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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 .
Dave’s been trying to figure out some wagon seats he has, but he’s got one seat that he can’t identify (he isn’t sure it belongs to a wagon).
He writes, “I do have one seat that I don’t know about. Thinking it’s a jeep seat as I got with other jeep stuff but that’s no guarantee. 32” wide. Non folding. Some of original brackets cut. Believe that part of rear bracket is original. Threaded holes into uprights.”
Here are some pics:
Meanwhile, Dave was investigating wagon seat differences in general. Neither of us could locate a good source of information on the differences through the years. However, using some of his wagons, he was able to surmise the following. Can anyone provide additional details on the seat differences or point to a good source??:
Per Dave, “Drivers seats are approximately 32” wide, on sliders. Early wagons did not fold (I only have a ’49 with which to compare). Some slightly later wagons driver seats do fold, but I don’t know when that stopped.
Passenger seat seems fairly consistent all throughout, about 15″ wide, long legs fold and tumble. Intermediate or rear narrow seats also about 15” wide, shorter legs fold and tumble.
Wide rear or intermediate seats as stated in parts book, 25” wide. Early ones were non folding, rear legs stab into floor brackets. Maybe also before mounting change became folding. Later fold and tumble.”
UPDATE I From July 11/2021: This video was shared by the Goddess herself, Deborah. It used the 1954 Willys Export Company’s brochure as the lens through which is shows the variety of jeeps in this movie clip (in color no less). You can learn more about the various forms of this brochure below. This brochure did not have a form number.
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Originally posted January 12, 2020: As noted by Edgar Kaiser in 1955, one of the key reasons Kaiser bought Willys’ assets was that Kaiser didn’t feel Willys-Overland was pursuing the consumer market aggressively enough. As a part of Kaiser’s strategy to move that direction, the company created a wide variety of brochures, folders, direct mail pieces, product booklets, post cards, a Jeep family 16mm movie, and other merchandising materials.
Much of these documents have been scanned and available on the internet, but no one (that I’ve seen) has assembled them together to see what items were available at the time the CJ-5 launched.
So, consider this a draft towards that goal, as I still have some more scanning and locating of documents so I can interlink everything together.
To begin, here is one of the earliest examples of the Kaiser Willys team creating a standardized family of similar brochures that highlight each of the models. Nearly all the first wave of documents were created in 1954. How do we know this? Because the January 1955 Kaiser Willys Sales and Dealer News highlighted these merchandising aides:
Here’s an order form from 1955. It’s form numbers for the ‘vehicle folder’ brochures match those shown in the photo below this order form.
Here’s a photo from an ebay post that shows all the vehicle ‘folder’ brochures together (the form numbers I have for the vehicle brochures below match the numbers on the order form above). I only have 7 of the 10 brochures, or I’d take a photo of my own like this.
Below are some various brochure covers from the twenty-plus page brochures ….. (Note, one promotional document not listed in the order form was the Willys Story, 1950-1954).
Bill shared this article that describes this custom build as a 1948 M38. However, it’s appears to be a modified CJ-2A. It’s an interesting build, but calling it one of the “greatest flat fenders ever built” is a stretch (in my opinion).
“Fans of the War Wagon, the Scorpion MK1, and this apocalypse-ready toy hauler might already be familiar with this Willys M38 (the military version of the civilian Jeep CJ-3A) built by Soni Honegger. It’s been called the “Slickrock Spider” for its remarkable ability to articulate its way over and through some of the hairiest obstacles known to four-wheel drive vehicles, especially with Soni at the helm. Let’s take a look at what makes this machine one of the greatest Flatfenders ever built.”
A discussion with Barry Thomas of Farm Jeep has led to us looking deeper into the relationship between the Schenecker and the Glenn M. Rogers companies, which led to me finding this ad.
There’s no wind today, so just a few updates as I need to get to work outside.
Originally Posted July 24, 2015: This Willys News article from July 1955 highlights an annual customer jeep demonstration in Plattsburg, New York. That’s the biggest teeter-totter that I’ve ever seen. We used to do something similar back in the 70s as part of payday events.
We’ve had some family visiting this weekend, which is why updates have been thin the last few days. More updates Monday.
First, earlier this week some nearby folks who were moving to the west-side of the state posted their 2015 Full-size Polaris Ranger with Turf mode and low miles (1800mi) plus spray equipment for sale for $7000. The price was too good for us to pass up, so we brought this rig home.
One big reason we got this was that Ann’s knees preclude her from using a stiff clutch (like that of a jeep), so this is a much more practical vehicle for her to enter/exit and drive around the property. In two days it has already proven its value (for fun and work).
The weather hit the mid-60s yesterday, so I’ve been able to get more of the old dove-cage removed. the next step will be to move the propane tank. Meanwhile, I’ll be leveling the dirt in anticipation of adding gravel and then raised garden beds. Here is a before and after comparison (the wood had has been removed and the area is actually partly dug out).
In the meantime, during a cold stretch in late Feb/Early March, we made more progress inside. This time, we’ve completed the remodel of a room that was, under the previous owner, an entertainment room, then it became our bedroom when we moved into he house. Now that we’ve moved into the master bedroom, it has become Ann’s craft room.
Here is a before pic taken by the previous owner:
This photo shows roughly the same angle:
And a few other photos. It is kind of any odd room. We didn’t want to change too much as we are may be remodeling this whole area in a couple years.
eBay has been a bit frustrating lately as there has been a dearth of interesting vintage jeep items to purchase (especially interesting brochures). However, I did spot this Authenticast jeep for sale. The front bumper is broken (which seems the norm), but I do have the broken piece, so I will try to put it back together. Importantly, the straps, fringe and spare tire are all there (these are the three things most often missing).
Now that I have additional wall space in the shop, if anyone has some vintage jeep signs that you just don’t know what to do with them, drop me a note at d@deilers.com and maybe we can work something out.
