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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 .
This very unusual item is priced at $39. Here’s more information about the Hong Kong TV series / ‘Jeep’ partnership.
View all the information on eBay
There was a mention of both Maverick and Hong Kong TV series at the very end of this Jeep Commercial. This is one of at least three commercials Buster Keaton did for jeep.
Roger Martin shared these pics with me. This jeep is not for sale; it’s just fun to look at.
The pics are from a Facebook post. The jeep is an MB with a 1938 Plymouth DeLuxe hardtop on it and powered by a 1939 Studebaker flat six. It was built by a farmer years ago.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dave, we have some additional Koenig history:
“The son of the founder built the company up into a successful business making winches, “truck bodies”, and other stuff. His name was Herbert Koenig and he died in 2011 at age 95. An obit mentions that Koenig Iron Works (of Houston) was sold in 1978, and is now known as “RKI” and makes truck equipment (in Houston). They are RKI-US.com. Nothing indicates they care about Jeeps anymore!
Also, a Danish guy seems to have a website named Koenigwinches.com and it seems he makes parts for Koenig winches.”
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Original Post November 2019:
This is a good example of simple post that spun out of control. Initially, I wanted to look at some changes in Koenig’s CJ-5 hardtop model numbers over the years; But, that then expanded to a look at twenty years (or so) of brochures.
THE EARLY YEARS:
The timeline of the early Koenig brochures are pretty easy to identify based on the jeeps used. In later years, Koenig began using numbered ‘bulletins’ to identify brochures. At first, I thought the numbered bulletins should be ordered by ascending number, but after closer examination, I the later two digits of each bulletin number reflect the year of the brochure. As you will see, other brochure elements back this theory.
Before we start, you can find installation instructions for some Koenig hardtops here.
The earliest Koenig brochure I can find was published in an early Willys-Overland Equipment brochure (1949?). The models consisted of “Full Cab” and “Half Cab”. This brochure was included among a surprisingly large number of hardtop competitors’ brochures, including Worman tops, CarsonCraft tops, Boston Top tops, Sturdee tops, Porter & Reed tops, Body V7 Works tops, Blue Star tops, Lambert tops, Hills Custom Built tops and Meyers tops (which became sears tops and a company that was different from the one that produced later Meyer tops).
This brochure circa 1949 showed half and full cabs on a CJ-3A:
This unusual photo shows Paul Revere, a descendent of THE Paul Revere, standing between his jeep and a horse.
View all the information on eBay
“This is an original press photo. Paul Revere rides again but this time it’s in a jeep and the Paul Revere is a Braintree, Mass. descendant of the famous patriot of the midnight ride. Revere is shown entering a jeep at his camp in Ayer, Mass. and saying farewell to Duffy, a cavalry horse that Revere rode around the camp before donning his uniform. Photo measures 8.5 x 6.75 inches. Photo is dated –none.”
UPDATE: This post started out as a post about Koenig hardtops, but that lead to updates on the Car Craft and Blue Star hardtops. I should have the Koenig post done for Saturday morning.
This updated post provides more info on the CARCRAFT hardtop. An early Special Equipment catalog contained two different versions of the Carson Machine & Supply Company’s Car Craft brochure. I’ve added a third brochure at the bottom which I’d found off of eBay years ago. Here are two real-world examples: one jeep and another jeep.
This brochure was published back in 2017. It features a CJ-2A and does not have the stylized CARCRAFT branding. Instead, it shows a plain “Car Craft” brand with a space added.
This is the first time I’ve published this brochure. It includes the new CARCRAFT branding and used a CJ-3A jeep:
This brochure was available on eBay in 2013. It appears to be the company’s signature brochure for the hardtop. I haven’t tracked down another copy:
Rooney77’s Blue Star Top for sale
UPDATE: This post from 2014 has been updated with additional brochure examples. See all the Blue Star hardtops documented thus far:
(From 2014) This Blue Star aluminum top was built by the Blue Manufacturing Company, founded in Kansas by Max Blue circa 1946. ‘Blue Star’ was the brand name used on several products he produced. There’s some conflicting information, but it appears In 1946 Blue Manufacturing was building aluminum airline parts. About that time, as a hobby, Max began building aluminum boats. He also tried manufacturing and selling jeep hard tops.
Demand was so great for the boats that in 1948 he leased space and built boats full-time. Meanwhile, he either sold or abandoned the jeep top business altogether. Given only a few Blue Star tops have surfaced over the last few years, I imagine he didn’t sell too many of them.
