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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 .
Jason emailed me the other day asking about some wiring specs for a Jeepster. Thanks to Colin’s wiring diagram, his father got a Jeepster running that hadn’t idled in thirty years.
Jason and his family own a variety of jeeps. Each year as a family they take a drive through Parke County, Indiana (Covered Bridge Capital) on Memorial Day Weekend. Sounds like fun! Here are a few pics:
<– Day 39 – Apr. 27th: Crying Babies and Grungie Folks | OVERVIEW | Day 41 – Apr. 29th: Ann Flies the Goose –>
Rick and I kneeling in front of men from Medford’s Firestation #4. They represent just some of the people who refurbished Rick’s CJ-2A.
We began the day with a quick trip over to the North Coast Co-op for some fresh bread, duck eggs (had to get 2 dozen), and some lunch items for a picnic at Redwood National Park. The co-op proved to be my favorite part of Eureka 🙂
Even better, there was a place that speaks “Jeep” across the street!
The clouds and rain promised by the weather experts on Monday never appeared. Instead, we were blessed with perfect weather for our drive up the remainder of the California Coast. Blue sky and a few clouds became a beautiful contrast to the tall, deep green forests we encountered.
Monday’s trip from Eureka, CA, to Rogue River, OR
During our drive we decided to stop at Trinidad. Dan had mentioned it in one of his comments. It turned out to have a high beach cliff with a beautiful view.
After Trinidad I expected to encounter a welcome sign for Redwood National Park. As we waited for the sign we were surprised to see a place called Trees of Mystery. Out front of the place was an enormous Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.
Yep, that’s me leaning against babe’s leg.
After Trees of Mystery we continued searching for the welcome sign for Redwood National Park, but never saw it. It wasn’t until we reached Crescent City that I realized we must have driven through the park. Thus my plans for a picnic in the National Park was thwarted by signage, or lack thereof.
This looks a lot like a Triang, but it has two seats. I couldn’t find another example of this style.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/clt/4444784959.html
<– Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City | OVERVIEW | Day 40 – Apr. 28th: Firehouse #4 –>
Beautiful drive over highway 299.
Well, it’s been an interesting day. My day started at 12:01am. I hadn’t been to sleep yet due to the crying of two kids in the motel room next door. Well, not just next door, but through the two doors that would have created a suite, doors so thin and porous that whatever food was being cooked in their room late at night wafted into ours. They weren’t good cooks.
The cries came and went for the next hour. Finally, at 1am, I woke up the proprietor of the not-so-fine establishment to complain. I figured if I was going to be awake, he was going to be awake. He wasn’t happy that I woke him. I wasn’t happy either. He agreed to call them. Amazingly, that seemed to help, at least for about fifteen minutes, though I can’t imagine he got on the phone with the two young children and explained the problem. I stopped caring about 1:30am when I fell asleep.
Our Sunday drive from Red Bluff to Eureka.
In the morning we awoke and got the heck out of there. So much for that deal!
We drove up to Redding and then headed west over several ranges, which appear to constitute part of the North Coastal Range. We spent three hours driving through some beautiful country along lots of two lane highway.
At one point we pulled into the lumber town of Weaverville. In the driveway of the Weaverville Garage was a VEC CJ-2A that needed some work.
Steve reports from Redding’s Kool April Nites 2014.
“Here’s a one-of-a-kind Willys at Kool April Nites entry. The show ended today, but I thought I’d share these interesting photos. It’s a ’58 Willys Pickup re-powered with a Maserati Quattroporte V8.
All kinds of cars and trucks attend this event. Vintage celebrities such as Mike Love, of the Beach Boys, try to blend in as an every day car enthusiast. My buddy recognized him when they talked about his ’69 Berger Camaro for sale in the Car Corral today. Mike Love is an original hot-rodder from the days of the first muscle car, such as a ’61 Chevy with a 409 V8. There are also many pioneer hot-rodders and their latest creations.
Of course, there are some factory correct Willys vehicles that come out to enjoy the spring weather in Redding, too. I just thought I’d share this very original creation with you, as I was shocked at to see this unique combination of engine/body style.”
On Friday night Ann and I both decided we were ready to head home, despite the fact there were some things we still wanted to see. But, that’s always the case. You can never see everything, so you have to enjoy what you can see. Here’s our route.
