Wakefield Willys Update 1.3

I have not posted anything for a couple weeks because things have slowed down.

I am coming to the conclusion that we probably can not use the frame of the 1965+ Willys. For that reason, and the weather, we have come to a crawl as far as progress.

We have primed some parts, a hood, transmission cover, tool box cover, etc.... I find it quite satisfying to clean up some of these parts and priming them for eventual painting. Feels like we are getting somewhere, and it does not look like a rust convention.

Why it can't be a 1959 Willys Jeep

Since I have picked up the Willys, I have had my suspicion that our "Bondo Jeep" was not a 1959. There were some noted differences from our 1957 but I did not have any information to the contrary.

Until now.....

If you click on this link, you will see a great explanation of the differences between CJ5 over the years. With this info, I am convinced our "Bondo Jeep" has to be a post 1965+ Willys.

This website also indicates it was built sometime between 1965-1968, given the windshield wipers.

This is not a problem, given the frame should be the same.

So from now on, I will be referring to it as a 1965+ Willys

Before & After 1959 Willys Jeep

Wakefield Willy Update 1.2

Drew & I set aside today to make some forward progress on the Willys Project, and we got a lot done.

Engine
Nothing, all parts are at a engine shop in downtown Nashua. We have put a lot of work in that arena already and did not really have anything to do in this department.

Frame / Body
We got a lot done here thanks to my newest power tool, an angle grinder. Boy did this save a lot of work! Rusty bolts are so annoying, until you slice them in half with this. A must when working with rusty parts.

We basically started stripping the 1959 Willys. Removed the Hood, Windshield, and other assorted parts. The last major hurtle is to remove the "tub" or "bucket" if you prefer. For that, we will either need to cut it up, or have a number of men help us lift it off the frame. We will see.

Drew did a lot of sanding, and removing bolts. Between the 2 of us, we got a lot done.

Wakefield Willy Update 1.1

We have ignored the Willys for the past few weeks, the last couple of weekends have been busy. But today we had time to do some work on our project.

Pretty simple, but dirty.

We cleaned engine parts....

Crankshaft
Flywheels
Cylinders
Head Gaskets
Oil Pan (by far the worse in the group)
and many many more random parts.

It took a few hours, but the results look promising. Hopefully this coming week we will take the parts we have cleaned down to the machine shop where the engine block is located. Boy am I dirty!

Powerplant => F4 Hurricane

Not the best picture, but at least it shows what we are starting with. Let me introduce you to the future power plant of our Willys Jeep. The famous F4-134 Hurricane.

This is the replacement of the more famous WW2 Go-Devil Engine. It came out right before the introduction of the CJ5.

It is a great engine and we are looking forward to hearing it roar to life in a few years. It currently is at a machine shop in Nashua and it is being checked out to see if it indeed can be rebuilt. I hope it can, or I am out of an engine! We do have a spare engine, but it is a Go-Devil and we want to stay with the more accurate engine. We will find out hopefully sometime soon.

Willys Sanctuary

Looks peaceful doesn't it?

Well it was quite chaotic to get those Willys to the backyard, but they are finally at home.

They will both be covered soon as Winter will be approaching. The blue tarp marks where a tent shelter will be erected soon.

The Yellow Willys will simply be put under a tarp as we will not be getting to it until probably after Winter.

Anyway, glad they are here, nice to not have to travel 30 minutes to see them. A few engine parts are still in storage but that will not take much to get them over to the house.

A Great Resource in New England

Metal Strip of New England. They are my links section.

Very cool, they dip the parts in chemicals and takes the rust, paint off of the parts. They have given me a quote, and we may take the frame down there to have it dipped. They are only hour away, and this might speed things up considerably.

Wakefield Willy Update 1.0

My computer is updating itself at the present moment so I thought I would refer to these Willy updates in a similar manner.

Not a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks, but a few developments are in the works.

We have decided to build a temp shelter in the backyard so we can bring the Willys to the house. They are currently 30min away which is not convenient. They should arrive here in the next few weeks.

We have begun the salvaging aspect of the project, what gets sent to the scrap yard, what we can sell and what we can save. So far we have a few parts that I think are worth something and will bring some $$ for the project.

I have made one trip to the scrap yard, a 300lbs snow plow that was worth $14. Whoo Hoo! Big Money.

We have order some books on the Willys that have arrived.. It has been fun to read through some of the history of these jeeps. I am hoping to put together a historical background to the 1957 Willys.

That's it for now, we are anxious to get the Willys to their new home, as it will speed up the work on them. Our goal as of right now is to strip the 1959 down to the frame, sand it, and paint it so it will be ready by the Spring. We also hope to get started on the engine rebuild over the Winter. If by April we have a frame ready to be built on and an engine in the beginning stages of being rebuilt, I will be very happy.

1959 "Bondo Jeep"

Yes, it is as bad as it looks.....

This is our "Parts Jeep" or as I like to call it the "Bondo Jeep"

For those unfamiliar with the term, Bondo is a compound used to fill rust holes and fix body work. But it should be done in small doses, not an entire jeep!

Anyhow, for that reason this Willys is beyond help. So we will be utilizing certain parts. What it lacks in the body, it makes up in the frame.

We will be using this frame as our foundation. From what I can see it looks better than the 1957 Willys. But as we strip it, we will see how strong it is.

The other major contribution is the engine. It is in several pieces and can be rebuilt. The 1957 has an engine, but I think we want to start with a total rebuild.

Anyhow, the frame, the engine, and a few other parts will be salvaged from this shadow of it's former self.

1957 Service Station Willys

So here is a great shot, a boy and his Willy's Jeep.

As you can read on the Willys, it served the bulk of its life as a Service Station Willys in Schuylerville, NY north of Albany.

This jeep came with a plow, and 2 bumpers that are heavy duty. A top that is very unique, with a little light on top. It is a little different than Willys from that era, as it is meant to be a workhorse.

Our plan would be to keep the look, but also make it possible to also be a more standard looking Willys. The frame is not good, it has some holes in it. This has an engine, that may run. The first thing we will be doing with this Willy is taking off the parts that are solid and wirebrush it and prime it. This is the project jeep, the second one is a parts jeep that I will introduce in the next post.

Adoption Day

It has been a very long day that began around 5:00 a.m. with a beautiful drive to Greenwich, NY to meet Steve, the owner of these fine Willys. We met Steve and met the Willys for the first time, which was all very exciting. After 3 hours, we had them fully loaded, with spare parts and all and made a slow journey back to Nashua. Over all the journey was uneventful, and the Willys were unloaded and stored for the night.

Matt D. was a huge help as well as Drew in getting these Willys back to NH. Overall, I am thrill to have this trip over with and looking forward to the new adventures that lie ahead with this project. When I have more time, I will introduce the 2 Willys to let you know what we are facing. For me, it is time for some shut eye, as I said it has been a long day.

Purchased: 1957 Willys Jeep

Today marks the beginning of this adventure. We made a verbal agreement to purchase a 1957 & 1959 Willys Jeep.

Pictures will come once we pick it up, which should be soon!