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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 .
“Clean title
All original except for 12 volts.
Everything is new or rebuilt from water pump to transmission.
New 3 way Valve job
And 2 new valves and seats
I am posting this for my uncle”
These are all the ads I could find on Saturday Evening Posts published between January 1948 and December 1949. Again, it seems Willys-Overland’s advertising was an exercise in experimentation. Some notes:
City-And-City Campaign: The first obvious item is that Willys-Overland ran its wagon city-and-city campaign in 1948, but did not run all the ads produced in the Saturday Evening Posts (as documented here). Collier’s Magazine also got a few as did Life Magazine.
W-O Graphic: In a November 11, 1946 (see 1946-1947 ads here), ad Willys-Overland used script for Willys Overland Motors. In December 21, 1946, the script was accompanied by the graphical representation of Willys-Overland in the form of an yellow “O”, colored red on the inside, with a yellow “W” atop that design.
The scipt disappeared in January on 1947, leaving only the W-O logo. In February and March of 1947 the W-O logo was absent from ads, but then in April of 1947 it made a brief return, before disappearing again.
In Febrary of 1948, the W-O logo reappeared, this time with the ‘Jeep’ logo hovering above it. That combo was used through May of 1948.
In June of 1948, the ‘Jeep’ was dropped in favor of just the W-O logo. By July, the W-O logo disappeared for 1948 and 1949.
CJ-2A Barely Advertised: Trucks and wagons dominate the advertising. There’s only one ad in two years for the CJ-2A and none for the CJ-3A. One reason for this is that Willys-Overland expanded their advertising to other magazines. The Farming magazines (Farm Journal, Country Gentleman, and others) were more CJ-ad oriented.
‘Jeep’ Product Badge: Through 1948 and most of 1949 Willys-Overland was advertising ‘Jeep’Trucks and ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons. However, in late 1949 the company began a switch to WILLYS ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons (see October 15, 1949 ad), then the ‘Jeep’ name was relegated in December 1949 to a small (new) badge, while WILLYS became the more prominent branding once again. Here’s how the badge looked.
In January of 1950, the company shortened WILLYS ‘Jeep’ Station Wagons to Willys Station Wagons, dropping the ‘Jeep’ entirely.
January 07, 1950 Willys -Overland ad in the Sat Evening Post, page 86. Note the use of the ‘Jeep’ badge and the return of WILLYS as the primary brand.
From ‘Jeep’ to WILLYS: After February 1950, Willys-Overland dropped the ‘Jeep’ badge and the ‘Jeep’ branding of the wagon as a ‘Jeep’. Instead, the company went full WILLYS branding, as seen in the September ad below. This seems incredibly strange, given the company had finally won the Trademark for JEEP that year(June 13, 1950 Awarded JEEP registered trademark).
September 23, 1950, Willys-Overland ad in the Sat evening Post, page 57. Note that ‘Jeep’ has disappeared completely from the advertising.
Why did Willys-Overland drop ‘Jeep’? I have no idea. But, it’s no wonder the average person is/was confused about whether a wagon is a ‘Jeep’ wagon or a Willys wagon!
In October of 1946, Willys-Overland introduced the phrase, “Makers of America’s Most Useful Vehicles” within its ads. That phrase would accompany ads into the 1950s. However, in December of 1949, Willys-Overland introduced a new phrase, “World’s Largest Maker of 4-Wheel-Drive Vehicles”. This phrase was only used once in 1949, but a variation of that phrase would eventually grace Willys-Overland ads (or Willys Motors) in the form of “World’s largest manufacturer of 4-Wheel-Drive Vehicles”. I don’t have dates for when the former was dropped and the latter adopted … yet.
Below are the 1948-1949 ads from the Saturday Evening Journal:
“U. S. Army Signal Corps. Jeep Soldiers Out For Refreshments.”
Original Post February 20, 2014:
“You are bidding on a vintage 1943 photo postcard of a Jeep, soldiers and a lady. The card reads, Photo by U S Army Signal Corps. The card is postmarked Camp Pickett, VA 1943. The card is in very good condition.”
“1960 Willys Jeep Plow Truck. CJ5. 6 ft Meyer 3 way snow plow. In excellent condition for 59 years old. Has a new battery, two new snow tires, new clutch. Just need a bigger plow rig for our property. Plow and jeep work great. Has a V 6 engine. Miles unknown.”
“Message me for details. Too much too list. Imaculant vehicle. Original flathead with documented rebuild with less than 5k miles. Frame off restoration. 0 rust. Located in Weed. Ca. But I also reside in Mohave valley aria.”
“In excellent condition. Seats have been re-upholstered. Its a 4 cylinder. Its been switched to 12 volt, but has the 6 volt generator if you want to put that back on. No rust, could use a paint job. The mileage is true miles. Clean title. A great old jeep, a blast to drive around!”
“1946 Willy’s Jeep with too much to list but I will try, 3.8 ford V-6 aluminum heads (extra motor), auto Transmission, extra transfer case complete. upgraded everything, extra wide custom front window flat class, upgraded axes, on board air compressor, holding tank, winch, off road lights, family roll cage, new top for jeep still in box, (old top- if out and wheeling);
new this winter- all four disc brakes all the way around, power steering, two speed wipers, two speed heater, viper security alarm with perimeter alarm, Bose speakers, pioneer stereo, back seat/ with seat belts with build in locking tool box with a quick disconnect, it is water proof for groceries if needed or beer, deer rack for hauling out, or hauling gear, tow hitch, all new gauges, complete fuel system flushed tank pulled with new sending unit and all is undercoated, locking gas tank, spare fuel tank, with switchable tank switch, half doors and bikini top, two hard tops for the jeep, interior lights, tilt wheel, spare tire, lock in hubs, reclining seats, nice mirrors— extra brain mounted just in case, on board welder, welder lead, air hose, wench remote cord….. storage boxes in rear and a deep glove box, must see… nice jeep, can not build it for this price”