<– Day 37 – Apr. 25th: Carson City | OVERVIEW | Day 39 – Apr. 27th: Crying Babies and Grungie Folks –>
I found this tree, decorated with bottles, growing out of this vintage Oakland automobile near Virginia City, Nevada.
Anyone who has met Ann knows that she has a good sense of humor. So, it probably isn’t surprising that she had all sorts of fun teasing me about driving down ‘Virginia Street’ in Reno (one of the main streets) or noting it when we arrived at Virginia City. Yes, Virginia’s name is stamped all over the Washoe Valley! [Ed Note: this is due to the book I released in 2011, Finding Virginia]
Our route on Saturday from Carson City to Red Bluff.
On Friday night it rained pretty hard, but by Saturday morning the rain had passed. Relieved at the partly cloudy weather, we ascended Highway 342 to Virginia City, which is in a valley surrounded by mountains. The landscape is pretty bare, except for the metal ghosts of mining operations.
Signs just off the road on the way to Virginia City.
We figured that given the cold and the potential rain and snow in Virginia City, there wouldn’t be many people. We hadn’t counted on a Motocross Rally! The town was packed with cars and motor homes. Just a couple of streets down from main street (actually C Street) was the start and finish of the race course. While not great timing for us, it seemed like a really great motorbike event.
The town was much busier than we expected.
In front of those awnings was the start/finish line for the motocross event.
Virginia City has the largest historic district in the West. The former boomtown is famous for the 1800s Comstock strike, its old west feel, tourism, and ghosts. Anyone who has watched Ghost Adventurers on the Travel Channel knows how much fun they’ve had at this city. The Washoe Club was one of the places they investigated.
The place has a wonderfully authentic, old, creaky feel to it. Check out how the water drains pour water onto the street! There was still a little bit of water dribbling from them.
I thought the Bank of America cash machine positioned underneath this Saloon was pretty funny.
This post was originally published Nov 20, 2013. It shows a jeep that was altered into sedan.
UPDATE: This photograph pair was also published in the February 22, 1945, issue of the IBT Roundup (Inda-Burma Theater Roundup)
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The May 1945 issue of Popular Mechanics published this little blurb about the 8th Air Force Bomber Station’s effort to transform a jeep into a sedan using only salvaged materials.
You can view the document online at Google
Art Moore let me know that the June 2014 issue of JP Magazine has an interesting article on unique vintage jeeps including the Creep (never heard of that one). I’m going to get an issue tomorrow.
<– Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno | OVERVIEW | Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City –>
The entrance to the Nevada State Museum in Carson City
Well, it had to happen. After five weeks of mostly great weather, the temperatures dropped and the rain arrived. So, rather than drive to and walk through historic Virginia City, we decided to drive south from Reno and visit the Nevada State Museum, then head to our motel to do some eWillys updates.
Today we drove south from Reno to Carson City, Nevada.
On our way to Carson City this morning we passed this unexpected mural tribute on the side of a building to Alice Ramsey:
A mural dedicated to Alice Ramsey, who in 1909 became the first woman to drive across the United States. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/womens-history/alice-ramseys-historic-cross-country-drive-29114570/?no-ist
The Nevada State Museum was a surprising amount of fun. There was lots of Nevada history told in interesting ways, such as a rebuilt ghost ‘town’, a working Carson City coin stamp (there used to be a US Mint in Carson City) , and an underground mine in the building’s basement that was great to explore. Much of the museum of dark, so we didn’t take many photos.
Entering the mine in the basement of the museum.
Along some of the walls were a variety of exhibits showing how mines operated.
This area demonstrated that sometimes the timbers would fail. Good thing I’m there to hold them up!
This is a huge bullion scale, the type necessary for the Carson City mint.
This assayer’s scale is similar to one I have from 1895, a leftover of the family’s smelting history. We also have a neat portable one that fits in your pocket. It’s got the counter weights as well.
This overloaded stage coach was a neat photo:
Naturally, my wife found an explosive . . .
We both really enjoyed this museum. We left the museum and decided to head to the motel; it was not the best motel experience, but that happens sometimes.
Hopefully the weather will improve for our visit to Virginia City on Saturday.
<– Day 36 – Apr. 24th: ‘Tire’d of Reno | OVERVIEW | Day 38 – Apr. 26th: Finding Virginia City –>
