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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 .
Here are tow ads directed at existing or potential dealers. The first is from Willys-Overland likely in early 1953 and can be found here on eBay. Note the lack of a CJ-3B within the jeep-family that is shown.
This second one (here on eBay) is reported to have been published in 1956, though it lacks the CJ-6 or DJ-3A, so maybe early 1956? What’s curious is that by this time, the new “Willys Motors” organization had refocused on the “Jeep” brand. So, to see the brochure specifically refer to “Willys”, especially as the car brand was abandoned, is especially odd. This kind of has a recycled feel, as if someone in a hurry re-used an early 1950s ad.
This full page ad for the Poole Motor Company out of Steele, Mississippi, appeared in the October 06, 1947, issue of the Courier News out of Blytheville, AR. It’s too bad the pics aren’t clearer.
Nine months later, on June 01, 1948, the Poole Motor Co. published this ad in the Courier News:
The Maine Willys Sales Co, appears to have launched in 1946 in Bangor, Maine. By 1949, the company was located in multiple Maine cities, including Bangor, Rockland, Lewiston, Portland, and Augusta. At some point, circa 1949, the Augusta branch sold six jeeps to the Forestry Department. The below image posted to the Forest Fire Lookout Association’s FB page documents this purchase:
Here’s an ad from the March 30, 1949, issue of the Bangor News. Note that multiple cities are listed under Maine Willys Sales:
It’s likely that 1949 wasn’t kind to the Maine Willys Sales Company, because the February 09, 1950, issue of the Bangor Daily News reported that Chrysler had taken over the Maine Willys Sales Company property, though nothing was mentioned about what happened to the company.
Later that year, on June 15, 1950, a large ad appeared in the Bangor Daily News, but only the Maine Willys Sales Company of Rockland appeared on this list of dealers.
The above ad strongly suggests that Maine Willys had dwindled to just one city in Maine by the summer of 1950. The company’s name was rarely seen in the newspapers after this ad.
The last reference I found for the company was for a July 11, 1953, article in the Bangor Daily News that mentioned an accident where a driver backed into the Rockland Maine Willys Sales showroom, shattering two large windows.
This R.B. Macbride Ashtray sold on eBay for just over $20. R.B. Macbride was a long time vehicle dealer in Modesto, California, that didn’t get a jeep dealer agreement until early 1957. Here are photos of the ashtray.
This January 17th, 1957, article in the Modesto Bee shares the news about Macbride’s Willys Jeep dealership:
Later that same year, on July 17th, the Modesto Bee ran an ad for Macbride touting the new FC-170:
One of the rarest type of jeeps hubs are the Kurland hubs. I’ve only had one pic of these hubs (thanks to Ted Jordan) until yesterday when Richard Darr forwarded me a photo of a set of hubs he acquired. This led me to a quick dive into the internet, which yielded the following.
A variety of searches related to “Kurland” and “Kurland Motors” yielded results in both Los Angeles (a city whose name appears on the hub) and Denver. In fact, there were Kurland Motor companies in Los Angeles, Denver, and Grand Junction, Colorado (also known as Kurland Junction Motors).
The Denver location was opened as early as August 1946, as an ad in the Windsor Beacon out of Windsor, Colorado, mentioned the new Universal Jeep arriving for delivery (soon).
I couldn’t location much information about this Denver Willys distributor, other than Kurland Motors was instrumental in the launch of the Mile High Jeep Club in 1956 and that Kurland Motors, at least for a short time, marketed Kurland-branded bumpers about that same time.
Regarding Kurland Junction Motors, I was able to locate this ad from February 22, 1948, (The Daily Sentinel, GC, CO):
Now, were the Denver/Grand Junction Kurland dealers connected to the Kurland Motors of Los Angeles that also sold Willys-Overland vehicles? If they were related, I have yet to find a connection. But, at least I was able to unearth more information about the LA Kurland.
CREDIT: December 05, 1948, issue of the Los Angeles Times
As the article suggests, the Transport Motor Company lost some key personnel. Perhaps Transport Motors had decided to exit its Willys-Overland relationship?
At some juncture, it appears Kurland launched a line of free-wheeling hubs. These hubs were stamped with 1) KURLAND, 2) Los Angeles and 3) Patent Pending. Unfortunately, I could find no patents related to the hubs. In fact, the only information I could find related to the hubs was a reference to a CJ-2A being sold with a set of the hubs.
November 10, 1955, Independent News, Long Beach, CA.
UPDATE: I’ve added information to the bottom of the post which discusses the shift of employees from the Transport Motor Company to the Kurland Motor Company in late 1948.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to export this topic further, but Barry Thomas is doing research into California’s Transport Motor Company, which was the earliest supplier of Willys farm equipment in California. If anyone has more info about the company, Barry of would like to know about it. Comment below or email me at d@deilers.com and I’ll connect you.
Transport Motor was already a strong Willys reseller by the time WWII started, so they were were well positioned for post-war sales and service. This ad was published in the October 19, 1941, issue of the Oakland Tribune as part of a larger article:
After the war, the company pushed Willys Jeeps and the associated farm equipment, though it is unclear which specific models/manufacturers of the equipment was being sold, as evidenced by this October 27, 1946, classified ad in the Oakland Tribune:
This article from the March 28, 1947, issue of the Ventura County Star claims that Transport was the first company to make farm equipment especially for the jeep (I would need to see more evidence to believe that):
For unknown reasons, in late 1948 many key personnel from the Transport company left Transport for a new Willys dealer, Kurland Motors. Whether Transport survived this event is unclear (perhaps the Transport company was already defunct by this time).
Mike shared this photo that was floating around Facebook. It’s possible that this was a Minnesota dealership, as a few research nibbles seemed to send me there, but I couldn’t confirm anything. I imagine this was taken between 1963-1965, given he models shown.
This 1950 photo from the Gateway to Oklahoma History archives shows Roy Fisher’s jeep dealership. His dealership was active between 1946 and 1950 in Oklahoma City, OK. It was sold about the time this May 1950 photo was taken. Note the CJ-2A Fire Jeep in the second story window. The vintage Willys sign with the drop “J” logo is cool as well.
Several folks shared this photo with me. It was published by Paul Swanson on Facebook. HIs family used to own the dealership. The fourth vehicle in the row looks to be an unusual model of the economy/package/delivery van. You’ll note it lacks front hubs, suggesting it was 2WD. Some were 2WD and some 4WD vans: http://www.ewillys.com/2020/07/06/photo-of-an-unusual-boyerstown-built-2wd-delivery-van/
Paul dates the photo to 1957, but to me the FC-150 on the left and the first FC-150 in the row of jeeps look like they are not narrow tracks, which would put the photo later than 1957. Moreover, I cannot find any ads for Park Jeep earlier than the summer of 1958.
Paul indicated that he will post better images of the van.
From the February 02, 1960, issue of the Minneapolis Star. Strangely, I could not locate any ads earlier than the summer of 1958. So, it’s unclear to me when the dealership opened. You’ll note this ad mentions an Economy van; maybe the one in the pic above never sold.
