1932 Willys...barn find to runner in thirty days.

Hey Steve,
You know I'll be watching the '32 build!....Your off to a great start.....I knew that car had a great solid body!!.....Keep up the good work!.....Man, I really dig this car......I'm glad you ended up with the Willys.....It's in great hands!....John

 

Thanks, was going to convert it to a two door but the body was just too nice to cut up. Can't believe those words came out of my mouth, i can usually butcher anything. Must be getting old and soft.

 

I just saw this post. I have a 1931 Willys 97. Yours is definately a 32. If you have any questions it's probably best to email me since I don't get on here too much anymore. I'd be very interested to hear what you come up with for the front brakes. If you're ditching any sheetmetal or other parts, I'd like a heads up.
Thanks
montclairemotors@yahoo.com

BTW. I know you're thinking chevy power, but a jeep 4.0 is nearly the exact same dimensions as the stock sleve valved six it came with. Might be worth looking into, probably what mine will get if I can't keep the stock motor going.

 

Here's my 31. It looks like you only have one piece of running board trim - I'm missing a side and if you won't be using it I'd be interested in buying it off you.

 

Howdy, just got done with about 13 hours of sandblasting and 4 hours of clean up. Jeez that job never gets any more enjoyable. Well as you can see everything on the frame is clean and good to go. Getting the old brackets off was tons of fun. Were'nt bolts invented by 1932? Removed a lot of ford rivets in the past and these have got them beat for hard to remove 10 fold. I'll quit whinning now. The plan of attack for the coming week is for my buddy Ken to finish up paint removal and some small patch work on the body and am shooting for primer by next weekend. Tommorow i'm starting on the engine and trans, a day late but what the hey. Ater that i'll try to locate a steering box and mount it, then the motor and trans mounts.I have two questions for the experts on the H.A.M.B.. I think i'm going to give up on the vega box and go for something beefer. I'm looking for a manual box , rear steer with the pitman arm in the middle of the travel at the 6 O'clock position. Also when you turn the steering wheel left the arm will move forward. Second, on the stock steering arms there are balls on the steering arms that the tie rod pivots on. Are these threaded in or pressed in. I can get it to move about a 1/4 turn each way and thats about it. Figured i'd ask before i drill them out. Finally, note to self , wear a long sleeved sweat shirt when you sand blast DUMBASS!!!!

 

Figured i'd clarify the steering box question. What i'm looking to do is turn the steering box 90 degrees , mounting it to the bottom of the frame with the splined shaft to the outside of the frame. The drag link will go to the drivers side spindle. PM with any ideas. Searchs some threads bur did'nt really come up with anything. Thanks Scruff

 

Well with a good nights sleep and a clear head i've managed to answer both my questions. Steering pivots were threaded in and then peened over on the bottoms, little grinding did the trick. And as for the steering box, after looking at it again, i'll be making a new steering arm off the drivers spindle which will move it up parallel with the ground, that way i can use the awesome Maverick box that i have. Probably as common as a 32 Willys! Thanks for the help.

 

Nice Slip with the Sand Blaster Steve, How long did it take you to dig the sand out? lmao.... I may stop by after work Later today if you need a hand.

 

Good luck with the project man!

 

I LOVE that grill

 

Charlie we'll be out there, did about 32 hours this past weekend. Not bad for a couple of old farts!

 

Maybe I'll change this Drawing with the 32 Willys instead lol

 

nope!!!

 

lookin good,...makin some good progress. good idea on the steering box, too.

 

It's been a week since the last set of photos. You guys must be working so hard you don't have time for a photo update!

 

Some day when you have a little free time. (After your done) could you take some pictures of the Knight engine? I have never seen one and thought they would look strange with all the monky motion drive. But from what I can see it's not so. Just interested.

 

Thanks for sharing,looking forward to more pics

 

From what I have seen, the "monkey" stuff is all inside.

The Willy Knight and Yellow Knight auto dealers had desktop small cutaway display models made to show customers how the sleeves worked. These models were made of potmetal and most all remaining ones are broken where the sleeves attach to the linkages.

I did have one decades ago and it was broken. I used to see a few at Hershey for sale. About 6" tall, showing just one cylinder with sleeves.

 

RichFox,
Go to the Willys Knight registry online and they have a cutaway view of the Knight engine. The sleeves are controlled by a second "crankshaft" and rods. I am researching repair of this engine in case I can't get the 31 I'm working on to free up.
If I can't, well then I'm tearing into it this winter.

 

I will post some pic's either tonight or tommrow depending on when i have the strenght to push down the button on the camera. It's been a hell of a week ,but are still managing to have fun, not too much sleep but fun. We're to the point where we look at each other and say who's stupid frick'n idea was this? Just kidding.

 

Don't think that it matters but mine is an Overland not a Knight. Will post some close ups when i get done & clean up the engine. Thinking the old engine & trans will either be for sale or go to a local museum.

 

dont matter, it was still a knight engine.

cool build, looks like you guys are having a hell of a time

 

That's freakin' brilliant!

Good luck on the Willys. That's a great looking car.

 

Real quick update more later, gotta go things to do. Motor and trans mounts are complete and the body is 95% stripped and a couple dime size patches. Later...

 

Get the brakes figured out yet? I did the same as Rich on my old Henry J when I was a kid. Disks from an Amassador are what I used.

 

Yes think the brakes and spindles are handled. Going on Monday so i'll know then.

 

Well the Maverick steering box was a no go. Back to the Vega box, going to scale the car when it's done to see if this will be on longterm. Turns out the 283 is a 1963 with 1958-59 X-58 Vette staggered bolt heads. kinda cool ! Was given a 1960 Impala steering wheel for the project, thanks Ken ! Will be doing the front suspension tonight and hopefully starting on mounting the ass-end in it. Later....

 

Nice work Steve, boy that body appears to be in great shape. Did you have to replace any of the wood, or is that all original?

 

Ralph, had to replace the bottom piece's on the front doors, top inner header piece for the roof slants to mount to and the wood behind where the rain gutters is soft so we'll be welding in tabs so we can weld on the gutters rather than screw them on. It all takes time and we're trying like heck to make September 1st to make a lap down the road, stay tuned......

 

Great to see a rarer brand! This was at a time when WILLYS was still a major player in the U.S. auto scene. Despite the Stock Market crash, there were still two dozen car companies competing to stay alive. After WWII, only MAYBE 14 were still around.
By 1961, oldies like Hudson, Nash (not Rambler, though), Packard, Willys (cars, not Jeeps), Kaiser, Frazer, Crosley were also gone, soon to be followed by Studebaker.