I dragged this old Willy PU out of a field. It belonged to a good buddy that p***ed away from a heart attack way way to young about 6 years ago. His son's hope I can do something with it and im going yo try . There is litteraly not one good or straight part on it. Front diff blown out, some later AMC 6 thats junk, steer box shot, rear frame rails pulled inwards like 6" from pulling the rear crossmeamber into a V getting a tractor unstuck, rust at the frames rear kick up but i think saveable , some gimoungious cobbled up angle iron motor mountd from but im going to try. Side windows cracked and don't roll up . Door hinges welded to the cab as are the mirrors and front fender bottoms to cab. bed has plates weld inside on the sides . Rear fenders are really bad , hood is not right for the truck, front cross meamber butchered for the 6 to fit, fire walls and trans tunnel butchered up and floors are rusted away as are the sheet metal screwed to the holes . Fenders cracked as is about everything else . Rear end is like 5.20 something gears and had a half turn of slop . Front leaf springs do not match with different leaf springs and the rear are like 13 leafs for a like 1 ton rating. Has 4 cool original 16" rims but one is rotted away at the valve stem . Had a dead ra**** in it . So does that count for leather interior???And about 400 pounds of Meyers snow plow on the front that I cut off to get it back off my trailer. Current plan is leave the body alone and beat to **** as much as possable but fully make functional safe and not a rattle trap, and replace / fix floors, fix the fire wall . Kind of do the Patina thing as its not worth putting even implement paint on it and thats what was on it last time likely. Im THINKING 2WD and making it some what fast and nasty but not super low Sort of a farm truck look that might p*** as still 4WD ISH I want to use the 40 years of cast off saved parts that are not right for anything really great I have . Not so much a rat rod but but just use up stuff I have that's not ideal for a street rod or traditional HAMB vehicle. I have a BBC out of a jet boat I had and some cool speed partd , a few 4 and 5 speeds several autos from a 2 speed glide with a translate to turbo 400's These trucks have a wide rearend to allow a sheet of plywood to fit in the bed but im thinking of a narrower rear end in the 56" range and a small tub on the inside of the bed so I can get some actual tire on it that won't stick out a foot and narrowing the fenders a bit. Rearends laying around are from a 8.8" Mustang, 8" maverick, s10 blazer and even a stock car quick change but its a spool . I was thinking of moving the rear frame rails in to take a ladder bar suspension and coil overs or maybe just coil springs. Maybe shorten the bed about 4 inches in the front. Up front I was thinking a 4 link set up I have thats new for a early ford drop axle , have tube and beam axles as well as original undropped and a ford transverse spring . Even considered a straight tube axle to just replace the fwd unit. Was thinking Vega cross steer . Not ruling out split wish bones i have or just making some from square tube . Fenders hide it. I don't think it needs a modifed drop axle to lower it as the frame raises in the front. So its sort of a 500HP with ladder bar rear suspension with a early ford type front suspension with a pile of **** cab and such on it plan . It was my buddies farm plow truck so im hoping to keep the general appearance sort of how it was . But loud and fast . I got it down to the frame before the snow hit and straightened the rails a bit and in not ruling out anything. A SBC would make it simple also. Im thinking of a under $2000 budget plus the stuff I already have. For gl***, tires , sheet metal, tires. Etc. How i found it to now a frame.
