Well - It might be what they call that cabin fever that sets in on people in Minnesota about this time of the winter it is often mistaken for AADD etc... Anyway my 2 cents; Leave the wheelbase stock, chop the top a little bit,paint it black & have white cobweb pinstripping put on it + wide whitewalls on black steel wheels that have also been pinstripped with hubcaps. Then under the hood dare to be different & hot rod up a 4 cylinder Chevy early S10 engine. Cool cruiser that gets good mileage. Gary 4T950 Chevy Guy
I'd have to draw it out with the stretched wheelbase to see if I liked it or not but it doesn't sound good to me. The fenders come to a peak at their fronts to match the "V" of the grille. I really dig 'em and they're in great shape. I'd definetely use them. If you're gonna use the existing draglink I made for it, weld it before driving the truck, Traves! Unless Tom welded it together, it's just clamped together or maybe Tom replaced it altogether when he swapped out the front axle, I dunno. I wanted the pro-farm look, sorta, when I had it. I was thinking flatbed [4 or 5 foot long] with straight axle and spend my money on the motor. I'd love to go with a 500 caddy, junkyard 440 mopar, 70's 455 Buick or something similar. Keep it automatic for ease of installation and besides, with no weight, you'll need both hands on the wheel. It appears Tom left the big Poncho rear axle under it. It's got 3.23s in it but no posi. The currrent patina is perfect! Has that "lived-in" look, for sure. I say keep it simple with no wheelbase change. JC Whitney prolly has replacement main leaves for the front springs. This is the only photo I have left of it after doing some "house cleaning" in my computer's C-drive.....enjoy
well after dreaming of it all night (or is that nightmares? ) i think im gonna leave the wheeelbase alone for this summer, freshen the front suspension with new shackles, bushings and all.. more than likely start by pullin them springpacks and blasting em clean and see if the things will slide better and squat down a lil more before i go and order new ones, might not even need to remove any leafs once the things work again . . . make up a trans cross memeber and move the engine mounts where i need em etc. . . get it on the road and have some fun with it. in other words imma keep it simple thanks all for the input on this, an im sure im gonna have a million other questions about it before im done T
Thank you for not stretching the front of it, I think it turns them into a Sand Digger real quick and limits your wheel choice with the paddle tires. I am a willy's freak - never had a truck but plenty of flat fenders and early round fenders - I was jazzed about this beauty when Rocky had it and wanted to see the gasser stance. Good luck and hope your health is back up to snuff
First off , tell me about all that white grass your growing over there??? Any half decent springmaker should be able to close up those spring eyes and reset the springs for you...... to whatever ride height you want, within reason.
Thats where i get my car money... bumper crop of cocain up here in Farmington MN yaknow, thats about what i was thinking too. eaton detroit seems to be the place for getting custom springs made to the spec's of car/engine/tire/stance, but im not real sure what the cost is gonna be for one off springs... but the idea of being frugal on this build is appealing (read cheap asshole ) soooo... i plan on pulling them off today, and get them apart so i can clean em up, and clamp the main leafs in the vice and wack at the eyes with a maul... figger i cant hurt em for sure, and if nothing else i'll have smooth sliding springpacks with tight spring eyes for mockup at any rate even if i DO screw em up and they arent useable. finding brake parts, kingpins, bearings, cups etc etc for the willys 2WD front is proving to be kinda challenging. . . lotta sites have 4WD parts and a few 2WD wagon parts, but few list 2WD truck axle stuff... i'm gonna post an see if anyone has a Hollander they can tell me if the wagon 2wd axle is the same as the one under the truck i have... if so, parts are available and not too spendy either
Hey FIddy, Glad to hear you are leaving the wheelbase alone. I DO like the front wheels moved forward....but I think to make it look right, a person has to move the rear wheels forward too and shorten the hell out of the bed. My truck has a 110" wheelbase. FWIW. Please please please do not stretch that truck out to anything over a 115" wheelbase. 120+" wheelbases just look wrong in my opinion. ....and I WILL finish the Willys eventually. It will just be on hold for a while.....
>>Re: would this be gay? I don't know - what sorta pickup were the cowboys on Brokeback Mountain driving?
It's not gay at all, Fiddy! In fact, it's quite heterosexual! Drop that nose to the bricks & follow through! You're on the right stance track! Oh yeah, & Good Luck in the process!
Is that the stock (drop) front axle under this truck? This thread has totally inspired me to build one of these... I'm trying to get my buddy to finance it, as I have too many projects right now (who doesn't). I'm thinking no fenders, heavy channel, big chop (move the windscreen down a little too) a V8 with zoomie headers, and a modified grill shell using parts of the stock grill. Hmmm.
yupper... stock willys 2wd axle under there. i been busy as hell workin the last four days, now i have three off all to myself and the truck... i cant tell you how many times i have built this thing over and over the last four days
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/journal.php?action=view&journalid=32887&page=6&perpage=5&reverse= Mike
yea. . . serious crash n burn oh well... next post might be better. . . the one with pics and schtuff... got the wasted steering gear off the frame, blech what a mess. oh well, i got a sweet aluminum box i scored from Tuck imma polish up and sling over the frame, still debating on weather or not to stick with the willys axle or slam the frame on the ground with a 40 ford axle i got, and use the stock ford spring forward setup,.. keep things outta the way of the motor and still sling the front low
I can't wait for the next thread.... UPDATE PICS MANG!!!! Hell, you may make me decide to finish mine afterall..... YOu know I've not actually taken any parts off of it yet.... Is it gonna be a WILLYS invasion? Only time will tell......
The Jalopy Journal
