Willys-Overland Antique, Vintage and Classic Parts For Sale

Willys-Overland History (Continued from top)

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John N. Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of the Standard Wheel Company in 1908 and renamed it the Willys-Overland Motor Company in 1912. From 1912 to 1918 only Ford produced more cars than Willys-Overland. In 1917 Willys made Willys-Overland a division of the Willys Corporation and added the Duesenberg Motors Corporation as a division in 1919. In 1936 the Willys-Overland Motor Company was renamed Willys-Overland Motors.

During World War II Willys-Overland Motors built over 350,000 Jeeps, which became the CJ-2A for the civilian market. However the civilian market had only modest interest in this utility vehicle, even after four-wheel drive was added. In 1946 Willys-Overland introduced the Willys Jeep Utility Wagon, and then the Jeep utility truck the following year. In 1953 Kaiser Motors bought the Willys-Overland Company and changed the name to Willys Motor Company. In 1963 the name was changed to the Kaiser-Jeep Corporation, who removed the Willys name in 1965 and then sold the company to American Motors in 1970. In 1980 Renault partnered with Kaiser-Jeep to build the CJ Jeep series until 1986. And then in 1987 Chrysler bought American Motors.