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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 .
“Size is 7.25″ x 8.5” We always combine shipping. Please wait for our invoice before paying. The photographs are Originals taken from file archives used by different news/media agencies. They are not perfect or reprints, if they are printed at a later time we labeled them “2nd Generation Restrike” or “Vtg 2nd Gen Restrike” The photographs are in various conditions, some cut to different sizes. Some may have dates and/or descriptions written/typed/stamped on the back or the front. They could have bent corners, tears or light stains.”
In the autumn of 1962, the Sun Carnival organization in El Paso, Texas, decided to add the Sun Carnival Jeep Derby, one of only four derby’s held in the US, to it’s late December events calendar (the other ‘derbies’ were held in Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, and Denver). The grand prize was a brand new 1963 CJ-5 donated by the Willys Manufacturing Company (I think they meant Willys Motors).
September 12, 1962, El Paso Times
Before being presented to the race winner, Carnival manage Bruce Brooks planned to use it by carnival staff to carry tickets between the four branch offices.
December 25, 1962, El Paso Herald-Post
Ted C. Brewer of Roswell, New Mexico, went on to win the Inaugural Sun Carnival Jeep Derby.
January 01, 1963, El Paso Times
The next year, the Sun Carnival volunteers put together another course. Continue reading →
There are two vintage matchbooks in this auction, one from Peru and one possibly from Peru that has a jeep on it. The jeep matchbook is cool, but the asking price is $89.99 (at least they include with matches).
“Rare WWII Era WILLYS ARMY JEEP Matchbooks Peru Indian Spanish
Incredibly rare
Great graphics and color
A few matches have been used
Books are in great shape
This auction is for both matchbooks, you get two!=
Feel free to ask questions”
“Offered for bid is a portrait sized original US wartime photograph (see scan), printed on large wartime photopaper that measures to be approximately 5″ x 4″ inches in size. Guaranteed original wartime lot; No reproductions or postwar copies!”
Congrats to Dan for successfully staging the 2020 FC Jamboree. He had a good showing despite 2020’s challenges. Here are some pics from the event (and more can be seen on Facebook).
Chris has this rare mud flap, which Barney believes is for the Gladiator Stake bed truck with dual wheels (Or used on an FC dually as well?). Chris is hoping to find a mate for it. Anyone have one?
On Friday I received a Willys-Overland Equipment Book binder that I won on eBay. The book contained a few surprises, such as a 4-page Monroe brochure and a number of early Newgren brochures that rarely hit eBay. The main part of the binder, a collection of 1947 equipment brochures, appears to be as complete as I’ve seen. In addition, at the back of the book, are second-supplement 10-1-1949 brochures that are either updated versions or new brochures. It is so packed with brochures that I will need to remove some to make sure none get damaged. I ended up pay $128.50 and that proved to be a good value.
The biggest surprise was the inclusion of a note from the seller, Nancy, mentioning how this booklet came from her father. The note was thoughtful enough that I reached out to learn more about him.
I learned that Richard H. Malone was from Westport Island, Maine. He received his bachelors at the University of Pennsylvania, then served in Vietnam. After the war, he raced cars and motorcycles. He and his wife were so passionate about motorcycles that they owned Honda dealerships in Brunswick and in Portland, Maine. They were also both passionate about jeeps, owning jeeps from Willys to modern jeeps and all models in-between. Before her death, Nancy’s mother sold a “panel-sided” jeep, which I’d guess was a Willys Delivery Sedan, under the condition that the new owner had to have a garage for it! Nancy still has her mother’s 2001 Grand Cherokee.
So, as the temporary custodian for this binder, I’ll add a note to it about it belonging to Richard H. Malone, as he deserves credit for preserving this history for us.
UPDATE II (01/22/2024):A puzzle has been solved. It was the Transport Motor Company that offered a full-width body extension that we’ve seen on several jeeps over the years.
