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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 .
UPDATE: The world can be such an amazing place sometimes. Last night we got to spend time with Hugo Vidal and his son Fernando. Hugo’s memories of his 1955 trip are very clear, enough so that he’s writing a book about the adventure. His book begins with Operation Pineapple and will end with Alaska Or Rust.
Hugo was enjoying looking through the Willys News periodicals from the mid 1950s. He recognized some of people in them.
Adding to those links, I have found a couple additional photos and more information about the trip. The first photo was published in the September 1955 issue of Willys News:
Note the missing tire on the spare rim. Hugo says they went through eleven tires. During their trip they had no mechanical issues.
California’s Lodi News-Sentinel published a story about the last leg of their trip on January 18, 1956.
This article in a 1943 issue of the Toledo Blade is an interesting profile of Military Chaplain Leland Larson who followed the US Armed Forces from North Africa to Italy. At some point, he got hurt and was awarded a Purple Heart. After the war he moved to Phoenix and became Pastor for the Holy Trinity church in Tucson, Arizona (from 1966 newspaper article). He moved on to at least one other church. He passed away in Green Valley, AZ, in 1990.
This Desert News Magazine August 14, 1949, article titled “Knights of the Jeep” highlights the Bountiful Jeep Posse. Unfortunately, I could only find a scanned version with readable text in black and white. The scanned photos are poor. I did manage to locate a couple small colored photos of the article, so I’ve cobbled all the information together.
A Happy Thanksgiving Holiday of everyone out there. I shall be thankful for jeeps today! Apparently, one Major E.P. Hogan was also thankful for these unique vehicles, so much so that he wrote an article for the Sep/Oct 1944 issue of Army Ordnance called The Jeep In Action: Some Adventures of the Army’s Ubiquitous Vehicle. It’s a pretty interesting read. i’ve included it in its entirety for your holiday pleasure. Click on the images to more easily read the article.
According to this page, the Associated Press captured this photo of “Old Faithful” on the island of Bougainville in 1944.
Recently, Jeep shot a commercial highlighting a little known fact that a jeep named “Old Faithful” was awarded an honorable Purple Heart for its service in Guadalcanal and Bougainville during WWII (not to be confused with a jeep that was named “Purple Heart“). The jeep was later put on display at the Marine Corps Museum, but, according to an article in Adweek, it disappeared and its whereabouts remain unknown.
Old Faithful was a Willys built jeep that served four Marine generals through the Guadalcanal campaign and the Bougainville invasion. Old Faithful was officially awarded the Purple Heart for “wounds”–two shrapnel holes in its windshield received during the Jap battleship shelling of Guadalcanal on October 13, 1942.
Old Faithful, the first American vehicle ever to be so decorated, was retired from active service by official Marine Corps order on December 22, 1943. Faithful to the last, this jeep’s motor, which has never been overhauled, purrs as smoothly today as it did on the historic day of August 7, 1942, when it first rolled onto Guadalcanal’s famous Lunga Beach. During its duty in the Pacific area,
Old Faithful served as official car for many distinguished leaders, including the late Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Adms. Chester Nimitz and William F. Halsey, Vice Adms. A.W. Fitch, and J.S. McCain, Marine Corps Commandant Lieut. Gen. Thomas Holcomb, his successor Lieut, Gen A.A. Vandegrift, and many others. In 1944, Old Faithful, after a long journey, arrived in heaven and now reposes in the Marine Corps Museum at the Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, Va.
Also in 1944, the Marine Corps Chevron included this photo and article on “Old Faithful”:
WAR RELIC’ “Old Faithful,” retired after 18 monthsservice in the South Pacific as a command oar, was displayed in San Diego’s War Bond drive. It is being inspected by Majs. Granville Mitchell (left) and Douglas J. Preacher.
Battle-Worn Jeep Back In U. S. On Bond Tour
“Old Faithful,” first Marine jeep to be landed on Guadalcanal and among the first on Bougainville, was exhibited at the Plaza War Bond center in downtown San Diego this week in connection with the Filipino Day program.
The jeep was retired on Bougainville recently after having traveled more than 11,000 miles of jungle terrain as a command car. During its 18 months’ service “Old Faithful” served four Marine generals as well as carrying every ranking Marine officer and visiting official on the two battle-torn islands.
Previously, the jeep had been awarded a “Purple Heart” for holes in its windshield, received when a Jap battleship shelled Guadalcanal. It is on its way toward becoming a museum piece at the Marine Corps Museum, Quantico.
For some reason the Willys Export company advertised the Cargo & Personnel Carrier in a German Magazine. Seller lists this as a 1950 magazine. Given the early grille, this may well be the case. This is really an interesting piece.
“Willys Overland Export Co. Universal Jeep + Dorndorf – Orig. Anzeigen von 1950. Original Seite aus einem alten Magazine.”
This edition of the Toledo Blade celebrated the 50th anniversary of Willys Overland. It includes some jeep photos. It isn’t cheap.
“Rare find, this issue was devoted to the Willys Overland Co, celebrating 50 years of business. The entire paper has celebratory ads to the Willys Co. Includes history of the co, as well as advertisements for Jeep and Willys cars. Has both sections, 48 pages. Really nice shape for a newspaper this old.”
This May 10, 1943, article from The Telegraph shares the news that New Hampshire kids raised enough money through stamp and bond sales to purchase 92 jeeps for the US Forces.
