Thought I would start a thread here to track my progress on my Willys Aero hot rod build. Although I typically am a fan of stock machines, I found myself hankering for something a little more personalized. After a few rides in my friend’s ‘53 150 chev, I decided I would build a hot street job of my own. I found this Willys Aero on marketplace and struck a deal, the engine was stuck and missing just enough stuff to where I wouldn’t feel bad stuffing something hotter under the hood. The car is a 1953 Willys Aero Eagle and it was acquired on 3/4/2023
Once the car was secured, it was given a thorough cleaning and stuck in the corner while I left for summer break from college. One of the reasons for purchasing the Aero was the low mileage Buick Nailhead that I had, which was narrow enough to fit into the small engine bay of the Aero. Although I could not work on the Aero, I did not waste time, I picked up a handful of key drivetrain components while off for the summer. Thanks to friends returning to school from all over I was able to get ahold of a ‘57 Pontiac HD 3spd transmission, an original Nailhead bellhousing, and the correct 322 flywheel. All parts were gathered together on 8/28/2023
You'll like that nimble Aero. Just make sure you bolster the unibody. I recall seeing someone else drop a nailhead into an Aero. It fit like a glove and I'm sure gave a lot more power than the 161-cubic-inch F-head stock engine. I'll be excited to see what you do with this.
As with any project, I started by giving it an extensive cleaning, pulling out the interior and pressure washing the entire car. I found what I assume to be the build date stamped on the passenger door, which reads 2-16-53. I was also able to better asses the floors, or lack thereof. I found a fellow Willys owner with a better extra hood and ornament, so those pieces made their way into my garage space. I also pulled the front clip and the 161 engine to start some preliminary Nailhead fitment to make sure it would actually be a viable swap. The bucket seat came out of a junkyard, and may be used, depending on the direction of the build. The original engine surprisingly freed up after sitting without a head, I sold the engine and transmission on 10/14/2023
In my assembly class at school we covered the topic of molding plastics, specifically lenses so the professor let me try out the Aero taillight. The process is fairly straight forward where the silicone is poured into a mold around the original lens and then left to harden. Then the inside of the lens is filled with silicone to create the other half of the mold. Overall the lenses turned out well, we struggled with air bubbles quite a bit, even using a vacuum chamber, but they are better than what I had, and quite a bit cheaper than the reproduction ones available. Nothing like a bit of lipstick on a pig right!?
Yeah, its been coming along alright so far, and the engine fits well! Still a bit to do until its driveable. I will keep posting semi- detailed updates from last year and this spring
Out of curiosity, what is the width of the engine bay? The flathead sixes are surprisingly heavy, though a Buick Nailhead isn't exactly light, either. I had the opportunity to look over a '53 Aero when I helped remove the dashboard for my '52 Nash Rambler project, and it's always interesting to see first hand how similar these mid-'50s compacts are to one another. Casting clear resin is always a challenge, and the slower the resin cures, the better when it comes to evacuating air. Just be sure the clear (tinted?) resin you used is UV stable or the lenses will degrade quickly once exposed.
I am not sure on the exact measurement, I am away from the car for the summer, but it is a tight fit, IIRC the engine bay is about 30 inches wide and the Nailhead is about 28 inches wide. I found a book on engine swapping from the ‘50s and it says the nailhead is about 650 lbs. So not that much heavier I dont think!
After taking a moment to asses, I began the process of fitting the engine, concluding that the firewall would need some slight bashing and the transmission tunnel would need to be cut out. The engine was a tight fit but overall it could not have fit much better. My new engine mounts were simply flat plate that were welded in over top of the old Willys mounts, creating a flat mounting area for the Nailhead. I will post a few more detailed photos of the mounts soon. With the engine moderately in place I realized that the starter, steering box, and clutch pedal would be competing for space. The oil filter housing looked as though it would have clearance issues with the steering on the passenger side. However, the exhaust fits well and there appears to be plenty of space for a radiator, a win is a win right? The first time the engine was actually mounted in the car was 11/24/2023
Regarding motor mounts, I was lucky to find that a junk engine on marketplace with a 4bbl intake and aftermarket C-T engine mounts. The C-T mounts moved the engine farther back into the engine bay, meaning I could use the stock Willys crossmember without major modification. So far I have enjoyed researching how issues were solved back in the day, I am lucky in that my school has a fairly extensive automotive library including many old magazines, text books, and technical journals. I enjoy finding piece that were used from back then, such as these motor mounts, and getting to actually incorporate them into a project!
You will want to check the length of the Pontiac input shaft to see if it engages the crank pilot bearing. Seems I remember the Buick input shaft is longer than the Olds/Pont inputs. Might be wrong but it is a simple check. You got very lucky to find a shifter for that selector tranny. Last one I had I sold for 600 bucks. They are very rare.
The input shaft looks like it lines up properly, but I don’t have a pilot bushing yet so not totally sure. Yeah, I was super excited to find the Ansen shifter, it was incorrectly listed as a 4 speed shifter so I got a decent price on it.
