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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 .
Jalopnik’s David Tracy recounts his adventure with a “barn-find” FC-150 that seemed too good to be true. As the story unfolds, you’ll see that you just never know about these jeeps.
https://jalopnik.com/im-not-saying-i-bought-a-stolen-car-but-im-also-not-sa-1848029778
Cosmic Crisp with the spacers removed and the five lug Hurricane rims attached.
On Sunday the southern winds blew threw Prosser, pulling leaves from the poplar trees and swirling them throughout the property. The winds also brought some warm temps, which made it a perfect time to be inside the shop getting some work done. It was finally time to tackle the spacers.
If you recall, right before I went into the hospital in June, I had started to remove the rear spacers, only to find out that they weren’t all that willing to budge. In addition, several Allen bolts were already stripped. Ugh…
So, yesterday, I got out several drills with differing sizes of bits to work through them. On the driver’s rear, all six bolts had to be drilled out. Though the bolts weren’t hardened steel, it still took a while to drill each of them.
Some fo the equipment involved:
The first drum successfully drilled:
Once all six bolts were drilled (about 45 minutes or work), the spacers split, revealing five-lug brake drums:
Thankfully, on the passenger rear, only three of the six had to be drilled. Once that was removed, I turned to the front end, only to discover that different spacers were used. It turned out that disc brakes were six lug, so that spacers were thinner and the lug nuts holding the spacers were visible, so no drilling was necessary. So, now I have six lug rims on the front and five lug rims on the back. I suppose that doesn’t really matter.
Here are the spacers.
With the spacers removed and the tires remounted, Ann and I took the “Crisper” for a spin in the pasture in the dark. It’s not much of a photo, but at least one photo sort of turned out okay.
The spin through the pasture was the longest test drive I’ve had with the race jeep. I discovered that I am still too tall for the seat setup, so that still needs to be changed. I also learned that I can’t shift into second gear, as my knee is in the way. Yep, there will need to be changes to this setup. But, the engine sounds great and racing around the pasture was pretty fun (even in the dark in first gear).
Mike shared this photo of an FC-150 wrecker in New Jersey that was posted to Facebook. Mike actually remembers seeing this same FC in New Jersey back in 1961.
Ann took the opportunity last week to fly to Ohio to visit some of her relatives in Greenville, Ohio. So, I took the opportunity to make a big push to get a bunch of interior painting completed, hence why there were limited updates last week.
The interior (and exterior) of the house was themed with white, a light gray and medium blue. For our tastes, it was a bit cool on the inside; so, we wanted to warm it up and dress it up some. Having done a bunch painting during my college years, I’m pretty efficient when I get going. Two weeks ago we repainted the living/dining part of the house, then hung curtains. So, last week my goal was to paint the dormers, the hall, the kitchen nook, the foyer, and the hall way. Mission accomplished. Here are some pics for your amusement.
Here’s one of the living room and dining room during the painting process:
This is afterwards:
Here are the dormers beforehand: (and, no, I didn’t climb onto the ladder while it was on the scaffolding; instead, I used the bottom two steps of the ladder to make it easier to climb down from the dormer floor … but, I posted this pic to FB without explaining it because, you know, it is social media and I know some people would flip out …)
While visiting with relatives in Western Ohio, Ann didn’t neglect her ‘jeep’ duties. When she spotted this Jeep Grand Wagoneer in New Paris, she made her cousin pull over so she could take photos and meet the owner. She learned it is owned by Jarad Simpson and is his daily driver. He bought it out of Detroit. It was pretty rusted on the outside, but had a good interior, so he cleaned up the outside and runs it as is. He also owns a 1942 GPW. Great work Ann!
Steve shared this cool photo/slide of a mid 1950s Willys Truck operating for a Shell gas station in Forest Park, Illinois. The photo is dated June 21, 1964.
View all the information on eBay
“RIGINAL COLOR PHOTO TRANSPARENCY (2″ x 2″ SLIDE) TAKEN 1964 WITH 1950’s WILLYS JEEP TOW/WRECKER TRUCK. TOWING 1958 PONTIAC. THE SHELL SERVICE STATION IN FOREST PARK, IL GAVE S&H GREEN STAMPS WITH PURCHASE.”
This video from the Ontario County Historical Society. It shares some of John North Willys’ early history. Note that the historian uses the Williez pronunciation of the nation, which likely will grate with some folks.
Bill shared this article on a resto-modded-truck posted to MotorBiscuit.com.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/1955-willys-overland-restomod-needs-jeep-gladiator/
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.
Sam spotted this photo with an 1946-1947 CJ-2A (and other photos) at the Digital North Carolina archives. According to the description, the photo shows “Van and George Watson hauling seed corn to dryer plat at Watson Seed Farms INC. with World War II Surplus Willy’s Jeep. Watson Seed Farms had 2 jeeps.”
https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/8919#
This article and photo was published in the September 25th, 1943, issue of the Calgary Herald.
I snagged one of these 1956 Willys Export Wagon Brochures Form W-253-6X from eBay.
