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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 .
I installed the new master cylinder for the clutch. The pedal is a bit more stiff due to the larger bore, but it does the job. I wanted Ann to test it to make sure she could operate the clutch, so she took it for a cruise (and kept the speed down to keep the grass intact).
At the bottom of this post is the Bumblebee jeep that became a transformer in one of the transformer movies. A couple days ago, Frank sent me another example (only an image) of a transformer jeep, which led men to a few more as well. I don’t know who created this wagon–>transformer image, but here is a link to where I found a copy: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290904457152965781/
And then there is this one. It seems to be a Mitsubishi-jeep–>transformer:
And, we have this one with a newer jeep:
And, if you got to this link, you can see even more of them. I had no idea!
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August 24, 2019: Tim discovered that this is back up for sale. The auction is set for August 31, 2019. Starting price is $20,000.
https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/Bumblebee-2018-Screen-Used-Hero-Willys-Jeep-W-L_A3540B7B53
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Previous post from August 2018 with updates:
On August 25th, the jeep (GPW frame with MB body?) used in the upcoming Transformers was up for auction. It’s unclear whether it sold or not (I suspect not). The starting bid at that time was $19,000.
As you can see in the pics, this MB isn’t all stock. It appears to have a GPW front crossmember. Another pic, from the top rear, suggests it has MB toolboxes.
In the movie, the Bumblebee character starts off as a jeep, but soon becomes a VW, remaining a VW for the remainder of the movie.
Barry shared this cool video showing a Salvage Workshops great find: five jeeps and parts.
Over the weekend I had time to bend the side bars and create the initial mounting brackets for the side bars. But, my metal saw blade for my evolution chop saw (which has been great) gave out due to an unanticipated dust bag mount project–to help deter flies– for the cows.
I had planned to do updates last night, but, as seems to be a regular occurrence, life got in the way, again. But, thanks to Bill, I found this interesting adventure through the Darien Gap from 1972.
UPDATE: I first posted this March 29, 2011. It includes a dialogue with my late mother, where she explains that the Naches Trail was my first jeeping excursion (it was likely 1966 and I would have been around 1 year old).
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JPZombie has posted several vintage videos on Youtube. Here are a few showing the club in the Naches Trail area west of Yakima in Washington State.
Mike shared this video of Davin and Jeff working to revive this 1966 CJ-5 with a Meyer Cab. Made in Canada, the serial number places the production of this jeep at the end of December.
Mike shared this photo with me a few weeks ago during this trip through Texas. The wagon looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it, so I’d planned to circle back when I had some time for research.
I finally discovered why I recognized it. Tim Evans and his wife had their photos taken in front of it during their visit in 2017, which I posted at that time. Tim noted in his email to me that Magnolia Silos had been featured on HGTV, and those folks who know of the Silos are also familiar with ChIp and Jo Gaines (my mother was a big fan). The wagon is a popular photo op and you can see some of those photos here. Given we were in Waco in 2017, I’m not sure how we missed doing our own photo op there.
I also found a video online:
UPDATE: I haven’t recycled this point since 2009, so many might not have seen it.
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Originally posted Feb 26, 2009: This is another set of excerpts from an episode of Exploration Northwest called ‘Mud Race’. As I reported in the post about the Meeker, aka Naches, Trail post, Linda McCune from the Don McCune Library kindly has given me permission to provide some clips from the Jeeping1 DVD, a collection of 3 episodes of Exploration Northwest related to pacific northwest jeeping. To order this DVD, you can contact Linda McCune at 206 726-2650 and ask for the Jeeping1 DVD. It costs $24.95. I encourage you to purchase is as she has the video for a Jeeping2 DVD, but has not created it yet.
The race was sponsored by the Yakima Jeep Jockeys, a club formed in 1963. They began their 4×4 Championship Racing series in 1971.
The Mud Bowl episode was shown in 1977. Mostly, it follows Jim Merritt as he prepares for the race, discussing a little about how they silicone various items to keep out water. Plenty of video showing different stages of the race. It’s a bit reminiscent of the Florida swamp races, though the water holes aren’t quite as deep or long (If you have never heard of it, you can read about the Florida swamp races at four wheeler’s online magazine and here’s a you tube video from a 1996 race).
From the Mud Race episode, I selected two clips. Clip one shows Jim getting ready to race and shows the driver’s pre-race meeting. The second clip shows the final race with Bill Smith from Tacoma taking the win.
Here’s Clip One:
Here’s Clip Two:
Bill shared this video overview of the Mitsubishi jeep history.
Maury shared this video from AMC Jeep. I was 18 when this came out in 1983. I’m sure I must have seen this on TV and I hazily remember the folks riding a bison, but don’t remember the full commercial.
