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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 .
The December 19, 1945, issue of the Los Angeles Times noted that the county sheriff’s department hired 85 deputies and purchased 25 jeeps to tackle a jump in criminal activity in the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. This may have been the largest and earliest attempt to employ jeeps by law enforcement in the US (Outside of the military of course).
This story about a jeep trip that turned deadly was repeated across the country. I tried to find “Amazon Canyon”, which is supposed to be east of TwentyNine Palms, but couldn’t locate it.
This version of the article appeared in the June 27, 1955, issue of the Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, Nebraska).
This January 15, 1942, article in the Amarillo Globe-Times highlights the continued debate concerning the jeep vs. the peep.
This ad March 05, 1949, ad in the Beatrice times (Beatrice, Nebraska) from M. O. Trindel, and authorized Jeep Sales and Service provider underscores his enthusiasm for the Willys 1949 line-up of vehicles. His argument that Willys-Overland’s lack of innovation (models didn’t change yearly) was a competitive differentiator that I hadn’t considered, but this meant there was much internal innovation. I would argue that instead of Willys-Overland and Willys Motors innovating internally, they left the innovations to the special equipment folks, from tops and hubs to winches and other pto equipment.
The jeep has four speeds forward? This article appeared in the Abilene Reporter-News out of Texas on March 02, 1941.
This June 18, 1941, article in the Los Angeles Times discusses how a “trapped jeep” uses a dust cloud to a escape the ‘enemy’.
This Times Record (Troy, New York) article on December 14, 1961, shares the news that the Rensselaer County Sheriff just received a new jeep (FC-150) and boat.
On July 30, 1953, newspapers across the country ran full-page or nearly-full-page ads announcing the combination of Kaiser Frazer and Willys-Overland into Kaiser-Willys. Maury spotted an actual ad, though not full-page, from the Minnesota Morning Tribune that is for sale on eBay: View all the information on eBay
Here’s an example of a full-page ad below that was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
In 1963, the city of Tucson, Arizona, was looking to save money on garbage costs. That summer an experiment was tried whereby a CJ-5 towing three garbage trailers was used to cut garbage transportation costs. I could not find any information on how long the experiment lasted.
This first photo showing the jeep, trailers and how a trailer was dumped into a larger truck, was published in the Tucson Citizen May 24, 1963:
This article from May 22, 1963, published in the Arizona Daily Star, provides more information on the experiment:
In a June 11, 1941, article in the Austin American-Statesman, William T. Rives describes his first “blitz buggy, jeep or jitterbug, as it is variously called” ride while visiting Camp Bowie in Brownwood, Texas.
This article was syndicated through numerous newspapers. So frustrated was one Captain with the multitude of definitions for the word “Jeep” that he warned soldiers not to use it and cited examples of why it was so confusing. This article is from the Johnson City Press out of Tennessee, November 14, 1941:
The Argus-Leader out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, published this photo on November 28, 1941, showing a Ford GP backing up Sioux Falls’ City Hall steps. It includes another “75mph” claim.