Yea I thought about that and I hear you on build time but the S10 does not exactly fit under it either ad in WI most you can find are really rusty . If I was going to go IFS front end I'd consider some frame swap or adding a front stub and there are a few ways to do that I have seen on 4x4 builds . I have seen a dodge Dakota frame and stuff used also . I won't save any money buying more stuff . I have a bunch of misfit street rod stuff that Ill never use on a traditional build . I have a couple complete factory 40's ford from ends with the wishbones still attached and even the spring and cross member I could likely use and add a disk brake kit . I have two or three dropped tube axles with chevy spindles and I have a few drop axles that are tube in the middle and cast or forged ends and I have a couple dropped I beam axles Id rather save for a traditional build like my 31 A PU I should post the stock ford front ends up so some one hee can identify them . all I kow is there ford and square spindles and missing the brakes and hubs . One has the wish bones that kick upward at the front and might work for this as it has the spring and cross meamber still on it . I can split them no problem or use the 4 link stuff that is for a 32 ford I think .( Old 80's stuff ) It would handle pretty good with the 4 link id think in the front . The rear ladder bar set up not so much LOL . Im not married to the ladder bar set up other than I have it all with the cross member and panhard . You can get a triangulated 4 link or parallel kit pretty cheap these days and for say $350 I may consider it with for the street and better handling . I would not rule out air ride or even just using some of coil springs like out of my 96 mustang I have left over . I dont plan on hauling much I have a few sets of stock car coil overs I can likely make work on rear end also The simplest way would be to just buy new leaf springs for the front and remove some leaf's in the rear and install the wide ZR2 S10 rear ( 63") end I have ( 3.73 gears and a locker ) and run the frame about as is with no mods and just do a true straight axle to replace the FWD unit and have disk brakes on say chevy spindles . the issue is you cant really run much tire before it hits the frame and bed and the rear is already wide looking in these . Id like to soften the ride up a lot as these trucks were harsh riding . ' I wish the stock steering box was not shot . I actually considered just cutting the front differential out and replacing it with a straight tube but id be dealing with worn out 1950 brakes and king pin or what ever there called in 4wd . Id like to get as much weight off the front as possable . If I go BBC I think ill do a Vega side steer and I have several box's . I could also do some sort of power steering pretty easy these trucks are wider than say a early ford . so there is some room and as long as it under the hood or fenders Im not super picky as to how it looks . I have a few Reversed Corvair boxes as well and this has side steer already. with the link going to the bottom of the axle . Id lek a good stock box it would make life simple ut there were not that great new . Im in WI so plan on having heat and deforest in this and don't want it so nice I'm afraid to drive it in the snow and salt . It likely will sit out side in the winter like since about 1951.
OK......nice start of a Willys Jeep project. Let me start with my biases......I am 80yrs old. I am a proud Wisconsin resident. I am the proud owner of a 1953 CJ3B Willys Jeep. It is original and unrestored. I purchased it from a large ranch owner in Wyoming. I sits in my garage in between shelves of "stuff"....vintage dirt track midget and sprint car stuff.....remains of flathead stuff.....6cyl Chev hot rod parts.....vintage tractor parts.....and Indian drivetrain.....1928 Chev speedster project stuff....etc etc. I love the HAMB because of it's traditional roots and discussions. This rig is yours so you can do what you want with it. But .....the word Frankenstein comes to mind. Do you honor your friend by turning it into something who's spirit is totally confused or non existent ? I look at the scoop on the hood and think of a great drag car but not a Jeep. I wonder about the wisdom of trying to utilize all the "stuff" that you have.....just because you have it. I cannot fathom trying to build another Jeep for myself using what is on my shelves. Could all the cool stuff you have, be marketed to provide more $$$ for a decent build. What is a decent build in my opinion ? Strong repaired or replacement Jeep frame....they are a dime a dozen. Build up as 2wd original with Jeep stuff OK.....parts are out there. Engine replacement....if you must....a nice smallblock build. Upgrade brakes....all sorts of stuff available. On and on . I use my Jeep for putt putting around the neighborhood with our 6yr old grandson. He loves it !. Windshield folded down.....wind blowing our hair.....and he gets to shift for me from 2nd to 3rd at 40mph. Original appearing Land Rover.....Bronco.....Land Cruisers....roving our town get LOTS of looks and questions if that is what is important. Lately there have been lots of parts and projects of Willy trucks on www.ewillys.com if you are not already familiar. And the catalog from Kaiser Willys Parts......my grandson and I are in it. OK......enough of my sick old man "get off my lawn" rant. Most important......have fun.
