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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 .
In his Conner’s Corner column for the Lewiston Evening News on October 16, 1945, Sam Conner didn’t have a “Kind Word For Jeep”, at least in regards to the pounding ride it offered. It was a fair complaint.
UPDATE: When we left for Seattle Friday morning there was no nest. However, upon returning from Seattle robin had fully rebuilt the nest (that would be the third nest in three days). So, grabbed some fending wire and have temporarily installed it over the cross beam. I think the problem is solved for now …
Yesterday on my way out to the shop I noticed a new addition: a Robin’s nest2. That’s it is over the sign really ticks me off. So, I checked for eggs (because I’m not a monster) and, not seeing any, I removed the nest.
This morning, I see ol’ bird-brain back at it, rebuilding the nest in the exact same spot (see pics of the new nest being rebuilt below). Well, that ain’t happening! Looks like there will be a battle of wills!
This rare wagon brochure popped up on eBay. It’s the first time I’ve seen this one. When fully opened, it is only about 6″ x 9″. the brochure introduces the ‘Jeep’ Station Sedan wagon sporting the lightening inline 6.
This is the front page:
This is the back:
This brochure opens horizontally to reveal this page:
This shows the backside fully opened:
I don’t have a specific date for this brochure, but it shows that Cutlas Manufacturing was selling a couple different types of wheel covers, including the “J” covers. It is marked Form 105, but is not dated. This was likely published between 1963-1965.
Maury shared this example of a factory photo with the “J” hubcaps. He says, to the best of his knowledge, this was a 1966 CJ-5 factory photo:
Blaine spotted some jeeps on this blogging website with an Oregon State focus. This first photo shows an FC in the background.
This next photo shows an early wagon at the 1948 Strawberry festival:
PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.stumptownblogger.com/2020/02/strawberry-festival-parade-passes-through-lebanon-in-1948.html
This photo shows an ad which appeared in magazines, including early Four Wheeler Magazines, so I’m not sure why it appears in this blog.
UPDATE: Grant spotted this video whose first segment includes the music at the bottom and glimpses of some early prototype jeeps (Bantams various points, mostly between :30 and 2:20 and a Ford GP around mark :50):
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Originally published March 27, 2019: Carl pointed out that the 1944 sheet music for “The Caissons Go Rolling Along” sheet music included a jeep on the cover (#1 below). After some searching on eBay, some other popped up. I bought the bottom one that features the Ford GP and Willys MA.
Another little treasure found while looking through the family stuff is this card drawn on heavy stock paper by my aunt. An architect, she was famous within the family for the cards she produced.
The card below was drawn for my dad’s birthday, likely mid 1970s. No doubt folks can relate to it (though I teased my aunt during a phone call yesterday about the poorly drawn jeep … she is usually attentive to details).
On Friday, Ann and I headed over to Seattle to help wind down mom’s house and clean up what’s left (spoiler alert, still more to do …).
The house is pretty much ready to sell, though we still have some odds and ends to remove. We had though the house would hit the market this week, but it turns out that there is a title snag with one of the two parcels. One parcel was some land and the house, while the other parcel was just a piece of land. The land’s title wasn’t filed correctly, so we have to fix that (and of course everyone related to the title purchase and payments has died).
Among the items I brought home on this trip was a surprising collection of dad’s baby congratulations, cards, letters, and wester union cables, from 1933. Also in the mix were condolence letters from the death of my aunt Anita (apparently, my grandfather said Anita was shorthand for ‘little Ann’ (Ann was my grandmother’s name, which I thought was a sweet reference) when she was only 13 in 1944.
Some of the more surprising letters and postcards were from my great grandmother (Leonie Wurlitzer Eilers), who sent my father letters, whom she addressed as Master Karl E. Eilers, II. This rather weighty title for someone under 10 years old partly reflects the fact that Dad was named after his grandfather (and Leonie’s husband) of the same name.
Another surprise was that my grandfather wrote a letter to dad in 1971 a month before he passed. In the letter he discussed his prostate cancer and the pain of urination. He still had three weeks to go before he expected to be done with his treatment (unfortunately, he didn’t last much longer).
Bill shared this post about a rough CJ-3B that was rebuilt into a CJ-2A-looking jeep. The result looks good, but it is also a good reminder that what appears to be a particular model may not be so thanks to the interchangeability of parts.
PHOTO CREDIT: Dutch and Curbside Classic
This R.B. Macbride Ashtray sold on eBay for just over $20. R.B. Macbride was a long time vehicle dealer in Modesto, California, that didn’t get a jeep dealer agreement until early 1957. Here are photos of the ashtray.
This January 17th, 1957, article in the Modesto Bee shares the news about Macbride’s Willys Jeep dealership:
Later that same year, on July 17th, the Modesto Bee ran an ad for Macbride touting the new FC-170:
