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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 .
UPDATE: Price dropped to $7500. New pics show this has a set of rare Watson hubs.
Watson Hub.
“Family situation forces sale. 1953 Hurricane engine, T-90 transmission, new glass, newer tires, newly rebuilt generator, 12 volt, newer battery, new regulator. The tool channels were filled with bondo.
The id number is a MB number, but is considered a 1947 by the DMV. The tub is a MB. The jeep was modified for a film to look like a M38. The driver side has been smoothed over with bondo at some point, but the ribs for the tools can be seen on the inside.
The window is post war as well as the M38 grille.”
Looks to have a DJ-3A Body with a fuel inlet added on the side. It also looks to have a set of Auto-Matic Thor hubs, a rare event indeed!
“1949 Willys CJ3A Jeep
Partially restored with numerous spare parts.
No Title, was a deer lease jeep for many years.
Engine runs, but needs new distributor. New gas tank, fenders sandblasted and primed.
Great project for the right person. $1,250 cash. Located in Pearland, TX.”
These hubs were created about the same time as the dual lever Dualmatic hubs. Moreover, we can state for sure now that there was a specific relationship between the Watson hub and the Dualmatic company.
You’ll note that the patent number 2854111 is the same in both the above items, with both connected to this single lever design: https://patents.google.com/patent/US2854111.
UPDATE: A 1967 Sears Jeep Parts Catalog had a set of hubs for sale that look suspiciously like the Watson hubs. One thing we’ve noticed is that some Watson hubs have “WATSON” imprinted on the hub, while other identical hubs don’t.
So, were these WATSON hubs that were private labeled, or had Dualmatic been making WATSON hubs all along, but now offered them for private labeling? It’s easy to think that Dualmatic might want to separate their Dualmatic branded hubs from private labeled ones. Changing the private-labeled version to this look would help that.
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Original Post: October 30, 2017:
Alaska Paul discovered this Watson Hub article in the 1958 issue of Science and Mechanics magazine. This suggests that the Watson hub was developed in 1956 or 1957, making the company a very early hub manufacturer.
The mechanism looks similar to the early Dualmatic hubs. In fact, the first Dualmatic hub patent filing was in 1956, for a single lever model. Whether that inspired the dual lever model by the California-based H. S. Watson company remains unclear. I have no evidence to suggest Watson ever patented its hub nor how long they sold their hub.
2 Examples of Watson hubs:
Another example from a truck listed for sale on Craigslist out of Redding, California:
This project has an early set of Free-Lock Hubs. It also has a set of rare vintage rims.
“Nice little Jeep project, not much rust, one quarter size hole in driver floorboard, a couple other spots pictured, original motor in the back of the truck, pieced for the top, including doors, all there as well as the back seat.”
“Very rare Free-Lock hubs for a Willys Jeep. Only a handful of surviving sets known on the Jeep forums. These were taken off a running Jeep and appear to be working well. All parts needed to install are included.”
“Military jeep
Good tires and rims
4 cyl motor needs rebuilding or swap out
Mechanically all there
Last registered in Arizona, I have copy of title.
Will consider Trade”
Matt shared a short note and some pics from his Willys America adventure this past week.
He wrote, “We drove out there in my 3A and yeah, it was pretty cool. BBQ burgers for lunch, got a Willy’s America T-shirt and got to check out all kinds of cool rigs. I was in a caravan with 3 MB’s on the way out there. (Been there, done that, AND got the T-shirt. literally)”
Who can name all the hubs? Number them like innings, so the top left is “1” and the bottom left “2” etc up to “7”.
This appears to come with a Warn OD, which the seller seems to mistake for a PTO. I can’t identify the hubs, but they might be a set of Cutlass Bulldogs. The rear of the hardtop looks similar to a Porter & Reed top, but the rest doesn’t quite fit it.
“1953 Willys 1/4 ton Jeep C3Jb with V8 265 engine. Needs windshield. Engine will run. has transmission with PTO. Does not have pto shaft. Rare Jeep. Does not have title.”
