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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 .
A reader shared the following story about stumbling on a barn find somewhere in the Southeast. This is just a reminder that there are still some great finds out there . . .
My son and I went for a drive yesterday. Weather was sunny and warm. We stopped to get gas and decided were to go: a nearby town we hadn’t visited in a while. As we went through town, then turned down a side street that took us to the outskirts of town. The road was lined with old shacks and barns. As we passed by an old church, out of the corner of my eye I spotted two headlights and a slotted grill tucked in a old falling down barn. I immediately hit the brakes, turned around, and stopped to look. There was a older man in the yard.
I asked him if that was an old willys.
He said, “ya a 1953. It has 6,000 miles on it.”
“Can we take a look?”
He said, “sure!”
The old man explained to us he had traded a tractor back in 55 for it. He drove it for a year and parked it. It’s been there ever since. It was the most Original willys I have have ever seen. It had about 1 inch of dust on it and fern Boxes in it. After talking with him I asked the ‘Question’.
“Would u like to sell it?”
Real quick he said “No”, then walked away to his house. No goodbye. Nothing. Just walked away and went in his house. Weird. But now I know after all the reading I’ve done what a true barn find looks like. I hope it doesn’t sit there and rot. There was no rust on it. It was stuck in time. All original seats,bows, spare tire, tires, back seat, wipers,foot steps, mirrors, every thing.
So, I decided to stop from time to time and check on it. Maybe he’ll give in, eventually.
Maury spotted this blog article by Brian Albrecht at Cleveland.com. It’s a great article detailing how some letters led David Keckan on a search for a jeep in his Grandfather was photographed.
Brian wrote me tonight to share this story about himself and Ron the Jeep Man. In a follow up email he included a picture of his CJ-5 called the “Mudd shark” (shown below: Brian is in the driver’s seat). It included a couch in back that was popular with the college ladies, popular at least until it started smelling a bit too much from being outside.
I understand that not everything is for sale, including the FCs, but there is plenty there that is.
Dear Dave,
After reading you site for the better part of two years, I thought I’d send this along for you to post and to give you a bit of a break . My little ‘thank you’ for all your hard work. [editor’s note: the break is appreciated!]
About a year and a half ago I purchased a 1960 CJ5 out of Champaign, IL. It was an eBay drop-out that no one bid on and I made a private offer that was accepted. I had a buddy at the University of Illinois take a look at it for me and give me a good report back. My CJ had led a pretty charmed life as a farm Jeep that had been well maintained and stored in the barn. A Koenig top and 33,000 miles, it was in very good condition but got parked some time ago when the throw-out bearing froze and started to burn the fingers off the pressure plate. I had, had a 1956 CJ5 all through college 33 years ago and I always thought it would be fun to have another one but not try to kill myself in this one.
Similar to your book, my father and I worked an entire summer to get my first CJ on the road and it was only fitting that he, at age 89 rode shotgun with me from mid-Michigan to Champaign to tow the second one home. I cherish all the time I have spent working with my Dad over the years on various projects, the first CJ being one of the best.
Like many of your readers, I own several other vehicles and have a good group of car buddies who travel from garage to garage in search of free beer and on occasion actually lend not just their mouth but a hand with a project. When I got the CJ home, one of them gave me a piece of paper with a phone number on in and said, ‘If you need anything, this guy’s got it, Ron-The-Jeep-Man 989-654-2922.
I put the piece of paper in my wallet and called him a few months later when I had my list of things I was looking for, the main item being a 15 inch stock steel wheel so I’d have a spare. Ron said he had lots of wheels and that I should come on up and see him. Sterling, Michigan is about 110 miles north of my home and I thought, one of these days I need to run up there and see what this guy has.
Well, today was that day. I had the day off, Momma had gone to visit her mother and Dad and I needed a ride. We were not disappointed.
Ron said he had 60 jeeps on the property, by my count he had more. Missing was anything MB, the only thing close was a tired and rusted out Bantam trailer. What he doesn’t also have is internet. He even asked if I’d spread the word that he was looking to scale back. We’re talking a 40 year collection.
We’ve all met the guy with either sky high prices or the guy that had everything but nothing was for sale or where met on the porch with a 12 gauge. Ron is none of these. He (by my best guess) has come to the recent decision that he will never get to everything and he needs to start selling and use the funds to finish a couple of projects and actually drive one of them. From what I could see, nothing had been seriously touched in about 8 years based on the dirt and dust and abandoned projects here and there.
Organization and cleanliness are not his strong suit. Most of the time we had to climb over stuff in the buildings and walk sideways to get between vehicles but he was happy to show and share everything he had and he talked my ear off. I don’t think he gets many visitors where he is out in the sticks.
His main focus seems to be on 1940/50/60’s wagons, panels and pick-ups. By my guess, 40 total, most complete, about 3 or 4 running, mostly 4×4 wagons. At this point I kicked myself for not bringing a camera. Heck I was there for a wheel.
His next niche is the Tornado engine. Ron had at least 20, many of the above vehicles were so equipped. It became evident he really had a soft spot for that engine and knew all the fixes to correct the oil leak and oil consumption problems that plagued this engine when introduced.
Several CJ2As in pretty good shape. One an early job with column shift.
A CJ3B with a plow. This appears to be only one of a couple vehicles that actually gets out and gets used. Think he needs to keep this one to keep his long drive cleared.
A couple of CJ5s in rough shape.
Two fire trucks. One, a pick-up that looked like a Howe unit but was made by Valley Fire Truck of Bay City, Michigan. I found a picture of it on line if you search for a 1959 Valley Fire Jeep. The second, an FC dually with and aerial extension ladder used by the City of New York to get down narrow alleys. This was the only FC.
A 1950 Trench-a-Jeep. Missing the trencher but otherwise complete including the agri-weight on the front bumper and all the hard to find controls and PTO stuff.
1960’s Power Wagons. The styled modern square ones, not the WWII style. One with a factory special ordered 440 big block.
Wheels. By my guess, 100+. 15 and 16 inch. Most with petrified tires still on them. Didn’t see any MB take-aparts. My nice wheel ran me $20.
Parts. Piles of front and rear axles and related chassis parts that he had parted out years ago. I saw every brand of locking hubs including some of the rare early ones you don’t see.
A mine field of brake drums strewn across a wooded lot.
Snow plow hardware.
Stuff. Piles of it. Crammed in many of the vehicles. He knew what he had and where it all was. 40 years worth.
As I mentioned, Ron does not have internet but he does answer his phone. Tell him Brian sent you (I know he has a nice set of hubcaps for my CJ somewhere with my name on them!). Bring cash, tools and wear your hunting boots. I did, and when you find a brake drum with your toe under six inches of leaves you’ll be glad you did. Someone with a good digital camera needs to get there.
– Brian
Here is Ron’s contact information: Ron Hattner 175 Bishop Rd, Sterling, Michigan 989-654-2922
Steve snapped some photos of the Veteran’s Day Events on Saturday and Sunday. He also added some information, too!
Steve writes, “Sunday I photographed Jack and his restored MB and M-100 trailer at the ceremony on Veteran’s Day,at the new Veteran’s Cemetery 10 miles West of town. Jack restored this Jeep exactly like the one he drove in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. It’s complete with machine gun mounted on the passenger’s side. I asked, and he said that most of their Jeeps were beat up MB’s left over from WWII. They didn’t see many “new” M38A-1 Jeeps during his tour.
Jack is a great man because he goes around to the local schools teaching kids how war is not a good thing, but it is necessary to protect our freedom from those who want to change us. He saw heavy action. Now he see that we are gradually losing our freedom as time goes on. He is now growing frail, and cannot go to as many schools as before. I told him I know someone who can make a professional video tape of him to preserve his presentation. He would like to do that.
He has a Korean friend who was 8 years old living through the Korean War. She accompanies Jack to the schools and shares her story of what their civilian family endured throughout the war in Korea. I don’t know her name, but she was the lady in the back of his Jeep in Korean attire during the Saturday’s Shasta City parade shown below.
