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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 .
Roberto got a change to take Altona out and play in the snow in Spain. I too got out and drove in the snow in Biscuit, but I don’t have a top … it was really cold! In fact, at one point a truck drove by me at about 40mph and launched slushy snow/water onto the hood, into the windshield and over the windshield into my lap! Fortunately, I had my snow bibs on and was dressed warm, so no damaged done …
Here’s some pics from Roberto:
Last spring, Paul reported that after some investigation, he discovered a M-151 radiator would fit perfectly into his engine compartment. Recently, he took over an auto parts store (ok, maybe just a hose booklet in the store) to figure out a hose solution. With that problem solved (it took 2 different hoses and a tube to link them), he now must figure out a fan solution.
With that background, take it away Paul …..
The Fan and Shroud
Paul writes, “After talking with the folks at Spal concerning their electric fans I ordered a 13 inch puller fan with straight blades along with a fan relay/installation kit. The crazy part about this deal is when the Spal people wouldn’t sell me a fan over the phone, I would have to hang up and order on the internet and best of all I would pay over $50 dollars more for the fan and temp sensor/wiring kit than a Spal dealer in California was charging for the exact same items. For some unknown reason The Fan Man (California dealer) sells lots of these fans at quite a discount and these are brand new fans. No factory seconds, returns, or rebuilt units.
Anyway, the fan arrived last night undamaged and it looks great. Thank you Fan Man! The total fan thickness is slightly under two and a half inches and I have a little over three inches between the aft side of the radiator and the waterpump shaft. Sweet!
The shroud on the M151 radiator has a 16 inch diameter circle for the fan so I bought a ten dollar piece of thin sheet steel, cut out a 16 inch diameter circle and tack welded this piece to the shroud. After finishing with the tack welds I rough cut a 12 inch diameter slightly offset circle to allow for the correct placement of the new fan. I didn’t have a compass large enough to layout a 12 inch diameter circle so I used a stir stick for paint and drilled a pivot hole in one end and another hole 6 inches away and large enough to hold the tip of a sharpie marker. It worked slick. Tomorrow I’ll finish welding the insert to the shroud, clean up the welds and trim the inner circle for a more precise fit to the fan assembly before I attach the fan to the shroud.
Things are looking good. I really didn’t need the relay kit since I’d wired in a fan relay in the electrical box behind the passenger seat but it was cheaper to get the kit with the temp sensor and I could doublecheck the Willys wiring against the Spal wiring so I could identify any potential problems before mean old Mr. Electricity messes something up.
The Fuel Line
Today I received a 25 foot coil of copper/nickel 5/16th fuel line along with the needed fittings to attach the fuel line to the carb. This is the same tubing I used on the brake and clutch systems (just a different size) and it’s a pleasure to work with. The 3/16th tubing is flexible enough to be bent back to back 180 degree bends (with a one inch bend diameter so the tube now looks like the letter S) with no kinking, flattening or any defects at all. Jeeze, I really like working with this stuff. Check out the fedhillusa.com website, it’s amazing. This latest batch of tubing should be more than enough to do all the fuel delivery and return lines with enough left over to cover any mistakes I might make along the way.
Modifying the Skid Plates
The local metal fabrication shop cut and bent an eighth inch thick skidplate for the V6 oil pan. After drilling a one inch diameter hole for the drain plug (that’s the only size hole saw I have) I hand filed the hole to one and a half inch diameter before welding the skid plate to the pan.
I had to do a little work on the transmission/transfercase skid plate also. When I welded up the exhaust assembly I included a joint below the tranny so the right exhaust pipe could be removed without touching the left side or the rest of the exhaust system. What I forgot to figure in was the thickness of the clamp holding the exhaust pipes together at this joint so the skid plate had to be slotted to allow the clamp to protrude slightly. To prevent rock damage (like I’m going to go bashing this thing thru boulders) I welded up a small deflector from eighth inch steel and welded this to the skid plate over the slot. Just another little OOPSIE which needed to be worked around.
I received an email from Hein a few days ago regarding his CJ-3B. His email is a good reminder that if your engine lacks power, you might consider improving the electronics. Thanks for sharing!
Hein writes, “Since the rebuild last-year, I have been putting-off the replacement of the hand-brake cable. So a call to Marathon-Spares (in Australia) was way overdue! While ordering these spares I had a chat with Neil about my rough running engine, thinking I should get a new set of points and condensor as well as bushes, cap etc for the distributor.
He told me he had just replaced the motor in his MB with a Toyota 2.4, because it is used as a daily-driver and advertising for his business, so he offered me the complete Dizzy out of his motor for a mere $75! Needless to say I didn’t hesitate a moment to include that in the package as well. The interesting bit is that it is a solid-state unit requiring a Electronic-coil and the removal of the wound-wire ballast-resistor (we had to get a Auto-Electrician in to help with the wiring bit), but the result could not have been more Amazing!!!
Suddenly, it felt like I had replaced the whole motor ! The old F-head had so much more punch that it blew out the rusty spots on the muffler, so just yesterday I replaced the whole system with a slightly larger-diametre complete Stainless-Steel system, which not only further enhanced the performance but also gave the old-girl a distincly cocky snarl too. I don’t think I am exagerating if I say the combination must have increased overall output by between 30 and 5o%! Other than finding a completely new one that was preserved in a time-capsule somewhere, this must be as close to driving one straight off the dealers floor in ’53 as you can come today. I won’t even trade it for one of those brand-new Icon Replicas now, although I wouldn’t mind having one of them as a daily-driver too?”
Hein’s CJ-3B has been featured at the CJ-3B Page.
Hein writes, We had a Fantastic trip through the Outback, not totally without its “interesting” moments! We broke the trailer chassis completely on day 2, blew a tyre in the middle of the desert and had to replace that, but the Jeep ran like clockwork trough some extremely harsh terrain.
Some of the roads were so corrugated that even with soft tyres we vibrated clean off the road at 20 to 40 kmh; then there were other sections where we plowed differential-deep trough clay and mud for hundreds of kilometres at a time, but all in the name of FUN!
We covered over 7,000 km (4350 miles) in the 2 weeks, 80% off sealed roads, and camped wherever we got to each day. The average fuel-consumption was just a fraction better than my 7.5 km/L expected, with the average price of fuel about $ 1.75 /L due to transport-costs to these remote locations. It was certainly a trip to remember!
Day 1) We left Brisbane heading due-west trough some farming-country and camped on the bank of an abandoned road-quarry with looming rain-clouds Everywhere!
Day 2) It rained quite heavy during night. We had to pack-up in the rain and head out further west into ever more sparsely populated areas, encountering the first of many roads closed or severely-damaged due to flooding. As a result: the next town was already out of Fuel! The last 100 km of Adventure-Way into Innamincka was barely passable even in 4wd. We passed a few abandoned trucks already stuck axle-deep, pummeled by constant rain.
The light was fading and we had no idea where or if we are going to reach somewhere to sleep. Needless to say, the family was extremely Anxious and Scared! Well after dark we continued travelling, the road now an Absolute Quagmire that the Jeep can barely crawl trough in 2nd/3rd gear.
As we approached about the hundredth floodway (normally dry , now a Raging-River), this one more churned up than most by some previously-stuck truck, I had to really nurse and cajole the jeep to get trough. Slip, slide, bounce, repeat was the process until we barely make it up the opposite bank.
However, there was a casualty, the trailer now sat at a Very Disturbing angle. I launched myself out with the camera and ratchet-strap into the pouring rain and ankle-deep mud, with daughter crying and wife not looking too happy either. Fortunately, my wife is a farm-girl and trusted that I would make a plan. A few minutes later I had the trailer strapped together and we limped into town after another half-hour, and one last river-crossing, straight into the Hotel!
Day 3) With the trailer needing repair, I had to unload everything and find Kbong, a local Trucky with the only workshop in town. After moving the family to a camp in the National Park across the river, I would spend the rest of the day cutting out the remains of the rusted and broken frame. Then in the afternoon, I built a much-sturdier new, vastly-improved little red-trailer, from the only length of 2 1/2″ Square-tubing in town. Then, I got to immediately test it by crossing the now flooding river to meet up with the family at the National Park!
It was 25 years ago this winter … ouch .. has it really been that long ago … that I decided to join a small group on a bicycle journey of the South Island of New Zealand. I was only 20, the youngest member of a troupe that ranged from little ol’ me all the way up to a couple who was 55 (and an adorable, long married, in-love couple they were). Over a period of 3 weeks we hiked, biked, helicoptered, jet-boated, trained, vanned, laughed, talked and drank (well, some of us more than others) our way around the south island of New Zealand. For a pretty sheltered kid of 20, it was an eye opening experience.
I certainly can’t forget New Years Night, 1985, in the tourist town of Queensland, where many people around my age gathered in the town square. Everyone wandering around, hugging, kissing and meeting people from all over the world. For a dorky geek like me, it was a temporary slice of heaven as I got to mack with some good looking women. One beautiful young woman from Vancouver and I got along particularly well and …. ahem … back to our story ….
When the 3 week trip in New Zealand was over, and we were all stuffed with Ice Cream (best on the planet — but their cones sucked!), meat pies (these were soooo good), and stories, most of us adventurers returned home; however, the two ‘guides’ who organized the trip spent the next month or two wandering the Australian Outback in a vehicle they bought in Australia. Several months later, one of the two guides, Brock, tracked me down in the San Juan Islands (I was working up there as a chef). He told me that some day I HAD to go to the outback of Australia and see the stars. He told me that the Outback was truly a unique experience and though we had seen many many stars in New Zealand (very little light pollution there), going to the Outback was even better.
To date, I haven’t made it back to New Zealand nor have I made it to Australia. I haven’t even broken the southern hemisphere since that trip. However, since then I’ve always lusted for Australia.
So, it was with great interest that I have cultivated a new friend from Australia named Hein who recently stumbled upon eWillys. Hein is originally from South Africa and has lived, worked and traveled over much of Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia. Recently, he took a 3 week jeep vacation into the Outback with his wife and daughter and took some photos for us (well, probably for themselves, too 🙂 ). I’ll be publishing the story of the trip in his jeep in the next couple days. In the meantime, one the interesting side stories of the trip involved meeting the Camel Man.
The Camel Man
Hein writes, “I would have loved to spend more time with the Real Camel-man, but it was too early in the day and we were going in opposite directions. Apparently he worked in the mines, oil and gas industry for many years, of which there is plenty out there believe it or not, and just got fed-up with the constant rat-race after money. That old fellow has been doing circuits of the desert for more than a decade with that contraption, at 20 km a day and no towns for up to 800 km in some stretches, can you imagine that life?
I suspect the little van might have had a motor in it initially. When that gave up the ghost he just reverted to a more reliable source of motivation. In parting I actually told him that I might just come and join him in another decade perhaps? I am sure he has a few choice stories to tell and I could really enjoy listening to them while the camels plodded along or over a few camp-fires.”
Based on Hein’s description, I managed to find a couple blog websites which record other run-ins with the Camel Man. They noted he wore a special mosquito mask to keep the flies off and he also had one for his dog, though Hein never mentions seeing the dog. So, on your next trek through the Outback, keep your eyes pealed for this one-of-a-kind traveler. Thanks Hein!
Here’s Hein’s photo:
This photo is from Rod Thomas’s blog:
This image is from Flemming Bo Jensen’s blog:
Buttercup has come home again. Here is the story as told by Buttercup’s current steward.
William writes, “I would like to introduce you to “BUTTERCUP” a 1946 CJ2A. My father “Skip” Taylor bought her in 1973 for $150.00 and brought her out to our family house on Clarks Island in Plymouth Mass.
Out there he put plywood floors in, added yellow paint(out of a can) and named her Buttercup after a cow that was once on the property. For 20 years she was our tractor and stuff hauler. I learned to drive her when I was 10. Sometime in the 80’s Skip added the wire wheels and had a trailer built. By 1990 it was decided that she was getting tired and was replaced by a John Deer tractor.
After a while she was sold to a gentleman with the agreement that my father would get “right of first refusal” if she was ever put up for sale. Well, 3 winters ago that man kept his word and sold Buttercup (painted red) back to us with new floors and a rebuilt original motor.
She is now back on the island, going back together once again. She has new brakes, a tune up, the wire wheels(off a 35 ford) and her bright yellow paint (out of a can). Buttercup is running great and driving the property cleaning up branches and taking the kids out for rides. She is a part of our family and hope to keep her going for another sixty years.”
I asked William about the wire wheels and he said his father had the centers of some jeep rims cut out and welded into the 35 ford rims. Not road safe but good for an island.
Here are some pics of Buttercup. Thanks for sharing William!
