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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 suspect that PFC William Wilson would have rather been back in Arkansas at that moment. That just looks cold. I tried to learn more about William, but had no luck.
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“This is an original press photo. North Korea — PFC William Wilson, Little Rock, Arkansas, jeep driver of the Corps scoops out some of the 5 inches of snow that accumulated overnight on his jeep.Photo measures 6 x 8inches. Photo is dated 12-06-1950.”
This July 14, 1955, article from the Auburn Journal (Auburn, California) highlights the upcoming two day trip from Auburn, to Wentworth Springs and on to Lake Tahoe. It also includes a lists of some of the folks participating in the event. You’ll note there is no mention of it being a Jeep or Jeepers Jamboree.
Though this photo of Billy Graham smiling in a jeep is undated, Billy Graham’s website indicates he arrived for his visit in 1952, then stayed over Christmas into 1953, as another photo of him in Korea is dated 1953. More Billy Graham Korean War pics can be viewed here.
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“This is an original press photo. Graham, Billy. Billy Graham in jeep in Korea.Photo measures 10 x 8.25inches. Photo is dated –none.”
This is a cool photo of Chinese Nationalist pilots piled on a jeep in front of P51s. Following WWII, the Chinese Nationalist Government renewed it’s civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists. The Nationalists lost enough territory over the succeeding years that in 1949 they were forced to abandon the mainland for the island formerly known as the Formosa Republic (until 1895, when the Japanese took control, not seceding control until 1945). This 1950 photo displays the Nationalists continued effort to thwart control by the Chinese communists.
“1950 Press Photo Chinese pilots ride jeep by P-51 planes at a tarmac in Formosa. This is an original press photo. Formosa (Nationalist air pilots). Kaohsiung, Formosa. The scene might be on a typical United States Army Airfield instead of on the nationalist bastion. A jeep load of P-51 pilots is on the tarmac as the Chinese version of the bright blue yonder boys head for their P-51’s to take off on a mission over the Chinese mainland. Photo measures 9 x 7inches. Photo is dated 6-5-1950.”
This late 1956 ad introduced the FC-150 its Longview, Washington, audience.
December 06, 1956, in the Longview Daily Times.
Cool photo and a nice shot showing Scenic Tours on the back. I imagine this the Ouray area?
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“This is an original press photo. Colorado’s high mountain country is custom made for the rugged individualist who likes to get off the beaten path into areas where man is seldom seen. Many communities rent jeeps, and some schedule jeep cavalcades that take you into areas of breathtaking beauty that have been hidden from the eyes of man since the beginning of time.Photo measures 8 x 10.25inches. Photo is dated 12-30-1966.”
The July 14th, 1955, issue of the Auburn Journal, Auburn California, highlighted events from a recent jeep trip in the Sierra Mountains from Wentworth Springs to Lake Tahoe.
William F. Baggerman in 1946 standing in front of his 1946 VEC CJ-2A. Behind the jeep is a trailer (a box on wheels). Standing to the side of the jeep is Charles Mum of the Laredo, Texas, AAA. William is just about to enter Mexico in 1946.
Wiliam F. Baggerman was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area around 1914. He attended Washington University and Edinburgh University. He started Modern Management Co., a real estate management firm, in 1936, and later was employed with Sycamore Investors, Inc., a shopping center development company.
He entered what would become the Air Force right after Pearl Harbor and spent 20 months in the Pacific theatre, stationed for at least part of the time in Guam. While in Guam, for some unknown reason, he decided to travel to Central America after the war.
A year after the war ended, he purchased a jeep and, along with a trailer, headed south to Laredo, Texas, where he began his adventure.
After his trip, he wrote an 60 page book: Driving to Managua, Nicaragua (A Guide to the PanAmerican Highway Through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua).
The book is part guide book and part travelogue, as most of the text describes dryly how to travel through the various countries. Yet, the pics feel far more personal; there are at least 10 photos, almost all of which include the jeep. You can view the entire book online at Hathitrust.org.
The jeep he used appears to have been a VEC with indents and a column shift, but without the rear hubs. So, I’d guess a 15xxx to 30xxx serial number. The trailer is a box on wheels … anyone know what model?
Let’s look at some pics!
This is a map of the Pan American Highway. It’s not clear to me how much he veered off the highway:
This pic shows him just entering Mexico:
Those are some beautiful mountains. But who is looking at the mountains when you can peek inside the cab and see the column shifter:
Apparently, even the jeep couldn’t take William everywhere:
1. This first image shows a Cowboy in front of a CJ-3B with the jeep’s hood serving as a temporary desk. There is no description or date provided.
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2. These next three pics are included within one auction. View all the information on eBay. given the signs in the first photo, it would seem possible to locate where it was originally taken.
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“Original WW2 photos (2.5 x 3.75 inches), curled from age, with some handling wear. These belonged to Corporal Alton Gilbert, a soldier in Company A of the 506th Military Police Battalion.”
3. These three photos were taken near a mine in 1961. Based on the terrain, my off-the-cuff guess is that the scenes remind me of the area around Cripple Creek, Colorado. Anyone who knows the area better have different thoughts?
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“3 1960s 35mm Slides Family Enjoys Off Road Jeep Willys Mining Town Tour 1961”
UPDATE: As best as I can tell, it looks like 1963 was when Don Pratt’s Jeep Tours began working with the Kachina Cab company. The article appeared in the August 13, 1963, issue of the Arizona Republic:
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Originally posted June 2019: According to this Pink Jeep Tour site, Pink Jeep Tours is the oldest continuously operating Jeep Tour Company in the United States. It was started in 1958 by a Sedona Realtor named Don Pratt, who would drive clients to see homes at Broken Arrow Estates. The Broken Arrow tour is the original Jeep tour and is still today the most popular tour in Sedona.Why did he make the jeeps pink? Mr. Pratt got the idea while visiting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach, where everything was pink.
But, that’s only part of the story. In her book Echoes of Sedona Past, Mary Lou Keller explains how her and her husband cleared the first trail and how, when Glenn Keller decided not to open a jeep tour business, their friend Don Pratt asked if he could do it instead. Mrs. Keller covers the story in five pages of her book available to read on Google.The book also includes the image below of Mary Lou Keller with her do Pico in her (probably) 1946 CJ-2A:
