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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 .
UPDATE: Price now $10,000 (and old pics back up). This was for sale back in 2015 You can see a very similar 1966 CJ-5 posted at Cherrybronco.com.
“Custom 1960 Willy’s Jeep. One of a Kind. Will Consider trades of equal value.”
Current Pics:
UPDATE: Back in 2012 I ran across a pic of this CJ-5 on Flickr (1st one shown below). Now, thanks to rob, we have a series of photos of this North Carolina CJ-5, custom built by the owner. Sure looks handy!
UPDATE 3: There are some broken links, so I’ll need to spend some time and clean up this post.
UPDATE 2: Daniel Strohl over at Hemmings provided a solid background update about Wally Cohn.
“Born in 1924 in Germany, his father and stepmother sent him to the Chicago area in 1937 both to live with family and to escape the increasingly anti-Semitic mood in Germany. After Kristallnacht, his older brother Herman, his father Siegfried, and his stepmother joined him in Chicago. Walter flew 30 missions for the U.S. Army Air Corps as a bombardier during the war, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star and rising at least to the rank of Sergeant. After the war, he served as a member of the chief justice’s staff during the war crimes trials in Nuremberg, then returned to the United States and founded W&W Foreign Auto Parts in Blue Island, Illinois.”
UPDATE: A reader named Clint just determined what type of vehicle Wally was using — A 1936-1940 Opel Olympia. Here are two links to images: Link 1 & Link 2. Thanks Clint!
ORIGINAL POST published in 2010: I ran across the images shown below and others. I didn’t think much of them until I looked more closely. It appears the builder, who I assume is Wally Cohn, has merged a 1936-1940 Opel Olympia with a MB to create, arguably, the first Jeepster-like vehicle, except it is four wheel drive. The ‘Wally’ appears to use the entire jeep drive train. If you look in back, you’ll even see this car can tow a trailer!
Who is Wally Cohn? I have no idea. I can’t seem to find anything about him, other than his name was Wally Cohn and he was nicknamed the Jeep King by photographer Walter Sanders.
Photographer Walter (Wally) Sanders worked for Life Magazine from 1944 to 1961. After growing up and leaving Germany for the US in 1937, he returned in early 1946 and lived the rest of his life in Europe, mostly in Munich. You can learn more about his biography here.
Because Walter was in Europe during December of 1946, and because these photos were snapped during that month, and because of Wally’s uniform (which Bob noted is an Army Airforce Uniform), I have concluded that Wally Cohn was a member of the armed services trying to merge cars and jeeps into a Wally vehicle of some kind (note the name Wally is displayed prominently on the dash in one of the pics).
This would be a great collector’s item — and a cool jeep too!
UPDATE: This is the original patent for the Jeep-a-Loader! The application was first filed on February 07, 1955, by the Minneapolis Freeman Mfg, Co. (Out of Minneapolis??). I am guessing that the Jeep-A-Loader Corporation was a subsidiary or offshoot from the above parent company. The drawing shows that the Jeep-A-Loader was designed to fit over a CJ-3B (perhaps a CJ-5 as well), though the only one I’ve seen documented is fitted on a CJ-3A.
The filing date likely means this was manufactured around 1955, plus or minus a year. The patent was granted February 11, 1958.
This photo is from 2009:
From June 2008: A reader named Ed sent me some pics of a rare find he just purchased: A front end loader for a jeep from a manufacturer called Jeep-a-Loader. The serial number is 1001. The hydraulics system is powered by a Hy-lo hydraulic pump, which has been used to power other Willys devices. You can see an example of a Hy-lo pump here and here. Here are some pics below.
UPDATE: **Status Unknown** Was on ebay
(last listed on ebay in Jan 2015) “This is a custom, one-off Willy’s Jeep. It was made for Henry Kaiser, when he retired to Hawaii and became involved in tourism and land development. He had the custom pink long-wheelbase Willys wagon built for exploring the island. Kaiser’s wife loved pink and all of his construction equipment was painted pink, so that seems to be where the pink color for the Jeep came from. This can all be seen on the following web page, along with a photo (which is the black and white photo provided in the photos of the vehicle) of the Jeep in Hawaii : http://cj3b.info/Siblings/SurreyHawaii.html
We also have documentation from the Kaiser Jeep Corporation stating that this Jeep is an authentic one of a kind Jeep. Please only serious inquiries only and please do not try to convince us that we are wrong about it being a one of a kind, this is most definitely not a railroad Jeep. We know what we have and are willing to answer questions of those with serious inquiries about this vehicle.”
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The seller claims to have documentation to prove that this is the only four door limo-like wagon made. to Willys Country this wagon was once used as a limo for an airport. Whether there was only one built or remains an undocumented issue at this point. Is the wagon above the same one that’s in the photo below? Hard to say for sure.
I’m not sure what this is or was.
https://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/d/hoquiam-willies-jeep-1950/6806355235.html
“1950 Willie’s Jeep serious inquiry only $2000 firm”
Roger shared this odd looking Jeep/Ford combo.
“Clear title. 3 ccy. Standard hasn’t ran in. 5 years. 4×4. Very very cool all original but top somone put a ford. Top it which. Makes it nice at times. Either way it’s. Cool old project. And. Don’t see any like this. ONLY TRADES be. Old muscle cars which means 74 or older”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $2500.
I’m digging this oddity.
“’53 Willys Jeep buggy is a 4 cylinder 4 speed manual transmission. Price is $2,500.”
UPDATE: Terry pointed out that this same vehicle, a SPEN self-sustaining motion picture unit, appears in a Willys Industrial Equipment book brochure. Here it is below:
Talk about a rare jeep. Anyone ever seen one of these (if there are any left). It’s a specially outfitted jeep for the State Department for carrying the story of America to the world. The first pics below were from a September 1949 issue of Popular Science, while the newspaper article was carried in the Sunday Star on Sunday, April 17, 1949.
From the September 1949 issue of Popular Science:
From the Sunday Star, April 17, 1949:
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $2592.
Jay spotted this unusual flat fender project on Facebook.
“1942 Jeep that’s ben strechted and widened and mounted on a 79 Bronco frame with a 88 fuel injected 5.0, 89 AOD trans, 79 transfer case with split shifter, 9in rear and Dana 44 front, 35in tires on 12inX15in Centerline rims. It’s a project but most of the mechanical is done!”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $2800.
Listed as a 1941 Willys Jeep, this is a curious one. This might have a truck cab and flatfender fenders.
“Runs, Drives, Stops
Needs Work”
UPDATE: Price dropped to $7500.
https://cosprings.craigslist.org/cto/d/1946-willys-cj2a-roadster/6736939741.html
(12/29/2015) “awesome jeep / 425 hp / bm shifter / way to much to list / like new / patina finish /asking only 15 , 25 in it / 350 motor is way worth more than 10 / make offer /10.9 in the quarter ////.”