UPDATE (09/13/2020): This DENCO body extension brochure appeared as part of the 10/01/1949 Second Supplement of the Willys-Overland Equipment Book brochures.
Interestingly, the 1948 First Supplement of brochures showed a Newgren collapsible body extension (see a few brochures down or click here) very similar (identical?) to this 1949 DENCO Body Extension brochure. Both extensions offer 7 cubic feet of space and note that a spare tire can be mounted to the side. They also both seem to have the same style of stabilizer bar that connects to the PTO bar. I wonder if Newgren sold this design to Denco in late 1948 or early 1949?
Originally published in 2016: This may come as a surprise (not) that early jeeps weren’t known for their vast amounts of space. We’ve all seen military photos showing jeeps packed full of stuff, like this SAS desert fighter:
When the war ended and CJ-2As were introduced, a couple companies recognized the need for more room and solved the problem by creating add-on bed extensions (also known as bed extenders and body extensions). These bolted to the back and, usually, had supports that dropped to the PTO bar to help support the extra weight. Then, the tailgate was fixed to the very rear of the extension. The goal of this post is an effort to identify the different companies and their products.
As early as August and September of 1946, two different patents were filed, both by the same people.I have been unable to discover if that first patent model was ever built, but the second one has two sides that fold down similar to the Newgren (shown in #2).
Porter Reed Bed Extension: One of the earliest known bed extensions was produced by Porter & Reed. It was marked along with a half top, creating a truck out of a jeep.
Newgren Bed Extensions: The Newgren Company also entered the bed extension field in the later 1940s with two different versions. The first was their standard bed extension:
The second model Newgren offered was a collapsable version.
S & B Corporation’s Jeep Panel Body: About the same time Newgren and Porter & Reed introduced their extensions, the S & B Corporation made their own spin on adding more room by selling a kit that converted the jeep into a panel van.
Koenig Bed Extensions: By 1955, Koenig had entered the market. Whether the company designed their own or bought out one of their competitors isn’t know (to me), but Koenig sold the extensions for at least a decade. This first ad is from 1955, the second from 1960, and the third from the mid-1960s. Here is an example of a Koenig data plate:
Wall & Borg Bed Extender: In the 1960s, a Lake Tahoe, California, company called Wahl & Borg introduced a unique bed extension. Rather than bolt on to the rear of the jeep, theirs slid out.
There have been a number of bed extensions that have resold over the last ten years on Craigslist and eBay, some attached to jeeps and some by themselves. I have found it difficult to distinguish between them, never having owned or seen that many up close. You can see all the ones documents thus far on eWillys: http://www.ewillys.com/tag/bed-extension/
I was surprised to see that this June 24, 1943, article from the Colfax County Call out of Schulter, Nebraska, preceded Dick Ryan’s traveling jeep rodeo where jeeping jumping was also performed. This article appeared in multiple Nebraska newspapers in June of 1943.
Shown in this photo is Robert H. Storz, who is in the jeep, while watching is Lt. Col. Scruby. I can’t tell if Storz is a passenger or the photo is reversed. It looks to me that Storz may be a passenger, based solely on the placement of the tie-rods. But then, who is the driver?
Who was the driver if not Storz? I’m not quite sure, other than according to the article the driver was a former member of Jimmy Lynch’s Death Dodge drivers. Jimmy Lynch’s Death Dodge drivers performed car stunts at fairs and other events prior to WWII.
According to Youtube, “Lynch’s shows for Dodge served to advertise the many advanced design features that made the 1939 Plymouth his choice to survive the severe abuse inflicted on the cars in those performances, including the famous “Roll of Death” in which the car did a full roll over the roof. Lynch would remain loyal to the Chrysler Corporation throughout his career as a daredevil as can be seen in this very entertaining film.”
You can see Jimmy himself in this short video (to see the car stunts go straight to the 7:15 mark).
There are more video examples of Jimmy and hit Dodge exploits on youtube.
