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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 .
We left Austin today bound for San Antonio. We tried detouring into the historic old town of Gruene, but found it more tourist trap than historic site, so we continued on to San Antonio.
We arrived in San Antonio so early that we had plenty of time to head down to the Alamo and play tourist. The last time Ann was in town was during her basic training. She didn’t remember the Alamo grounds as being so lush nor could she remember seeing so much tourist -based entertainment (wax museums, Ripleys, etc). I was expecting the Alamo to have a much more sacred feel, but it’s set up to run LOTS of people through it.
As you can see there were no lines while we were there, but it is clear they are ready to handle large crowds.
The back side of the Alamo.
The surprisingly lush gardens within walls. I was expecting a more desert-like area.
Seth spotted this interesting wagon. If anyone can provide any insights into it, we’d find it helpful.
He writes, I found this very rough abandoned Wagon. What made it stand out was the independent front suspension and the barn doors. It looks stock but I have always been under the impression that the Wagoneer Panel Delivery was the first Jeep with IFS. It is obviously a basket case project but if it’s a prototype or something like that it may be worth the effort to restore.
Dan has posted the photos at the Old Willys Forum as well. He suggested it might be a factory special. He noted, Based on the gauges and rear rear wheels, it looks like a 1946-early 1950 Delivery that someone installed an aftermarket IFS (similar to the Mustang II) and cut out the back rear side windows. That said, it could be a factory special.
Hugo forwarded a link announcing Cite de l’Automobile’s July 25 & 26 Vehicles in Uniform event. The museum is in Paris, France. Even if you decide that’s a little far to travel for the weekend, poking around their website is pretty interesting. It looks like they have an amazing collection.
Our only plans this day were to explore Austin and test out some of the best BBQ Austin had to offer. We started by heading downtown to get some photos of the Texas capitol building.
A whole street blocked off at the capitol for motorcycle parking.
That plan didn’t quite work out. Apparently, the city was memorializing police officers who died while serving. The capitol grounds were full of officers and people and there were no open parking spaces to be found. One side street was packed with motorcycles. We decided to abandon that plan and head for another option: Museum of Weird.
Austin has built a reputation from the city’s slogan, “Keep Austin Weird“. As ‘weird’ as that slogan is, it seems it was not an organic marketing effort, but rather formed and promoted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance. Whatever its beginnings, the city seems to have embraced that mentality, proudly. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Austin ought to be very flattered by Santa Cruz and Portland‘s ‘borrowing’ of the concept.
Of the weirder things in Austin is the Museum of Weird. A tribute to the time honored freak shows of yesteryear, the owner of the museum has assembled some odd items. I couldn’t say for sure if they are real or not, but the whole thing was pretty humorous. After paying our money, we walked through a couple short halls full of memorabilia, objects, and assorted freakish things. We were alone, as we usually seem to be whenever visiting museums. This part we expected.
Any day I see a Tucker is a good day. It was an unexpected pleasure. So, yeah, Sunday was a very good day.
We started the day driving south toward San Antonio. We did not need to follow any signs to locate the city. All we had to do was listen for the anguished moans of NBA basketball fans. Those poor fans are still sad about their team’s loss. Wow, was that a great game!
Our first stop of the day was to visit the largest Buc-ee’s (and largest convenience store) in the world. It’s located in New Braunfels. Once again, we counted the pumps. There were 120, which is 8 more than the Temple Buc-ees. The New Braunfels store is 67,000 square feet. You could fit two average sized Whole Foods stores or 11 7-11 convenience stores under Buc-ee’s roof. There are 83 bathroom stalls, 250 employees, and 1,000 parking spaces, We didn’t take any photos, because it isn’t that much bigger than the new Temple store.
Following our Buc-ee’s fix we motored northward on I-35 until we reached Texas State University’s Meadow Center, home to glass bottom boat tours at the headwaters of the San Marcos River. When Spanish explorers first found the area they thought it was the fountain of youth due to the bubbling fresh water. In some cases the water spurted out like small geysers.
In 1849, the lake was dammed. For decades the lake was known for Aquarena performances and theme park attractions. Eventually, the theme park was shuttered, but glass bottom boats still explore the crystal clear lake sharing its history and educating visitors about the unique environment. Through Groupon we got a buy-one-get-one free deal, so if you decide to go, check them out for the discount. The boat operator was full of information and we enjoyed the tour. One tip, on weekends parking is free.
Entry way to glass bottom boat tours
The dammed lake is long and narrow. The water is very clear. It appears they have four boats that operate every half hour.
We photographed the lake bed through the glass bottom, but all perspective was lost. This shot demonstrates how visitors look down through the glass. I’m not looking down. I am posing for a photo, but it seems I should be posing by looking down?
After our boat ride we decided to check off another to-do item. We visited Dicks Classic Garage Car Museum. I’d decided to visit the museum, because it was one of the few car museums in Texas I could find.
Today was a ‘day’ off. It was supposed to be an easy, fun day. Yet, we still found ourselves at a few cool places in the otherwise semi-sleepy town of Kerrville.
We didn’t drive very far today, staying mostly in Kerrville.
We arrived at Kerrville on Friday out of sheer fate. Well, fate and careful motel hunting. Our plan was to land in Austin Friday night, but the weekend rates were pretty unfriendly for an otherwise friendly state. Fredericksburg rates were much better. So, using Priceline I found myself veering over to Kerrville; someplace called the YO Ranch was serving up some rooms at $62 for Friday and Saturday. That was a bargain for a weekend rate, so I went for it. I figured since we’d never been to Kerrville that maybe there’d be something interesting there.
It turned out that this YO Hotel place was really cool! Check out the interior and exterior shots.
Outside of the Y O Hotel
Lobby of the Y O Hotel. Dangling off the chandeliers are all the brands of ranches that sent cattle from southern Texas to the panhandle (or so they say).
We even have balcony attached to our room.
On Saturday morning we awoke and went hunting for a laundromat. I normally travel with a week of clothes. I can always tell when the week is up, because the rear of the jeep smells like a gym locker. I don’t know how my wife stands it. I guess it is true love after all?
After a good night’s sleep at James’ B&B, we took a few photos and hit the road. Our first stop was downtown to meet up with James. We both got so busy that we hadn’t had a chance to meet in person.
James strongly recommended that on our way to Kerrville, where we planned to hold up for a couple days, that we stop by Luckenbach, Texas. Of course, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson made the town famous in their song. That was all Ann or I knew of the town, so we were all in for that adventure.
We made a quick stop in Fredericksburg at the Nimitz portion of the National Museum of the Pacific and learned about Nimitz’s early life. However it was too dark to get any photos inside. We settled for some photos of us operating artillery.
Luckenbach is only six miles or so south of Fredericksburg, It didn’t take us long to get there. After some confusion about where Luckenbach was, we finally figured out (with some help) that the main loop into the town was closed for a bike rally, so we had to park nearby and walk to the town.
