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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 .
“This is an original press photo. Colorado’s high mountain country is custom made for the rugged individualist who likes to get off the beaten path into areas where man is seldom seen. Many communities rent jeeps, and some schedule jeep cavalcades that take you into areas of breathtaking beauty that have been hidden from the eyes of man since the beginning of time.Photo measures 8 x 10.25inches. Photo is dated 12-30-1966.”
The July 14th, 1955, issue of the Auburn Journal, Auburn California, highlighted events from a recent jeep trip in the Sierra Mountains from Wentworth Springs to Lake Tahoe.
Andy mentioned he didn’t recognize this tin toy jeep. Neither do I. It looks similar to a Marx. The toy is about 4″ long. The grille’s uneven-ness suggests it is home made, but the rest seems manufactured to me. Any guesses? It sold for $29.99.
These two “No Roads Needed For a ‘Jeep'” ads appeared during the late spring of 1953 in two different California newspapers. I don’t know if this was just a regional or a national campaign.
This first ad appeared in the April 29, 1953, issue of the Sacramento Bee, sponsored by the Winter Willys Company:
This second ad appeared in the May 12, 1953, issue of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, sponsored by Mosso & Puccinelli:
William F. Baggerman in 1946 standing in front of his 1946 VEC CJ-2A. Behind the jeep is a trailer (a box on wheels). Standing to the side of the jeep is Charles Mum of the Laredo, Texas, AAA. William is just about to enter Mexico in 1946.
Wiliam F. Baggerman was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area around 1914. He attended Washington University and Edinburgh University. He started Modern Management Co., a real estate management firm, in 1936, and later was employed with Sycamore Investors, Inc., a shopping center development company.
He entered what would become the Air Force right after Pearl Harbor and spent 20 months in the Pacific theatre, stationed for at least part of the time in Guam. While in Guam, for some unknown reason, he decided to travel to Central America after the war.
A year after the war ended, he purchased a jeep and, along with a trailer, headed south to Laredo, Texas, where he began his adventure.
The book is part guide book and part travelogue, as most of the text describes dryly how to travel through the various countries. Yet, the pics feel far more personal; there are at least 10 photos, almost all of which include the jeep. You can view the entire book online at Hathitrust.org.
The jeep he used appears to have been a VEC with indents and a column shift, but without the rear hubs. So, I’d guess a 15xxx to 30xxx serial number. The trailer is a box on wheels … anyone know what model?
Let’s look at some pics!
This is a map of the Pan American Highway. It’s not clear to me how much he veered off the highway:
This pic shows him just entering Mexico:
Those are some beautiful mountains. But who is looking at the mountains when you can peek inside the cab and see the column shifter:
Apparently, even the jeep couldn’t take William everywhere:
2. These next three pics are included within one auction. View all the information on eBay. given the signs in the first photo, it would seem possible to locate where it was originally taken.
“Original WW2 photos (2.5 x 3.75 inches), curled from age, with some handling wear. These belonged to Corporal Alton Gilbert, a soldier in Company A of the 506th Military Police Battalion.”
3. These three photos were taken near a mine in 1961. Based on the terrain, my off-the-cuff guess is that the scenes remind me of the area around Cripple Creek, Colorado. Anyone who knows the area better have different thoughts?
This 4-page brochure from D.L. Beck Manufacturing included a separate price list that dates the brochure around August 1, 1955. Curiously, the “Econo” hardtop was no longer featured in the brochure (see a 1954 example brochure at the bottom of this post). Apparently that “Econo” line of hardtops wasn’t good enough after all (see letter at the bottom that explains the reference).
These three ads are each listed separately on eBay. Two of the ads are from 1947 and one is from 1948. All three are the same size, approximately: 13.5 x 18.5 cm (5.31 x 7.28 inches).
UPDATE: As best as I can tell, it looks like 1963 was when Don Pratt’s Jeep Tours began working with the Kachina Cab company. The article appeared in the August 13, 1963, issue of the Arizona Republic:
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Originally posted June 2019:According to this Pink Jeep Tour site, Pink Jeep Tours is the oldest continuously operating Jeep Tour Company in the United States. It was started in 1958 by a Sedona Realtor named Don Pratt, who would drive clients to see homes at Broken Arrow Estates. The Broken Arrow tour is the original Jeep tour and is still today the most popular tour in Sedona.Why did he make the jeeps pink? Mr. Pratt got the idea while visiting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach, where everything was pink.
But, that’s only part of the story. In her book Echoes of Sedona Past, Mary Lou Keller explains how her and her husband cleared the first trail and how, when Glenn Keller decided not to open a jeep tour business, their friend Don Pratt asked if he could do it instead. Mrs. Keller covers the story in five pages of her book available to read on Google.The book also includes the image below of Mary Lou Keller with her do Pico in her (probably) 1946 CJ-2A:
“Original one-of-a-kind amateur 2 1/4″ square negative. Excellent condition. The listing image was created using PhotoShop to make a positive digital image. I did very little adjusting; you should be able to produce a much better print/image than the one shown in this listing.”
