NOVEMBER 2025 UPDATE

Well having some internet issues this AM. Back in the day I called it “Downloading the Dinosaurs”, maybe that’s was an AOL reference, I forget but not my invention it was some ad or something that someone was sitting around waiting on the Internet to download stuff.

So welcome to November 2025, more than half way through already! It’s been a crazy few months for us but I think a very productive month. We are closing down 10k sq feet and moving in to 24k sq ft at work, so that’s been super challenging to sort through a few decades of materials and equipment pretty much everything is in boxes or storage, dumpsters, trailers, box trucks. Just chaos all around for the past 3 months.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, lots to be Thankful for always a good time of year, I hope everyone gets some downtime over the holiday season.

Maybe I can preload some content to hold you over for a few days.

Happy Posting

On the eWillys front this is just about post #968 for me since late last year. Back when I started helping it literally would take 20 minutes a post at times due to either issues on my end, or connection delays. But overall days like to day where the actual internet is lagging, we really are running on a World Class back end with NetFire and they really are a huge reason for how we are here. When I took a shot at this one of my main concerns was hosting, I knew I had their support and they really put a lot of work into the site with multiple developers helping along the way.

If you are in need of a solution to a technology something from MSP to Website, or looking to get your app developed please check them out, you can email me as well post@ewillys.com and I can put you in contact with someone over there as well or answer any questions I can.

www.netfire.com

eWillys on YouTube

Started a YouTube channel for eWillys on Nov 4th, the intent there was to be able to post small shorts for people to get some more visibility to their for sale ads.

It’s a huge platform, definitely does not work the way I thought it was going to work. But the reach when “they” want to promote your content adds 1k to 2k additional views. But is all Algorithm controlled, I have played around with some of our photos and grabbed a few of each type, then overlay a song. For dedicate For Sale ads they don’t get any views and are hidden away by the Algorithm. I guess with a Subscriber base that would be something that people are looking at. First will work on the actual content and go from there.

You can’t really link back to the site that has been disabled for a few years, so I try to add in some description and people will just have to search out eWillys.

In 15 days the small videos got 12.2k views and 36.6 hours of watch time across 13 shorts and one video. The watch time to me is amazing, but I don’t know if this will net anything, the time to make one is very minimal maybe 3 minutes to make one. So not a big ask of time. Will work on it.

To monetize this is very hard you need many subscribers and watch hours. “Shorts” forget it you need 3 million views over 90 days and 500 subscribers, that is not my goal for the site or that, was hoping to get some sort of additional view for folks to sell their rigs, +100 targeted views on an ad is pretty huge to a seller. That’s what eWillys provides a few hundred views on the ad and then it pretty much gone to the bottom. I think we grab a few thousand but how targeted are those I figure a fraction of those.

Overall with each and every ad I don’t have any skin in the game here on this. The google ad sense does very well when enabled and I really dialed in those at the time when they shut me down for who knows what reason, so that is an option , but they just clog up the site with click bait and links it makes great revenue but I still have them turned off for now.

Feel free to check out and if you like it Subscribe to the channel for more eWillys content.

https://www.youtube.com/@eWillys-1N7

Thanks to everyone for checking out eWillys! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks, Tim

October 2025 Update

Welcome to October!

Some good events coming up this month.

If you have an event you would like us to share, please send over to: post@ewillys.com

10/18/2025 (NEXT WEEKEND)

EPIC WILLYS MINI RACE;  GETTYSBURG, PA

10/19/2025 (NEXT WEEKEND)

MASON DIXON JEEP GATHERING;  WESTMINSTER, MD

Recent For Sale Rigs……….

These are rigs folks have sent us For Sale Directly, not included in this one is the 1960 Hotchkiss M-201 that recently was added, that’s in the side bar to the right for a quick link to that one. I did get an email on that one this AM, I passed on to the info I have on that one.

Virtually in the shop…

Over on OWF was fun to follow along a Diff rebuild, always fun to see the progress of folks projects. Setting up these old Dana’s for some pros is probably second nature, but for some of us tinkerers it’s in interesting process to see it all work out in the photos anyway. Chasing the pattern and getting it dialed in with each move.

I think the tools we have access to today really make it easier for some of us.

Take the new style carrier and pinion bearing pullers, these are really neat and just make life a little easier, if you have not run across these you might want to try one out. The first time I used it, I destroyed the cage on the carrier bearing, it had no instructions and I was “I got this, with no help from YouTube, how hard can it be”. Well that ended badly, but I wound up reassembling the parts and pieces and looking at a video and it popped right off.

Here are a few tools I have for my DIY rebuilds. I get a lot of help from OWF and Jeff and Phil are great resources to set us straight along the way. You don’t need all this to do this stuff just sharing some things that have made my life easier.

