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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 .
UPDATE: Still Available
(02/08/2011) This has a bobcat hood. Looks nice.
“1951 Willy with a 357 motor
comes with softop with doors,
9000 lb. winch.
Almost brand new 33 X 12.5 tires.
Must see to appreciate.
$8000.00 OBO ***CASH ONLY***
Call Brandon at 707-496-0455 with any questions. Will not respond to emails.”
http://humboldt.craigslist.org/cto/2208908327.html
Craig dropped me a note today about an old friend of his.
Craig writes, “I was doing a little web surfing and found an old lost friend, Hubert Cossard. I had been in contact with Hubert some 9 years ago about some awesome drawings he had made of Forward Control Jeeps. There were definite communication barriers back then as I am a little behind on foreign languages (even known to destroy my own language a bit!) [ed note: you aren’t alone!] but was in total awe of Hubert’s detailed drawings. Like many internet sites, there one day and gone the next, Hubert’s site disappeared.
Though I lost contact with Hubert years ago, by accident I just found his new, greatly expanded site. On the Jeep Family link there are drawings of just about every Jeep ever built or thought of. It’s a gotta-check-out-site!”
One quick trip to the site and I can only second Craigs description of the drawings. I couldn’t say for sure if they are scale-exact drawings, but they sure have the detail of someone who knows their jeeps. The site is in French, so if you need to translate anything, you might try Google Translate.
Here is an example of Hubert’s work below. Check out all of them here.
Greg asked for a few pics of the Steering combination on the Eller’s Jeeps, so Randy climbed under Devon’s Jeep to snap a few for us. Thanks Randy!
Here is Randy’s description, ”
I took a few pictures of the Saginaw steering setup in Devon’s MB but they were mostly taken from below because of his winch plate covering the top. It is a little unclear just how it all works without the top view.
Dusty will be bringing his CJ2A back up here in a few weeks and I think it will be easier to get good pictures from his Jeep. It still has the stock column in it which is what Greg is interested in. I might have a spare steering box mount to take pictures of as well.
Picture 1 was taken from the driver’s side tire. The frame was plated on the inside with ½ inch steel and protrudes an inch or so below the frame rail. The outside plate is 3/8 and is what the spring mounts are also welded onto (the Scout II axles require outboard spring mounts). 3 of the 4 steering box mount bolt heads are visible; the 4th bolt was welded inside the frame rail because I wasn’t certain if it would interfere with the spring mount if it passed all of the way through. The 2 bottom bolts from the steering box mount to the steering box are also visible; the 3rd bolt is visible in picture 005 on the top-front of the steering box.
Picture 2 shows how the steering box mount lowers the steering gear and in conjunction with the drop pitman arm almost eliminates bump steer even though this Jeep has probably 7 or 8 inches of lift.
The long bolt that protrudes down through the frame rail is one of the winch plate bolts and the other one you can see in Picture 3 ties the bumper and spring mount together. It is a pretty sturdy assembly with the plated frame rails, spring mounts, steering box mount, winch plate and bumper all tied together. The frame horns had to be cut off to plate the frame rails; the passenger side frame rail was also plated inside and out. This mount allows the steering arm to pass underneath the stock round crossmember and it works well with aftermarket motor mounts.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $3500
“1948 Willy’s Jeepster Full Custom Surf Wagon
Show Car – Has taken 3 out of 3 First Place
’41 Willy’s Front End
305 Small Block Chevy
Power Glide Transmission
$45,000 lots of receipts
Asking $35,000”
No pics provided.
“1942 ford gpw needs complete resto has rust. last ran 7 years ago. clean title (non op) new master and wheel cylinders still in the box. 3 split rims 1 standard $1500obo may trade for 49-53 Ford 2dr car of eaqual value”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $7200.
This sure looks nice.
“Full frame-off restoration
Completely rebuilt Chevy 350 engine
Four Wheel Drive
New paint
4-speed manual trans. with Warn overdrive
Full roll cage
Bucket seats
Ramsey Winch
Full canvas top
Soft doors”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $12,000.
This appears to come with lots of extras.
“All original, combat ready. Have enclosed top, doors, and blackout curtains. Willing to make deal today.”
No pics provided.
“needs work but would be a good project. no title call Horace 615-452-7374”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $1800
This looks solid with a nice cage and a post 72 front clip. However, it still looks very much like a project.
“Bought as a project never had the time. Have the frame, body, tailgate, windshield, soft doors, engine, transmission, axles, transfer case.”
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was $5500.
“got a 1942 military willys. nice sunday cruiser. runs, drives, and stops. nice soft top.
non-directional tires. have trailer and spare running motor
$5500 OBO
NO TRADES, NO PAYMENTS, NO LOWBALLERS
put*wild* in your email”
UPDATE: Price dropped to $9500
(111/24/2010) No pics provided.
“This Willy’s has been totally restored to original condition. Frame off restoration. Dark green in color.”
UPDATE: Paul Bruno (aka the History Czar) provided a nice response to this post about his movie effort. Please check it out.
Some of you might remember the video I posted back in 2009 of the recreated, original BRC (if you haven’t, check it out here). It seems that the Bantam and its owner, Duncan Rolls, have been touring a bit, landing in an interview with the History Czar in August of 2010 (both the History Czar, seated, and Duncan are pictured below from Nov 2010).
In December of 2010, the Czar blogs about “his and his wife’s 11 year odyssey, along with Max Freedman these past 5 years, to have a feature film made about the creation of the first Jeep, the Bantam Reconnaissance Car (BRC), in Butler, PA USA during the summer of 1940.” So, the Czar seems to have a real passion for the Jeep story.
You can go here to check out their facebook page and follow their journey to make a movie: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/?act=39829251#!/pages/The-Jeep-An-American-Triumph/110738008090
Read more about the premise and synopsis here.
I read through the premise and synopsis. Personally, I’d take a little different tack with the story. I would place the true story of the original jeep as the background for telling another, fictional story about some type of relationship (love story like the Titanic, father/son, coming of age, etc).
I’ve thought a lot about this because I too have wondered about developing a jeep themed movie, though it would be about the heyday of jeeping/trail riding/clubs/racing of the 70s.
A good example of how such a story, like the Bantam story, doesn’t work as a stand-alone story line can be seen in the Tucker movie. While I enjoyed the movie, because it was a story about the struggle to make a cool car, most people weren’t all that compelled to go see it, because of the same reason — it was only about the struggle to make this cool car.
That’s just my 2 cents, which might not even be worth that much.
