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

I decided to build a Willys pick up to sell so I can pay a few bills. I didn't have a Willys pick up but I did have a lot of misc' parts that would go a long way toward building one. I have had the front 2/3 of a Willys frame (boxed) for many years so that would be the starting point. I don't have a pick up cab but have thought of building one from a cut off sedan body for many years. I wish I had a cut off sedan to use but all I had was a very rough sedan roof piece, rough sedan doors, really raunchy cowl pieces and the back of a 36 Ford pickup cab. These body parts were aquired from fellow Willys nut Brian from Fresno in a trade.
I am building this to sell, probably as a roller but maybe I will make it a driver. I am not going all the way to finished stage but it should be a very solid foundation for someone. I am just trying to make it a basic gasser style truck, nothing too fancy and I'm not trying to make the cab exactly the same as an original one. I just want the proportions of the cab back to look normal. I am probably a little more than half way done. I started in January. Here are a few pic's that show where I am and what I started with.....

 

WOW! Nice work

 

Every time I see pics of your backyard and shop, Kev, it kinda takes my breath away. Way too cool.

And the Willys pickup is shaping up to be an easy sell.

 

Here it is going together. Front 2/3 of the frame is Willys, The rear 1/3 is built from the mandrel bent 2x3 rails of a rear chassis clip that was stored at my place many years ago by my friend Aaron (AKA Savage). The narrowed 9" is something I built years ago for a project that was never completed. The tube axle was bought at a swap meet years ago. I am using some old home made ladder bars that I ended up with somehow, pretty funky but I think they suit the truck. Front wheels are the pair I narrowed for a previous thread.











Engine is a 396 Chevy that I have had a long time but never ran in anything. It sure sounded good in the 55 Chevy pickup that it came out of. Trans is a B&M built Turbo 400 than came out of Willys coupe drag car . Don't know much about it, probably manual valve body and shift kit. It needs looking at.

 

Gee Kev - you make it all look so damn easy! That looks awesome! Way to go man! Looking forward to following this thread!

 

I swear, Kev, you've got way too much cool stuff in your backyard..

 

Whoa Kev!!! Awesome!!

BTW... 69 hwy goes right through Muskogee where I live!!!

 

lookin good Kev,good way to clean-up the ole back yard

 

Shaping up to be one neat pick up kev

 

The front fenders, hood and center section are all old fiberglass parts I had picked up at various swap meets. The left front fender was a nice thick one but the RH one was very light weight and broken so I had a friend who does fiberglass work add a few layers to the inside and fix the damaged areas. The hood was pretty funky, I did some repair work on it and bought a scoop I like from Speedway Motors to cover the big hole. I think there is more work to do on the hood yet, I need to add to it, both sides are kinda short.





Here is what I am building the cab from.....

cowl pieces, they were cut from my coupe body when I put it on the sedan floor.



Door needs a little attention...



You can see the roof section in the first 2 pics. Unfortunately one of the A pillars is rusted away at the bottom.
Here is the 36 Ford cab back. Width in the middle is close but top half is not even close to fitting. A lot of slicing and dicing ahead . Belt line will need changing....

 

First I got a good start on repairing the door so I could start on the cab.



Next I got all the hinges working and connected the cowl pieces to the doors.



I forgot to mention I also had 2 sedan door jams. I tack welded the jams to the back side of the doors.



I had the front fenders bolted in place on the chassis so I could bolt the cowl to the fenders and work my way back.



I spent a bunch of time squaring everything up and tacking temporary braces in place. Having my coupe to take measurements from was very helpful.



The roof was pretty flimsy so I tacked it to the tops of the doors in several places to keep the openings and gaps from moving around while I work on the back of the cab.





Before moving on to the back panel I built some floor and firewall structure, also figured location of the Ross steering box.

 

Man Kevin you do some awsome work, I will need to make a stop one of these days on my way down from work. It would be nice to catch up.

 

Nice Work!!!

 

Yeah Danny, stop by any time.

 

Remarkable!
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I was not really convinced the 36 Ford back panel was the best way to go with this conversion, the main reason being that the top corners looked much sharper than a stock Willys pickup which has pretty soft corners. One day I spotted a 40 Chevy pick up cab and it had much more suitable corners, I measured the width and it was the same as the Ford. Cheap ass me didn't want to buy another cab and while contemplating my next move I spotted an ad in the H.A.M.B. clasifieds where a guy was trying to get rid of a rough chopped Chevy cab cheap. I ended up buying just the corners for $50, perfect!. Here you can see how the Ford panel is too high, too wide at top and corners too sharp. The belt line was the wrong shape but it was located in the perfect spot. The window is also too wide.



I hammered the crease out of the belt line to make it match the door better. A stock Willys belt line is much different than this but I will let the next owner cut this out and make it more like a stock one if he is worried about it. I cut the top off through the window. I decided to make the window the same width as a Willys one since I was cutting there anyway.



Here is how I decided to connect the rear panel to the B pillars/door jams. I got some 1/2"x1/4" flat bar and located it on the pillar with the door gap I wanted. I just cut a couple of pieces for the straight , flat sections. I will weld the rear panel to the corner of the flat bar and sand to shape, then make some sheet metal pieces for the curved parts and weld them in. I may seam seal the unwelded part that will be in the door jam.







I made a cut above the belt line so I could re shape the panel to match the door.





Then I worked on the window opening and fit the panels above the window.



Then on to the 39-46 Chevy/GMC cab corners.

 

Thanks for all the info, you make it all look far to easy. Even though I know it isn't.

 

Kev, I am damn impressed. How cool must it be to go out into the yard and do this. Keep posting, this is real good!

 

Wow. Sure shows what a bit of vision and a lot of skill can achieve

 

Amazing work Kevin.

 

Wow!!! Fantastic work as always Kev!

 

great job. i cant wait to see what happens next.

 

Looking great Kev, keep up the good work. Man I wish I had a back yard like yours, I could look at pics of it for hours.

 

Awesome as always.

 

Wow, that is incredible. You build them for real faster than I can build a 1/25th scale plastic one! I still marvel at your place.

 

Frankenwillies............very cool

 

Too cool,, Kev you make it look so easy. Doing cab corners is no easy task, not to mention the all the other parts you mated together. Awesome work.

 

You are one talented dude.

 

Well somebody had to give Langy a run for his money - awesome work Kev....

 

Awesome Kev!