The medallion Jack holds was from the Mayor of Seoul, South Korea marking the 50th anniversary of the war. The Mayor visited all the Korean Veteran’s groups and awarded that medallion to those who fought for his country. His gratitude meant a lot to that soldier, who never went back to that forsaken land, until much later in life. The City of Seoul was devastated during the war, and is now one of the most modern cities in the world. He didn’t recognize the airport when he landed several years ago. The old airport he remembered was a swampy land that was weathered by war.
Juan wrote to me the other day. He wanted to share his life long passion with jeeps that started when he was a young boy in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico. Juan doesn’t speak English and my Spanish isn’t much better, so I have done my best to translate his email (and any mistakes are my fault). Thanks for sharing Juan!
DAVE good afternoon.
I am a 60 year old retired Veterinarian. My Father was born and lived in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico, land of the best coffee. My father always used Willys jeeps or trucks to access our ranch because they were the only vehicles that could make it. When I was eighteen months of age he gave me Kings Pedal Jeep as a gift and I treasured it.
In 1969 I left my country and moved to the port of Veracruz to study veterinary and animal science. I went to work at the state of Oaxaca. Each week or two back I returned home to help my father in his old age. When I retired, I return to Coatepec to launch a small veterinary pharmacy. My parents had both passed away by that time. After returning home, I found that many friends asked about my father and whether he had any jeep parts for sale. After enough requests, I got the idea to buy some jeeps and rebuild them or part them out.
In 2007 one of my children taught me to use the computer and showed me lots of different willys sites. After seeing the Willys clubs in Colombia, I got the idea to form a Coatepec Willys clubs with some friends. We changed the name to Jeeperos Coatepec, because we have many friends that had 4×4 vehicles other than Willys. We hung out every month, attended cultural events, sports exhibitions, and were invited to participate in events on the beaches of Veracruz chachalacas, where every year all the republic clubs totaling more than 200 jeeps gathered. We have participated in movies of Che Guevara Arnold, in a French movie, in some commercials, and more.
Unfortunately, one of my children died eight months ago. This depressed me to the point where I stopped wheeling and being active in the group. However, I have slowly been overcoming this tragedy with help from my friends. And, thanks to websites like yours, I feel more motivated to keep up with my jeeps. We hope some day you can make it down here [editor’s note . . . so do I!]. If you do, you can enjoy a jeep ride through the plantation, canals and farms of these places .
In the first three photos below show the small collection I have. A 1947 CJ-2A, 1953 CJ-3B, a CJ-5, a CJ-7 and more.
Many Thanks.
Juan Lopez Badillo
=============================
From these first three pictures you can see that Juan has a nice variety of complete and incomplete jeeps.
Yes, the readers of “Finding Virginia” now span from the Northern reaches of Norway, thanks to Even, and to the Southern region of South Africa, thanks to Claus. There are even a few books at points in between the two!
Even wrote to tell me he was sharing his copy of my book with a friend of his named Reider Haugen. He added, “Reidar is among many Jeepers in Norway that keep himself updated with Ewillys every day He is also one of the members of Flatfender Fellows here in Norway. I brought my sample of “Finding Virginia” for him to have a look as you see from the picture.
Reidar is almost done with his very nice Willys Utility Delivery with a GM engine and some Scout parts underneath. This is going to be a nice daily driver next to his Willys Pickup Truck sporting a Volvo engine. Remember we are close to the Swedes . . .
In the middle you can see my Jeep Cj-7 Golden Eagle that I have owned for excactly 24 years today.
Now you know how far your book has spread around the world! We both wanted to thank you for the best webpage ever for us Jeep-enthusiasts”
UPDATE: David Silberman has filled in some gaps from a story told by Jacques yesterday.
David writes, “Ira Fryer was an associate dealer, did not have a franchise. He was located at 714 Walnut Street in Reading. During the mid to late 50’s into the early 60’s he also sold Simca and Goliath cars. They knew their product, had a good service department and an excellent parts department. Mr. Fryer wore a shop coat while at work, something you don’t see now.
