Wakefield Willys Update 4.6

As you can see by the pictures, we are working on the passenger side of the Jeep Tub.  You can also see there is a lot of work to be done.  These picture were taken before I got started on Saturday.

Today I was able to make a lot of progress.  Most of the paint is now stripped off, along with some bondo.  Some of the 60 holes in the tub on the passenger side are filled in using the welder.

As usual, in peeling back the paint and cutting out some of the rusted steel, it has revealed some further work.  Ahh, the joys of restoration.

My hope would be to get all the way back to rear of the jeep and have the passenger side painted.  We will see, stay tuned!

Wakefield Willys Update 4.5

 As I have said before, it has been a slow summer.  Not much work on the Willys Jeep.

Today I put the final touches on the Passenger Side Windshield Hinge Fix.  With some welding and grinding we are almost ready to paint.

Now it is time to start repairing the Jeep Tub on the Passenger Side.  The funny thing is when you start to take away the paint the Jeep looks like it was shot at with either a shotgun or rifle.  Those are rust holes that the grinder exposes.

Some of the holes were hidden by and old Pennsylvania Inspection trick.  In Pennsylvania, like NH, they look for "holes" in the body.  If your car looks like Swiss cheese, it does not pass inspection.

So if it is a small hole, like some of these on the side of the jeep, they would simply put a screw there bolted from inside.  All those holes you see where former screws.  Funny solution, and clever at the same time.

Wakefield Willys Update 4.4

The driver side windshield corner is nearly done.

From the picture you can see the final steel piece welded in and ready for some grinding, primer and then paint. It came out better than I expected, still rough, but over all a vast improvement over what was there.

Now for the rest of the jeep tub........

Wakefield Willys Update 4.3

I have not been busy with the jeep this summer. I need to be as it will not fix itself. Over the last few weeks, things have picked up.

As mentioned in a previously post, the windshield corners were rusted out and need to be cut out, and new sheet metal welded in place.

Well as you can see, we finally have started replacing the sheet metal. Started with welding the bolts in that will be used to screws the windshield bracket itself. Then the first piece of steel, and after the primer dries, the second piece that goes on top of it. Once welded, and primed, we will be done! At least with this one corner, the other corner is still waiting.

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.