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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 32-page snow plow manual includes a variety of jeep-related photos.
View all the information on eBay
“Here I have an Excellent Condition 32-Page Brochure
MEYER SNOW PLOWS SNOW PLOWING MANUAL
Measures about 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches
Near Mint condition except it has 2 holes punched to fit in a ring notebook
Has some great photos inside of 1950s vehicles
including several Willys Jeeps”
In the summer of 1955, Edgar Kaiser Sr. provided testimony to the United State Senate, Subcommitte on Antitrust and Monopoly, regarding the car industry, specifically the history of the Kaiser Motors Company, it’s post war challenges and how/why it merged with Willys Overland.
There’s lots of interesting details in here, but my takeaway is that Kaiser didn’t believe Willys-Overland was properly leveraging the opportunities of the consumer market for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Moreover, Kaiser had a better dealer network for selling vehicles than Willys-Overland had been able to create.
So, some of this info is useful for understanding the mindset of Kaiser as to the challenges Kaiser Motors faced, before buying the assets of Willys-Overland, and the reasons the company purchased W-0. Given we will be covering the marketing aspect of this time period, it makes more sense why the new Kaiser Willys entity produced so much new literature for the sale of jeeps. Kaiser simply didn’t believe Willys-Overland execs were doing enough to promote jeeps and their capabilities to consumers.
I’ve taken snap shots of the entire testimony, which can also be found online here.
UPDATE: This post from 2013 originally consisted of a brochure from eBay, but for this update I’ve added some additional brochures and Tom’s video showing how he uses the Blackhawk snow plow in Northern Wisconsin. The Arps Corportation manufactured these plows out of New Holstein, Wisconsin. Near the end of the video he shows how he mounts the plow and manual adjusts the angle using a chain.
Prices as of 1948:
Other material:
These Ford GPAs were apparently photographed along a New York waterway, but there’s no caption to confirm that.
View all the information on eBay
“1943 Press Photo US military amphibious jeeps on waterway in New York. This is an original press photo. New York – (Swim) jeeps Photo measures 10 x 8.25 inches. Photo is dated 04-20-1943.”
UPDATE: Was on eBay.
This LRDG-style lighter is pretty cool.
“THIS AUCTION IS FOR ONE WILLYS WW11JEEP – DESERT COMMANDO STYLE- CIGARETTE LIGHTER IN ORIGINAL BOX .
THERE IS NO NAME ON LIGHTER OR BOX. I HAVE HAD THIS IN MY COLLECTION FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
THE LIGHTER IS CAST METAL AND VERY HEAVY AND WELL MADE.
THE LIGHTER SPARKS LIKE NEW, AND HAS NEVER HAD FLUID INSTALLED.
VERY NICE AND RARE PIECE OF JEEP ART.”
Javier rebuilt this nice looking M-38, thanks it part to finding parts through eWillys and readers comments. During the rebuild, he added a few additional safety features such as Herm’s dual reservoir setup. He notes that M-38 does have a few CJ parts on it as well. The unique frame for the winch was something he and a friend built after testing out different scenarios with cardboard. The winch cover is a nice touch, too. Thanks for sharing Javier!
The photo caption reads, “THANKS TO THE FIFTH DIVISION: GERMANY — In the Wake of the Fifth Division advance into Germany, a Jeep crosses a Bailey Bridge, spanning the Sure River, marked with a hand lettered sign informing all who pass that they do so through the courtesy of the Fifth Division. A military policeman stands to one side as the jeep heads for Germany. (CREDIT-WP-(ACME photo by Charles Haacker, For the war picture pool) 2-28-45.”
View all the information on eBay
“as shown … … approx 6 x 8 .. … vintage original authentic press photo ( most are Army radiotelephoto from Acme Newspictures ) … date listed is transmission date … most of these are not perfect ..some are a little blurry… some are sharp.. they may have bends and minor damage from poor storage .. please use the pictures to see the actual condition”
I spent yesterday been working on a series of marketing posts related to the Kaiser Willys integration in 1953 and 1954. So, just a handful of posts today.
July 23, 2017, after a long day of driving, Scott had a long night of engine work.
Some of you may remember the July 2017 Alaska Or Rust adventure and the problems that Scott Gilbert’s wagon engine gave him (and Bob Christy and, part of the way, Rick Pacholski) … how has it already been 2 1/2 years?? Yikes!
After several engine rebuilds during the trip, the Scott and Bob were forced to turn back early and could not complete the trip. Eventually, Scott reinstalled a rebuilt engine and got the wagon going again. However, not surprisingly, Scott’s especially diligent these days about checking the condition of his wagon’s engine.
In an effort to monitor the engine’s condition, he wondered if there was any way to test the oil (he runs Lucas classic 10-30 oil) to be sure there wasn’t extra engine wear occurring. After checking with other folks and finding no answers, he hit the internet. Eventually, he tracked down Blackstone Laboratories. For only $25, Blackstone tested his oil and reported the results within a week.
About Scotts’ engine, the lab reported that the oil looked in good shape, which provides Scott with more reassurance that his newest rebuild will serve him well over the coming years. Still, he plans to do a few more tests occasionally, just to be sure. So, if you are concerned about your engine oil, you might check out Blackstone Laboratories.
Barney Goodwin of Barney’s Jeep Parts brought up an interesting bit of history regarding Canadian made Kaiser Jeep CJ-5s for the US (and Canadian?) market.
He wrote, “Your Canadian made Commando brochure post got me thinking. A customer of mine in my hometown of Houston has his dad’s ’69 CJ5 bought brand new at Woodie’s Jeep in Houston .
And, it was made in Canada!
Dave, the only reason I can think this happened is that Toledo had a military contract(s) they were running at the late 1960s and required the Toledo capacity. Around that same time, Kaiser Jeep had a short contract for M-151A1 MUTTs, contracts for M-274 Mules, and contracts for the Kaiser Jeep M-35 Deuces. Keep in mind it was also the first year for the Postal D100 Dispatcher DJ-5A. All of this was before AMC bought Jeep and moved government products production to Indiana as AMGeneral.
Kaiser Jeep’s solution? Shift the production of CJ-5s (and other vehicles?) to Canada.
Below is a picture of the data plate for my friend’s 1969, the one bought in Houston. Note the location of it and size. It’s right below the regular VIN plate on the firewall.
Most CJ-5s of that era had the 4 holes already punched in that location and they exist on our Toledo made 13,000 mile 1971 CJ-5.
If anyone else has insights into this, we’d welcome them!
