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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 .
“Motor ran when parked in shed. Body needs repair from firewall back. All there with hard to find air cleaner. Motor rolls over, not seized. Frame good. Has a half cab without doors. Clean green title.
Also have a complete running gear without radiator, motor seized. Has very straight frame with factory bumpers. No body. Has frt. Fenders and hood. Will sell separately Or as package deal”
“This ad is for an old 1950 Flat Fender Jeep Willys. Its pretty much complete and not far off from being able to drive. I was planning on getting a 6 volt battery and get it running but it might be easier to do a 12 volt conversion, not sure. I’m afraid to do anything that might damage the 6 volt system. Anyway I don’t have any long term plans for it and not attached and have other projects going on. So it’s about time to let it go.”
“1948 willys cj2a · Other_body_style · Driven 300 miles 289 conversion 3inch lift upgraded gauges updated wiring harness led light bar,and much more needing to buy a home force’s me to sell price is or best offer”
“This is a project vehicle. The motor has been rebuilt by the previous owner and had it changed to 12 volt/alternator. New clutch, pressure plate etc. New radiator, fuel tank, seat frame and other miscellaneous parts.”
“’48 Willys CJ2A Jeep with original Flathead 4 cyl engine, oversized tires and roll bar. Runs great and needs only some cosmetic fixes (wiper, passenger side mirror and choke cable).”
“Work in progress 200 ci Ford L6 engine w/3 sp automatic All parts go with it ,T 96 trans ,with old pto shaft ,brake parts ,lights ,wire , cables ,so on or best offer ,cash only”
As mentioned in the 1955 testimony by Edgar Kaiser, initially when Kaiser purchased the Willys-Overlands assets, Kaiser Industries operated it as a separate automotive company called Willys Motors, an entity distinct from the other automotive company Kaiser Motors. Part of the reason for this was that both organizations had separate plants, Kaiser in Michigan (at Willow Run) and Willys in Toledo, and separate sales and distribution systems.
Step one of the integration was to blend the sales and marketing teams of Kaiser and Willys. Later, in early 1954, the Willow plant was shut down and manufacturing was moved to Toledo. By early 1955, most of the integration of Kaiser Motors into Willys Motors had been complete (I don’t know if Kaiser motors existed after that).
As a part of the integration strategy, and perhaps to bring cars, jeeps and truck under one umbrella logo, the marketing team introduced the Kaiser Willys name and the KW logo. These appear on a variety of brochures and documents from 1954, but pretty much disappear by early 1955. Here’s an example of the sales and dealers’ newspaper, the Kaiser Willys News. It features both the logo and the dual name:
But by early 1955, this KW and Kaiser disappears, replaced by just Willys and the W logo:
Maury found this good example of Kaiser Willys coupled with the KW on a service manual. It also labels the sales division as the Kaiser Willys Sales Division.
In terms of brochures, here’s an early 1954 version of a CJ-3B brochure with the KW:
Here are the later 1954 versions of this same brochure, with the one on the left intended for the Willys-Overland Export Company, while the one on the right was marketed by the Willys Motors, Inc. Gone is KW and Kaiser Willys, though Willys and the W-O logo reappear on the Export brochure:
Willys-Overland Export brochure is on the left, while the standard brochure for Willys Motors is on the right.
Here’s another somewhat common brochure that I hadn’t dated until yesterday. That’s because it didn’t register with me that this brochure has both a KW logo and a KW-form number (KW-1706). It’s the Farm Power Brochure that extolled the virtues of four wheel drive and it’s practicality on the farm. I’ll just show the first and last images here. The full brochure can be seen in the post below.
There are quite a few examples of the KW and Kaiser Willys logos on documents. However, by 1955, those logos were mostly removed in favor of ‘Jeep’ and Willys.
Tomorrow, we’ll visit the initial attempts to harmonize sales brochures across models.