emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
The June 13, 1942, issue of the News-Journal out of Mansfield, Ohio, happily reported on the unexpected amount of bond sales at the city’s previous day’s “Jeep Day”. The committee had hoped to sell $10,000 worth of bonds, but topped $25,000 instead. I’m sure it was all due to the jeeps!
Gallup’s local Willys dealer organized a trip to Manuelito Canyon, according to an article int he October 14, 1953, issues of the Albuquerque Journal. Some local Gallup area residents had hoped at the time that the canyon would become a national park. Instead, in 1964, it was named a National Historic District. There is (was?) a visitor’s center, but it is temporarily closed (and was so as of January of 2020, which predated the pandemic).
I like this photo with the line up of wagons. I’d love to find the original or reprint of this.
This May 18, 1944, article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram describes the upcoming “WAC Jeep Day”. The Fort Worth recruiting team would offer free jeep rides to those women who fit the WAC’s specifications. I’m guessing the women had to be “U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 with no dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more.”
Instead of qualifying for the WACs, it might have been easier to wait two years and drive a jeep with no strings attached! This ad published in the May 29, 1946, issue of the Knoxville News for the Sam Horne Company shows a woman test driving a jeep.
This July 28, 1973, article in the Longview Daily News shares information on the rising number of jeep clubs in the Longview area. I figured the text would be easier to read if I posted it separately at bottom. The CJ-5 on the upper left is running the recently introduced Desert Dogs.
This June 29, 1946, photo in the Daily Advertiser shows off an early MB conversion into a Louisiana Forestry Jeep. Developed by the Louisiana Foresty Commission, the state purchased five of these rigs.
The Weekly Town Talk out of Alexandria, Louisiana, also ran the photo on the same day, but with a different caption:
This article shows FDR in jeeps. It was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune February 02, 1943.
The April 27, 1944, article in the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis argues that Ford, GM, and Chrysler did not believe the post-war jeep would be as successful as hoped, due to (1) the hard suspension and (2) a lack of appeal to the “woman of the family”. It seems they were right to be wary from a family perspective, but the big three didn’t foresee the wagons, which attempted to address both of these issues.
This photo captures three friends traveling from Hawaii to the midwest via Minnesota. Akira Tanaka, sitting in the driver’s seat, helped establish the military intelligence company that was part of Camp Savage in Minnesota.This was published in the September 16, 1946, issue of The Minneapolis Star.
I tried to learn more about these three, but didn’t have much luck. There was an Akira Tanaka that went to work for General Motors and built himself a home that was featured in a 1955 article in the Detroit Press. So, it’s possible that he graduated from College in Michigan, then went to work for GM. If that’s the case, he developed several automotive patents for the company.
A side photo of Smiley, John Henkels ‘new’ Ford GP.
The January 30, 1944, Sunday issue of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune made John Henkels and his son front page news for the purchase of their 1941 Ford GP from Wilensky’s auto parts. What a cold drive back to Fulda, Minnesota, that must have been!