UPDATE: Was $4000. **SOLD**
(08/21/2010) Last night I spotted this Truck for sale. The seller, Brian, doesn’t provide much detail, however he does provide a link to stories about his Truck. And let me tell you, they had me laughing (in that kind of Oh SHIT manner). For example, two stories involved failed brakes in precarious spots. Oh, and throw in a 15ft drop over a rock face and, well, you get the picture. Visit Brian’s Willys Blog.
“Back in the Spring of 1976 I bought my 1960 Willys Jeep pickup. It’s been at the center of many fine adventures, including driving it to Seattle from Bozeman in 1980. Recently, though, it’s pretty much been relegated to my garage and I think it’s time find someone who can care for the old guy the way he deserves. You really need to see this truck to to fully appreciate this virtually all original vehicle. If you’re interested in some of the adventures see my blog at http://geezergleanings.blogspot.com/ I’ll be around most of this weekend. If you want to check it out let me know.”
Among his exploits on vacation was a 2 day trip in a CJ-3A with his dad that took them from Medellin to Bogota, covering nearly 400 km (about 250 miles) with elevations varying between 1300 ft to 8500 ft.
Sebastian provides images from his trip as the Flat Fender Club of Butler’s website. I’ve linked to a couple below. I’m hoping to sneak into his luggage on his next trip to Colombia — it’s a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing Sebastian!
A reader named Bob was vacationing in Thailand when he spotted this pair of nicely restored MBs (one is a slat grille). An intrepid reporter, Bob captured the jeeps on video (download the video here — 11MB) which shows closeups of both jeeps and with a still image (seen below). He also talked briefly with the owner, Pete, who has two blotspot websites devoted to his Jeeps (the 1941 slat grille MB & the 1944 MB & Video of both Jeeps by Pete). Thanks for sharing Bob!
Bob filed this report, “I just came across these MB’s on the side of the road, as I was touring the island on a motorbike. I’m sorry I don’t have much info about Pete. I met him in the small bar across the street ( see in video with balloons across the front ) and we talked a little about the Jeeps. Pete emigrated to Thailand from the UK. He’s a really nice guy with a Thai wife and some kids. He claims you cannot import any of these Jeeps to Thailand anymore. I’m not sure if it is because of the Left Hand Drive or not. He said they are very valuable there too – worth over 1,000,000 Baht each ($31000 USD).”
Paul, take it away! “This past weekend the local military vehicle collectors had a show at a car dealership near my house for the general public and it was free so I went. Before leaving the house I grabbed my camera and a steel tape just incase I ran across a shining gem of a radiator nestled among the antique olive drab metal. In addition to the WWII Willys and Ford Jeeps on display, the Dodge command cars, M 38’s and M 38 A1’s there were a couple of M 151’s and one of them had it’s hood up. Naturally I began checking out the radiator, first by eye and then measuring the height, width and thickness and ending up on my back under this Mutt where I noticed the radiator was a bottom mount. Most interesting!
The original M 38 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 21 1/4 inches wide by 19 inches high and 5 inches thick. These dimensions are overall and they include the radiator cap. The core dimensions are 13 inches high by 20 inches wide and 3 inches thick.
The M 151 radiator is a bottom mount with a top mount brace rod, it’s 20 1/2 inches wide by 19 inches high and about 4 inches thick (I didn’t measure the metal shroud so I’m guessing here) and once again these measurements are overall. The core is 13 1/2 inches high by 19 1/4 inches wide by 2 inches thick.
Both radiators have a drivers side inlet (top) and a passenger side outlet (bottom).
Gentlemen, we have a winner !!!!!!
For the past 55 years E. A. Patson Parts and Equipment has been dealing in new and used surplus military vehicles and parts here in Anchorage but Elmer Patson is 86 years old (his son, Rod, is only 63 but he’s been working at the business since he was 12) and would like to retire so everything’s for sale. I asked about M 151 radiators and they have both new and used radiators. I was able to borrow a used radiator so I could do a bit of metal massaging and fabricate a lower mount and the top brace rod and when the snow melts some and they can get into one of their outbuildings where the new radiators are stored I’ll buy one of those. For now this used radiator will allow me to continue my progress with the Willys resurrection until the end of March when I’ll officially declare the winter to be over and it will be time to do outside (summer) projects.
Thanks again to all the Willys fans for their much appreciated suggestions, ideas and help. I look forward to the day when I can return the favor, but until then I owe you. “
He needs some ideas or suggestions.
