emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
This photo appeared in the August 19, 1953, issue of the Dayton Daily News (Ohio). Interestingly, the original press photo does not have the helicopter in the background …
PHOTO CREDIT: August 19, 1953, issue of the Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Here’s what appears to be the original photo:
View all the information on eBay
“Photo is 10″x 8″in size.”
This photo sold recently on eBay for $15.49. I tried to learn more about Wilt Ranch, but was unsuccessful.
“1940s era photo Negative Willys Jeep AUTO Car WILT RANCH Owner gives TOUR.”
Anyone seen other pics of this modified jeep?
This video from 2019 proved popular enough that several folks have sent it to me. Stock jeeps can do some impressive things, especially when driven by someone who knows what their jeep can and can’t do.
Steve spotted this photo from the University of Kentucky’s archives. It shows a modified MB/GPW with a ‘house’ over it for weather protection. I assume the owner of the jeep was also the owner of Nita Electric. The image below shows only the jeep; you can view the full photo here.
Someone spent took some care to do a nice refurb of this jeep. The bolt details on the rims and frame look really good.
In 1953 Willys-Overland shared these mat examples of ads on one page (15″x20″) with its dealers. I’m amazed that any of these surprised, as it is printed on newspaper.
UPDATE: Started as a private endeavor, Chimney Rock was a tourist attraction for most of the 20th Century (more history here). In 1963 a Jeep Trail was added to the Chimney Rock and a tour jeep began ferrying tour groups up the mountain. The tour company had three modified CJ-6 tour jeeps. This photo was likely taken between 1963 and 1977, when the jeep trail became a walking trail. In 2006 Chimney Rock became a North Carolina State Park.
The photo below was taken from the website, but no longer appears on the history page itself.
This same photo is available on eBay
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Forest Jeep Trail Chimney Rock Park North Carolina. Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is not dated.”
There’s another press photo that is also available on eBay which shows a tour jeep at Hickory Nut Falls, a stop on the way to Chimney Rock:
View all the information on ebay
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Hickory Nut Falls Tourist Jeep Chimney Rock Prk North Carolina. Photo has creases right corners & slight waving top edge due to too much glue being used to attach the information sheet onto the back of the photo. Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is dated 8/5/1969.”
UPDATE II: I managed to track down all four colors of wagons on eBay.
The four known colors of the Wannatoy Wagons by Dillon Beck Mfg.
=====================
UPDATE Posted July 2020: It turns out that I I had “Wanna Toy” as two separate words, but the brand name is actually “Wannatoy”.
From Chriscollectibles.com: Wannatoy, the trademark of Dillon Beck Manufacturing Co., produced toys made of acetate plastic. Based in New Jersey, they manufactured numerous toy vehicles (as well as doll house furniture, pot and pan sets and possibly other toys) after the end of WWII through the late 1950s.
From “O’Brien’s Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks” book, 1990, “Wannatoy was among the first toy makers off the starting block at the end of World War II. Of the millions of children born during the war, and the millions more who arrived soon afterward, a good percentage played with Wannatoys.
What seems to have been the company’s first offering, the twenty-five-cent futurist Coupe, was a hit toy for Christmas of 1945, selling a million units that season. With streamlined, Deco-influenced body and bible top, the Couple continued to sell well into the 1950s.”
Here’s an ad (thanks to Andy) from 1952 (available on eBay). The ad suggests there were only three colors of wagons, but doesn’t indicate what those were. So far, I’ve identified four colors (red, green, blue, purple … see them at the bottom of this post).
And this is an example of the packaging. The company targeted both girl and boys:
And this is an example of a display box (available with toys on eBay):
And now for the wagons …Here’s a photo of a blue wagon I just picked up.
And, this is an example of a (florescent looking) green wagon that I hope to acquire in a few days:
The Form-104 Selective drive brochure I’ve seen previously, but I’ve not seen the 1961 Power-Lock brochure.
This Power-Lock brochure is a tri-fold brochure that folds from 3.5″ x 5.5″ to 10.5″ x 5.5″
This folded Cutlass Selective drive brochure has a form number of 104, but lacks a date. It is small, only folding in half from 3.5″ x 5.5″ to 7″ x 5.5″
A January 18, 1953, article in the El Paso Times shared the story of seven young men who formed “the jeep club”. There was no fancy name attached to it. They guys liked to explore the surrounding mountains, hunt jack rabbits, trap coyotes, and play with their jeeps.
On the same page as the jeep article was an article about the first mail route in the United States, one that operated between Roswell and Torrance, New Mexico. The mail (and the occasional passengers) were ferried on the YELLOW DEVIL, an assemblage of discarded auto parts; that kind of sounds like a few jeeps I’ve known.
Obviously, this article was written before the aliens reached Roswell, because, rather than known for “progress of modern development (was it really known for that?)”, it’s pretty much famous for other-worldly visitors.
Make sure to reach the final story, one in the far right lower corner. Need rats for an experiment? One scientist discovered an easy way to get them …
This photo from July 04, 1946, in the Portola Register (out of Portola, California) shows famed clown Emmet Kelly helping Aileen Darnay step out of a CJ-2A, a jeep that was new to the circus. I wonder if the “WILLYS JEEP” painted on the hood was a form of advertising that reduced the cost of the jeep to the circus?
UPDATE: Here’s another example of a Wisconsin Dells Jeep Train, probably from the mid-1960s.
View all the information on eBay
“3-1/2 x 5-1/2 (Standard Size) postcard.”
================
Originally Posted April of 2017: Seth spotted this postcard depicting a jeep pulling visitor trams at the Wisconsin Deer Park at the Wisconsin Dells. Opened in the 1950s (see history here), the park still operates, but there’s no evidence that the trams are still used, The closest thing to a jeep tram is a kids train.
