emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
About eWillys
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.
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 .
“This is an original press photo. Boyle, Hal (Correspondent). Tiny Shinn Chung Sook, better known as “Snooky,” looks bewildered as she sits in a jeep in the Seoul area with Associated Press correspondents Hal Boyle (foreground) and Bill Waugh (right), two of the American newsmen who adopted her. In left background is Snooky’s real uncle, Bill Shinn, Korean reporter for the Associated Press. Waugh, designated as the child’s official godfather, gave Boyle the assignment of escorting her to safety in Taegu. Waiting at latter city for Snooky, who had twice before disappeared, was her real father. Photo measures 8.75 x 6.75inches. Photo is dated 1-3-1951.”
These three Kaiser-Willys ads demonstrate a national campaign ad offering to dealers who wanted to share the news that Kaiser and Willys vehicles were being sold under the same brand. Though the purchase was announced in the spring of 1953, the ad campaign was introduced until the fall of 1953 after the sale was completed (See the June 1953 ad at bottom that introduces a new dealer, but doesn’t mention Kaiser).
The imagery and order of the blocks is interesting. Though Kaiser purchased Willys-Overland’s assets, for the extensive network of Willys dealers the experience was the opposite; they were adding Kaiser products to their Willys sales portfolios. I expect this explains why the Kaiser block is pictured being added to the Willys block rather than the other way around.
This ad was published on November 05, 1953, in The Times out of Shreveport, Louisiana, by Dixie Kaiser-Willys.
This ad was published on October 08, 1953, in the Birmingham News, out of Birmingham, Alabama, by the Roy Bridges & Co., Inc.
This ad was published on November 15, 1953, in the Great Falls Tribune, out of Montana, by Robinson Motor Co.
A June 5, 1953, full-page ad out of California introduced Haley Motors, a new “Willys” dealer. Though the merger had been announced, it wasn’t finalized until the fall of 1953; this likely explains why there was no mention of Kaiser in this ad.
Steve shared this photo. Though it is an undated reprint, it’s one I hadn’t seen. The photo is only 5″x5″. I’m surprised it isn’t reproduced as a 8″x10″ photo.
“This is a nice reproduction of an original World War Two photo showing US soldiers in a Jeep reading a sign prepared by French citizens expressing gratitude for the liberation of France from the Nazi’s. Great photo! Size of photo is about 5″ x 5″.”
The photo above sent me on a quest to find another example of a medic/ambulance jeep with a cross painted onto the grille. I finally found one on a model, one built to replicate a Brazilian Expeditionary Force jeep ambulance from 1944 Italy. The author of the post did a good job retelling the history of the jeep (and didn’t fall for some of the incorrect history on the internet).
Andy McIntyre built this model jeep with ingenuity and scavenged parts to help teach his two daughters, Ann and Phyllis, how to drive and use hand signals. He also planned to introduce them to local law enforcement. Eventually, he wanted to teach all the kids how to properly drive, as he noted in the article “Children of today are born into an age of speed … Everyone needs to sharpen his wits to keep step with this age of machines.” It sounds like Andy and his wife raised their girls to be tough and independent!
This photo appeared in the August 19, 1953, issue of the Dayton Daily News (Ohio). Interestingly, the original press photo does not have the helicopter in the background …
PHOTO CREDIT: August 19, 1953, issue of the Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Steve spotted this photo from the University of Kentucky’s archives. It shows a modified MB/GPW with a ‘house’ over it for weather protection. I assume the owner of the jeep was also the owner of Nita Electric. The image below shows only the jeep; you can view the full photo here.
Someone spent took some care to do a nice refurb of this jeep. The bolt details on the rims and frame look really good.
A January 18, 1953, article in the El Paso Times shared the story of seven young men who formed “the jeep club”. There was no fancy name attached to it. They guys liked to explore the surrounding mountains, hunt jack rabbits, trap coyotes, and play with their jeeps.
On the same page as the jeep article was an article about the first mail route in the United States, one that operated between Roswell and Torrance, New Mexico. The mail (and the occasional passengers) were ferried on the YELLOW DEVIL, an assemblage of discarded auto parts; that kind of sounds like a few jeeps I’ve known.
Obviously, this article was written before the aliens reached Roswell, because, rather than known for “progress of modern development (was it really known for that?)”, it’s pretty much famous for other-worldly visitors.
Make sure to reach the final story, one in the far right lower corner. Need rats for an experiment? One scientist discovered an easy way to get them …
This photo from July 04, 1946, in the Portola Register (out of Portola, California) shows famed clown Emmet Kelly helping Aileen Darnay step out of a CJ-2A, a jeep that was new to the circus. I wonder if the “WILLYS JEEP” painted on the hood was a form of advertising that reduced the cost of the jeep to the circus?
UPDATE: Here’s a second version of this press photo.
Also, Thanks to Lester (who found a front view of this same jeep in the Concord Armor At War series # 7058 titled The US Army Jeep at War by Steven Zaloga on page 70) we also now know that the inscription reads: To the Commander of the First Ukrainian Army Group from Soldiers of the American Armies of the 12th Army Group …. Lester believes the same thing is painted in Russian on the hood. The jeep also has the insignia of the major formations of Bradleys command on the cowling between the hood and windshield. Finally, apparently the picture in the book clearly shows the two extra holes in the front bumper making it a GPW model.
Here’s another press photo that captures the gift of a jeep by General Omar Bradley to Marshal Ivan Konev of the Russian Army. Six days later, Marshal Konev responded in kind with the gift of a horse to General Bradley, the inspection of which was captured in the latter half of this video.
“This is an original press photo. Bradley, Omar (General) (United States of America). General Omar Bradley, commander of the United States Twelfth Army Group, presents an American carbine and jeep foreground to Marshal Ivan Konev of the Russian Army following banquet celebrating the victories of their troops, near Berlin, May 5. This photo was taken by William C. Allen Associated Press Photographer with the wartime still picture pool. Photo measures 10.5 x 7.25inches. Photo is dated 5-5-1945.”
Marshal Koniev (foreground, second from left) receives a United States Army Jeep as a gift from General Omar Bradley (foreground, left). General Bradley, commander of the United States 12th Army Group, had crossed over into Russian lines to meet Marshal Koniev, commander of the Russian 1st Ukrainian Army Group’s headquarters which was then located southeast of Torgau. All others are unidentified.
This photo is part of a series of photos shared by the families of famous Russian/Soviet families. There are other photos on this page that captured the first documented meeting of Russians and Americans on April 25,1945, near the German town of Torgau on the Elbe river.
