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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 .
I ran across the image below of a Mahindra-built Military CJ-3B on the team-bhp site. After a few searches, I learned that the image came from the CJ-3B Page, which has the below image plus some additional images showing work that was done at UDAY’s shop in India. According to the CJ-3B page, this vehicle shouldered a 106mm gun. Given this fire power, the owner, Anirban, calls the Jeep ‘Agni’, which means the God of Fire. It’s a good name I think.
Read more about this at the CJ-3B Page.
(Sam, feel free to correct if I have erred with any of my descriptions!)
Sam’s been keeping busy working Craig’s CJ-3B. For example, Craig was complaining that the brakes didn’t work real well. So, Sam took a close look at them and discovered that the jeep was only stopping with one brake! Two of the brakes were completely rusted up and the third brake had suffered a pinched line! So, Sam obtained some brakes off of a Wagoneer (shoot, I can’t remember the details Sam!), installed those and rebuilt the lines. Now it “stops on a dime with 9 cents change” as Sam says.
Another project Sam tackled was the springs. The ride was hard as a rock. Sam told Craig he had a pretty easy solution. Instead of installing new springs, they just needed to pull the leafs apart, clean them up, install new bushings and shackles, and then add a liner between the springs to help quiet the ride and improve the action between the springs. So, Sam put everything back together, saving Craig plenty of money in the process, and the ride improved immensely.
A third project Sam tackled was a lift: Craig wanted the jeep to ride slightly higher, but not as high as a SOA would have been. Instead of using longer shackles, Sam suggested simply adding some blocks between the frame and spring holders. This would provide the lift, but negate the need to change the axle angles. Below are some pics of the finished lift. During the process, Sam also installed new shock mounts in the middle of the frame, which allows for the use of stock shocks.
The blocks were made with 2.5″ x 2″ x 3/16″ square tubing that has been capped on each end. Below pre-paint finished product.
Here is the post paint result of the front hanger (note the color is actually black, but the light faded the color)
You can see the homemade shackles that Sam built which utilize the horizontal piece in the middle. This helps reduce spring sway. He prefers to keep the shackle as short as possible to additionally remove sway.
Here’s a shot of the front of the rear spring.
This shows the ‘new’ brakes, but does not show the lowered top shock mount. It also doesn’t show the updated Rack and Pinion system which should be completed soon (here are some early images and discussion of the process).
Even Erlien wrote me today to tell me about the upcoming Barfrosttreffet (early frost gathering) in which he and about 40 other vehicles will participate. Given it will take place in Norway, I suspect it will be plenty cold! Even has offered to take some pics and share them.
Even tells me a number of folks from Norway keep tabs on eWillys, so I thought I’d give a shout out to the Jeep Club of Norway. Launched in 1999, the club has members in areas throughout Norway. Their website with some images to check out, but if you want to read about the club you’ll need to brush up on your Norwegian 🙂 (or use a translator, which is what I did). Thanks for the email Even!
(btw, Even I need you to email at d@ewillys.com … I tried responding to the email addy you sent and it didn’t work for some reason)
Maggie Mae discovered this terribly sad wagon. This poor thing is now sitting in her driveway. However, looks can be deceiving. It turns out it has a part she has been trying to find. Also, upon closer inspection, she reports the frame appears in good shape.
She writes, “In my defense, it was ‘free for haul away’ and has the 2 barrel manifold I’ve been searching for. The floor is just a couple inches shy of the bottom of the windows, it actually looks a bit better than it should in the back end because of the homemade spring hangers/lift kit. Yes, the grille guard is a piece scaffolding. The gas tank had rusted through and was replaced with a beer keg that was “mounted” on 2×4’s where the passenger rear seat should have been.”
UPDATE: These images come from the War Wheels website. There’s a longer discussion no why changes were made to the gun placement.
Here’s what’s likely a 1941 image from warwheels.net of the Bantam BRC-40 T2 with the 37MM Gun on it mounted in the middle of the vehicle:
There were some problems with the T2, so the gun was moved to the back for version 1 of T2E1.
