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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 .
We began the morning driving the I-10 to the El Capitan theatre (owned by Disney) at the heart of Hollywood. It wasn’t all clear to me how this would play out, but somehow we were going to hear Rob Richards play on one of the last five remaining “Fox Specials”, of which Farny Wurlitzer, a relative of mine, once said were his masterpieces.
Today we travelled from Ontario to Hollywood, then back out to San Bernardino.
Not enough smog in LA to block out the Hollywood sign on Sunday!
Rob was kind enough to email me back in December to tell me he’d welcome our presence at the theatre so we could meet and he could play for us. How could I pass that up? So we agreed to meet on Sunday for a 12:40pm show. I didn’t quite understand it at the time, but Rob would play music on the organ as people streamed into the theatre prior to the movie (which today was the Muppets).
At the agreed upon time, Rob whisked us inside (comped tickets no less — how do these things happen to me?) and began playing for just Ann and I. He bounced between various disney songs as the pipes and bells and whistles bellowed from the right and left of the front row.
Blurry, but you get the point. We have the theatre to ourselves for a short time. We even scored some free popcorn and a drink!
We didn’t do a lot today. I got caught up on emails and ewillys, worked out (trying to do a better job of that this trip), and relaxed. We also slept. A lot.
Oh yeah, we also ate some ice cream, too. At a Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor no less (Ed Note, as of Dec 2020, the site is no longer live).
When Ann and I were kids Farrell’s was the place to go for birthday parties (Me in Renton, She in Pasco). Farrell’s was loud, crazy and sugarlicious. Then in the mid-1980s Farrell’s closed quickly. The reasons for the closures are hinted at in this history of Farrells: http://www.farrellsusa.com/history-of-fun.php
So, when Ann found a brochure for Farrell’s in the lobby of our hotel, she got very excited. After unsuccessfully trying to convince me that we should have Farrell’s ice cream for breakfast, we agreed to go yesterday afternoon. Even better, it was located on old Route 66 (not that there’s anything left over from the original Route 66).
Picture on the wall outside of Farrells in Rancho Cucamonga
Though the wait was long, we enjoyed ourselves. The place still captured the spirit and look of the original Farrell’s. There is still the famous Zoo on the menu (feeds hordes of children). The sounds of birthday songs and drum banging reverberated throughout the restaurant. The ice cream was better than dairy queen, but certainly no Zingers. But, that’s okay. It’s all about the fun and about recapturing good memories from bygone youthful days.
A very happy wife. This was the first ice cream of the trip. No more until we hit Zingers in Oregon.
Sunday we get to hear a Mighty Wurlitzer Organ and receive a short, behind the scenes tour of it.
We spent Thursday night in downtown Palm Desert. I’d like to explore it more some day, but on Friday morning we had no time to see it. Instead, we had a specific mission: find the jeep sculpture in Borrego Springs, California.
We drove from Palm Desert to Borrego Springs. From there we drove to Ontario for cheaper weekend stay and for a Sunday excursion to Hollywood.
Before leaving Palm Desert, more food was needed and, after some googling, we landed at Jensens. One look at the deli case — lobster pot pie, sliced medium rare lamb, and more — we knew we’d better tread carefully, or we wouldn’t have any money left for the remainder of the trip. We couldn’t resist a few slices of lamb, but did pass on the lobster pot pie (Drats! I really wanted to know how that tasted).
Ready for our trip into the desert, we drove east before turning south. The highway took us down the western side of the Salton Sea. Back in my Manyone Network (circa 2006 and pre-eWillys) days I worked with a group to develop a portal about the unique aspects of the area. I’d always wanted to see the sea in person and finally got that chance today. While I’d seen it in photos, it is much bigger in person than I’d imagined.
When we reached Salton City, we began our trek west to Borrego Springs, but part way along our journey we discovered a bit of jeeping nirvana: Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. First, we spotted a sign for a “4×4 Obstacle Road”.
Henry saw the 4×4 road sign and was ready for some off road action. But then he saw the pipes and tires and thought better of it.
This is part of the obstacle course. A large pile of tires is on the left and some drainage pipes are on the right. The hills are steeper than appear in this photo.
Ann and I enjoying a perfect day at Joshua Tree National Park.
Our goal today was to make a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park and then hit a motel in Palm Desert early, so we could rest and wash some clothes.
However our quick trip to the park turned into a four-hour stay, between a long hike and the long drive through the park. Part of the delay was my fault, as I took a bunch of photos:
Joshua has two entrances on the north side and one on the south side. We planned to enter via the northwest entrance out of the city of Joshua Tree. There’s a good visitors center at that location, so I’d recommend starting there. The visitor’s center also isn’t far from this Willys Truck that is hawking firewood.
A truck in Joshua Tree City outside of the National Park.
We left Arizona and entered California under a few dark clouds.
On Wednesday we began the morning by driving to the Route 66 Museum at the old power station in downtown Kingman.
Map of our drive on Wednesday April 2
On our way, there were more classic motels, but one in particular caught our attention. There was much more going on at this hotel — murals and themed rooms — but our photos didn’t turn out very good.
After many photographs, we finally made it to the two floor power station. Downstairs you’ll find a gift shop and visitor’s center. Upstairs is the entrance to the museum where we purchased our tickets. The cashier was an older gentleman who at first seemed gruff and bothered by our presence, but then warmed up as he got into a short presentation about how the tickets we purchased were good for three museums in the area. We also learned that active military folks get in free.
The museum tour starts with a history of the trail which proceeded the route. One of the first things I spotted was a photograph of a jeep from 1943. It’s the only jeep I saw in the place.
From there, more history unfolded: the need for good roads, the construction of Route 66, and the success of the towns following WWII, until the opening of Interstate 40 in 1984.
These maps showed chunks of the early highway with some interesting information.
In the middle of the Route 66 history is a large diorama that shares Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and his use of Route 66 in the book.
A piece of eWillys is now a part of Route 66 history at Seligman Sundries
We began our day by replenishing our food supplies. Unlike our trip to the East Coast last summer (we each gained ten pounds), we’ve been more careful about what we eat. This has meant many light dinners of good cheese, smoked meats and some crackers. Since Ann shouldn’t eat cows milk (beef protein sensitive since a baby), we’ve been shopping for goat and sheep cheese. Since AJs Fine Foods, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods are good sources of that cheese (and close together in Scottsdale), we decided we’d better stock up so we’d have dinner for the next few days.
Today we drove from Phoenix to Kingman.
After our shopping was done, we drove toward Mayer, AZ, where I’d learned about a place called Arcosanti. Below is an example photo of the place and more images here. I thought it warranted a closer look.
I wanted to drop by Arcosonti, but we accidentally passed it.
For some reason, I thought this unusual development was outside Mayer, Arizona. It turns out it is near the intersection of I-17 and Hwy 69, which we’d already passed. So, we ended up touring Mayer for a short time before resuming our trek north to Route 66.
But, it wasn’t all for naught, as we did find this collection of odd vehicles just before Mayer. There’s a couple jeeps among some vintage trucks.
Chihuly glass sculptures on a boat in a pond at the Desert Botanical Garden.
Even though Ann’s birthday wasn’t until April 1st we decided to celebrate it on March 31st. My present to her was a nice room at the Marriott and for me to abstain from work. Well, she got 1 out 2, as I only abstained from most work.
Our stay at the Marriott (in Scottsdale) was nice due to the beautiful room. However, the room we had was placed among a series of rooms where there were some college/high school aged guys. But, rather than on Spring Break, I got the feeling they were staying there longer term. They weren’t being rowdy, but the hall echoed badly as the room doors opened/shut loudly and often. At one point I had to get the manager to move a set of young men out of the hallway after they became noisy (and after I’d confronted them once). Eventually they settled down and we didn’t have any more problems the rest of our stay.
We started Monday by driving to visit the Wells Fargo Museum in downtown Phoenix. It was a rather small museum inside a Wells Fargo bank building. The museum turned out to be a little gem. First of all it was free (perhaps funded in part by the questionable mortgage practices to which my ex-wife fell victim in 2008 — she wasn’t totally innocent, but the phone reps flat out lied to her . . . but, I digress). The museum had several neat displays that included the history of the company, a challenge for visitors to put thirteen dolls into/onto a single carriage to demonstrate how crowded they could be, the difficulties of hunting ‘highway men’ and more. There’s even a very nice painting collection. If you have an hour and are downtown, I recommend it (145 W Adams
Phoenix, AZ 85003 – Learn more at Yelp).
It might not looks like much, but each of these displays is pretty neat.
Ann’s inside this stagecoach while a narrator takes her on a journey (you can just see his head in the background).
This coach is designed to carry thirteen people. The goal is to fit all thirteen dolls into the coach. It’s an effective way to show how crowded some coaches could be.
Wells fargo will print your photo and email you a photo if you want your picture on some money.
The Mystery Castle as it appeared in Life Magazine in 1948.
On Sunday we didn’t do a whole lot, which was just fine with us. But, we did have one objective: To visit the Mystery Castle. Located just south of Phoenix, the Mystery Castle was built in the 1930s by Boyce Gulley. While living with his wife and daughter in Seattle, Boyce learned he had tuberculosis and was given six months to live. Without a word to them, he left. After wandering for a year, he discovered he wasn’t going to die. So, he settled down in Phoenix, got some free land south of the city, and built a castle for his daughter. His wife and daughter wouldn’t learn about the castle until after his death in 1945. When they arrived to take possession of the property, they were told that after living there two years, they could open up a mystery door….
It was a busy day at the FC-Roundup. There were more trucks, more people and plenty of visitors. The weather was a little warm, but I know I relished the heat after our cold winter in Pasco.
The morning started for some of us with a 6am breakfast FC convoy, which I did alone as Ann decided she’d enjoy sleeping a little while longer. We all met over at Jesse’s. Thinking Jason’s tour jeep was going to be filled, Craig Brockhaus jumped into the rear. I was thinking the same thing, so I jumped up next to him. It turned out we were the only two in the back two rows. Certain someone would tell our wives that we were seen taking a romantic ride in the back of the tour jeep, Craig made the smart move to shift to the other side.
We made it to breakfast at Fast Eddies without a single jeep breaking down. That could be a record! For the trip back to the event, Jesse offered to give me a ride in his M-667. Well, wouldn’t you know but that two-timing Craig wasted no time inviting Dan Devries into the back of the Tour Jeep for the ride home. I feel so cheap now . . .
After a quick trip back to the hotel to pick up Ann, the two of us met up with Colin Peabody for a wide ranging chat. He had some good suggestions for Route 66 stops, so we’ll be including some of those on the early part of our trip toward California.
Just before we left, Colin showed us his DJ-3A Surrey. It’s a beautiful vehicle that he enjoys immensely.
The door-prize giveaway started just after lunch. Jason and Greg combined forces to provide several really cool customized signs. We were all drooling. I implored my wife to use all her witchy powers (after all, she is the descendent of John Ketcham). But, no matter what she tried, she could not win me a sign! I doubt her heart was truly in it, because she didn’t think we’d be able to take it home. But, I had a solution and that solution was to come up with a plan once I won the sign. Alas, that didn’t happen. Here are a few of the signs.
Wayne’s FC appears to be bowing as if to say “Welcome to the Round Up!”
Prior to the beginning of this trip, I planned to have a new battery in my MacBook Pro laptop (currently three years old) and a backup charger (mine has lots of black tape holding it together). But, my planning went completely wrong. First, I ordered a battery off of ebay, only to receive a broken one. So, I sent that back and ordered a second one, which turned out to be an imitation, unlike what was advertised. Since my current battery still lasts about 2 hours, I figured I’d survive the trip with it.
For a back up charger, I planned to bring Ann’s, along with her old Mac Book Pro laptop. But then, her mom bought her a new Mac Book Pro laptop for her birthday. What I didn’t realize is that Apple changed the charger slightly for the new retina displays, meaning her charger doesn’t work with mine.
Despite these obstacles, I figured I could make the charger survive. Well, I couldn’t. Today, of all days, with us running late to get to the FC Roundup, the charger failed me. So, off to the Apple store I went to buy a new charger, which made us later. You gotta love technology. It never fails to go bad at the worst times . . .
Eventually, we made it to the FC Roundup and had a wonderful afternoon relaxing and talking with folks. There’s a bigger turnout than we’d seen from the last two years were were here. Even more people are arriving tomorrow, so it should be great fun. Here’s some photos from today:
This is what it is all about. Hanging out and chatting.
