I have been hammering out some garage time this week on this old 1940 Willys coupe! Door openings have rain gutters, decklid edge has gutters as well and WOW did that help with stronger structure. I hung some make shift plumb bob's(big socket on a string) and made some final structure welds. I am welding a few tabs on the roll cage and then I'll bolt them to the body as this is a flimsy car even from the dealership. The doors should hang real nice and level now. The frame is Krylon flat black, big money spent on paint!! The old donor rollcage wasn't as square as I would have wished but it'll do. I have since changed my mind on the Hilborn injected SBC /turbo 400 and I am quietly on the hunt for a older style blown hemi with a 4 speed.
wow man---im amazed at this car being resurrected every time i come into this thread--patience and perseverance!---more power to you!
Hey Jeff, just went through all 14 pages of build looking good, if you have it post it up , would like to see the video of when Randy dug the car out the ravine. I would luv to find a Willys in the woods and be able to drag it out. Like finding treasure 😊 Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well I could not have built this 1940 willys without Lee Kay, Ken Posey, Kiwi kev, Quain Stott and now Ron Pope! I got my wheelie bars today, courtesy of Ron Pope Motorsports
I still have my injected small block chevy but I feel like my willys coupe needs a Hemi, So Here's the top half.
Being a budget guy, I am forced to find the used affordable stuff. I found this complete 70's-80's built hilborn stack injected 354 that a guy had in his garage for 20 years. It has connecting rods that were re-enforced with metal welded to the sides and then heat treated after, and check out the main caps!! Supposedly it has a crower 600 lift cam with stock ported heads with stainless valves. I really tried hard to not build a hemi but I couldn't stop the voices.
Whoa! Kinda scary there! The extra piece added to the main caps looks pretty serious though. Looks like the crank got welded on too. I'm guessing you're going to disassemble and go through everything, balance the reciprocating assembly etc?
Hell yeah I'm tearing this down and rebuilding!!! Probably needs line hone, 4 bolt mains, blower pistons .
Easy on the MR. part. LOL Just glad that i could help a fellow willys guy out. I have always figure that a helping hand will end up back where it started from. Keep us all updated on the progress.
I wasn't sure if I should give out your name so I went with Mr. If there is anything you need just ask! Thanks again!
Well I took the plunge and bought garnish for my coupe but typical wheeler dealer scumbags I got jipped. Don with the guggy's coupe can't find the other rear window garnish, of course he told me after he was paid and it's in transit now. I can't wait to be done with this car.
Man that rocker assembly is some serious eye candy! I couldn't make out the name, who makes 'em? As for the Donovan gear drive, I can't remember the last time I heard mention of Donovan parts. Very cool!
They laughed at me in 1980 when I came home with a crumpled steel '33 coupe in the back of a pickup truck that I paid $2K for. Nobody's laughing at me now: If you lose interest in finishing it PM me.
What I like about this build is that it is being done on the cheap starting with a car that most people would have walked away from. It shows that you don't always have to have big money but just have to be a good scrounger and willing to apply plenty of elbow greese. This is a throw back to the ingenuity seen in the early hot rod days.
Well I had some free time and I finally welded the body and cage solid to the frame. The doors shut beautifully and everything lines up great. I also built the structure behind the seats and the firewall. Next is welding in my floor and trans cross member. I don't think I can resist the temptation, I have been on the hunt for road closed and construction signs for my firewall and trunk wall. I found two sets of Ansen pedals, one is a single brake pedal and the other is for a clutch. I think a Hemi deserves an automatic.
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