Carrier and Pinion Puller

These have different color clam shells that goes over the bearing and clamps the race and rollers then the underside of the race and pops off the bearing with an impact.

Desitin or Boudreaux’s Butt Paste (White on Left) vs Yellow Gear Marking Compound

Yes I have tried the Desitin Diaper Creme, and it works, it’s basically like a Fish Oil based product and if not too horribly hot it works OK.

Case Spreader

These can be a point of contention at times, do you honestly need one, probably not for DIY use, but the import versions now a days are failry inexpensive and they are really slick how they work and for me it makes it super easy to get the carrier in and out, does not add a ton of time, and as you see here I did check the spread just to see how it works, and you don’t really need to do that but one time if your curious, it does not take much to get the case spread apart. Neat tool, was glad I tried it.

Flexible Dial Indicator Holder

For sure not in the “need” column, but when it Rome I had another use for this so I tried it on the Diff and it worked well. The magnets are strong, the way these articulate are really neat as well, it would be helpful to have 3 hands at times with this thing, but again not in the must have, just sharing.

Pinion Holder

Under $20, I’m sure its an import, and really this is a wonderful tool, I think this is a must have for holding the pinion, really helped me out.

DIY Pinion Depth Plate

This was scrap we made into a plate to check the pinion depth, it was just my time to make it, my guess is this is in progress as there are no holes in it to measure through yet!

Well figure I would share some of those basics I use in the shop for my DIY Stuff, for the pro and experienced rebuilders, It may seem crude or unnecessary but I found them useful. I still have the old school press and bearing separators you really need to have a good selection for when these new fangled tools just don’t get the job done.

I hope your projects are moving along!

Thanks, Tim

September 2025 Update

Well its October, so that tells you how fast September went.

Couple big posts from September:

Dave’s Collection

Dave the founder of eWillys is selling his collection, please check out this collection, I think some has been sold. We all keep Dave in our thoughts and prayers as he goes through some health issues, he built this amazing site for all of us to use and enjoy so want to make sure we keep that going.

Holy Toledo Calendars

They are out and about, if you subscribe to The Dispatcher and choose the Calendar option, you should have it and its a great one, if you are not a Subscriber, I highly recommend you check out the Magazine and the Calendar, head over here to check those out.

The Willys Reunion

The Fall Reunion was held early in the Month and had a great turn out; to check out some of those pics you can see them here.

http://willysreunion.com/fmwrphotos.htm

The Jeep Meet Up in Cle Elum WA

Jim held his event in Sept and it was a good one from what I head back, sorry no pics to share, if anyone has anything happy to post up, send a link or some photos over to post@willys.com

Notable For Sale Ad’s

Larry’s Collection

Larry is looking for a buyer of his collection; available separately, package, parts, pieces, can answer any questions that anyone has please reach out to him.

I am tweaking the way we handle these kinds of posts, so just keep that in mind as we work through this you might see stuff stay up, come down, pop back up from time to time. It’s a work in progress for me to figure out our way here.

Frank’s CJ-5

Frank is still looking for a new caretaker for his one owner CJ as well. I really like his CJ, it’s a neat one, fiberglass body and tilt nose, with a hard top and neat cover on the back part.

Shifting Gears……

1N7 Willys Update

Missed what 1N7 Willys is? Well it’s a small space we are physically building out here in NJ to share our working Willys with folks, will have working engines and useable displays for folks to learn on. Have space to hold small classes and put on presentations. Its a work in progress, but making headway.

We have been busy on our 1N7 Willys building, we are working on a collection of manuals and literature for the space, the painters spent most of Sept painting and cleaning up the space, I starting the lights and ceilings in the office area, it’s a lot of work so little at a time.  I expect to move over the Tornado collection this month, the L134 Run Stand, and some other stuff. It’s a really neat project for us and hope to share with folks as it comes together.

We will have some cool working displays and running stuff folks can work on, some tech displays and the sort. I saw a really neat vintage Snap On display that was for old school troubleshooting of an ignition system, that really is the kind of stuff I would like to have in the space to have folks be able to come in and learn the old technology and see stuff work, not a static display.

Outside of the Willys World

It’s been an exciting month, turned the page on our Training Center for my day job, this has been a really fun project, challenging, but super rewarding to get super close to the finish line on a brand new Training Center for our staff, looking forward to its opening soon. This takes a lot of time away from eWillys but it’s what makes this all possible.

Also for work this week while not quite Sept was able to attend an event in NYC where they happened to display one of the new all electric Nascar race cars. They had a small panel discussion with a Nascar engineer and it was a neat show, I need to figure out some Press credentials for eWillys! But it was cool to see while not Willys related might as well share.

Even got to meet Ricky Bobby, it was a pretty fun experience they put together! (that’s not me in this pic), but he was in the room after and we all shared some laughs.