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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 .
“Leftovers” with the mocked up name. I don’t like the angled bracket I made at the step. I may just got with two bolts and two washer to keep the body in place rather than the bracket.
Yesterday, I attached the remaining netting, roof, and body parts to the race jeep, only to discover I needed to cut a couple small parts from the floor that were too wide for the body (nothing a quick sawz-it-all couldn’t fix).
The hood requires four bolts to attach it, as I need to make sure it stays secure. Five additional bumpers help keep the hood in place.
It’s hard to test the speed on these short jaunts. I really don’t want to tear up the grass too much. In addition, I don’t have it in four wheel drive, again so I don’t tear up the grass too much. The next time I test it, I will wear ear plugs, because when you hit the gas, it gets loud in the cockpit!
I installed the new master cylinder for the clutch. The pedal is a bit more stiff due to the larger bore, but it does the job. I wanted Ann to test it to make sure she could operate the clutch, so she took it for a cruise (and kept the speed down to keep the grass intact).
This post was from August 22, 2012: I show two ads below. John Bean appears to have built both a FC-150 Model 200-F Fire Jeep, and a FC-150 Model-FJ. I don’t know what the difference between the two is.
1. This blown up portion of the ad shows the ad for the Model 200-F from a 1960 Ad
2. This ad is from 1959. I can’t tell what model is shown. These are two of 12 pages in the brochure.
Pete writes, “Im searching for a 1948 Willys Wagon 4-63. It was originally a family friends Wagon and was in the Hughson, CA area.” If you want to contact him, email him at doubleup144 @ hotmail.com (remove spaces around the @ before emailing).
The wagon’s serial number is 83086 and the engine number is R3523104 … it looks like the jeep got a rebuilt engine at some point.
I think this tire setup should work just fine for now. There are skinny wranglers on the front and some classic desert dogs on the back.
I decided to upgrade to a 1″ bore master cylinder from Wilwood for the clutch. Honestly, it kind of feels light and cheap. Unfortunately, the new MC did not include an adapter (A FEMALE(3/8-24 INVERTED) with a MALE(1/8-27 NPTF) to connect the flair tipped line to the MC and our local auto stores didn’t have the correct adapter either. Ugh … This should reduce the clutch stroke without making it too difficult to use (my first jeep had a really stiff clutch, but I never minded it). Hopefully, I’ll have all hooked up by later today.
I bought these three Scenic Jeep Tour slides off of eBay, supposedly from 1964. The pic with the FC *might* be ours. I am waiting for the slide to take a better pic.
With the racer near done and the nice weather, I plan on tackling a couple outside projects, then begin work on the FC Tour jeep.
This June 20, 1960, Advertising and Merchandising Bulletin included a wall poster showing new styling changes in the ‘Jeep’ vehicle line. I wish I knew which poster that was.
There is also reference to an ad in the April 25th, 1960, issue of Life Magazine. But, it wasn’t a ‘Jeep’, but rather a Goodyear tire ad that includes a jeep.
David shared this unusual hub with me. It’s not one I recognize. I *think* it is some form of a summer hub, perhaps adapted from a locking hub. Note the welds on two sides of the six-sided metal plate atop the hub.
UPDATE: Solved the oil spillage issue. The oil was coming from the back of the engine where the oil gauge line attaches to the engine. I had made the hose a little too long, so it didn’t tighten down correctly. Trimming the line fixed the issue. So, I got to drive around the property yesterday instead of doing updates for today ….
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Gassing up the racer.
The good news: I rolled the racer out of the garage, put in some gas, and tried to start it. Naturally, it didn’t start straight away. After fiddling with it, finally figured out that the manual choke needed to be opened (the choke was never hooked up on the old racer, so I never thought about it). Once I adjusted the choke, the jeep started right up! So, I will be adding a choke cable.
Unfortunately, while looking for the starting problem, I ran my forehead into the tall air cleaner bolt. It was only a large scratch and some blood, so not that big of deal. I was more made than anything. This highlights the problem with the bubble in the eye; sometimes it screws with the depth perception.
Starting the racer.
The bad news: Once it started, it sounded as great as it did last year. However, for some reason the fuel pump didn’t stop pumping prior to starting the engine (that’s how I remember it working). This suggests to me that maybe something isn’t sealed correctly, so it’s not building the pressure needed to shut off the pump? I will have to research the pump to double check this. I’m sure the fix will be fairly simple.
Discovering the rear main seal likely needs to be changed.
The ugly news: The worst issue was underneath the jeep; I discovered that a significant amount of oil was leaking out the back of the engine. My guess is the rear main oil seal needs replacing. Ugh! It was fine when I parked it last summer (and this highlights the risk of “ran-when-parked” jeeps!). I’ll let it sit for a day or two and see if things magically right themselves.
