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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 .
Gerald sent me a link to Hans Tore Tangerud’s website. Living in Kristiansand, Norway, Hans is definitely a car lover, building a pretty sizeable site. He’s got a variety of old brochures and images, including a few Willys & Jeep Brochures.
Jalopy Journal has a short thread with a variety of pics. The wagon that caught my eye is shown below, a creatively constructed ‘party wagon’. I love it! There’s a few more pics of this at the website.
Some of the folks over at the ww2talk.com website had a discussion regarding the Museo Storico Piana delle Orme – Latina (Italy). The museum describes itself as a “historical theme park designed to accommodate one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world: planes, tanks, locomotives, wagons, radio, weapons and hundreds of military vehicles, agricultural tractors, threshers, trams and coaches, tools and thousands of objects of all types and sizes. Dedicated to the twentieth century, the Museum is a journey through 50 years of Italian history. 14 themed to tell the traditions and culture of the peasant, the great works of improvement, the Second World War but also to show the vehicles and means at the dawn of industrialization and great toys with which children entertained themselves.”
For the purposes of ewillys, the highlight of the trip might just be the opportunity to check out these two modified flatties a little closer (ok, hopefully we could find many more highlights as well!)
In the foreground, we have a MB that has been converted into a tow truck. Behind, and to the left, is a jeep with a water tank(?) on the back of it. Maybe a water transporter? This photo was taken by “Captain Bill”.
Simon forwarded me a link to a show called Man Made. I haven’t seen an episode yet, but the video introduction below looks intriguing.
Simon reports, “I’ve only seen two episodes but its about a guy who locates barn finds and restores them for selling at auction. So far its covered an amphicar and Camero (no jeeps!) but its a great program to watch and see how a professional goes about restoring classic cars. He’s not been so successful on the profit front mind you – the amphicar didn’t sell and he lost money on the Camero”
UPDATE: I added this post in January of last year with just the single image (the first one below). Today, David pointed me to the Tahiti-pacifique.com website that has a few more images, which follow the first image. You can learn more about these pics at that site.
(01/31/09) Robert pointed me to a collection of Life Magazine photos of old jeeps hosted at Google. Click on the photo and then click on it again to see all kinds of details.
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.
As mentioned in the post above, I found Mike’s website related to the sale of his CJ-6 and trailer. He documented both the updates he made to his jeep and updates done to the trailer. He’s implemented a number of creative ideas to support the modern family’s use of a trailer. I highly recommend browsing the website for ideas.
Titled, the “CJ-2A 1948 Willys Overland Jeep Restoration Project“, this blog follows the rebuilding of a 1948 Willys by Mac and Jason in Houston, Tx. It’s clear they don’t know a great deal about jeeps (neither did I when I started on my jeep many years ago), but are jumping in with both feet none-the-less. Kudos to them; it looks like they are learning already.
Right in the middle of drafting a post about DJ-3As vs Galas vs Surreys, the internet managed, once again, to derail my efforts. In the middle of doing a picture search, I stumbled upon the Islamabad Jeep Club. Hmm .. that’s in Pakistan … could that really be a jeep club? Not only is it a jeep club, it is one of the three clubs from Pakistan on the internet with sites published entirely in English.
I admit, this is something I didn’t expect. I admit, despite my attempts not to preconceive, my entire conception of Pakistan is desert, Camels and a mirror of Afghanistan — a montage of movies and news footage. That was my view of Pakistan.
Here’s a video from 2008:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mt6hwbkmG0
Now I’ve learned there’s more. So, for your educational pleasure, below are snapshots from each of the three websites I found in Pakistan and a pic of the wide range of 4wd vehicles that attend the Islamabad Jeep Club events. You’ll see a wide mix of old flatties, new 4wd vehicles, and everything in between. Finally, while checking out the Offroad Pakistan websites, I ran across a wonderful post about the rebuilding of a Ford F1 from California, which I cover in the post below this one.
And, from the Islamabad Jeep Club, comes this photo that shows the wide range of vehicles that are in their club and/or attend their events. You can view more photos here.
I found this article on Automotive.com, though it’s really an article from JP Magazine. The article highlights improving performance on a variety of Jeep engines. Here’s two excerpts and a great pic.
“Dual carburetor manifolds in the ’50s were available for just about any engine you could imagine and an old-time company, Burns, made a log-type manifold that utilized two Stromberg Ford V-8 carburetors for the Jeep four-cylinder. I’m sure these helped the four-cylinder flathead’s performance, but, still, the long-stroke 134.2ci engine needed a lot more than this…”
And a little on the F-head
“The next step was to swap in a later model F-head engine. It wasn’t technically an engine swap because it was a direct bolt in. Still the same basic engine, but a new cylinder head design with the intake valves upstairs in the head instead of the block. Depending on the compression ratio, which ranged from 6.9 to 7.8 (depending on year and usage), it was rated at 72 to 75 horsepower at around 4,000 rpm and torque was up to 114lb-ft. This one got a balance job, some performance pistons from Speed-O-Motive, and a Holley carb from a Falcon six. My new performance motor maybe made 100 horsepower on a good, damp day.
Harry Buschert, who owned a farm implement repair shop in Hemet, California, was a real innovator in design. He built up a very-modified, four-cylinder F-head that even had a Paxton Blower that he had salvaged off a Packard….”
I’ve had the Willys MA Website as a “Link Worthy” Link for much of the year. I thought I had done a post on it (I’m still sure I have), but after searching for it to add it to the “Early Jeep” Section, I couldn’t find a post about it. Gavin has got a variety of MA & GPA Images and more.
Pete, from the Willys-Overland Jeepster Club, emailed me a comment regarding Jeepsters the other day, teaching me something I didn’t know about Jeepsters (No Factory made 4wd models from ’48 – ’51). He had a link to his website, so I checked it out.
I finally figured out what Santa rides in when there is no snow for his sleigh … he uses a bright red Jeepster! Drop by JeepsterClub.com and learn more about their organization.