Note the cut down MB grille on the front of the FJ
From left to right Alan, Me and Joe and Joe’s jeeps. Alan also owns a few jeeps, including a Surrey he’s been restoring. He too can blame his father for his Willys sickness.
On Thursday morning we woke up to silence. The room at the Murray was amazingly peaceful. There’s no constant hum of a nearby highway, no air condition churning noisily, just relaxing quiet. For that reason alone we liked our stay in Silver City. But, as all good things must end, we said goodbye and hit the road for a ‘blue highways’ journey through New Mexico and Phoenix.
Before we left Silver City, we wanted to take a couple photos of the former Main Street. You can see the enormity of the damage from a storm that happened in the 1880s. There has been some discussion of filling in the area, but the importance of the event in the town’s history seems to win over any discussions of change.
Former Main Street of Silver City. Now a giant gully that still fills with water during the rainy season.
An example of the tall side walks that help direct the water down the street during heavy rains.
Gordon and Ellen stand in front of their CJ-3B Tractor Bob. A name thought up by their grandson, who is an avid reader of eWillys. Tractor Bob isn’t Mr. Reliable; apparently, on more than one occasion, a jaunt about Silver City in Tractor Bob meant a relaxing hitchhike home. Therefore, Ann and I thank Gordon and Ellen for taking a chance and driving Bob to meet us for dinner and a narrated walk around the wonderful town of Silver City.
Before I share Wednesday’s fun, let me comment on the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces . . . On Tuesday night when we arrived at the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces (did I mention the La Quinta Inn??), we were surprised to discover that when we got to our hotel room, it hadn’t been cleaned (pizza boxes piled on a table and the beds remained unmade). Now, while I knew I’d gotten a great price on the room using Priceline, I did have an expectation the room would be clean. So, I went back to the desk and asked for a different room.
The mortified desk clerk apologized and quickly gave us a new room. Off to the second room we went (just a few doors down from the first one). We unpacked, then I went into the bathroom, only to discover there were no tissues in the dispenser (I really don’t give a rip, but in this case it wasn’t a good sign) and there was melted ice in the ice bucket container from the previous guests, meaning this room hadn’t been cleaned/restocked very carefully. While we were too tired to complain, I did check out the bed to make sure the sheets were clean.
Wednesday morning at checkout, I explained our poor experience to the morning clerk. Like the evening clerk, the morning clerk was mortified. She promised to address the situation and told me I’d receive a coupon in my email to make up for the poor experience we’d had. When I checked my email I discovered that the La Quinta Inn felt our poor experience warranted a whole $5 discount. It’s fair to say I remain unimpressed. Did I mention that was the La Quinta Inn in Las Cruces???
However, we didn’t let our La Quinta Inn experience dampen our mood. Our goal for the day was to get to the White Sands Missile Range Museum and then head over to Silver City.
The Museum was a pleasant surprise. Even the price was reasonable (free). The museum is divided into two interior sections and an exterior missile park. We started with the main interior portion. One of the first exhibits we encountered was an original Darth Vader mask. Apparently, the guy who won the Oscar for the Star Wars’ (for you young folks I am referring to Star Wars Episode IV) sound effects obtained a variety of sounds from the missile range, so he managed to get the Darth Vader mask donated to the museum. Nice bit of trivia!
Ann was very excited about all the missile stuff. She was particularly interested in the specifics of the device in this case. She hunched over this exhibit for several minutes, fascinated by it. She attempted to explain some part of it to me and did this with her hands.
But, there was more than just missile history. There were other smaller exhibits. For example, there was a very small, but interesting exhibit on the Apache fight with the U.S. Soldiers during the 1880s. One of the soldiers involved in the fighting was very sympathetic about the Apache situation, noting the Apache had been lied to far too many times and had no choice but to fight, even likening them to the American Revolutionaries fighting for the right to their land. It was an interesting perspective from a small, but good exhibit.
Another small, but powerful exhibit was a series of paintings done by Benjamin Charles Steele, who survived the Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camp. He drew sketches while a POW, but they were destroyed. So, after the war, he got a degree in art and recreated the paintings. The paintings coupled with concise descriptions tell a powerful story of his (and many others) experience as a POW in the Pacific Theatre.
These paintings line the entire room.
It was hard to take a good photo of it due to the glass. This shows the burial detail to which Benjamin was assigned.
