mph, but I can say without reservation that it can brake 75mph to 0 in the time it takes my wife to say, “there’s a jeep!”.
And, I’m not saying she backed up along the shoulder of I-94 to get this shot, but I am saying she’s the kind of wife who’d do that for me so I could share a pic like this with all of you! (funny story, this was shot with my iPhone, which I’d done as a backup shot. The ‘real camera’ with the zoom lens apparently didn’t have the disc inside it . . . sigh). Through the zoom lens I could easily see the CJ-2A’s bow holders on the driver’s side. It actually looked in decent condition. There was no evidence of a for-sale sign.
A couple of readers later commented on this jeep, one writing: I think I spotted it. … 45.61396,-94.511097 (near Albany, MN) .. Looks like its on the edge of that property but what an odd place to park it and leave it.
The other reader added: We checked on this a few years ago and at the time this jeep was owned by the same people who own the Chrysler/Jeep dealership in Albany MN that you guys passed through. They own this property where the jeep sits on and use it for groups to drive around with jeeps and 4 wheelers. They also owned a 3B jeep painted like a military jeep that they would take to car shows and parades in the area.
(In March of 2020 Ann and I through the area, but did not see the jeep … it no longer appears on Google’s street view.)
A CJ-2A was parked for several years just off of the southwest side of I-94.
When we mentioned we were heading to St. Paul, MN, to do some research before heading to Michigan’s Upper Penninsula, Don dropped me a note and suggested I drop by to meet him and his wagon. So, after Ann and I got done at the Minnesota Historical Society (more on that tomorrow), we dropped by and visited with Don.
He’s got a 1962 Wagon sold in 1963. Don said the original owner of this wagon was named Don (I’ll call him Friend Don). One day, just before Don was old enough to legally drive the wagon, Friend Don gave the wagon to Don. That was 1980. Don had owned it ever since. He used it as his daily driver throughout High School. Eventually, Don decided to add the stenciling to the side of the wagon, so a buddy of his just down the street painted it on. It give is a great look.
The wagon is nearly bone stock, though there have been a few minor repairs to keep it running. Don seemed to waffle a bit about whether he wanted to fix some of the rusted body. He likes the idea of it being original, yet he wouldn’t mind have it fixed. At one point Don said a jeep can only be original one time, so I suspect this wagon won’t see a body shop for some years to come.
Ed Bray and his parents raced jeeps for years throughout the West. They built two Fiberglass Bobcat bodied race jeeps. In fact the family was friends with both Paul Parker (Parkette Fiberglass Body manufacturer) and Fred Weis (Bobcat Fiberglass body Manufacturer).
Their first jeep with a bobcat body was built on a military frame and powered by a 327 with 365 HP. Below is Ed’s mother at the start of a race in Calgary where she won an obstacle race. A year ago Ed spotted this jeep, still powered by the same motor (he recognized the sound), driving in Spanaway, Washington.
UPDATE: Ted sent me more pics
Ted sent me a picture of his friend Jim’s jeeps. If anyone knows of a Mahl front loader, Jim would like to buy one.
Here’s the short list on all its options:
Koenig twin stick PTO
Ramsey front winch
K+K side mount sicle bar
Three point hitch with Newgen Buzz Saw
extremely rare Canfield fold out wrecker assembly
Westinghouse PT1 compressor under the hood
Dual wheel adapters front and rear
Ge welder which came from a parts jeep that had paperwork showing the factory option welder cost more than the actual cost of jeep itself back in 1946.
Every thing works as it should with the exception of the welder ,which actually has been tested out and works great but is not hooked up because with all the work done to this jeep in the restoration Jim could not bring himself to cut out the tool box section to install welder.
Canfield wrecker has been converted to armstrong type ,to make room on mid PTO pulley for KandK bar.
About all we figure the Willys needs now to complete the swiss army effect is a Mahl front end loader if anyone has one for sale.
Larry forwarded me an ad for the Sawyer Motor Car Show in Saugherties, NY. He included a few pictures of his CJ-2A, so I asked him to send me some more pics.
He writes, “These pictures were taken on the 4th of July. The gentlemen in the passenger seat is Joe Sinnotti a WW2 Navy Seabee. I was asked to put some Stars and markings on my jeep. Funny how a lot of people don’t know the difference between a real WW2 jeep and civilian one. My family and I enjoy driving around town. I have heard ‘hey look at that old army jeep’ plenty of times and have had plenty of pictures taken. I cant stop at a red light or park without pictures being taken. I love it when dads take their kid’s pictures by it. I tell them to put the kids into it — boy what a smile they get! Hope years from now they can look back with fond memories.”
Thanks for sharing Larry!
Larry’s son just got his driver’s permit. I suspect their will be some competition for the driver’s seat 🙂
Hugo lives in Uruguay and has spent four years restoring this CJ-3A (see a report from 2011 here). As you can see from the pictures, he started with a pretty rough vehicle. As the pictures demonstrate, he seems to be enjoying the results of his hard work. Thanks for sharing Hugo.
Before:
After:
John completed refurbishing his 1946/47 Ben Hur Trailer. Looks great!
