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59 Willys, circle the wagons!

61K views 155 replies 37 participants last post by  73FJ 
#1 · (Edited)
Howdy, this is the intro to my 59 Willys wagon thread. I will be doing a complete body off resto/refresh on this truck. I have never done a frame off before so this should be an adventure, I have however rebuilt my 73 FJ40 from almost the ground up in the last 3 yrs. I also have a 56 wagon that may or may not provide some parts for the 59. My plans are wide open right now as I tend to plan as I work, but I'm thinkin fuel injected SBC, maybe an NV 4500, x case, dunno yet, axles, not decided, SOA, maybe coil front, tube front fenders along the same lines as Firewiz has done on his truck, new Autometers, blah blah blah...well there you go. I should also say that this will probably take me the better part of the next 2 years as I aquire parts and such, unless I win the lottery :shaking:., so patience will be useful. Now I gotta find some pics
 
#2 ·
These are pics from last summer, did I mention my wife bought me this for xmas? Truck had not moved in 7 years
 

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#3 ·
So the day we went to get it the farmer asked me if I wanted him to load it with the tractor, I said sure :D
 

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#4 ·
Now up to this point I have completely gutted the interior, pulled and sold the motor-tranny-x case, it still ran believe it or not, pulled all the glass and saved what I could for templates. The body will be a challenge, both rear panels will be cut out and replaced, most of the body mounts are completely shot and will be replaced, a new gas tank will be fabbed by yours truly, possibly from aluminium, and I will be building a rotisserie to put the body on this winter. The frame will be set aside until the spring and will be at the least boxed in, but probably starightened too. I have a complete set of interior panels, some with the original ashtray, these will be remade out of aluminum.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Today I got around to filling some of the holes in the firewall, man it's been a long time since I welded thin gage. I'm not going to get real picky about the firewall, I think I will be putting some kind of a textured product on there. So there you go, this is my truck, it's probably not gonna be SEMA quality but it will be fun. Moab 2011 or bust! Now to do some grinding and measuring. I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this, hard core, soft core, so if it needs moving go for it.
 

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#10 ·
Thanks MB, and yes I do have a pretty good heater, after all this is northern Canada.
 

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#11 ·
Here are some shots of the frame, pretty rough with lots of booger welds, it looks like someone made an attempt at repairing some cracks and I'm sure they meant well but it was poorly done. So what I will do is cut off the front of the frame and remake it out of fresh steel and quality welds, probably chop it just behind the hole for the steering box. The rest of the frame is surprisingly well preserved except at the back where more booger welding took place to hold the cut down Ford rear bumper.

I did manage to get the old gas tank out tonight and the body is pretty much ready to come off, maybe this weekend if I don't go fishing. :D
 

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#14 ·
Kinda looks like they tried to weld it from beside the vehicle just reaching under the frame with one hand. Then failed to inspect their quality work to see if they acutally hit the crack with any weld. Must not have wanted to get any hot sparks burning into their chest as they lay there in determination to do a good weld.
 
#15 · (Edited)
It's possible that they had burly chests:homer: and didn't want to start a brush fire with welding slag, but everything they welded is BAD! :shaking:
I'll make it all better tho.
 
#20 · (Edited)
May 2011 you mean, right? I'll never make 2010 unless a Lottery win interrupts my posh oilfield trash lifestyle :D
 
#22 ·
Your on brotha! Please bring 2 60's, an SM 465, a 205, one SBC, 4 37ish tires, some paint and bondo, a wiring harness, steering column, some springs, a steering box, some panels, fenders...................................................................................and don't forget the Beer. We had fish for supper, just caught it yesterday :D

Guys I will try for 2010 but considering the state of our oilpatch, meaning no work, its a slim shot. I need EVERYTHING.
 
#25 · (Edited)
If My wagon was all good to go and was free from College and my Machinist Class I would blaze up there and help you as well. It is only 1400 miles from here. I could probably talk my neighbor out of a nice SBC for 100$. He has like 4 sitting on engine stands all ready to be used, But that's just hopes and dreams. I love working on these old monsters, no matter what they throw at you it seems to be fun taking on that challenge. So good luck and maybe we will just see you there.

As my signature says: Do it once, Do it right.
 
#26 ·
I appreciate the offers of help there guys. I think what I have decided to do is buy a whole chevy truck/suv like MB did and pillage it for parts, I would really like a 4 or 5 spd tranny, and this way I get a steering column, driveshafts, hopefully a bellhousing and all the hydraulics, brake booster and on and on. This is a MUCH cheaper option than buying parts and pieces, since the whole country is littered with old chevy trucks. I still don't know about axles, there is a 1980 cherokee for $100 in the local bargain finder, would those be D44's?
 
#28 ·
Well today I FINALLY got the body off the frame, getting ready to roll the frame out of the garage for winter storage in my dads driveway. I've also decided to put my 14b FF in the truck after seeing Wikedwillys project. I'm also going to shamelessly do my version of his tubework to open up the rear fenderwells, and since I will have tube fronts it should all come together nicely. I have also decided to scrap my 84 3/4 ton chevy for my wagon, this will give me a SBC, SM 465, and an NP 208, driveshafts and a front axle until I can find D60, plus some misc stuff. I also need to fab a rotisserie as the underside of the truck is going to need major surgery, all the body mounts and someone cut a big hole in the middle of the floor in the back.
 

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#30 ·
Heres some of what I'm up against as far as rust.
 

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