emailNeed to contact me and don't have my email? Click on email button.
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 .
Blaine spotted this really neat model of a Jeep CJ-5 Camper setup. It’s pretty neat model and unique model that I believe is about 3″ long. It is shipped from Mannheim, Germany. In the post below this one, there’s some history about the camper inventor.
https://www.nasshan.com/en/autocult/ac09017-jeep-cj5-universal-camper-1969-usa
UPDATE: Originally posted February 20, 2021:
Charles “Chuck” Prater’s (1928-1913) jeep camper has been discussed in the past, but pics of his prototypes are less well known. Chuck must have been a curious kind of guy, because when he was an employee at the circulation department of the Palm Beach Post in Florida he invented an automatic paper bagging machine.
How he got involved with jeeps isn’t well documented, but in the 1960s he developed a unique camper setup that allowed a camper to be ‘hitched’ to the back of a CJ-5. He showed off his prototype to the Palm Beach Post in July of 1968:
July 07, 1968, Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach, Florida.
From the CJ5camper.com website we have this additional photo of the prototype, year unknown. You’ll note that the camper in the pic above seems to lack the blue color added to the pic below, so this may have been taken after the Palm Beach Post photo?:
The Palm Beach reported a few months later on September 25, 1968, that Kaiser-Jeep agreed to manufactured Chuck’s camper idea:
For reasons unknown at this point, Chuck waited almost two years later (August 24, 1970) to file his patent (approved August 15, 1972). The patent included several illustrations. Below is one of them.
This newspaper clipping was posted to thegentlemanracer.com’s site.
Being the inventor he was, Chuck didn’t stop inventing after the development of the camper. He expanded on his basic camper invention with a similar dump trailer idea. This article comes from the cj5camper.com site and is undated:
I searched but could not find a patent or another other information about the dump trailer.
According to his brother-in-law Sam Williams (see his comment in this post), Chuck built another camper that fit the CJ-7, one which Sam owns.
Mike shared this unusual camper. The shape of it reminds me of the late 1940s Book mobiles (or see below post). The box on this truck appears a little taller than the book mobile boxes, so this truck and the book mobiles may be unrelated.
The truck is listed as a 1954, but the grille suggests it is earlier. It’s unclear whether the camper on back is original to the truck (special order for example) or whether someone added the camper later. That said, the interior faux wood and carpet screams 60s or 70s to me. The “Jeep” radio would have also been added at a later date. Note the Warn hubs are IH branded hubs.
The jeep sports a “Rednor & Raine” Jeep sticker from Trenton, NJ, which as of 1965, was a jeep only dealer. This also has a Princeton Theological Seminary parking permit, which is still an active institution.
https://westslope.craigslist.org/cto/d/durango-1954-jeep-willys-purpose-built/7659761315.html
UPDATE: This was originally posted June 18, 2020:
April 1954, Dane County, North Carolina: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll36/id/336. The jeep was painted green.
March 1950, Dane County, North Carolina: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll36/id/331
An April 15, 1948, newspaper article in the Winona Republican (Winona, Minnesota) claimed that there were roughly 377 bookmobiles traveling the United States, out of which only one was a jeep.
Two years later, by 1950, the jeep was proving more popular for use as a bookmobile, because it could access rural areas more easily than other vehicles. I doubt there are any records on how many jeeps were used as bookmobiles, but at least one appeared in multiple photos and articles: The Dare County Jeep Bookmobile.
Dare County purchased it’s first jeep in 1950, hence all the photos and news articles on this post. According to the library’s history page: “After the war, the library continued to grow. In 1950, the first bookmobile was purchased – a green Willys Jeep converted for this purpose began making regularly scheduled runs. As there were then no bridges from the mainland or to the Outer Banks, all trips involved ferries. Georgia Harwood retired in 1956, succeeded by Jean Turner Ward, who served as librarian for the next fifteen years.”
This full page article with photos was published in North Carolina’s News and Observer on April 23, 1950. It appears the new jeep bookmobile had just been put into service.
This next article, which predates the above article by 13 days, was published in North Carolina’s News and Observer on April 23, 1950.
North Carolina’s News and Observer on April 10, 1950.
Dare County’s digital archives provided additional photos:
The good news is that the doc confirmed that my retina has fully reattached (yeah!). The bad news is that I still have some bubbles in my eyes, or more accurately, one bubble divided into several parts. It can make looking down very disorienting. I am still sleeping on the couch and can’t lay on my back. The bubbles are supposed to go away in the next couple of days ….
So, updates should return soon …
Two new hats showed up in the mail today. I asked family members, but they didn’t send them, so it must have been one of you guys?
My thanks to whomever sent them. Ann was sure a fan of them! I will get some use out of them (if I can get them away from Ann).
Blaine shared this pic of a ‘mystery’ 4WD at low tide (I’m assuming in the PNW?). I don’t recognize it (and the bad, but improving eye, doesn’t help), but Blaine does. Can you guess it?
I’m guessing someone had a bad day before time and water turned this to rust.
Post appt Update: Well, that was fun…. Doc informed me I had 2 tears and 2 pinholes in my left retina. It was good that I addressed it so quickly. Doc felt he could fix the issues with three outpatient procedures.
So, it will be a long week. Also, Probably no updates until after labor day weekend. Have a great week all!
================
Quick updates ….Good news: race Jeep is ready to test, but ….
Bad news: need to replace the NEW clutch master cylinder. Ugh.
More bad news: found out yesterday evening that I need to go to Tacoma for emergency work on my eye at 8 am Friday. I have fluid behind a small portion of the retina which is causing a shadow. So, no updates for a couple days at least.
UPDATE: Price dropped to $15,000
(08/11/2023) Chris sent me this former Navy CJ-3B dually for sale. You can contact Chris directly via email: romyg504 @ yahoo.com (remove the spaces around the @)
“1960 Willy’s CJ3B Dually. This Jeep came out of Georgia, was told by the previous owner that it was on a Naval base, and had been in the South up until 3 years ago. Stripped down and repainted last year. All new tires, rims, and seats. New speedo cluster, new radiator, mats, and door straps. Roll bar and seatbelts. Jack and camo netting (small bag in back) included. Lights all work including fog light. Directionals work as well. Runs and drives as it should. It’s a fun vehicle to drive, turns heads, especially with the dually package, and gets a lot of attention at car shows. Also comes with extra set of tires and rims.”
UPDATE: Still Available.
(05/19/2023) Richard is selling his rebuilt CJ-2A.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/763410845461368
“A complete body of restoration with over $10,000 in parts and services. Drive train was either replaced or rebuilt. Build was done for show purposes but it is absolutely off road capable. Suspension,exhaust,brake system,front and rear diffs,steering systems,etc were either replaced or rebuilt as needed. Paint has pinstripes on body,fenders and wheels. Engine was professionally rebuilt by local builder and has 78 miles on it. Custom oak panels overy both wheel wells and bed. Oak center console was added. The upholstery and carpeting professionally done. Custom steps added. A very nicely restored jeep with custom touches. Clean title”
Though the issue doesn’t explicitly say it is the January issue, given it discusses things happening in the future in January of 1967, I believe it is the first issue of 1967.
Maury found this Jeep V6 Emblem with a green-white-gold/yellow color-scheme on eBay. Anyone know on what models it appeared?
You can comment here http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/117161/page-3#post-1797410 or comment below.