I figured I would share a little more about the look and inspiration for the build. As I mentioned earlier, a friend of mine had a ‘53 Chevy that he hot rodded, although it was pretty standard SBC and turbo400 trans, the look was spot on and was a ton of fun to cruise in. In researching the project, I came across an article in a Hot Rod Magazine about the Aero and found some good info as well as a pretty sweet looking machine. One of the first things I began looking for was a set of chrome wheels, hopefully I can get a bit of a bigger tire in the rear I found this Thunderbird gasser on marketplace and really like the interior, so I have been hoping to incorporate the diamond into the interior somehow.
Here is a little more detailed info regarding the drivetrain for the Aero. Engine is a 1956 322ci Buick Nailhead with a factory 4bbl intake, flywheel, and bellhousing. Pressure plate is ‘56/7 T-bird and the clutch disc is NOS buick. The transmission is the HD BOP selector transmission out of a ‘57 pontiac with Ansen floor shifter. I was hoping to use a ‘57 pontiac rear end but ultimately was out of the budget, so I settled on a 9inch out of a ‘58 Skyliner. The Skyliner was more or less in a mud hole on a farm in central Kansas, he let me use his Hi-lift jack and torch to remove the rearend, this was on 2/3/2024. The radiator is out of a ‘50 chevy pickup I believe, and will need the inlet and outlets moved.
^^^^ Ditto. I really like that it’s a Willys Aero and that you are finding and using old parts for your project. Very cool!
Although there is very little rust in the body, the floors were a bit of a different story, needing extensive repair on the driver’s floor. Much of the floor was replaced with pieces out of a squarebody chevy hood that suffered in a hailstorm. Sections in the rear floor boards as well as the passenger side all required at least small patches. The transmission tunnel is out of a Studebaker Lark which still needs final fitment.
One of the major obstacles was the steering as the oil pan more or less occupied the exact same space. Modifying the oil pan wasn’t really an option as the oil pump would still have been in the way. I contemplated finding a straight axle, and my professor suggested a mustang ii front end But ultimately I opted to follow the Hot Rod magazine fix by crafting a dropped centerlink. The plates are cut out of a ‘40 3/4ton chevy truck frame and the bar that runs across the bottom is a model T axle. I cut and checked everything before welding and everything fit up pretty well. I had a friend who used to weld professionally zap everything together. After it was all welded, I cut out the original center link so that the dimensions wouldn’t be affected. Overall the piece feels quite stout and I am pleased with how it turned out. It was finished and installed on 4/14/2024
I love it! Well, most of it. Having mucho experience with the 57 Poncho 6 bolt transmission, I can't think of many weaker transmissions except maybe the 39 ford unit or the GM 5 bolt trans. I put 4 transmissions in my first 57 Pontiac with a stock 347/2 barrel engine. One after another, they blew. I finally remedied the situation by using a 58-60 Pontiac bellhousing which gave me the option to run a common, later GM trans, namely a muncie 4 speed. Only then did I realize how high first gear was in the old 6 bolt trans! The muncie had a 2:54 low gear which coupled with a 3:63 rear axle gear gave me a LOT less clutch slippage in first gear. I seldom stick my nose into other's business but unless your car is light as hell, I'm afraid you'll have problems with that trans. Photo is that trusty old Poncho....one of 4 I've owned through the years. In fact, the car in my avatar has a 57 Pontiac engine bored .125" to 370 cu. in. I love 'em! It runs a 1970 GTO Muncie 4 speed
Thanks for the input! I have heard mixed reviews on the 6 bolt units, but my nailhead is going to be pretty much stock and the Aero is in the neighborhood of 2500 lbs so hoping I won’t really have issues.
When you get to the tranny this chart will provide you with the crossovers from the different GM makes. !st/reverse gears are normally chewed up but replacements are available. The synchro can be found, pretty common across the lines. I may have some new gears, I think. Possibly a synchro. Did you get the rear yoke for the tranny? If not, better start looking for one as they can be difficult to find. PS.. the scout disk does not fit so forget that item. I have a new Ford disk if interested. ......
long ago I went to look at this Willys for sale, didn't get many pics and didn't buy it. had an Olds or Buick aluminum V8 in it.
Nice work. Just don't put a Dynaflow in it. LOL! Buick 225 or 231 v6 might be a good swap too. Too bad the nailheads didn't do a front sump pan and pick up tube. Keep the updates coming. BTW I have a 53 AeroEagle too. Stock for now.
I did the same thing with my Pontiac powered Studebaker pickup. Traditional solution to an age-old problem. Mine needed to go forward.
Some of the last pieces I worked on included the transmission cross member where I was able to modify the stock Willys piece. I fabricated a bracket for the back of the transmission, then fit it to part of a 1955 Buick Dynaflow pad which bolts to the crossmember, fairly straight forward. I also had to drill and tap 2 different threads in the bellhousing as it was originally from a 264 with the smaller 5 bolt trans. I was fortunate that the 9inch was pretty much a bolt in piece, I have not checked pinion angle, but the width is 1/2” narrower than the Willys rear end and the mounting pads are pretty mich in the same spot.
At the moment the interior remains quite spartan, consisting of one unknown bucket seat that a friend re-upholstered, a ‘58 Ford steering wheel, and a Radson tachometer. I was test fitting a bunch of different steering wheels because the Willys wheel was boring and found that the Ford wheel was the same spline and diameter. The bucket seat came out of a semi-hoarder guy’s shop and it fits quite nicely. I found the Radson unit at a swap meet and fit it to the steering column.
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