Hot Rods PORKSHOP'S WILLYS PU.. build thread.. (x sedan)

Back in Dec' 2015 I placed an ad in the H.A.M.B. classified to sell a bunch of parts I had that with a lot of work could be turned into a Willys Pick Up. Basically I had the front half of a 37 sedan body (riddled with bullet holes) , back of a 46 Chevy pick up cab, a fiberglass 41 Willys nose, a rough Willys pick up bed, fiberglass rear fenders, 2/3 of a 40 Willys frame, 2 41 Willys rear frame rails, leaf springs, Speedway straight front axle, Cragar rear wheels and skinny slot mags for the front. Also some other misc parts like, headlight rings,spindles, fiberglass dash, fiberglass bucket seats, hood scoop, small block Chevy mock up engine and headers. Anyway I advertised it as a Willys PU starter kit for 3 grand and long time HAMBer Porkshop (AKA John from Fresno) bought it and is having me build it into a roller so he can build it into a driver and have a little fun at Eagle Field. I have been taking some pics along the way .

Here is what we started with.....

 

I am looking forward to seeing this one being built.

 

I tried to edit the extra pic out but nothing seems to work.

The cut down '37 frame had been put into service as some kind of power unit (saw maybe) on a farm . Friend of mine saved it. It needed a lot of junk cut off. So I started by making one frame by splicing the '41 rear rails and the '37 front section together. It took a lot of careful measuring, the '37 x member kind of fit inside the '41 pieces, the frame rails were also different sizes so it took a few plates to tie it all together but we ended up with one solid Willys frame.









I added a couple of cross members at the back. It will get boxed. John got all new shackles and eye bolts and before long it was looking like a chassis.

 

A true home built Hot Rod, I love it !

 

Next the "cab" was set in place. That thing has an unbelievable amount of bullet holes and associated damage. The roof is in bad shape, looks like someone had a dance party up there. It will take a lot of hammering, some welding and maybe a little english wheel in a can to bring it back to life. I bought the whole sedan body for $500 and parted it out for a good profit and ended up with this section for free. It feels great to save something that was pretty much beyond hope.







Here is what the body looked like when I got it. It spent many years as a target in the desert and was then hauled home by an artist who gave it the orange and purple paint job.

 

A true home built Hot Rod, I love it !

 

The cab back has the right width in the middle and nice corners but it needed a lot of slicing and dicing to work . The doors were tack welded in their openings at this point.







I welded 1/4" x 1/2" flat bar to the door jam with the correct door gap. The rear panel will weld to the corner of the flat bar.







Next the middle section was lowered and the corners fitted. These few pictures represent many, many hours of work.







The Chevy body line is completely different from the Willys one so I made a piece to transition them together.





I was pretty happy with the cab proportions. It is actually a couple of inches longer than a stock Willys PU which is a good thing, every little bit helps when it comes to leg room in one of these.

 

Your builds are always fascinating to watch .
Thanks for sharing !!

 

I wanted to sit the bed in place and also the nose to check out the proportions. When I did nothing fit or lined up.



So I went o work and modified the bed mounts until it sat in a better looking position . The fiberglass nose took a lot of grinding and cutting but finally I got it to fit OK. I trimmed the rear fenders up and got them on and stood back for another look and that was the point where I regretted selling it.





Got the floor done in the back of the cab, some of the door jamb welded up, cab corners welded on, engine mounts done. There is a lot of welding to be done on the cab but I am just moving around trying to make the truck more complete,

 

You are my hero...

 

Cab was still pretty flimsy without a firewall so I built some framework from 5/8" square tuning to tie things together and add some strength. I also added a couple of body mounts to the front corners.







I decided to build the cowl area from 18g steel and the front of the firewall will be bead rolled aluminum with a recess for the distributor.







Bullet dents everywhere...

 

Fantastic ! Nice work Kev.

 

Damn nice work Kevin !!

 

Dang you are a clever bugger with a good eye. Awesome work.

 

WOW! Impressive save. Enjoying the build.

 

Kev, does amazing work!!!!! I missed the one he sold before this. Due to me, himhawing. And there was no way I was missing out again.

 

Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your builds.
Terry aka dirt t

 

awesome build! Great job Kev.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I like a Lot !!

 

Awsome Kev! Always love watching your builds. Love your style of scrounging, fabricating and being innovative.
You've become a Willys Sedan to Pickup conversion expert. That's one hell of a lot of welding!

Looking at that pic of the orange/purple Sedan body makes me think it would have been fun to drop that on a running chassis and drive it around for a bit before doing the pickup conversion...however, I know you're stopping at roller stage on the chassis.

 

cool build subscribed

 

outstanding job on the willys build , that thing was rougher than a cobb to start out , but youve turned a turd into a diamond great job making so many parts look like they came together from the factory

 

Hope to have it at Eagle field in October for display anyways......

 

Very cool, are the last pictures up to date porkshop?

 

This is amazing....I am very, very impressed!!!.....wish I had that kind of talent

 

You always make it look so easy!

 

Get'in to the point now where ya could do it with one arm tied behind yer back, ain't it? Thanx for show'n us how it's done!

 

Yes those are current picture's...as it sits...... Unless he has done more.....

 

@Muttley you seen the his yet?