His son, Robert, also worked there. They had a 1940 Willys pickup and a 3-wheel Harley Davidson for the parts/service department. They went out when Hettinger Brothers got the franchise. The building was torn down to make way for a parking garage.
I seem to remember that he also sold Renault Dauphine at the time. It was an old fashioned garage, showroom in front, passage to the rear along side of the showroom. Mack, the parts guy, rode a motorcycle.
Hettinger Brothers got the franchise and Mr. Fryer disappeared from the scene when the building was torn down to make room for a parking garage. I think that was in 1965.
Hettinger Brothers didn’t last long as the Jeep dealer, as they had the Chrysler/Plymouth dealership and didn’t push the Jeep line. J.F. Kohler ended up with the dealership in 1963, and had it until the Renault fiasco of the early 80’s, at which time many of the dealers turned in their franchises due to the actions of the company.
An interesting side note on Hettinger Brothers. They had the Chrysler/Plymouth dealership for many years, and when the building was demolished they didn’t even take the time to remove the old parts inventory from the basement.”
Jacques emailed me yesterday with a digital copy from a color slide of a 1946 CJ-2A.
He writes, “I was raised in Reading PA but have been living in Australia for the last 37 years. Attached is a colour slide I scanned of my Dads 1946 CJ2A when very new. He bought it 1n 1947 as a demo model from a dealer in Reading who gave rides in it at the airport, now Spaatz Field to promote sales.
It was Harvest Tan with Harvard Red wheels. He had it until 1962 when he traded it for a new IH Travelall 4 x 4. Believe a mechanic at the IH dealership bought it.
Seem to remember the Jeep dealership in Reading was named Ira J Freyer. Wonder if it still exists?
Forgot to mention Dad so loved the military jeeps he used in New Guinea in the Signal Corps in WW2 that was the reason he bought a “new” CJ2A after the war.”
(ABOVE:) At The Pearl Harbor Memorial- ’50 Willys Jeepster, Left- Randy Spangler, Middle- Glenn Byron, Right- Maurice Goguen.
EAST MEETS WEST – 6000 MILE JEEPSTER EVENT By Glenn Byron
Sometimes we take for granted the many benefits our membership in WOJC [Willys Overland Jeepster Club] pro- vides. For example, that booklet you received titled “ WOJC 2010 ROSTER” is just something that arrives. Larry & Shirley Wozniak volunteered a bunch of time and effort to get this quality product to club members. Using it as a tool is a bonus for paying our meager dues. Let’s look at where this can take us. Recently, in planning for a cruise to visit our 50th state, Hawaii, I noticed a scheduled one day port call in Honolulu.
Just for kicks, I grabbed that Roster to see if we had members there. Garage tours and visits with other enthusiasts are always great sidelines to get away from usual tourist activities. Sure enough, all of Hawaii has one lonely WOJC member, Randy Spangler, right there in Honolulu. A quick email to Randy to intro- duce myself and inform him of my visit, yielded a friendly response with encourage- ment to see what we could put together. Nothing concrete, just loose parameters to keep both of us available as all the unknowns could allow. Our first port was Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii, with Honolulu, on Oahu, the following day. “Call me from Hilo and we’ll see what the cards hold” was Randy’s invitation. Here’s how it came down.
ABOVE: Randy Spangler’s Island Cruiser, a ’50 Willys Jeepster mounted on a Chevy Blazer chassis- A great performing unit for Boulevard or Beach.
Three couples on a cruise ship make too large a load for a Willys Jeepster, so careful strategy had to happen to be sure no one felt compromised. The girls were anxious to see Waikiki Beach, and with great personal sacrifice, I crossed that off my list. The other two guys, though not car oriented, agreed to back seat status and a full load resulted. Contact with Randy was made from Hilo and plans laid down for Willys Jeepster to meet Golden Princess at the dock in Honolulu. How’s that for a welcoming committee? Heads turn when ever we put our Jeepsters on display, but this may be a first! Randy’s 1950 Jeepster is especially suited to the hustle and bustle of Oahu gridlock traffic.
