Oil Bath Replacement on a Willys

The Old Willys Jeeps use an Oil Bath Air Filter Setup. Very common, most guys like it and stay with it. I for some reason am not a fan. But the alternatives have not been great.

I stumbled across this recently, and may give it a try.

WW2 Air Filter Conversion

I like the fact that it keeps the original look, while switching to a dry filter system. I may give this a shot.

Wakefield Willys Update 4.2

This update will be a surprise, as my last one mentioned getting started on body work. But I got sidetracked, in a big way.

Coolant has been leaking all winter and spring, and a few weeks ago I figure out the source. A gasket on top of the engine block above the thermostat.

Not a big deal, but the fix created more problems, and the simple fact was the cooling system was not doing it's job properly. After a change of a thermostat, and some good counsel from the Master Mechanic, the coolant system burbed up its last air bubble and is now running properly.

A major distraction from the body work, but now that it is settled, I feel a lot better.

The only progress on body work is that the top on the 1957 Willys is close to being removed.

Wakefield Willys Update 4.1

It's a new year, and time to get cracking on the Willys Project!

Every Winter, the project comes to a stop for the most part. I do some research over the cold months, look for parts. I just picked up a spare tire that has been hard to find. I also looked at a jeep tub that might be better than the one I have. It was not.

And that is where the focus of the project is for the next year.

The Tub.

For those not familiar with the term, the tub is the body part pictured in this post.

It is all one piece, and is very very very difficult to find intact, particularly in the Northeast. It also has changed over the years in the early CJ5s, and we are probably going to repair the existing one on the 1960 Willys.

Fortunately, companies like quadratec.com have replacement panels and pieces to replace various parts of the tub. Once I start getting into working on the tub, I am certain we will be purchasing some of these replacement panels as I have a number of holes and dents to fix.

The plan is fairly simple.

Starting on one side of the tub, work around the tub until the sides are done, and then fix the floors. I have no idea how long this will take, but my guess is it will take at least the summer, if not longer.

Once the tub is fixed, electrical needs to be addressed, and we will be nearing the end of the project. As we are in year 4, I hope we are not far from being done.

Wakefield Willys Update 3.21

Last update in 2010

Body Work
Since it is cold outside, work on the project has slowed down considerably. It usually does this time of year. However, I am trying to keep myself busy with a few small winter projects.

My current focus is the tub, specifically the 2 front corners where the windshield hinges attach. Like many Willys, rust has eaten away at the corners and metal behind the hinges looks like Swiss cheese.

So I have cut away all of the bad steel, and am preparing to weld in some new bolts as well as new steel plates to "rebuild" the front corners. It won't be pretty, but it will be strong, I can promise you that.

The pretty part is not so important, as most of the welding will be covered up. The picture is of the driver side front corner, and I am read to start the rebuild.

My only hold up is that air tools don't work well in the cold. The next few days the temps are above the freezing mark so I thought I would take advantage of the mild weather and get a little work done.

Wakefield Willys Update 3.20

She runs again!

Since late Sept. I have been fiddling with the fuel delivery system on the CJ5. Previous Posts tell the story and led to the replacement of the fuel tank.

I decided to go with a polyethylene tank instead of a steel one given the rust. The big problem I ran into was that the pickup is on the top, instead of the bottom. My fuel line did not reach, uggh, so I ran out to Pep Boys and got a new one.

After hooking everything up and a few strays of starter fluid she roar to life, again.

Sounds great, and looks like we have a mobile unit.

I am pumped, glad to have it alive again.

Wakefield Willys Update 3.19

Well as the air gets colder, the work on the Jeep slows down. But before it gets ridiculous, I am plugging along on some tub repair.

Body Work

Since the Front End is done, my next year or so will be focused on the tub, the rear section of the Willys Jeep. It is in bad shape and since I don't have $3K for a new one, we are going to fix this tub up. I am going to quite literally work by way around it starting on the driver side.

As previously mentioned, the floor under the gas tank was problematic and I thought with a few welds, I could repair it. I can not, too much damage and it really needs to be replaced. Fortunately Quadratec has a lot of floor replacement panels, so it looks like I am going to be picking some up over the winter. It will be a major project, so for now I will let it go and focus on other parts of the tub.

In the picture is the front tub corner where the windshield attaches. Both of my corners are in terrible shape and need to be rebuilt. I am starting on this corner, and so far so good, cutting away the rust and thinking through the steps to rebuild the first corner. I might have it done this fall, we will see.

Wakefield Willys Update 3.18

Fuel System

Well, the restoration has taken a bit of a detour. And there is a simple reason for that. The Willys has not been running.

I narrowed it down to the fuel system and began replacing parts. Started with the fuel filter (unbelievably dirty), replaced a fuel line, still nothing. Tested the fuel pump, working fine, it had to be the tank itself.

The tank was full of clay and that was the problem. It also had some pin holes on the top, so I thought I would replace it with another old fuel tank that I had repaired. I had purchased it some time ago when I bought the tailgate.

And this has led to a new axiom.

Axiom => Never replace vintage parts with vintage parts that need to hold fluids.

Even after my repairs, it is leaking somewhere else. I could try and repair it there as well, but will that do it and will I find another leak?

Given that the gas tank sits under the driver seat, and right over the exhaust system, I am going to install a new polyethylene tank.

Lesson learned. Wish I had discovered this when there were sales this past summer. Oh well.