51 Willys Overland Wagon

[NOMADIC_LJ]

wow this is going to be a great project.

I can't believe no one has said this yet but we need more pictures of said girlfriend please! hehe, you are a very lucky guy

 

[MattScott]

I have a 51 at home too! its my dads project, these things are great little trucks.

 

[MrBeast]

Well today I didnt get any work done on the Willys, though I did make a few decisions for sure.

1. I am going to run YJ Old Man Emu springs that are set up for a "heavy" load rating.

I am doing this because it will keep things simple with the suspension, they are readily avalable and if the worst happened while im out literally 10,000 miles from the house on the alaska trip, it is going to be a lot easier to get it fixed if I can simply have the parts UPS'ed over to where im at instead of needing to find a fab shop capable of repairing a 1 off suspension system.

2. to keep things simple im going to use all 4" box tube for the frame. I had thought about making the main frame 5" in the center, but it would add a ton of work, and thus would have increased the possibility of a bad outcome so im going with the original theme of the Willys, KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid!

As far as progress today goes, I built a couple of tables.

The first one is about half way done, I built it out of 2" box tube, and added a table top I already had around, I need to add a shelf half way down that will be good for storing stuff and using as a foot rest when im sitting at the table. I have one more top that is identical so I will be building one more eventually.

The big table though is pretty cool, it is my new welding table. the base of the table is 97x49 and it will have a 5x10x.5" piece of plate for a table top.

Going to be totally awesome having a big stout welding table to build the Willys frame on, as well there are many more projects that will require the use of the table, so im sure it is always going to have something on it.

Right now im on a big kick trying to get my shop organized and cleaned up, I have yet to be able to do so since I moved in 4 months ago, everything just got kind of set in there. So now im trying to get it all organized so I can work in there with out having to hunt for the tools I need.

I wont have the table top until next week for the welding table so I wont be able to really make any headway on the Willys until then. Allthough hopefully by this weekend I will have it inside and I can start on the tear down.

 

[fzsk4p]

In

 

[SavageSunJeep]

Way KOOOL!

Well just got back from SA yesterday. Spent 2 weeks down there and we are now working on doing a deal on a ranch just outside Boerne. Getting house fixed up here in Scottsdale and one market in the spring and its Boerne bound one way or another...wife fell in love with Boerne.

 

[jeepdreamer]

concurrance

wow this is going to be a great project.

I can't believe no one has said this yet but we need more pictures of said girlfriend please! hehe, you are a very lucky guy

X2..and 3 and 4...
I have come to the conclusion that a pretty woman that actually enjoys being in the garage is gooder than gold!

 

[cocco78]

wow this is going to be a great project.

I can't believe no one has said this yet but we need more pictures of said girlfriend please! hehe, you are a very lucky guy

Yeah I was thinking that as well, or a larger better resolution version of that pic so we can see the Jeep better :sombrero:

 

[MrBeast]

Way KOOOL!

Well just got back from SA yesterday. Spent 2 weeks down there and we are now working on doing a deal on a ranch just outside Boerne. Getting house fixed up here in Scottsdale and one market in the spring and its Boerne bound one way or another...wife fell in love with Boerne.

Right on, but wheres the pictures? :victory:

 

[MrBeast]

Been a while since I started the thread, havent really been able to get anything done until last night. Been really busy with work, and I moved into a new much larger shop about 4 weeks ago, so I have been trying to get all of my stuff unpacked and organized.

So last night I got the Willys rolled into the new shop and started tearing into it.

Most of the bolts in the front end came out with ease...

And my Girlfriend even came out and helped.

(yeah she gets a little excited)

Scared the crap out of her too when we pulled the body mount bolts, She wasnt expecting me to hit it with the impact.

The bolts in the bottom of the fender that go into the rockers were another story, the previous owner instead of fixing the rust decided that smearing over it with about half a gallon of bondo was the thing to do.

So out came the blue wrench...

By the time I had the rusted out bolts off and the fender loose, this is what the floor looked like.

Before too long though I had the front clip off and was able to start sizing up what it will take to get the engine and tranny out today.

That is going to be todays project.

As well I have a few decisions to make. I know I am going to narrow the Dana 60 front axle that I have.

I may use the Dana 60 rear pictured with the front (and you can see the 99 model NV4500 I am going to use)

Or I have a 77 model 14 Bolt,

 

[MrBeast]

10 picture limit :mad3:

Or I have a 14 bolt out of a GMT400

Or I have a Dana 70

One of which will get narrowed and stuffed under the rear.

Originally I had planned on running a 327, however I have a TBI 350 out of a 90 suburban that runs like a top, so I am going to clean it up and paint it and run it with the TBI since I have the computer and all I will need to get is the Painless wiring harness.

There is a lot to be done, but at this point the project should start to move very quickly. I am really looking forward to diving in.

 

[MrBeast]

Today I got after it and got the motor pulled.

Took about 2 hours, the transmission cross member was so beat up it wasnt even funny, I wound up torching the bolts off of it, I am certian some one has had this willys down a trail or 50.

Kena says "isnt that tiny little motor cute!"

Huge difference in size between the old hurricaine 4 and the 350.

Once the motor was out I wasted no time and took a bunch of measurements, then I whacked the front of the frame off.

Looks kind of funny with no front end doesnt it.

It did not stay that way long though, I took some blue machinsts dye and sprayed the frame up with it, marked it out and cut it clean.

Then I got a piece cut for the drivers side, I made it 6" longer than the stock willys frame to allow me to run the front axle further forward, and to install longer springs.

Then I installed the passenger side, I was very careful to keep everything square and level.

I checked it numerous times along the way too, which is good because when I set the tack on the inside of the frame on the passenger side, it pulled in about 3/16 of an inch.

By the time I was done I had the new front frame mocked up and tacked in place.

The way the frame rails are setup they will be 3/4" lower than the factory frame was in the front. The reason for doing this is it allowed me space under the grill so I can run the power steering lines under it because the new steering box will be mounted towards the front of the frame, not in the original Willys location. I am using the steering box out of a 94 Chevy 4x4.

Finally had to roll the tires up next to it, thes are a 285/75 R16, roughly 32.5" in diameter.

I am thinking I will wind up running a 33" tire, possibly a 35, but if I go with a 35 I will have to seriously modify the rear wheel well to make it work.

The other consideration is I want to keep my tires fairly skinny, the Willys will be used more on trails than anything else when off road, I am looking for what will bite and get traction.

The ride height will probably wind up about 4" taller than what is pictured. I dont want to go too crazy tall because it is going to be driven a lot, and in the future id like to get a set of Mattracks which will add a substancial ammount of lift.

 

[dirty Bakers]

Wow that was quick. What are your plans for the engine and front clip?

 

[MrBeast]

Wow that was quick. What are your plans for the engine and front clip?

The engine runs like a top right now so I am just gonna clean it up and run it.

Eventually it will get rebuilt as a full roller, with a set of Vortec Heads that I have, or even possibly some aluminum heads, we will see, I know it is going to immidiately get a EGR delete and a full desmog. I am looking at options on that right now.

I am debating running air bags or leaf springs, each has thier virtues.

I do know I will be running a high steer cross over setup on the Dana 60, and both axles will eventually get 4.11 gears and ARB air lockers.

 

[stomperxj]

Why the gas motor over a good turbo diesel swap? Cool project.... Its nice having a GF that digs projects like this

 

[OverlandZJ]

Glad to see you back on this build, i like the Wagon's.

I was hopeing Midnightburn could resist the urge to go taller than the original 35's but it's still an incredibly talented build. If your not familiar you may find a few ideas here..

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=725859