1962 Willys Wagon Build

[MidnightBurn]

Originally Posted by IndyFab

Awesome builds, do you have a link for those lights? Thanks

Here you go.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005C1...cs_sce_3p_dp_1

They are available from many other companies. But the prices vary greatly. Not sure why. I hope these are what I think they are. They should have glass lenses with replaceable H4 bulbs.

[MidnightBurn]

Joe got most of the final wet sanding done today. It is amazingly smooth and straight. He had to leave early, so no final sealer or paint. But it's ok. Family comes first. Next weekend the paint should be complete on the cab. It is an exciting stage. I can't wait to see the final color!

The rest of the parts will go much faster. They have been blasted and will require very little body work. We talked about priorities and the doors are next. Once they are painted, they can be reinstalled along with all the new weatherstripping and glass. Then the cab will be completely sealed up and safe to roll outside to make room for all the remaining parts to be prepped and painted. I will have to call in the troops to help move everything around again.

At each stage, I will do my best to continue taking photos.

[imgonnasnap]

When the paint is done it will be 100x better than anything from the factory

[Wright Willys]

Originally Posted by MidnightBurn

I do have pics of the complete system somewhere. I will dig through my stash and see what I can find to post. My wagon dash area is different than a stock one, so it is on my list to modify my design to include a wiper motor bracket that will bolt or weld into a stock Willys wagon or truck. That way, I can create a kit that anyone could use. The kit also includes intermittent wipers.

Ok?

That would be great. Any pics you have would be helpfull. I've got a '56 wagon w/electric wiper motor mounted in the stock location. The cables have stretched and the wind likes to lift the wpers off the glass.

That is beautiful bodywork, btw!

[MidnightBurn]

A few sneak peaks of the painted cab. I really love the color.















The interior is now sealed with POR15 and then green on top. So it is completely sealed and rust proofed. Next it will be covered with Extreme Dynamat top to bottom with new black carpet over that. The roll cage will be black as well. The BMW seats are black leather. The dash will be green with black accents. The windows are all dark glass. I want the interior to be mostly black with just a bit of exterior color blended in. It is going to have blue LED interior accent lights for night driving. But will have clear LED courtesy lights.

More to come.

[MidnightBurn]

The cab paint is now complete. It turned out beautifully.

















I am so excited to finally see it finished and ready to put back together. All that is left to do now cab-wise is to brush the cage with POR15.

[Willys 4x4]

Fantastic work again Midnight . Can't wait to see the rig out of the shop and all complete, another work of genius.

[MidnightBurn]

Thanks. This is an exciting time for me. It is nice to experience something positive for once.

Especially, with the recent very bad medical news related to my last spinal surgery and my long-term outlook along with the relentless and brutal pain that I endure 24/7, it's so refreshing.

I am so thankful to Joe and all my other friends who have done so much to get these big items completed. It means that I can now do some of the small things on the list that only take a few minutes at a time to complete. Things that are light duty and give me something to do that I truly love.

[Drakeslayer]

I love how you are doing everything to the absolute nines even though it is taking so long due to your injuries. I admire your resolve. The truck is just tits. I only wish I lived closer so I could see it in person and help with some part of it just so I could be a part of something so nice. All my best to you and yours,
Drakeslayer

[MidnightBurn]

Well, today was another day of great progress. Joe primed and painted my custom fuel tank.





After that, he sanded and painted the front of the bed, so it could be installed. It will make it much easier to finish the sides when it's mounted up high. The bottom is already painted.



While he was at it, he painted the military dome light housing and inner grill/radiator support.



Then, in the afternoon, 4 other friends showed up and installed the fuel tank then lifted the bed up onto the frame. It's now ready for the final body work and paint. The inside of the bed and the rocker guards will be sprayed with Vortex just like my wagon.











The top of the bed measures a little over 5'. I think I am supposed to have a pilot's license.



It sure is a huge beautiful beast. There will be just a tiny bit of fender flare trimming at the bottom edges, but not too bad at all.

[MidnightBurn]

Originally Posted by Drakeslayer

I love how you are doing everything to the absolute nines even though it is taking so long due to your injuries. I admire your resolve. The truck is just tits. I only wish I lived closer so I could see it in person and help with some part of it just so I could be a part of something so nice. All my best to you and yours,
Drakeslayer

Well, I appreciate your kindness. I do my best. I will say this; I was raised amidst mediocrity, deceit, drunkards, liars and laziness that still makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it. And that, among many other things, created in me, at a very young age, a never ending drive to always do my best at whatever I set out to accomplish. I am very driven and absolutely love everything about the history, design, engineering and fabrication of all types of 4x4's. So, even though I can no longer do most of the physical stuff, it doesn't give me an excuse to be lazy. It just means I need to find other ways to keep myself busy and use my other skills. Otherwise, I would go bonkers. I just wish pain didn't rule every minute of the day and night. It is all consuming and takes a tremendous amount of energy from me. If I try to push past the pain barrier and stay on my feet for more than an hour, I pay dearly for it. It takes days sometimes to get it back under control.

[MidnightBurn]

My hydroboost and corvette master cylinder are now installed. It will be prepped and brushed with POR15 paint specifically engineered for brake components.



The Howell harness is all plugged into the engine, trans and t-case. Once the Vintage Air system arrives, it will be installed. And that will determine the available space for mounting the ECM, fuse panels, relays, DBW and Dakota digital modules.



I have to sincerely thank all my friends for their help so far. It's almost ready for its first test run.

