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

Any Progress?

 

Oh man, if yours comes out anywhere near as cool looking as this truck (and who am I kidding? Yours will be even BETTER lookng) I'd have to keep it and sell something else!

I truly wish you well with your surgery. Nice that someone finally chimed in with some encouraging results. You'll be back in no time just make sure to follow your doctor's recommendations and go slow to let everything heal up. Best, Dan

 

Kev, I think you may be the only person to my knowledge that still hammer welds. I don't know anybody personally that still does it and I don't believe I have seen it on any other threads. That is a true skill.

The truck looks awesome!

 

Any updates Kev? Also congrats on the upcoming magazine cover with the coupe!!

 

Back in the early '70's had a chance to buy a Willys p/u that was a drag racer converted to street/strip.... owner was asking $3500 turn-key..... If I only knew then what I know now!!!!

BTW..... we will visiting our son in L.A. for the week of the 4th of July..... hope to catch some of the hot rod happenings while we are there.

 

hAVE YOU HAD SURGERY ON YOUR HANDS YET? I HOPE IT WENT WELL.

 

Von Hartmann..........I think you will find there are many people all over the world that still hammer weld, all of them probably better at it than me. My sheetmetal skills are nothing like you find in professional shops today. TIG is obviously far more popular today.

justintime....Thanks! No updates,everything on hold right now. I did pick up a pair of fiberglass bucket seats and a few misc' parts at the LARS for it. I'm looking forward to working on it again.

enloe.....I had my right hand done, carpal tunnel and 2 trigger fingers. Went well and seems to be healing pretty good. Fingers are pretty stiff, start physical therapy soon.

 

Kev, guys like you that can make chicken salad out of chick s--t, always amaze me. The pickup is turning out really cool, hope you have a quick recovery and get back to doing what you ARE good at. Ric.

 

Cool, keep on keeping on

 

You will likely find that hammer welding will bother your trigger finger surgery more than most other tasks you will do? I had to give it a full 6 months before I could get back to hammering without having them bother me at night.
Just take it easy with them and don't force the recovery time.

Scott...

 

Good luck with the therapy, glad all went well with the surgery. Again, your work is masterful.

 

Sadly......Looks like we share MORE than "hot rods" with each other.

I had carpal tunnel surgery on BOTH hands ..... along with seven different surgeries done to my hands/fingers including a nerve release done on my right elbow.

About a month ago I had the Doc look at one he did a few years ago that was really starting to act up again. After looking at the new x-rays he told me only hope is for a "knuckle transplant"..... WTH!!!!!

I opted for injections which seem to be helping at least for now.

Not looking forward to doing bodywork. Using the grinders & sanders really make matters much worse...... But then you already know that!!!!

 

Kev, the trcks looking great. Hope your recovery is gong well. You could just give it to me so you won't have to worry about finishing it.

 

Hey Kev, Glad your surgury went well. I had my trigger fingers done 2 weeks ago. Surgery also went well. NO pain at all. I am having trouble with no feelings in the 2 fingers. Went back to see the Doc and he said to give it a few more weeks to see if it gets better. If not they will have to do a nerve release in my neck. Hope all goes well for you. LARRY

 

As I said above..... been there done that!!!! Got my Mom's (RIP) arthritis..... everywhere.

I had so many surgeries on my hands & elbows I lost count...... the big one was neck surgery. A titanium plate - 6 screws & a cadaver bone. Getting old is fun!!!!

Really is a stumbling block when you are trying to build something.

Good luck with your recovery.

 

I'm not old i'm just a worn out work-a-holic. Now lets get back to building hot rods.

 

I've been telling myself the same thing for years..... Ha!!!!

Hot rods keep us going...... best medicine I know.

 

Time for an update. I made quite a lot of progress but there is still plenty to do. Here are some current shots of it with a cardboard bed side. I am figuring out the size of the bed I want, fender location etc.

 

The cab is getting more complete, it now has a floor, cowl, dash, firewall and a drivers door that is now back to normal. I also got a lot of the door jam area welded up.

Here is the floor....





Brake pedal,,,,



Seats.....



Dash.....



Dash started out as a 192? Chrysler dash that I've been kicking around my junkyard for several years. It was the right width. I has a embossed WILLYS piece that I cut out of a Jeep hood many years back so I flattened the center of the dash and trimmed the WILLYS piece to fit.



Cowl and firewall.....





before....



Hood is now hinged and latched, it needs a lot of fiberglass work around the edges to improve fit, gaps etc.....



Drivers door has a new bottom on it....



This is how it used to look......

 

This build is so rad. Thanks for the update.

 

I have started working on the headers. A few years back I picked up a pair of home made SBC fenderwell headers ($20) at the Hot Rod Reunion swap meet. They were very funky but I liked the collectors and they were cheap, anyway I bought a pair of BBC flanges and some U bends from Speedway. When I'm done they should really look the part for this truck. Like everything else on this project, way too much time involved.....







I had a radiator that is a perfect fit and the inlet and outlet are in the right place. I don't think it is big enough to cool the 396 but it could be re cored later and might be OK. It is fine now for firing the engine or it someone wanted this truck for racing only....



This pic shows the seat mounts. I think they are from some kind of van. My friend Ojai Rick (AKA DE SOTO) had them in the back of his PU heading to the scrap man and donated them to the project, thanks Rick! These pick up cabs are very cramped inside so I cut the fiberglass seat and changed the angle to move your butt back and give a little more leg room......

 

Way cool

 

tough lil pick em up truk

 

kev, i love your place and you do great work, i think you and flamedabone should have a hamb build off.

 

This looks dead cool Kev, thumbs up from me

 

this truck is badass

 

Kevin ,
Man you do incredible work. One helluva metal worker. I also love your garage. Plan on making the big trip to California in a year or so, would like to see your place in person.

 

great work---those seat mounts look like they are from a 199# caravan---i myself found a use for them too------

 

Killer work continuing I see again Kev.
How's the recovery going post surgery?

 

Welcome back, I assume you hands are working well? Your fabrication skills are simply amazing, and your idea's even better. Can't wait to see this done.

By the way, what is the Master Cylinder from?