I’ve been on here for a while now and posted a little but thought I’d start a build thread for my Willys truck. This will be a very slow build as I have a young family and shop time/money is restricted but I have done some work to start the thread off. I’m no pro but did do my apprenticeship in a body shop so had the basics although not much fab work nowadays in collision repair I’m working on making it a solid start removing all rot and giving me a clean slate to build it into a hotrod. Traditional is the theme but definitely won’t be a gasser I want it low but haven’t fully made my mind up on exactly which route I will take as I’m sure most will no low on parallel leafs isn’t easy and with a ford transverse spring the motor would have to be mounted to far back and leave no room in the cab Day of collection 2nd September 17 It actually has gasser springs fitted here but the cab mounts had been cut and had no inner fenders so the whole cab was sagging over the chassis. So I replaced the missing bottom section and then repaired the rear cab mounts Lower cowl repair
Welcome! Looks like you picked a fine project! They don't come much meaner than a cool blown Willys pickup!
Next up was firewall I knew with a 38 front that I would need a recessed firewall and although I wasn’t a 100% keen on it I ordered a direct sheet metal 4” recessed one as I no it works with a small block chevy with 38 front . When it arrived I was disappointed they had slightly changed the style and it looked strange so decided something had to be done so set about making it look a little more in keeping It’s all now welded in but no pics yet More to come just sifting through the pics Cheers Luke
Before The Willys was imported to the uk it was sat on an s10 chassis but came with an original Willys chassis so the guy that imported it put it back on the Willys chassis. Many pieces had been cut about for the 2 to be mated together including the afore mentioned cab mounts they had also butchered the floors and cut 2 sections from the cab back panel So these were welded up there’s 1 on each side but this is just the passenger side 2 new sill panels and lower arch repair and start to the floor. Wood is just a template for the central piece to give me an idea of how it will work. This is pretty much as far as I have gotten with the cab as I need to do some blasting and could do with a new compressor as mine isn’t up to the job so I have moved onto the rear bed as I already had it made and it’s another step forward until finds allow for a new compressor
Rear bed. I got a friend who is a sheet steel fabricator to fold all the panels as I don’t have equipment big enough to do them. I mocked it up on the ground as at this stage the original bed was still in place and we were in lockdown due to covid so couldn’t lift the original on my own. I ended up using my engine hoist to get the original bed off as I was running out of things to get on with so started on the bed crossmembers and mounts and assembled the bed. The crossmember holes were drilled with a hand drill with the clutch on so I’m sure you can guess was a very slow process about 7 hours total but not all at once The stake pockets are chevy and pretty much the same as original Willys ones. When I cut the bottom corners on the 2 rear ones to allow for the tailgate hinges it left a hole that would be visible with the tailgate open so I decided to modify the pockets to get rid of the hole There’s loads of bits missing in the middle but pretty much brings you up to where I am right now. Next job will be tubes on side boards and head board and tailgate Cheers Luke
Cheers pat starting to make progress albeit very slow. I’m a bit all over at the moment got a few other parts made ready to go on but other bits need doing first. I’m trying to complete things as I go but as I’m sure you are aware there’s always unforeseen things that either needs different tools or parts to complete so have to wait until these things can be obtained and some things are difficult here in the uk
That your ‘40 two door outside the garage? If this truck is half as cool as the sedan you’ll be doing alright. Lol Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Here's mine...actually its a '38 body with '39 front sheet metal. Seeing how '39 was a one year only, you'd better have all the headlight parts. , as no one is reproducing any '39 headlight stuff...g-willys
Sure is yes I presume you have seen other pics of it to no it’s a 40 2dr (4dr conversion). The 40 is currently for sale to release some funds to build the truck.
Small update not done much on the Willys lately but the firewall is pretty much done got a couple of pin holes to tack in on a couple of welds. Toe boards made and ready to be welded in and have the floor roughed in also lower cowl panels made and welded in . Overall I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out got a few wobbly bits but a very mild skim will take care of that before paint Luke
Cool truck. Mine started out as a '38 also. Good luck, will be watching to see how it comes together.
Thanks very much this will be staying with the 38 front it’s my favourite front on a truck everyone swaps them out for a 41 front and I think it adds to it as there isn’t as many especially here in the uk as there’s only mine and one other truck I no of Luke
The firewall is recessed now or is that stock ? I seen where you had said you didn't want to recess because of losing interior space, if you used buggy spring setup.
Firewall is recessed 4” but floor length is stock so toe board angle has been altered. It’s a sacrifice I had to make to allow room for a v8 with the 38 front to allow enough room for a radiator. I still don’t have room for a buggy spring unfortunately as I’d still need to go back a few inches to allow room for bottom pulley and at this point in time to get it to sit where I want it looks as if I will be going independent front but don’t worry I won’t post pics of that Luke
Very nice work. Will be a great rod. Here are some pics of the '38 I built for a friend. We used some shaped cab patch panels from a guy who reproduced them. Fit pretty well. We also added some lower door sills made for coupes/sedans. We used a wheel barrel dash indent just wide enough for the SBC leaving a bit of foot room. He wanted a 'glas '42 front end. I made a mechanism that slides the hood forward a few inches the clear the door hinges then tilts up. His bed is Willys but he used I think Dodge rear fenders because he didn't have the Willys ones and the dodge ones are wider and look almost identical to the Willys. We also added a MII stock front crossmember and suspension. Worked great. Note the dash with gauge pop-outs to make room for the under-dash Vintage Air AC unit. View attachment 4868914 View attachment 4868915 View attachment 4868925 View attachment 4868936 View attachment 4868937
Thanks and that’s a beautiful build very nice thanks for sharing . My plan is far more stock looking and I will also be sticking with the 38 dash probably be using the stock gauges also Luke
Hey Luke - very nice work! Is this Mel Garrard's truck he was selling a while back? Kicking myself for not buying it! You're not that far from us - we're in Cheddington, Bucks. Looking forward to seeing more! Jon
Hi jon yes you are correct I did buy this from Mel had it 3 years now. I’m the 3rd uk owner and really the only 1 to do anything with it. It was up for sale for quite along time and I stewed on it for a bit until my dad pushed me into going for it. I’ve never built anything like this before so it’s all knew to me done restoration work before but in comparison that’s easy as you just put it back where it came from. Got a long way to go with it but cogs are turning now after a lot of head scratching and planning which way I’d like to go with it but I think I have a clear plan now but you no what happens to the best laid plans. May be a slack period again until the chassis is built now as want to make sure Everything is squared before going too far Cheers Luke
Been a busy week here. I contacted a local company about building my chassis last week and turned out he had a free spot over Christmas but I need to have it with him on the 12th dec so the late nights began straight away . I mocked up for ride height and took all the necessary measurements. Next was to brace the cab and build a trolley to mount it too then blew it all apart to strip the chassis and remove all unnecessary brackets and the rotten front inner structure etc. I’m now sick if rivets. My dad blasted the chassis for me today as he has his own pot I just had to hire the compressor. Couple of hours later I now have a clean chassis all be it a bit thin in places. Cheers Luke
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