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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 .
David, a reader from Texas, shared this video of an abandoned jeep made to run again. Called a CJ-3A in the video, it is clear it was was originally a 2WD DJ-3A. Given the Stewart Warner gauge coupled with the lack of a passenger-side heater vent, this is likely a ’58 or ’59 model. The jeep was adapted to 4WD using the axles from a WWII jeep (steering on the front axle; full floaters on the rear). The transmission cross member is likely WWII as well, though it could be from a 2A. I didn’t watch the entirely of the video, but maybe there are more clues (such as T84 vs T90).
UPDATE: This is a very old post (which likely needs updating), but Mauri added a nice addition to it, a video of Jay Leno driving this rig.
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Originally posted April 28, 2011: The National Automobile Museum (the Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, opened in 1989. Most of the collection is based on Bill Harrah’s (gaming pioneer and avid collector) automobile collection. Following Bill’s death in 1978, the Holiday Corporation bought Harrah’s Hotels/Casinos and more, including the collection. Then Holiday announced they were going to sell the cars. This ticked off Nevadans, so the governor stepped in and helped negotiate a donation of the cars by Holiday to a special non profit organization established for the purposes of a museum.
The museum was named among the top ten museums by Car Collector magazine, has been ranked as one of the best 16 car museums in the world by Autoweek, and has been selected the best Museum in Northern Nevada in Nevada Magazines’ Annual Readers Poll.
The collection appears to have only two jeeps. One is a slightly modded CJ-5; the other is a Wagoneer that was outfitted with a Ferrari engine and called a Jerrari.
Here is the Jerrari as photographed by RenoDesertFox from Flickr. Note the color of the first image is the correct color and the remaining images have had the colors tweaked by the photographer, but still show a good deal of detail.
Steve shared this swamp buggy racing video. At the 3:17 mark are some flat fenders, but they are quite a bit slower than those specially built buggies.
This video covers Short Cut, a concept compact throwback jeep that lacks a top and doors shared by Bill. The video also describes this jeep as “cheap”, but I suspect the price-point on one of these would still be substantial. If this ever went to production, I expect buyers would be looking for top options at some point. More info: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15349161/prime-cut-jeep-shortcut-concept-is-a-wrangler-trimmed-to-cj-5-size/
JW added a comment to one of the VIASA posts, which led me to do some googling. I landed on this YouTube video that appears to do a good job sketching the history of VIASA and the vehicles.
I’ve been busy building 2 sets of corn hole boards, while also getting a good parking spot built for the motorhome. We have a family event in two weeks, so I’m also busy cleaning up the shop (much to do). So, I’ve not done much on the tour jeep in several weeks.
In the video below, Jamie wanted a vintage jeep, but found affordable vintage jeeps either too expensive or in poor shape. So, he decided to build one from scratch. Here’s his story captured by TrailWalker on Youtube:
A group of vintage jeeps spent several days exploring and camping in the Cascade mountains. I first ran some of these trails (Naches in particular) back in 1966 on my mother’s lap. Years of rigs running these trails, more than a few bigger than old jeeps, have made some of these trails much easier, but there are still some great, challenging trails that can only be done with upgraded equipment like lockers. Kudos to these guys for doing this the old way.
