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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 .
Tuesday’s updates will be arriving late morning (though check out the jeep in the post that follows this one), as will answers to many emails in my inbox. In the meantime, for you early risers who have suffered eWillys withdrawals, here’s an article on FCs to string you along.
The May 1957 issue of Willys News covered the 2nd Annual Jeep Derby in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Among the racers were Bud Jackson from the Hemet Jeep Club and Wally Klingele and Barney Nelson from the Yakima Ridge Runners. Klingele and Nelson drove their jeeps to the event! Only 14 of the 20 entrants completed the eighty mile race.
The San Francisco Gate published this photo of Princess Elizabeth as part of a tribute to the jeep in 2014.
http://m.sfgate.com/cars/slideshow/A-tribute-to-the-lowly-Jeep-95269/photo-6976182.php
Getty Images
In fact, even during her Honeymoon in 1947 Princess Elizabeth was driven by her husband Prince Phillip.
This May 1957 article highlights the successful slogan the Jacobson Motor Company of Omaha, Nebraska, used to attract buyers. Pete Comley, sales manager, came up with the slogan and added it to one of the company’s wagons.
The June 24, 1953, issue of the Spokesman-Review featured a photo of Yakima Ridge Runners Chet Thompson and Wally Klingele of the Yakima Ridge Runners practicing for the July 4th jeep rodeo.
This cowboy preferred to rope a cow with a saddle mounted on a CJ-3B. I don’t know a whole lot about rodeo history, but according to the Lodi newspaper competitive jeep-roping occurred at least between 1952-1998. Below is an April 21, 1982, photo published in the Lodi News Sentinenl, the best photo evidence I could find of jeep-roping.
This May 1957 article shares two jeeps with unusual modifications.
A May 1957 article from Willys News reported that the first FC-150 to Alaska was sent by plane. Unfortunately, to fit on the plane it had to be disassembled. Look how close that cab is to not fitting. Someone in Alaska sure wanted that FC badly!
This May 1957 Willys News article provides some interesting history about the Warn Manufacturing Company. Apparently there was some early resistance to using the first generation of the warn hubs, because jeep owners felt they’d purchased their jeeps for the four wheel drive capability. The initial hubs turned the jeeps into two wheel drive, which some owners felt defeated the whole point of owning a jeep. However, through education and marketing, the Warn folks slowly turned naysayers into advocates.
From a 1995 Field & Stream Magazine article:
These were the first locking/unlocking hubs Warn developed. These were advertised as early as October of 1953 in the Popular Mechanics:
Another ‘the jeep can do it all’ ad. This one was published on June 1, 1949, in Utah’s Deseret News.
Ted Jordan forwarded me the following photos of a rare American Bantam plow with serial plate he just acquired. He also forwarded several emails about the plow and Barry Thomas’ efforts to learn more about it. I’m sure Barry will continue to dig into this issue. You can follow his efforts at http://farmjeep.com & his farm jeep blog.
That got me doing my own research. There’s an interesting interrelationship between the Monroe Auto, Newgren and American Bantam companies. I’m sure some of you have information you can add to this, but for now the history below is what I managed to cobble together.
Monroe Auto Parts senior project engineer Ivan N. Schatzka helped the company develop a hydraulic lift in 1946. In the same year the Newgren Company became the distributor of the Love hydraulic lift, developed by J. B. Love. At some point Monroe Auto acquired the Newgren company (and discontinued the Love Hydraulic lift in favor of the Monroe lift?). By 1948 Newgren was advertising that its implements were operated in conjunction with the Monroe lift.
Meanwhile, American Bantam was struggling. During WWII American Bantam had annual sales around $25 million. In 1945 that amount dropped to $19 million. In a failed attempt to shift course and sell post-war civilian trailers, American Bantam sales plunged to $3.8 million in 1946 and further to $3.7 million in 1947. Unable to meet dividends, American Bantam struggled, and may have been close to shutting its doors.
For reasons that aren’t quite clear to me, on July 5, 1948, Monroe Auto Parts offered American Bantam directors a proposal. Monroe wanted to sell the Newgren Company to American Bantam. In exchange, the MacIntyre brothers, who led the Monroe Company, would take over American Bantam. Thus, Monroe was divesting itself of the Newgren company, but maintaining control of Newgren by gaining control of its new parent company, American Bantam. All of the common stock in American Bantam would become non-voting preferred stock. In exchange for the Newgren Company, American Bantam would pay the Monroe Company $600,000 in a new class of stock.
My theory is that Monroe’s management was not optimistic about the future of jeep implements, but were bullish on the auto part industry in general. Fearing Newgren could become a drag, due to its focus on jeep parts, they moved it to American Bantam. This put the Monroe company on a path to focus on the auto parts industry, yet allowed them to maintain control of Newgren by selling it to American Bantam.
This 1947 ad from the Boise City News includes rare references to a “Jeep Van Truck” and a ” Jeep Canopy Truck”.
