Projects Willys PU build....from sedan panels.

Kev, im glad to see this thread still going. I have a drag fast 4 speed shifter for your next truck. Im also working on finding a good pickup bed.

 

At long last I'm in a position to update this build thread, since the truck arrived in the UK it has mostly just sat in my garage while I finished up my Fiat Comp Coupe.
Got the Fiat finished in August and then realised that if I was going to complete the build on the Willys how I'd envisaged it when I bought it from Kevin then the Fiat would have to go to fund it.

With the Fiat sold I booked the Willys in to have a roll cage fitted, it was really important to keep the old gasser look of the truck so although we wanted to construct it to 8.50 spec I didn't want down tubes coming out of the top of the cab onto the rear kick up of the chassis.
We compromised by putting the tubes below the line of the pickup bed, this still stiffens up the chassis and technically won't tag to 8.50 but I'm happy with the end result.
We also needed tubes through the firewall on to the chassis, the old Willys frame needed boxing at this point to comply with spec.

Progress on the truck should move along more swiftly now as I want to be out and racing by Easter next year.

 

cool

 

While the cage was being installed there were a few other things that needed fabricating, shifter mount, window net, driveshaft loop and mounting the Offy gas pedal.

 

That roll cage install is beautiful! Very nice TIG welds too.

 

Looks great! What were you planning on leaving it in primer or painting it?


Steve

 

That looks perfect. Very exiting to see the progress.

 

Thanks, wish I could take credit for it but my welding is nowhere near that standard.
The guys I used to do the cage are Matt & Russ Eley of Custom Steel Innovation here in the UK, they've got a great eye for detail .
We discussed at length what would look right in the truck and although it was tempting to go for a single old school hoop and a diagonal I knew that was never going to be safe enough.
I'm really pleased with the way it came out.

 

Definitely staying in primer with some old style lettering on the doors.

 

Thanks Kevin, I'm trying to stay in keeping with your original vision for the truck. Just an old Gasser.

Ray

 

Now you've done it...added more weight...ha ha but safety is a little more important. I like the layout on the bars, gives me some ideas for my truck. These old trucks are tight on space that's for sure.

 

The updates look great, If Kev didn;t give you any primer for touching in I have some here.

 

And the saga continues............................CHAPTER II. Keep posting, We'll never get enough of this one.

Frank

 

Amen X2

 

Thanks Steve, Kevin sent one can over with the truck but if I use that up I'll know where to come.
BTW, have you entered your coupe in the first Willys Wars at Dragstalgia next year?
Looks like it could be a bit of fun.

 

More weight..................just have to add more horsepower then, I saved the blower motor out of the Fiat when I sold it, not sure if I'm going to put it in the PU yet, although it won't be next season though.
I've never ran a big block in anything yet so will go with the 396 that is in the truck at the moment.

 

Yeah I'm in, looks like it might be a giggle

 

Bit more progress, I stripped the old axle parts out of the Willys today and started swapping in the new upgraded parts from Strange, decided to go 35 spline to make it bulletproof, overkill really for this old gasser but hardly any difference in cost between 31's and 35's.
At least when I put more power through the old truck in the future it should all stay in one piece.
I really like Strange parts, I've used them in the past and never had a problem with them

Got a nice Strange nodular iron casing, aluminum pinion support, 1350 pinion yoke and spool.
Already had 4.11 gears so thats what I'm going with to start off.

 

Very wise move mate, better to be safe than sorry, I use Strange axle parts also, they are very reliable, I have the same setup.
Seen a few diffs let go off the line and it's never pretty !!!

 

Managed to get a few hours on the truck this week and got the rear axle all back together with the Strange components and rebuilt the rear drum brakes with all new parts.
Also swapped the TH400 trans that came with the Willys for the B&M one and the Neal Chance 4500 stall convertor that came out of my Austin before I sold it.
These had recently been freshened, Kev reckoned the one in the truck would need looking at so I'll keep it as a spare until I can get around to a rebuild.
The driveshaft with 1350 ends I had made at Hauser Racing near Santa Pod arrived too so that went on.
Made a rear window in orange/amber plexi to see what it would look like and I like it so I'll get some side windows made to suit.
Front screen will be clear Lexan, just gotta make a template first.
Next job will be front brakes, anyone got any suggestions to fit 49-54 Chevy spindles?
ECI or Jamco seem to be popular choices and reasonably priced too but the shipping to the UK kills it a bit.

 

Looks good Ray, if its any help I ship by air from the states twice a week at reasonable rates.

 

Hey KEV!!! A belated Merry Christmas and a great NewYear to you and your Family old mate!!
Hows the wrists? better now? Arthur rightus is giving me hell these days but still buggering about with cars after working on contract for an alleged top line resto shop here in Brisbane for the last year.
http://sleepingbeauties.com.au/Aboutus.html
I had to give it away as I have a conscience and the company were doing things like slapping in masses of bondo and charging $120,000 for a paint job...... on a 1926 Essex FFS!. most of the resto projects have my mechanical work done on them,the fave being the 300F which needed to be stripped down and gone through again ..after 10 years in the shop and a really dodgy engine job (.008 thou piston clearance...) .
Wish you were able to work down here,you could make a fortune ha ha

Cheers! Ron Bunting.

 

Hi Ron, good to hear you're still ticking.

 

Made a decision on the front brakes, the bolt on kits are great for street rods but I wanted a front end setup as light as possible.
I've used Mercedes 190E solid discs before, took some measurements and decided to buy a pair. These came with lightening/air holes around the top hat section and were only $50 a pair so a good economical start.
Had to machine down the outside diameter of the Chevy hubs to fit inside the top hat section and bore out the middle of the disc to fit the locator on the hub.
The Merc discs are 5 stud but a lot smaller than the 4.750" pcd of the Chevy hubs but there were 3 extra holes that were almost the correct pcd just adjacent to them so I used them and machined them to fit the wheel studs and drilled 2 extra holes.
Fitted them back on and checked for clearance and found theres plenty of room for calipers.
I'll probably go for Wilwood 2 piston calipers as they're nice and light but will have to machine .050" off the face of the disc to get them to fit.
Once I've got the calipers just need to make some mounting brackets.

 

Cracking on with that then Geeza.

 

Finally located some refurbished 2 pot Wilwoods at a decent price and got some time to spend making the mounting brackets from 1/4" plate.
Finished in Kiwi Kev Rustoleum (what else)!
Had to clearance one of the Torq Thrusts with a bull nose cutter on the Mill as they were a slightly different profile to each other.
I'm pretty pleased with the setup, it's nice and lightweight and cost less than half the price of one of the brake kits that are available for 49-54 Chevy spindles.
I've also fitted the trans oil cooler and radiator fan that Kevin sent over with the truck (thanks Kev).
All the windows are in as well, decided to make the side windows fixed so I could do away with the winder mechanism, saved a couple of pounds of weight into the bargain.
The windshield rubber is from an early VW Beetle, a lot cheaper and easier to find than Willys ones over here.
I'm hoping to get all the brake and fuel lines run in the next week or so then I can fire her up for the first time.

Ray

 

Getting there, Easter is creeping up on us.............Get your crew chief shirt back on.

 

That VW screen rubber looks completely at home in there and no one would think it wasn't original. Is the pick up strictly for the drag strip or will see occasional street work ?

 

Thanks, it's not a bad compromise.
This ones strictly for the drag strip

 

Nice job on the brakes Ray, what year is the screen rubber from ? Looks spot on