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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 .
I’ve been enjoying some fun time with my kids during the past week; driving the jeep has become one of the favorite activities, despite the freezing temps. I finally got brave enough to let Karson drive off in it by himself (well, only around the block). So, here’s a video of it for those interested.
One of the things I’ve been noticing as I watch the video is that the jeep slopes backwards more than intended. But, that doesnt’ trouble me too much, because I had planned to change out the stock XJ springs for some XJ springs with a 2″ lift. Well, either that or I can mount the springs over the top. For now, they’ll work fine though.
I stumbled upon this cool waterfall. Maybe some of you have seen something similar, but it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it. It seems like to me that if you arranged a bunch of these in a row that you could create a 3D model out of falling water.
Here’s two videos I found today. The first video is a compilation of color footage that follows the landing at D-Day. I thought it was very good. I believe a little of this footage also was used in the WWII in HD series that was shown on the History Channel (some great footage there).
This video also includes a jeep called Hocus Pocus Focus. I searched for the phrase Hocus Pocus Focus, thinking I might come up with some meaning for it, but the only thing I found was that a band would name themselves Hocus Pocus Focus several decades after WWII.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvZCDfhoNxA
The second video is a nicely shot video that shows a rebuilt 1943 GPW and trailer. It’s one of the better videos I’ve seen on YouTube in terms of quality of shots and editing.
Bill, who runs this great Bantam Website, forwarded me a link to the below video which reveals the results of a four year Bantam Reconnaissance Car Pilot recreation completed by Duncan Rolls.
From the YouTube website, Watch a perfectly authentic re-creation of the original Bantam Reconnaissance Car Pilot (the world’s first jeep) go on-road and off in a demonstration by builder Duncan Rolls. The Pilot Re-creation required over 3500 hours of work to build. The drive components are original Bantam and Continental parts, as are the gauge cluster and other parts (a total of 60 per cent of the vehicle). Duncan made the chassis and body completely by hand. The only original sheet metal was a stock Bantam cowl, but even that had to be widened by six inches, just like the original was. The original Pilot, delivered to the Army at Camp Holabird, MD on September 23, 1940, was lost to history after successful testing.
While it’s not a jeep in form, it certainly captures the spirit of a jeep in function. Two alternators, three batteries, and a host of features make this an unusual vehicle. The most recent cheap jeep was launched in 1974 for the purpose of desert and mountain travel, not unlike the way original mountain bikers back in 1976 utilized old tough schwinn bikes to tackle the mountains. It’s singular purpose –the next ghost town or bust — was a cheap, but dependable vehicle capable of on road and off road travel for thousands of miles over the period of a week. This vehicle is still used and images and video from 2009 can be found on the website along with links to all the places these intrepid adventurers have visited over the past years (scroll to the bottom of the homepage). View the video below to learn a little bit about the unusual features of this vehicle (or go to their video page).
Steve Ricketts writes on the westernghosts.com website, In 1974, I acquired a 1966 Pontiac convertible from another customer. This time the price was $75.00. Like the Chrysler Imperial, the Pontiac needed a lot of work. After extensive engine repair and a transmission rebuild and modification, it was able to be driven to my house where the first Cheap Jeep (Chrysler Imperial) was stored. The transformation from old cheap jeep to new cheap jeep began. The finished product is what you see today.
It is highly modified, and works better for our purposes than anything we could buy today. It is easy to repair on the road, and parts are readily available. It carries more than “regular” jeeps and is a lot cheaper to replace should it become necessary to abandon. I would really hate to take a $30,000+, four wheel drive (Blazer/Bronco, etc.) on one of these trips. At the very least, the paint and body would be badly damaged. It would also be next to impossible to repair in the field, and a very real possibility exists that I would someday have to abandon it. After all these years of use and modification, I still have less than $800.00 invested in the Cheap Jeep…and that includes the original purchase price.”
For reasons only the Our Gang 4Wheeler folks know, they prefer their racing chilled, literally on ice. It appears to be a family fun affair with a season that varies with the thickness of ice.
Our Gang 4 Wheelers is an ice racing club whose volunteers have been organizing ice races in Colorado for 34 years. You’ll find them out on Georgetown Lake in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Their season spans 6 weekends through January and February.
For those of you who want to try this sport, but don’t have tires, it appears they’ll rent you some. You’ll have to check out their website to learn more.
The Yakima Ridge Runners Jeep Club recognizes itself as the world’s first incorporated Jeep Club, incorporating in early 1947. I have run across reports of early clubs formed in Southern California, but whether they actually incorporated or not is unknown to me. This video made by Universal International News was one of two.
This is part two of a two part marketing video produced, I think, by Willys Overland about their products. Not only does it cover the jeep, but it also covers, particularly in part 2, the other 4wd vehicles such as the Wagon, the Truck and shows some of the farming implements available.