I’ll let him explain:
Paul writes, “I’ve run into a bit of a problem with my perpetual Willys project and I need information and ideas. I ordered a brand, spanking new radiator from KaiserWillys for the Buick odd fire engine I installed in my M38 thinking this was the best way to prevent overheating and additional problems down the road. Boy, was I wrong!
The KaiserWillys catalog lists the Buick 225 radiator as being 17 inches high, 21 and 7/8 inches wide and 1 and 1/2 inches thick which is just about the perfect size for the space available under the hood. Just to make sure I checked their online site and discovered a cautionary note mentioning this radiator could be either 17 inches or 22 inches wide and I was to let them know which width I needed. To avoid any misunderstandings I called KaiserWillys and, after confirming the 17″h X 21 7/8″ w X 1 1/2” t, I placed an order for a radiator. I even called back after I ordered it just to confirm the dimensions. As I mentioned in a previous email I was told the radiator wouldn’t be done until the end of Feb. (I ordered the radiator the 15th of Feb.) and I was very surprised and pleased when the UPS guy delivered the radiator the afternoon of Feb. 19th. The next day I carefully removed the radiator from the box and placed it into position. Not only didn’t the radiator fit but the radiator cap was about 5 inches above the level of the hood. Not good at all.
How’d they mess that up?
The radiator was 21″ high, not the needed 17″ so I called KaiserWillys again and it turns out the dimensions listed in their catalog, the dimensions listed on their web site and the dimensions they gave me over the phone are all wrong. Not only did the radiator have to be sent back but Mike told me they won’t deal with radiators for the Buick 225 engine and he was sorry but he knows of no source for this radiator. I’m not trying to pin the blame on anyone, I just want to find a this radiator which will fit my Jeep and allow me to attach an electric fan on the engine side without hitting the waterpump pulley.
My questions to you are
1. do you know the original size of the CJ5 radiator with the Buick V6 and did the Jeepster (Commando actually I guess) use the same size radiator?
2. Do you know where I might be able to purchase a used radiator (new would be better but I don’t think that will happen) even if it needs to be recored?
I realize I could notch the front crossmember and move the radiator forward (after trimming the shroud) but I’ll save this as a last resort. The chances of me finding an original V6 powered Jeep here in the Great White North are pretty slim but I’m going to look anyway.”
My ideas
I told Paul that I ran a Pinto radiator with a buick 225 in my first Jeep. I’ve also found some new radiators for sale for various 1980s buick cars. Here’s what I wrote Paul, “I found some other options using thefind.com. I searched for ‘buick v6 radiators’. Here’s a radiator for a buick regal that is $89. It is an aluminum 20-3/4 x 16-7/8 x 1-1/4, 1 ROW (and I’m assuming that is 20-3/4 wide, which isn’t safe to assume as you well know). http://www.shepherdautoparts.com/autoparts/all_aluminum_radiator/buick/regal/w5HDm8OWw5TDl8K7w5rDksORw5HCosKi.htm.”
Anyone else have ideas?
While you think about it, you can marvel at more of Paul’s handiwork – A table made with stainless legs and Ancient Kauri wood, along with a wall hanging from the same wood. About it he writes, “Naturally the table legs are fabricated from stainless in a truss pattern. Each leg is made up of 30 individual parts (not counting the attaching hardware) and by the time I was all done fitting and filing these parts I’d spent 78 hours just making the legs. The wood took many more hours because ultrafine sanding is necessary to get the best grain activity> After sanding the wood to 1500 grit I applied numerous coats of clear marine varnish (Interlux 95), wet sanded the varnish to 3000 grit and then finished it off by hand polishing the varnish.”
Sometimes you have the luxury of 25 years to work on your M-38. Other times, you only have the weekend. Jim and his brothers show how much work can be done in only a weekend — and what a difference another body can make.
You can read all about this weekend adventure on Jim’s brother’s blog: By the Numbers. It’s a funny bit of writing, including the addition of aliases to protect the innocent from thesungoddess perhaps? :-). You can also catch Jim on his blog, Bus-Plunge (he’s got a cool bus & hat). Finally, you can see all three brothers at the bottom of this list of Jeeps, courtesy of the jeepjunkie himself.
Here’s the before — a very cheaply purchased, rolling pile of rust:
And an after shot — all the body parts changed in another low budget purchase of parts … all except for the driver’s side fender. I’d say that’s a 1000 percent improvement. Not bad for a weekend.