The army preferred this location, because a 2nd version of the T2E1 was developed that lacked a standard body (many more photos here):
Finally, there was also reportedly an anti-tank Willys MB version called the T21 with a75mm mounted in the rear, but I haven’t been able to verify it.
Sam, from Flatfender Willys in Colorado, mentioned a few months ago that he figured out how to easily install an off-the-shelf Rack & Pinion into a flattie. He’s installed over 10 of these over that past few years in various rigs with great success.
A number of readers asked for more information. However, Sam chose to delay the information so that he could work with the maker of the R&Ps to develop a Rack designed especially for Jeeps — from old flatties through Wranglers.
What you will see below is the protoype built by the company that Sam has installed into Craig’s CJ-3B. These are early pictures of the process. Once Sam finishes testing this prototype, they’ll be available for sale.
1. This first image shows the Rack tucked neatly under the cross member.
2. Here is an underside look at the setup.
3. Here’s a look at the 7/8″ tubing (I think I have that right). The basic Rack was originally designed for a 4000lb truck and then was modified for the Jeep to insure it was strong enough to handle a variety of situations.
4. For the typical installation, you’d leave the stock shock mount (if you have a mount there), and cut the plate flush with the frame. Otherwise, you can just bolt the plate into position. In this case, Sam had made a change to the suspension and moved the mount down.
5. This image shows that the Rack has an even lower profile than the stock system. Note how far lower the stock system extends.
6. This image shows the 1/2″ plate to which the Rack mounts. shows the Rack doesn’t extend far outside the frame.
I don’t know anything about this particular jeep except that it is called the “Dixie Flyer”. It seems to be a modified MB with a ‘Courier’ sign in the front and some modifications to the fenders. It also appears to have a gas tank on the passenger side (I think that is what is sticking down under the passenger?). I found this image on the European Center of Military History’s Blog.
This MB is located at the Cole Land Transporation Museum in Bangor, Maine, and has an interesting history. According to the museum’s website, “his 1945 jeep served with the U.S. Army during World War II in Europe. After the war, it was given to the French government (French nomenclature in still on the dashboard). It was rebuilt by the French, declared surplus, and shipped to Duryea Motors, Brockport, New York in 1982. Galen Cole purchased it for display in the Museum.
Perhaps its greatest claim to fame is that the mold for the Maine World War II Veterans Memorial, located on the Museum’s grounds, was formed around this jeep; therefore, the jeep that is the focus of the Memorial is an exact replica of this jeep. It was chosen as the symbol of WWII because personnel of all branches of the service during that war used jeeps-whether generals, admirals, or privates.”
I spent some time search for Jeeps in Museums today. I discovered that in 1996 a museum with some wwII jeeps closed and the jeeps were purchased and sent to Indiana. After a little searching, I am pretty sure these were bought by the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States (NATMUS), located in Auburn, Indiana. This appears to be a pretty sizeable museum with a great collection of both stock and modified vehicles.
Sorting through images at different sites, I did eventually find an image of a GP (to be published later) located at NATMUS. I sent them an email to see if I can get additional images and information (my emails to museums thus far have proven useless so far, with the exception of a gracious and quick response from the York Museum in PA).
One additional item I discovered while searching through some NATMUS images was this modified Willys Truck hidden in the background of a pic focused on the Popcorn Wagon (see pic to right). Fortunately, I could identify the website emblazoned on the windshield and, viola, I found some great pics of this vehicle to share.
This truck, called Silly Willy, was built by Wild Fire Manufacturing for 1st Attack (Jeffrey Cook is president of both companies). 1st Attack is a company that specializes in the development of offroad emergency vehicles. You might know Jeffrey Cook from his days as owner/driver of the Monster Truck War Wagon that toured nationally.
Here’s some pics of Silly Willy:
Gerald found this great old cartoon. I always thought jeeps had minds of their own …
