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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 .
Blaine discovered this possible CJ-2L that was auctioned off last weekend. The auction occurred just north of where I live, but, unfortunately, we didn’t learn about he auction until today.
I called one of the men responsible for the auction. He had some images of the jeep saved to his phone, so he forwarded them to me. He couldn’t remember who bought the jeep. These are the first photos I’ve seen of the underside of an extended CJ-2A. In this case, the extension was done poorly and looks more like a backyard extension than that of a dealer.
A May 1957 article from Willys News reported that the first FC-150 to Alaska was sent by plane. Unfortunately, to fit on the plane it had to be disassembled. Look how close that cab is to not fitting. Someone in Alaska sure wanted that FC badly!
This May 1957 Willys News article provides some interesting history about the Warn Manufacturing Company. Apparently there was some early resistance to using the first generation of the warn hubs, because jeep owners felt they’d purchased their jeeps for the four wheel drive capability. The initial hubs turned the jeeps into two wheel drive, which some owners felt defeated the whole point of owning a jeep. However, through education and marketing, the Warn folks slowly turned naysayers into advocates.
From a 1995 Field & Stream Magazine article:
These were the first locking/unlocking hubs Warn developed. These were advertised as early as October of 1953 in the Popular Mechanics:
This May 1942 Junior Scholastic magazine had a Ford GP on the cover.
“Junior Scholastic magazine for school kids. Week of April 27-May 2 1942 issue.
16 pages. A little larger than 8 inches x 11 inches.
World War II era article about the modern mechanized cavalry charging into battle on motorized vehicles, motorcycles (like the Harley-Davidson WLA), and even horses still.
Complete. Clean pages. No water damage. No creases. Normal amount of age-browning to the paper. Considering the newspaper-quality wartime paper used, this magazine is in remarkably nice condition after 70 plus years. There’s some minimal red marking here and there. The delicate folded, stapled-binding has a small amount of separation along the top and bottom edges, but is holding together well.”
“This auction is for a vintage wooden Jeep puzzle/toy. It comes in its original box with a parts diagram. Made in Japan, probably 1950s or 60s. In new condition, never played with. 5 1/2″ L x 2 1/2″ W x 2 3/4″ H.”
This year the Bantam Festival has a fantastic lineup of early jeeps courtesy of Omix-ADA. The BRC built by Duncan Rolls, along with a host of other early jeeps should make for a great show.
It’s not quite ready to drive yet, but I can pretend to drive this former four-wheel-steer Bantam. Someday I will drive a running one!
On Monday we drove down to Boise where we met up with Josh to see his prized four-wheel-steer Bantam BRC-40, which appears to have been converted to two-wheel-steer by the military. According to Josh, the four wheel-steer-jeeps were horrendous to drive, so they weren’t used that way for long. He’s in the process of gathering the parts he needs to do a full restoration on it.
Two interesting tidbits about the four wheel steer Bantams. In the first photo, the inner sides of the wheel wells were beaten with hammers to accommodate the four-wheel-steer mechanisms.
One way to identify a four-wheel-steer is by shocks mounted inside and in back of the springs like the ones shown below.
Josh has a few other jeeps around as well. I got so busy talking with him that I forgot to photograph the others. Meanwhile, my photographer got chilly, so she returned to the jeep. Zollie accompanied us on our trip, so Ann posed him in front of this jeep.
After spending Monday night in Boise, we drove down to Salt Lake on Tuesday. We picked up the boys and went to eat some delicious food at the Mahider Ethiopian restaurant. Below is the huge plate of food we ordered. To eat, you tear some of the spongy, fermented bread called Injera from the edges of the plate and scoop up food with it.
On Wednesday we went to Kimball Junction to see the Topeka Hiway Mower for sale here. After that we returned to Salt Lake City and took Colter to a movie (Karson was busy with college). Unfortunately, by Wednesday afternoon snow was predicted on the Blue Mountains in Oregon, so we decided to head back Thursday night.
“INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL LANDMARK DISPLAY
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING -WILLYS OVERLAND JEEP MODEL MB
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
APPROX. 40 INCHES TALL”
