emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
TJ shared the news that a modified 1946 CJ-2A will be raffled in August of 2019 to raise money for the Oregon Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of American. I’m not sure when the tickets will go on sale, but I’ll try to give an update when they do. (The 2018 Raffle vehicle was a 1959 Chevy Truck).
The PNW4WDA racing year is almost over. Here are a couple videos from past years. The first is a great overhead view of some the tracks, which are changed slightly for every race.
This price list came from Willys Overland Sales book. Given it mentions the Jeepster, but not a CJ-3A, my guess is that this was produced sometime in 1948.
UPDATE: Seth alert me to On The Rox Fabrication and their Facebook page. The business creates custom parts for the Roxor that make it look more jeep-like. Here’s a pic showing a Jeep and a Roxor. At a quick glance, can you spot the Roxor?
The answer is that neither are jeeps (okay, so it was a misleading question). Both are Roxors.
Below are some of the parts made by On the Rox. I will be interested to see Jeep’s reaction one its legal staff becomes aware of the On The Rox products.
Original Post August 7, 2018: This post covered Jeep’s Filing with the FTC against Mahindra, the creator of the Roxor.
As many of you know, the Roxor is Mahindra’s newest jeep-like vehicle. It’s a non-highway vehicle capable of a max speed of 45 mph. It’s best thought of as a hybrid jeep/atv(aka side by side). When they were first introduced, many folks wondered how Mahindra could build and sell these in the US. And, furthermore, why wasn’t FCA (Jeep’s parent company) fighting this.
It seems FCA was simply biding it’s time and thinking about how to respond, because just the other day FCA filed a complaint with the FTC regarding the sale of the Roxor in the US. The core of the complaint rests on two principles.
According to the filing, “Most significantly, [Mahindra & Mahindra] exacerbate likely confusion by promoting their vehicle as bearing the Jeep-IP that FCA owns, touting their vehicle as being ‘modeled’ on the … Jeep”. In other words, Jeep is claiming the Roxor looks too jeep-like. With this argument, FCA is relying on the concept of Trade Dress, though I’ve found no evidence that FCA ever trademarked a specific ‘dress’. Of course, FCA has trademarked JEEP and the 7 slot grille, but the Roxor circumvents those. I suspect the argument will come down to whether a judge or the FTC believe that the Roxor dilutes the Jeep brand. Given the number of news outlets that have described the Roxor as a jeep-like vehicle, there may be a solid case for that.
While Mahindra is one of the oldest licensees (since 1947), that license doesn’t give Mahindra the right to sell jeep-like vehicles in the US. Since Mahindra doesn’t own the Jeep IP (some folks on Facebook have made, surprise-surprise, many erroneous claims regarding the Mahindra-Jeep contract, such as that Mahindra “owns” the rights to build and sell jeeps … a license does not equal ownership … in the end, having no access to the contract, we don’t really know the specific details),Jeep feels it is within its rights to put a stop to the Roxors. No doubt this argument will come down to the specifics of the contract(s). Is Mahindra limited from selling only highway vehicles in the US that look like jeeps or are they banned from selling anything jeep-like in the US? Time will tell ….
It’s interesting to me that Jeep didn’t file a lawsuit against Mahindra for violating the terms of its contract. So, either it doesn’t violate those terms OR starting with the FTC is a simpler, cheaper option for now.
Mahindra did offer a response, claiming its “actions, products and product distribution (including Roxor) both honor the legacy of the relationship and the terms of our agreements with FCA.” This is a pretty boilerplate response. To me, it also suggests they didn’t try to work with FCA when planning the Roxor, but instead were hoping for forgiveness or expected protection vis-a-vis it’s license. Still, I’d be surprised if there were terms that allowed Mahindra to sell jeeps or jeep-like vehicles in the US.
Terry bought this running late model CJ-3B for a great price, then doubled his investment in the jeep by fixing it up and adding some fun extras like rear duallies, a hardtop, and rope (just for kicks). Despite the additions, almost none of it altered the original jeep he bought. He says the changes made the jeep popular with folks and 99% of people didn’t realize it was not a military jeep.
The other day he went into a dealership and the dealer offered to buy it. Though not planning to sell the jeep, the amount offered by the dealer, double Terry’s entire investment in the jeep, was too good to refuse, so he sold the jeep. With his new found cash, he picked up a wagon that he plans to restore. Here are a few pics of the CJ-3B.
Before his changes:
After his updates, including the purchase of a hardtop:
UPDATE II: Here are pics of the Ford Pygmy and Ford Budd to use for comparison with the jeep in the movie. To me it looks like the film makers built a custom vehicle based on the Ford Budd, which Maury points out, in the comments section below, was in Hollywood at the time.
FORD BUDD:
FORD PYGMY:
Note the differences between the two above and the “jeep” below: Angle of the steering wheel, position of the front fenders vis-a-vis the hood, length of cowl at the step, the rolled edges of the body (same as Budd, Pygmy didn’t have them), short rear handle of the Pygmy (Budd had long hand), incorrect hubs .. I wonder if that is a Bantam chassis?
====================================
ORIGINAL POST … these photos were sold on eBay: Thanks to Maury for spotting these pics from the Jeep Herders movie. There are a couple Ford GPs pictured. I’m not sure what’s going on with the side of the Ford GP. Looks like it is similar to the original Pygmy GP.
“Originally by Planet Productions, 1946, re-released by Astor Pictures in 1949. Story is returning vets use Jeeps to herd cattle.”
Jennifer recently finished a book about a CJ-5 called “Of Metal and Earth”. She wrote me a short note announcing her book. “I am the co-owner of a 1964 CJ-5 and author of a new book titled Of Metal and Earth. The story follows a 1964 Jeep CJ-5 as it passes through seven owners on their way to restoration and redemption.” I ordered, but have not read the book yet. Currently, the online book is free for Kindle readers.