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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 .
This running when parked flattie looks pretty stock. It seems to have some rust.
“HERE IS A 1951 WILLYS JEEP IT HAS BEEN STORED IN SIDE FOR A FEW YEARS AND WAS RUNNING WHEN PARKED HAS SOME RUST BUT WOULD BE A FUN PROJECT ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL 641-485-5086 THANKS”
http://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/cto/3638356728.html
UPDATE: Still Available
(01/15/2013) This runs, but needs some work.
“This is a 1962 Willys Jeep, runs, mostly stock except radio (with cd player) and gauges.
4 wheel drive appears to work (I got stuck until I put it in 4 low).
Needs brake work as it leaks out the brake fluid over time.
Needs upholstery work on the front seat, other seats have already been re-done.
For a full price offer I will include a receiver rack from Warrior Products and a tow bar.
Delivery is possible up to 50 miles away or you can drive it home.”
http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/3638835266.html
UPDATE: Still Available
(01/28/2013) I don’t see rust, but do see some dents. Maybe comes with firewood as a bonus?
“1957 Jeep FC170 all orignial, 6Cyl, 3speed transmission. runs great, good tires, fun to drive. $6500.00OBO call Bil @ 520-419-2320″
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/3637704927.html
UPDATE: Alex makes a good argument that these images are more likely on the Mediterranean rather than in the Arromanches, which is an area in Northwestern France.
Here’s another round of images from the Library and Archives of Canada.
Here’s a shot of a MB Slat Grille, however no description information was available:
Here’s another image with no description. I thought the blacked out numbers were interesting.
Canadian war correspondents in a jeep, Modica, Italy, 13 July 1943.
I stumbled upon the National Archives of Canada the other day, discovering a variety of WWII Jeep images related to Canadian forces. Here are a few ambulance shots:
1945 in Germany: Personnel of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (R.C.A.M.C.) loading a casualty into a Willys MB ambulance jeep, Sonsbeck, Germany, 6 March 1945.
1945 in Germany: Private F.J. Dunn resting on his ambulance jeep while evacuating casualties south of Bad Zwischenahn, Germany, 29 April 1945.
1945 in France: An ambulance jeep of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (R.C.A.M.C.), Vaucelles, France, 20 July 1944.
UPDATE: This was originally posted 11/14/2010
Started at age 14, Nate completed his beautiful build this past Easter. There are a variety of young mechanics working on builds who ping me with questions and comments, so I think it will be a great motivation to them that Nate completed his build. He sets a good example of what hard work can achieve no matter the age. Congrats Nate!
Nate writes, “I’ve been reading ewillys for about 1 1/2 to 2 years now …. I fell in love with this jeep when my dad brought it home when I was 8. It was the first first vehicle I learned to drive. I started restoring it when I was 14 in Sept. 2007 (now 17) and the actual jeep was finished on Easter Sunday this past April, 2010. I got the jeep the way I like it last week with the original style soft top. It was a father-son (mostly son) project. I sandblasted the whole frame, and probably spent a week block sanding the body. We made a few modifications: 10” drums, 12v electrical system, overdrive and Cutlas hubs. I got the top from New Life Canvas. I didn’t skimp on anything. I put stainless steel brake lines in, a new harness from Walcks and a lot of original parts from my donor jeeps.. The jeep sports a reproduction body tub (which I made look original), fenders and hood.”
Here’s an image of the pre-restored Jeep:
And post restoration pics:
eWillys is live on the new server. Now that I’m on the new server, I can finally complete the changes and updates to the site, as well as add some new features. I have also set up a twitter feed which I’ll use to send out updates or announce problems or more.
I will re run a few posts tomorrow. New posts will start Monday. Enjoy your weekend!
Ann’s family is arriving this weekend to celebrate Oolie Christmas. Yes, it is Christmas in February. Why Christmas in February? Because her family (large family) was too busy to gather at Christmas. What’s an oolie Christmas? It’s a family celebration of Christmas started by Ann’s grandmother, who suffered a brain injury in a car wreck. After the wreck, she couldn’t do a lot, but one thing she could do was go to thrift stores. So, she’d go to thrift stores all year around until she had a huge collection of pretty bizarre presents (they’d fill half a bedroom). The presents weren’t addressed to anyone; instead, they were passed out until everybody had one. Then, everyone shouted OOLIE and opened the presents all at once. Then they would hand out another round of presents, yelling ‘oolie’ together again and unwrapping commenced once more. The goal is to have ten rounds.
After Ann’s grandmother passed away the tradition died. However, last year the family decided to restart it. Everyone bought ten thrift store items or made presents from scratch. We all have so much fun, we thought we’d repeat it. This year, as I mentioned, we put it off until February. In fact, we still have the christmas lights on the house, the tree still stands, and decorations still line the banisters. I admit it is strange having christmas decorations up so long you have to dust them. 🙂
Because of all the activity, I’ll be rerunning some old posts and maybe a couple new ones during some down time.
Happy OOLIE Christmas!
UPDATE: This was first published Jan 23, 2011.
About a year and a half ago I posted a story about Ben Carlin and his famous SEEP “Half Safe”. What I didn’t realize at the time was there were a few other nuts crazy enough to modifiy a GPA and travel the world. One of those explorers was a Canadian named Lionel Forge.
I learned about Lionel’s adventure through a website operated by Colin Stevens, who eventually purchased Lionel’s GPA and began the restoration back to its original condition (he then sold the GPA to a USA collector in 2004). Thanks to Colin, we have a record of both Lionel’s transformation of the surplus GPA #4545 into “Amphib” and along with a summary of his story.
On his site, Colin writes, “[Lionel] had the book HALF SAFE which is about a GPA that was modified for world travel and which was travelling around the world. Lionel decided to modify his GPA and travel as well. One key difference is that he did not plan to sail across oceans with his.”
According to this newspaper article, Lionel planned to drive down through Central and South America, ship the car to Africa and then travel through Eastern Europe. One of the places he really wanted to visit was Montevideo, Uruguay, a country about which I posted yesterday.
According to Colin, Lionel made it to Central America, but then discovered the cargo ship he planned to use to make it to Africa was longer in service. So, he shipped ‘Amphib’ to a friend’s house in Florida and continued some additional traveling, though whether he made it to Montevideo is unclear.
Lionel eventually brought Amphib back to Canada, where it sat for at least 11 years on blocks (most likely much more) until Lionel’s death in 2001. Lionel’s family later sold the GPA to Colin, who photographed it extensively, recording all kinds of information about it. Colin then sold it in 2004 to an American collector.
You can read the entire story here at Colin’s website
Colin also wrote a 2 part article in Convoy Magazine in 2002 about the entire adventure, which he pieced together from Lionel’s images, passports and other information. Unfortunately, the magazine is no longer published and I can’t locate any back issues online.
Here are a few images from Colin’s website:
This is GPA#4545 at the salvage yard:
This shows Amphib after the 1949 Dodge Station Wagon top was added:
This is a newspaper article about his upcoming trip:
Amphib with the tent on top:
Lionel in Guatemala (Pyramid #1 at Tikal) in 1967
I also thought it appropriate to include an image of Colin Stevens with his 1944 MB. The photo was taken in 2000. You can see more images here.
