Projects Nasty Habit Willys part 12....A few changes.

It has been a while since part 11 so I thought I would give an update on my Willys project. I really wanted part 12 to be an in car video from the streets of Ventura but I have no way to film that. Anyway, I have made a few changes....front axle, intake, shifter, seat covers, rear race wheels, fuel pump, header cap wing nuts.

The picture above was taken at the Antique Nationals a few months ago at Irwindale 1/8 mile. I made about 5 runs and the last one resulted in a bent Don Long front axle. I made a fixture that chains to the axle and pushes it back straight and that let me drive it around a little while but I knew I couldn't race again without changing it. I had a Willys I beam that I had taken out of the Orange Plus Willys coupe years ago so I decided to put it in my current car, It had been drilled with lightening holes many years ago.The I beam has more drop than the tube axle. To make it work I needed to also re-arc the front springs. I have a home made tool to do this , it can be done with a big hammer or in a press. Well the power unit on my press is having issues so after many hours of hammering springs into shape I had the new axle in and the car sitting like it was.







Here is a better look at the new front axle. This was taken at Barona at the King of Clubs race put on by the Lifters. I had an awesome time there.



Here are a few more pics from that day, It was pretty cool towing Marky's PPE to tech. Squeak towed me down there (close to San Diego) and he took these pics.













It has a really fun launch but has never run great down the track. After working on everything I could think of I switched from the dual quad cross ram to a single 750 Holley on a Torker II intake and it really came alive. I guess it was basically over carburetted. Just too much air and fuel for only 283 cubic inches. I haven't raced it with the new intake yet but I plan on taking it to the Mooneyes event at Irwindale in December. Now I will probably break something on the first run. When the intake was off I noticed a couple of bent pushrods so I put in a good set of HP pushrods also. I had switched to a Holley manual pump some time ago but it was only putting out 4 pounds of fuel pressure. I had a Barry Grant manual pump I had picked up at a swap meet for $20 so I put that on and now I have the 6 pounds I wanted. Here is a pic of the new set up....



I have my old Inglwood slicks for street use but they don't provide any traction. I have been using some Hoosier slicks on Rocket mags for racing and they work great. I have had a pair of 15x 10 Halibrand magnesium wheels I wanted to use for racing bur never had the right size slicks for them. Well I got a pair from my good friend Vic Young in a trade so now I have a new pair of wheels to race on. I think they look a little big on the car but I like them far more than the Rockets and traction will not be an issue. The Halibrands were on the Orange plus car when I bought it close to 30 years ago, so was the front axle.





I just looked in the mirror, I look about the same but I think I saw a grey hair or two.



I had the wheels polished at one point.

 

So one day I was driving home from work, shifting into second something felt a little weird and then when I shifted into third the shift lever basically came off in my hand. I pulled over to check it out thinking the bolts must have fallen out or maybe snapped where I had heated it and bent it to clear my leg. Turns out it had been ground on down by the holes and had fatigued and cracked. Anyway I put a pair of vice grips on and drove home. I replaced it with a shorter, straight lever, I had to make a bolt on bracket to move it away from my leg a little. I will post a pic of that later.



Some of you know the car was featured in Rod & Kulture magazine, well a month later it was also featured in New Zealand Hot Rod Magazine. Bruce Taylor shot it and he did an awesome job. It was an 8 page color spread in the special Stars and Stripes issue featuring American cars and events. My scanner is not working but if you want a free digital issue download go to their website www.nzhotrodmag.co.nz . They are doing a promotion to get some more American readers. Here are a couple of pictures from the photo shoot....

 

Oh so cool Kev. Your living the dream and have been for a long time. Pretty slick for a man from "The Land of the long white cloud"

 

Looking Great.....as always Kev! I see some wheelie bars in your future!

 

i love that car!!!!!!!!!! did i ever tell you, i love that car!!!!

 

Great update Kev! The Willys is looking mighty fine wheel standing. The chrome Willys I-beam is a huge improvement.

This is a great shot on the Ventura lookout

 

Wow Kev I havent been on here very often and am so glad I checked in tonight. Totally stoked for you to have this car on the road. AWESOME! It looks sensational!

 

Whatever! Say that with an 80's valley girl tone........
Completely cool!

 

Looking good Kevin. I have always been a fan of orange plus since the first time I seen it on the Jackson bros. Know the feeling of the gray hair.

 

Looks GREAT !! Good luck at Mooneyes, Kev.

 

WOW, that axle looks sweet! Keep up the good work Kev, I love that car. I have the T-shirt!

 

Love that lil' 283 with the single four! Yummy!!

 

Car looks awesome as ever Kev. Dig the new drilled axle!

 

It makes a good desktop wallpaper too.

 

Looks good Kev, nice job!

 

That is one tough lookin' nasty habit !

 

I remember when I was a kid, my dad had me "help" him re-arc some leaf springs for the boy scout trailer. We used just a single rail and I would hold the leaf, and he would hit the leaf with the sledge positioned on the side of the rail. My hands still hurt!!! Car is looking great! Love the picture overlooking the ocean!

 

Of all the Willys out there, yours is my favorite. A long time ago, Hot Rod or Car Craft did a manifold shootout. The one thing they discovered with the crossram was it had a reversion problem. They epoxied anti-reversion dams inside the manifold but it didn't work as good as a Holley Dominator manifold.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing you run it at moon eyes.
Well try to hook up again after David Mann

 

I literally got chills seeing that Willys wheels off the ground! Well done!

 

Thanks for the update and great pics as always Kev.

 

Awesome, just awesome. Maybe one day my Willys will grow to be a real car like that...

 

Looking great Kev! I like the fact you re-used those parts off of Orange+

 

That thing is so tough. The picture of it with the front end up and smoking the tires is awesome.

 

...and it's always nice to see someone living their dream...I especially like the photo of the car in SoCal traffic....

 

absolutely beautiful, one of the best cars on the HAMB or anywhere…..the only thing that would make it better, in my opinion is, having it in my garage….great job.

Edit, scratch that cause I wouild not do that car justice....

 

You're livin' the life man.......and you're still my idol!

 

Thanks guys! After my last run at Barona I noticed that I had actually bent the new axle a little. When it was drilled the holes were off set and the last one on the driver side was almost under the spring. That is where it bent. After I got it home I pulled it straight and plugged that hole. I have my fingers crossed that it will be OK now. The front suspendion has a lot of travel but I think it is just bottoming out and that is when something wants to give. It also bounces off the ground when it lands so I think I will try some 50/50 shocks on the front and see if it will stop some of that. The 90/10's on there now let it lift good on the launch but they also let it lift good on the rebound.This car will never be a big winner on the track so I just like going out and have some fun. Wheelies are fun so I am not going to try to stop it from pulling one. I hope to change the shocks before Mooneyes just to see what happens. I hope it doesn't change the initial launch too much. I should add some rubber snubbers too.

Also, axle is not chromed, just painted light silver.

 

So cool. And 283. I love it.