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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 .
“1949 Willy’s Jeep CJ3-A in awsome shape. All you have to do is enjoy. All of the work has been done. Here is a list of the repairs:
New Starter, new battery cables, new front and rear brakes, new emergency brake, new master cylinder, new clutch, carburetor rebuilt, choke connected, oil and filter change, new directional signals, steering shaft column rebuilt, reseal transmission and transfer case.
20,200 miles
No rust.”
(from previous ad) … “Great Fun! Has been in the family over 40 years. It runs, has full roll bar, front and back towing. 2 sets of tires and rims. It has been kept in storage. My father told me it was a 4 cylinder plymouth engine. It is a 4 wheel 3 speed. It has very low mileage. Enjoyable as it is or easily made to look like new. No cracks in the windshield. The original serial numbers are on the under carriage with the 5 pointed star at the beginning and end of the sequence. It has a clear title and has been put on non-op as I cannot drive it anymore because of numerous back surgeries. I will miss it. I learned to drive on it when I was 9 years old. I hope to find it a good home. Some seal are dry and need greasing. You can make an appt to see it. Contact me through my email.”
Lost biscuit finally arrived in Prosser, though The Jeep is a shadow of its former self. The original 3.8L V-6 was burning oil badly out of cylinder one, so while replacing the engine I also replaced the transmission, switching from an TH350 automatic to a T-18 with a low first. But, I could never find the time to complete that transition. Engine placement, driveline angle, and header angles seemed to fight me the entire transition. However, now that Biscuit is here, I’ll eventually have some time to devote to it (first, the race jeep’s seat will get adjusted for my height, then I will deal with Patterson’s generator and with the brake-clutch pedals, then Lost Biscuit).
To get Biscuit home, first I had to install a winch onto the tilt bed. After thinking through various ideas, I came up with a trial system that secured a winch frame to the tilt deck, but used a vertical angle against the from of the tilt deck as added leverage for the winch.
Here are some of the pieces I started with:
This shows the underside of the tilt deck. The square tubing in the pic above this one was drilled and bolted to the deck, with the bolts going through the wood and into angled pieces on either side of the hydraulic arm. I figured that was the least invasive way of mounting a winch (for now).
This shows the completed platform bolted onto the deck. Note how the front angle piece on the left sits down in front of the tilt bed. This allows the tilt bed to open and shut:
Originally Posted October 7, 2021:David shared this CJ-2A for sale in Prineville. He asked if I had ever seen a capstan winch mounted on a rear PTO gearbox like this one. I said I hadn’t. Moreover, the special equipment brochure for the capstan only shows it being used on the front (see brochure below). So, does anyone know whether the capstan was marketed for the rear PTO gearbox? Or was this more likely a custom setup?
“Paint original(faded) No rust, No dents, No body repairs. Good top and doors. Runs and drives good. PTO winch, PTO rear capistan(very rare) Tow bar & hubs. All running gear original and operational.”
This 1950 photo shows what appears to be a Holden Ambulance used during the Korean War. Anyone know widely used (or not) these were during the Korean War?
“1950 Press Photo Wounded Marines are loaded on an ambulance jeep, Naktong River. This is an original press photo. South Korea: Wounded US Marines are loaded aboard double decker ambulance jeeps for evacuation to a hospital after being wounded in the fighting on the Naktong River bulge.Photo measures 9 x 7inches. Photo is dated 08-24-1950.”
The point of this photo was to get this point across: “People, return your milk bottles!” … newspaper reports of the time indicate there was a shortage of bottles throughout North America.
“January 24th, 1947, Original Press Photo.
Mrs. Dorothy Lamb of Scarsdale, New York, goes to market in the modern manner, with a basketful of empty milk and beverage bottles. She is answering the plea for return of the 35 Million bottles that have gone “truant” in American homes. Every one must be returned to circulation if a shortage milk and beverages is to be avoided because raw-material shortages ins curtailing bottle production.”
As you can see in this ad published the January 04, 1947, issue of the Bradford Era (Bradford, Pennsylvania), the shortage was serious and ‘dangerous’!
This article from The Province, dated January 16th, 1947, out of Vanouver, B.C., provides more information about the crisis:
“Willys MB 1943 VIN number 214545 model NOM – 12 is a real WW2 veteran. This jeep is a unique model produced in a short series of 1,512 units for the special order of Marine Corps. Most of them took part in the war in Pacific; few returned to USA. Today several dozen are registered, but they vary in condition and the resemblance to the original. These jeeps have had body alterations originally, like special waterproof electrical installations or two high-frequency radios for communication purposes. Continue reading →
UPDATE II: Here’s the YouTube version. There’s background music that might offend the DCMA, so not sure if YouTube will keep the video live or not (They’ve taken down another video of mine for background music — music that happened to be playing in the car at that time of the video).
UPDATE: I’m not sure if this will work for everyone or not. I worked on my MacBook Pro and on my iPhone. I can upload to YouTube later today, which should make it more speedy to load (it takes a short time to load before playing.
Check out this unusual hanging and spinning jeep calendar that Chris found on Facebook. It’s not an easy calendar to read, nor is it all that practical, but it’s certainly a rare jeep item! Given it shows that January 1st fell on a Friday, this appears to be from 1960.
At some point in the near future my mother is selling her place. Her health has deteriorated quite a bit this year. Ann and I have pulled most of my stuff from her place, though there is one last big item … Lost Biscuit. To bring Biscuit home, finally, we’ve purchased a new trailer as seen below.
It’s a Great Northern tilt trailer with dual 5200 axles and an 18ft bed. It’s arguably overbuilt for carrying a jeep, but we felt that there’s every possibility that we could 1) take another trip to Alaska, which can be a rough ride at times, and/or 2) take a jeep with us cross country for a show or two. In addition, we wanted something capable of carrying our tractor, which weighs around 4500lbs.
Unfortunately, the slowing of the global supply chain combined with the pandemic has hit several trailer manufacturers (according to several dealers I spoke with while researching a trailer). Basically, these companies lack crucial parts to complete trailers, so they are waiting on any parts they can get to assemble trailers and get them to dealers. Multiple dealers told me they couldn’t say when their next delivery of trailers would be or even what models they might get.
The nut of it is, we didn’t have much choice on what we could purchase. But, we got what we could and it should serve us well.
So, on Thursday we’ll head for Seattle and pick up Biscuit and its various parts.