The picture you painted with the description doesn't match what the actual pictures appear to show. I expected to see something entirely different then what the pictures show. That said, do you really want to put a BBC on that frame?? The frame was originally built for a flathead 4 cylinder. If you really want to use the front and rear suspension you have on hand, I would start with a simple 2" x 4" tube ladder type frame, built from scratch. It can be level, or have either end raised as needed. The new tube frame can be braced to support the BBC and what ever trans you want to use. It is an open canvas to create from. Then you can adapt the front crossmember and transverse spring attached to the axle you choose, with what ever steering box trips your trigger. You can also install the ladder bars, or what ever rear suspension, at what ever width you want that makes you happy. Build a rolling ch***is and drive train on a solid new frame. The floor pans are rusted out on the Jeep cab, so as you replace them, you can add the cab mounts to the frame where ever they best suit you. Add the steering and brake system parts to the mounted cab. As far as the truck bed, its likely there isn't a good bed floor anyway. There are no rules that say you can't leave the rear fenders in their original location, and keep the bed width the same as it is. All that needs to be done is you cut tire clearance out of the bed sides under the fenders, then add wheel tubs inside the bed sides to accommodate the rear axle and tire width. This is how I trimmed my bed side for tire clearance on my 49 Dodge. You can see the holes where the fender mounts, the original bed side was straight across from where the two rounded corners are in front of and behind the tire. I removed about a 6" high arch, for me, that was all the height clearance I needed. The top of that arch is about flush with the bed floor, I only needed the clearance for the tire sidewall. Attach the bed floor supports to the frame, and create a bed floor with what ever you think needs to be there. A 1/2" thick sheet of plywood would be a cheap option, painted, stained, or left bare would work as a bed floor. You can do as much, or *** little as you choose to with the paint and body work. Start with the solid frame (rectangular tubing is easy to work with), make it as hot as you want and be reasonably safe, then cover it with the Jeep sheet metal. ***le it with the Jeep numbers that match the cab.
The frame is more than strong enough for a BBC . These were rated as a 1 ton truck and they had in line 6's in many of them. Its a stronger frame than a stock 32 for car or truck. In the 80's a guy down the road jad ine I f these he used as a pull truck with a blown BBC that made over a 1000 hp . Not saying he didn't beef up a lot but the original frame rails were there. Many many of these have had SBC installed with cast exhaust intake and everthing from the donner vehicle that would be near the same weight as the BBC id install . There id not a body part on this that us what id call good, the underside of the hood has been cut by the grill, the back of the grill has been cut , this is not a vehicle that getting thousands of dollars in body work and time to make straight. Its a farm truck that will stay farm truck looking , Im just going to add some HP brakes and the plan is 2wd. I can add inside tubs to the bed and that is the plan BUT to do that the frame needs to be narrowed at least were the the wheels will go. Bed will stay the same width . I haven't ruled out back halving the frame with square tubing but I can also just move the rails in at the cross meamber ill need to install for the ladder bar . The scoop is just sitting on the hood my kid set it there. My idea is it will look about like this but woth maybe 2" of drop and V8 and in the rear the ability to run a wider tire inside the fenders and maybe even narrow the fenders some so the front and rear track width are about the same . This is a $2000 build along with stuff on hand. When done it should look about like this slightly lower 2WD and some tire width inside the fenders and around 450 HP or so depending on if i detune the engine i have with less cam . I haven't ruled out a simple used 350 SBC and turbo 400 either out of a 70's square body . But hey I have a BBC and sime cool stuff for it. Might try and use the original 16" rim centers in a new hoop . I have other expensive nice projects . This is more of a beater build .
The plan is do as little as needed to the exterior and fix the floors, doors and such to be clean and functional. I could just run the original leaf springs and not do much at all to the frame and just make it a driver but with a 2wd straight axle. But im still buying spring as mine are shot and mismatched . The engine in it is junk, the trans is junk. Transfer case is likely junk, front pinion is broken and rear end has a ton of back lash and is like 5:20 gears and has keyed flanges to the axle . So there is littetaly nothing drive drain thats reusabl or original as far as engine. Even if it was it geared way wat to low to drive on the highway much. Ill have to check out the website you linked . My ladder bar idea is likely not a great one but I have it , If the truck was nicer id do a triangulation 4 link rear, four link front and cherry out the cab and stuff . Its just not worth it when you can buy these truck from 5 to 10 grand In pretty good condition . This is not the truck to get to deep into. I know what you mean by Frankenstein but I think if I keep the exterior about how it is most the drive train and suspension won't really jump out . I just was thinking a BBC under the hood would be kind of cool . There is room the firewall already has a giant hole from the 6 that got cobbled in so its no harder than a SBC swap. I was thinking transverse front ford style spring because I just need a crossmeamber were it goes and then I could trim off the frame thats sticking out . I have seen a couple that had a drop axle and a transverse spring and they looked stock if you didn't know. I figured with the fwd axle , iron cased transmission transfer case , and m***ive rear leafs and very heavy front leafs removed even with a BBC in it the truck will still be a lot lighter than originally. Im just thinking patched up farm truck with some horse power and some gears to run it on the highway and up the interstate if needed .
The Jalopy Journal