As a five year old in 1944 Belgium, you can only imagine that Jean Luc’s experience with soliders, jeeps and planes left a indelible landmark upon his imagination. During his life as a successful illustrator, you can see him revisit that landmark many times over in his drawings. You can read a brief biography of Jean Luc here (click on the biography link) and view some of his amazing work.
Below is an image of Jean Luc’s 2010 Christmas Card. It features an image of him as a boy leaning up against ‘Toot Sweet”, his 1942 GPW which he still drives around the L.A. Area. Recently, Jean Luc got a taste of how few old jeeps are seen by kids these days. He was “driving my GPW the other day and some teenagers asked me if I built that “contraption” myself . . .” As he noted, “Not very encouraging but we can not blame them.”
Now ‘retired’, Jean Luc is working on a graphic novel about G.I.s, Jeeps and Piper Cubs in Paris in 1944-45. Below is an example of his drawing talent. Thanks for sharing!
If you’ve never really looked at a map of Idaho, pull one out (or, I suppose you could use Google Maps). Between where I live in Boise and Coeur D’ Alene in the North is one significant route — US 95. Look to the East of US 95 and you’ll see National Forest after National Forest. Then look about halfway between in central Idaho and, if you look close, you’ll see the town of Kamiah. That’s where a reader named Randy and his boys, Devon and Dusty, call home. And, at their doorstep are endless National Forests they can explore with their friends. It is a regular jeeptopia.
Before you get to Randy’s story, keep in mind, that each of these jeeps started as basket cases, so there is still hope for your project! Also, a big thanks to Randy for taking the time to put together detailed descriptions of their rigs. Finally, check out the last pic … I think Biscuit would fit in just fine there :-).
Randy’s Blue 1946 CJ2A: This Jeep was purchased new by my wife’s grandfather in 1946 and was used for decades on the family farm. After her grandparents passed away we were able to purchase it from the estate for $200 in 1993; it was about $199 to much considering the shape it was in.
We completely rebuilt it from the ground up with a new steel tub and repaired fenders, grill and windshield. The tub is for an M38 but was all that we could locate at the time. I did most of the body work and my brother in law painted it in our garage. The motor, transmission and transfer case were all rebuilt and 11” brakes were installed, we also installed a rollbar, stereo, CB and a back seat.
I built a spare tire/gas can carrier/cooler rack on the back and we also have both a bikini and full soft top. I run 32×11.50 tires in the summer and fall; 33×12.50 tires in the spring when running in the snow for better flotation. The low range 2 wheel drive pill has been taken out of the transfer case and lock rights have been installed in both axles. A Warn M8000 winch was installed a few years ago.
Dusty’s Green 1946 CJ2A: I (Randy) purchased this Jeep for spare parts around the year 2000. It was a total basket case with a rusted up headless motor and most of the back of the tub missing.
We decided to rebuild and modify it for my two sons to share; at the time Dusty was a sophomore in high school and Devon was in junior high. We started the project in November of 2004 and completed it for its first run on Memorial Day weekend of 2005. The 4 banger was removed and a Buick 231 V6 was put in its place, the T90, Dana 18 and stock axles were all refurbished and reinstalled as were 11” brakes.
New front and rear floorboards along with new wheel wells were welded in and we decided to take out what was left of the tailgate area and welded a flat back MB style back panel in its place. The lift is all from a spring over and we installed Saginaw power steering up front. Racing seats and harnesses along with a full rollcage were installed for safety and a rear seat was put in for passengers. A console contains a stereo and a CB is mounted to the front of it.
The tires and wheels are 35×14.50×15 TSL Boggers mounted on 15×12 Mickey Thompson wheels. I did all of the body work myself and my brother in law painted it Olive drab in our garage, a star was put on the hood just for fun. A Warn M8000 winch along with a winch mount and bumpers that we built ourselves were installed as well. The Jeep stayed pretty much this way for 5 years until after we found another Jeep for Devon that had bigger and better components than were in this one.
