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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
 
#69 ·
Heres what I've done lately. The floor needed more patching than what I thought was worth it so out it came :evil:
 

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#70 ·
I cut out some bad damage at the drivers rear too....
 

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#74 ·
The bed floor from a Chevy truck is bang on for width, and by ordering the 8' bed I can put the wheel wells where they need to be and trim the rest to fit. $325 approx for the whole bed brand new.
 
#77 ·
I just ordered new bed floor panels today for an 2002 Chevy pickup with an 8' box, they come in two pieces, should be a fairly easy task to fit it back in.
 
#78 ·
I bought brand new quarter's, just cut out and weld in brand new metal. I'm going to install the new floor and rear x member then install the new quarters.
 
#80 ·
Update

Tonight I finally got the floor back in and looking pretty good I think, the bed was originally for a 2002 long box Chevy, now it's for a 1959 Willys :grinpimp:
I had some issues waiting for a rear x member from a supplier which really killed a lot of time and I ended up having a local shop fab one for me because the one I ordered was such a piece of shit :shaking:. I'm hoping to get started on the panels, maybe this weekend?
 

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#83 ·
Actually it was pretty easy, I sectioned it 3" at the wheel opening and then cut some off the top and bottom. I have to figure out a clean method to close the front and back where the floor sits on the x members.
 
#85 ·
Wow, that is a sh!t ton of work. Nice job by the way. Very resourceful I must say. WHat guage sheet metal is the floor? I'll be cutting my pickup floor & firewall out and was thinking 16g. Not sure if that's to thick or not. I plan on doing a subframe for the floor for ease of fabrication and strength. Nice garage, I'm using a 2 car with room for only one. The frame off will be tight but needs to be done. Who'm I kidding I want to do it.
 
#87 ·
For my repairs (new pass/driver foot floor and firewall) I am using 16 ga. colled rolled. It will probably last longer than anything else... but its a bitch to bend, esp since I dont have any real sheet metal bending equipment, its almost easier for me to cut weld and grind it.
 
#90 ·
Looking pretty darn sharp there. At least your Windshield seal lip is intact. Mines in need of serious repair :shaking:and your fenders are not cobbled together with booty fab welds:barf:. Can't wait to see what you do for the rear tailgate area as I need some ideas for that as well as a different approach to mounting the new quarters.
 
#93 ·
Yup, pics to prove it too :)

In September 2010 I made the decision to take the roof off because it was rusted out on the drivers rear and had been leaking for some time and the only way to it was to do it, so 1100 spot weld later it was off.
Then the truck sat, for a while as I went through a difficult time. Then it was happy times again and my interest was renewed. Plus I went Elk hunting!
 

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#94 ·
The first thing I did was repair the drivers rear, I think it turned out pretty good.
 

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#95 ·
I was so happy with how that turned out I did the passenger side too...then I turned my attention to the roof gutter. I cut out directly underneath the leak and welded in new.
 

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#96 ·
Then it was time to do the roof gutter, made some new pieces and in they went.
 

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#97 · (Edited)
Woooohoo! life is fun again. Ok, I had cut out everything original and neede a new drivers cab floor, so I made one of those too. I still need to blend it into the firewall, but I think it's all coming out too.
 

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#98 ·
So now I needed someplace to put the seats. Decided to stay with the Willys style, so I started roughing it in.
 

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#99 ·
Got a local shop to bend up the cap for it...
 

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