However, Max was able to sell boats. By 1953 the company was building 1,000 boats a year. In July of 1953 he moved the company from Goddard, Kansas, to Miami, Oklahoma. There are various articles into 1960 that talk about the Blue Manufacturing Company. However, the company appears to have ceased boat production in 1964.
A picture of Max Blue in the center of the photo. http://newspaperarchive.com/us/missouri/joplin/joplin-globe/1960/04-17/page-6
This brochure featuring a CJ-2A is the earliest example I have of this top. It was part of an early industrial equipment book.
Here’s another example, this time with a CJ-3A:
Here’s an ad that was featured on eBay.
Here’s an example of the logo badge:
Here is an example of the half tops:
Actual top:
Here are some photos of actual full hardtops:
Jeep 1)
Jeep 2)
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Good photo of a Bantam BRC-40 laying in wait during some war games in Longview, Washington.
“This is an original press photo. Trucks – United States. One of the army’s newest and most lethal weapon carriers is this tiny “jeep” or 1/4 ton truck, mounting a machine gun. Behind the gun is Private Earl Bever and at the wheel is Corporal Anton Stefanski, of the 32nd Infantry of Fort Ord’s 7th Division, now engaged with the defending/Blue forces in resisting the “Red” attack in southwestern Washington. Longview. Photo measures 10 x 8.25 inches. Photo is dated 8-21-1941.”
This photo shows a jeep being carried up to the remote city of Valais, Switzerland.
View all the information on ebay
“This is an original press photo. Air Lift: Iserables, a mountain village with a population of 1500 located in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, is so completely isolated that it must depend on this aerial cable car to get supplies from the rest of the world. In addition to the jeep, the special attachment under the aerial car has carried everything from a baby carriage to a cow. Photo measures 8.25 x 10.25 inches. Photo is dated –none.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $500.
Jordan spotted this unusual combo. This package creates an early jet powered boat using a Kermath modified L-134 and a Hanley Hydrojet. I’ve included a Kermath brochure and links to the development of the Hydrojet by Keenan Hanley at the bottom of the post.
“Willys Jeep engine block casting number 804380, and Hanley Kermath HydroJet. I’ve never attempted to start. $500”
Rear view of the W-O Canvas Top on a VEC CJ-2A. The PTO pump looks to my untrained eye to be an MP Universal Jeep Packaged Pump Model 12M-WJ.
UPDATE II: I’ve added a second version of the W-O Canvas Top brochure (tan brochures). they come from a Willys-Overland Equipment Book that, based on other brochures contained in that book, was likely published earlier than the brochures that appeared in the original version of the post.
This jeep brochure from an early Willys-Overland Special Equipment catalog highlights the first production soft top for the CJ-2A. It was labeled a W-O Canvas Top. The material used wasn’t your average canvas, at least according to the brochure. Instead, it was 10oz soldenized duck. That description meant nothing to me, so I attempted to decipher it.
These two brochures were published in a Willys Industrial Equipment book. It appears Willys-Overland changed up the name slightly to the Willys Canvas Top, though in the text the W-O Canvas Top name remains the same as above.
The biggest mystery was the term “soldenized”. Not even the internet knows what “soldenized” means. The fact that the term probably describes a means of mildew or waterproofing makes sense, and Robert Ackerson described it similarly in his jeep book, but that’s more a description of the result of the process, not a description of the process itself.
This appears to be an introductory mailer for the FC-170.
View all the information on eBay
“Hello, You are looking at an ORIGINAL bi-fold Postcard
1957 Forward Control JEEP FC-170
Eccher’s Jeep, Ferndale, Pa.”
I suppose the timing of this article is appropriate, given those of us in the north half of the blue ball are plunging into winter quickly (at least the weather in Washington State feels wintery), as a recent Smithsonian Magazine article on the Zamboni Company featured several photos I hadn’t seen of Jeep-based Zamboni vehicles. Here’s the article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-zamboni-changed-game-ice-rinks-180973352/
The article also included this ad featuring the CJ-3B as Model D from the Zamboni Company’s archives:
If you are not familiar with the use of jeeps as early Zambonis, check out my post about the various jeep models that were used for which Zamboni machines. The CJ-3B Page also has background information about the Zamboni Ice Resurfacers.
If you really like pics of Zamboni machines, check out the Zamboni: The Coolest Machines on Ice.