Once it became Dusty’s Jeep alone, he decide to box the frame and install a warmed up 350 Chevy with an sm465 transmission, Dana 20 transfer case that has been twin sticked and axles from 1975 CJ5. The axles are Dana 44 in the rear and Dana 30 in the front 3.73 gear ratios. New gears and ARB air lockers have also been installed in both ends in the past year. He currently has a set of wider Dana 44 axles to be installed some time in the future. Dusty did the entire drive train swap himself with only minor advice from me. He has since built a spare tire/gas can carrier/cooler rack for the back and plans on putting on a set of 40 inch tires after some fender trimming behind the back tires is done.
Devon’s Green 1942 MB: I purchased this Jeep off of E-bay for too much money but it already had the running gear that I was looking for which included a small block Chevy (283 not a 327 as advertised), sm420 transmission (no ceramic clutch as advertised), a twin sticked Dana 20 transfer case and Scout II axles; Dana 44 rear, Dana 30 front with 4.27 ratios.
The body was pretty rough and it had a thin skin of sheet metal installed all of the way around the tub that hid lots of holes and rust. A home built gas tank was in the back where a seat normally goes and a heavy spare tire carrier/cooler rack was mounted on the back. We started rebuilding this one on November of 2007 and had it mostly finished by Memorial Day weekend of 2008.
A warmed up 350 Chevy built to the same exact specs as Dusty’s was installed along with the refurbished running gear that came in the Jeep. All new spring hangers and reversed shackle mounts were built and welded on the outside of the frame in the front because of the wider Scout II axles, a new mount for the Saginaw power steering unit was installed and the frame rails were boxed.
The rollbar was cut apart and welded back together then installed in the correct place. The floor boards front and back were all replaced and the area between the rear fenders was increased by using narrower rear inner fender wells, as a result we were able to put in some comfortable small bucket seats. The rear fenders were opened up 2 inches and the rear axle was moved back an inch to make room for bigger tires.
Racing seats and harnesses were also installed in the front along with a stereo and CB radio. I had injured my shoulder during the winter and was dreading the thought of all of the sanding that would need to be done getting the body ready for paint when a friend of ours that owns a body shop (Orofino Body Shop) volunteered to do all of the body work and paint the Jeep as a graduation present for Devon; what a fantastic gift. We also had a star put on the hood and Devon built a rear bumper with a spare tire/gas can/cooler rack mounted on it.
A Warn M8000 winch was mounted on a winch plate and front bumper that Devon built as well. This winter he upgraded the axles to newer Scout II Dana 44’s in both ends with disc brakes in the front. We turned the front knuckles 15 degrees which gave it 6 degrees of caster and turned the back of the pumpkin up 9 degrees for a better drive line angle, new perches were welded on to get the angles correct. The axles now have 4.10 ratios with OX cable actuated lockers. He built a center console that houses the locker shifters and cutting brake handles for each rear brake. New shock mounts were welded on the axles and he built new shock hoops for the front, he added Bilstein 5150 shocks on both ends and a heavy duty tie rod and drag link set that is designed for Dana 60 axles was also installed, the tubing is 1.5 inch OD with .250 wall thickness and huge tie rod ends.
The tires and wheels are 13.50x37x15 TSL Boggers on Mickey Thompson wheels; 40 inch tires will be coming in the next year or two. All most all of the work done recently has been done by Devon, I helped him with turning the knuckles and installing the lockers but he did everything else himself.
Here are the boys Jeeps at the inlaws cabin in OroGrande which is near Elk City and Dixie as well. Every time the boys take their windshields off it rains, we got caught in a nice shower on this trip.
And, finally, this is a Jeep run with friends of ours that have cabins in the old mining town of Dixie (near Elk City) about 100 miles from Kamiah.
A few months ago William shared the story of Buttercup. Well, he now reports that he found Buttercup a new brother. He also reports, definitively, that a CJ-2A will fit into the back of a Toyota Tundra. I think Toyota ought to add that to their tv commercials.
