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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 .
And who has this MB?
“1944- Ward Canaday, President of Willys-Overland, drives the 200,000 Jeep built in Toledo off the line on April 4, 1944. Mr. Canaday helped the company get a contract to make Jeeps during WWII, producing 363,000 of the total of 648,000 wartime Jeeps.”
View all the information on eBay
I don’t remember this photo in any of the Half Safe books.
“1957 Press Photo Tiburon Calif, Australian Ben Carlin drove amphibious jeep
This is an original press photo. Tiburon Calif, Australian Ben Carlin drove amphibious jeep around the worldPhoto measures 9.25 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 12-03-1957.”
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I haven’t run across many truck-related press photos.
“1950 Press Photo Willys Overland 1/2 Ton Jeep Truck with Hurricane Engine
This is an original press photo. Photo measures 10 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated 3-23-1950.”
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UPDATE: Sold Was $3500.
This is a rare Empire Tractor built with civilian Willys parts.
“Empire tractors were only made for a few years after WWII. To start with they used surplus military Willys jeep drivetrains, later using civilian jeep drivetrains. The engine is jeep, the transmission and rearend are jeep, steering column and wheel is jeep, even the radiator is jeep. The operator platform is surplus Navy ship decking.
Getting this Texas trip going proved to be a challenge. Multiple issues kept us from leaving for weeks, then additional issues along the way added unforeseen obstacles, from an ill grandfather prior to departure, to me getting ill early on in the trip, to an emergency trip flight for Ann back to see her grandfather late in the trip.
Just the same, we managed to meet some wonderful folks, dine one some great food, and enjoy the hospitality of Texas. We look for ward to going returning (ed note: which we did briefly in late 2016).
Our trip tipped the odometer at just over 10,000 miles and 54 days. We explored the west, south, east, central, north and panhandle areas of Texas; yet there was still more we couldn’t see. We saw the Rio Grande, ate Texas BBQ, dipped our toes into the Caribbean on South Padre Island, rode a glass bottom boat, explored the Alamo, saw our first Buc’ees, visited a wide variety of museums, and much more. We even took a side trip to Omaha, Nebraska!
We arrived home just in time to celebrate my 50th birthday. Hopefully, the next half century will be as interesting as the first half.
Here’s an overall map of our trip:
eWillys Texas trip from late April – early June 2015.
Here are the posts related to the trip:
Brian forwarded links to some color WWII photos. These two photos included jeeps.
British and South African soldiers hold up Nazi trophy flag while combat engineers on bulldozers clear a path through the debris of the bombed out city of Cassino in 1943.
American servicemen drive in jeeps through an unidentified and nearly completely destroyed town, Italy, May 1944.
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $16,000
(03/17/2015) David spotted this unique, cool GPW Ford truck jeep. It even has a tilt bed.
“42 Ford tilt bed truck – 302 Mustang power – C4 automatic – 9″ rear end. Disc brakes on front, mag wheels, 2 fuel tanks, cloth interior. Currently on a Historical Vehicle license. Great driver. Formerly a magazine car, with copies to go with it.”
Seth discovered this ex-Safari Ride jeep at the corporate headquarters of Sweetwater, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The fiberglass jeeps were built by Bradley & Kaye and Fort Wayne Zoo visitors used to ride in them as they toured the zoo’s African Veldt. The African Veldt exhibit opened in the 1970s and closed in the mid 2000s. It was replaced by the African Journey’s sky ride.
David Bradley, the ‘Bradley’ in Bradley and Kaye, had a long history with amusement parks. In 1946 David Bradley opened up the Beverly Park amusement park in southern California. His park inspired Walt Disney to the point that Bradley became a consultant for Walt on Disneyland. At some point Bradley became connected to the Bradley and Kaye manufacturing plant, which created fiberglass carousel molds and children’s rides. In 1974 Beverly Park closed. In the1980s Bradley and Kaye went out of business. In 1987 Chance Amusements acquired the Bradley and Kaye assets. Much more history on Bradley here. David Bradley passed away in 1988.
Here’s a photo of a similar jeep in action at the Fort Wayne zoo. Note it operates on a guided track (from pinterest).
Here’s another action shot from Pinterest:
These soldiers are patrolling for riots in Detroit.
“This is a Type 2 Original News Press Wire Service Photograph. Size is 8″ x 12″.”
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These old car magazines are such fun to explore. The August 1953 issue of Cars Magazine had an article about jeeps. The magazine also contained a strange story from Idaho about the Brink and a Half Club, which seems to involve dunking your vehicle into the Clearwater River. While the article claims US95 hugs the Clearwater River for 150 miles, according to wikipedia the Clearwater is only 75 miles long. I think the author may have confused the Clearwater with the Salmon River.
Finally, I’ve also included an odds-n-ends page which includes a Ford automobile testimonial by noted criminal John Dillinger and the earliest example of a double-ender vehicle I’ve ever seen.
This is the full two-page jeep article blended together. The text can be read in the image below.
Page 1 of the article.
Interestingly, no mention of any asian companies jeep efforts mentioned.
No mention of Vic Hickey made in reference to the top photo. This article from Car Craft does a much better job of covering Hickey.