[imgonnasnap]

Looks amazing with the cab and bed together on the frame. never was a huge fan of the jtrucks, but it almost makes me want to run out and buy one. I seem to remember you sold or disassembled your old rig before starting the willys. Did you do the same to the willys or is it still drivable?

[MidnightBurn]

Yea, it's weird. I have always seen the amazing potential with J Trucks. But, unfortunately, most of them aren't treated very nicely. They just get driven into the ground and hammered. It's the same thing with most Willys wagons and trucks. There are thousands of them out there, but they are just barely functional and in disrepair. It's too bad.

As for my wagon, I only took the axles and trans/t-case. I did start to put the 6.0 in it, but decided to use it for my truck instead.

I had an 8.1 planned for my wagon. But since gas prices have gone to the moon, I may go with another 6.0 or 5.3 instead. I already have a brand new TH350 with a Novak adapter for a Dana 20 or 18 t-case. I also have a set of wide track 78 Jeep Cherokee Dana 44's or a front kingpin HP Dana 60 and rear Dana 80. Everything else is still in boxes ready to go back in once it's painted. It is really going to be a totally amazing wagon with dozens of cool customizations. So, it's still on the back burner for another day and time. Still my all time favorite though.

MB

[imgonnasnap]

Originally Posted by MidnightBurn

It sure is a huge beautiful beast. There will be just a tiny bit of fender flare trimming at the bottom edges, but not too bad at all.

I'm not too familiar with jtrucks so bare with me.. the fender flares are metal right? if so why not add 4-6 inches to the center and widen it so it looks more proportional to the tire size. There are a few full body rigs on here that have done that and looks fantastic with enlargened fender openings.

bad photochop

[MidnightBurn]

Yes, they are metal. I have considered it and because I have extra front fenders, it would be an option. It gets a bit more involved though because of having to also modify the inner fender well. Trimming the bottom of the flare, if done right, is much easier and possibly not even noticeable.

Great idea though.

[usmc_birthday]

Originally Posted by Wright Willys

That would be great. Any pics you have would be helpfull. I've got a '56 wagon w/electric wiper motor mounted in the stock location. The cables have stretched and the wind likes to lift the wpers off the glass.

That is beautiful bodywork, btw!

I am also very interested in this electric wiper kit.

[Mark_TJ]

Originally Posted by imgonnasnap

I'm not too familiar with jtrucks so bare with me.. the fender flares are metal right? if so why not add 4-6 inches to the center and widen it so it looks more proportional to the tire size. There are a few full body rigs on here that have done that and looks fantastic with enlargened fender openings.

I also thought that rear fender needs a stretch around the rear tires. It looked pretty cool on this commando. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...=fender&page=5
Whatever you decide will work, this J truck is already top notch.

[MidnightBurn]

Yea, it needs something. But I have some options. Slightly smaller tire, trim them slightly for clearance, widen them, angle them out a bit, etc. we'll see eventually which way I decide.

[bizshop]

Add me to the list for the wiper kit when you have it done. Great looking truck! I'm still working on building my jeepney...

[MidnightBurn]

Joe was back at it today finishing up the body work and prep on the doors. Beautiful job as usual. He takes great pride in his work. This weekend he is planning to finish the last step of prep and paint.

Some pics:















He also got the cool dome light finished:



The front fenders are really only the last parts the will require body work. Everything else is straight and will just require basic prep and paint.

[MidnightBurn]

Joe spent most of Sunday working very hard to finish the bodywork on doors. It was a bit tricky, but he knocked it out of the park. I couldn't ask for anything better. He ran out of daylight, so no paint. But they are completely ready to spray.

Here are a few photos of my Vintage Air Magnum IV heat/air conditioning system install. This unit is designed for larger SUV's, so in this pickup cab it will melt the ice right off my bones and freeze sweat into little ice crystals in seconds. I chose the Magnum, because it won't have to work at maximum power all the time to make the interior just right. This, along with dark tinted glass, Lizard Skin SC and CI, Dynamat Extreme and an a fully insulated carpet kit, should make owning this vintage Willys Jeep Gladiator something special.

The evaporator housing fits beautifully behind the dash and the shape sits perfectly against the firewall/trans tunnel. The original glovebox won't fit without some modifications or placing the housing lower or further toward the passenger side. But since I have a large center console and many other storage areas available on this truck, I am going to leave the glovebox off. This will leave plenty of room for the hoses and electrical stuff. Plus, I am going to keep the glovebox door in place, so it can be opened for excellent access to just about everything behind the dash. Another really nice thing about these units is that everything mounts behind the dash; unlike the original heater system, which was very bulky and took up a ridiculous amount of space in the engine bay. Now that area can be used for mounting dual batteries or any number of things.









Another really nice thing about this unit is the 3 knob switch panel. It is compact and fits perfectly where the ash tray mounted. I don't smoke, so a simple panel will take its place.





Then my stereo will go next to that. And my CB will fit on the right side. Very convenient and clean.

[Willys 4x4]

Looking pretty friggin awesome Midnight. I might have to get me one of those Vintage Air units for my Willys so I can get the old heater box out of the engine bay. How much did that thing run you in for?

[MidnightBurn]

It all depends on what combination of parts you buy. They have so many different options. Like with mine, I didn't have to buy the compressor or condenser and a bunch of other miscellaneous parts.

MB

[mjanselmo]

Great work and starting my own wagon project soon....subscribing