Wakefield Willys 5.13

Very exciting.  Rear Panels are installed.  Needs some spot welding, but they are bolted in.

The plan to get them in changed last minute.  The rear side panels have been sagging probably for decades.  Common problem on pickups, rust eventually causes the rear side panels to fall apart and lean outward.

To correct this, I was going to weld them to the rear panels, but that is a lot of pressure.  So I drilled holes and bolted them together slowly.  This is correcting the problem and bringing it back together.

I think it is looking much much better.  Now for the rear valence!

Rear Panels Being Installed

Wakefield Willys Update 5.12

Progress, and new challenges.

The frame is painted, the rear of the willys is painted.  It is time to assemble the 3 remaining pieces of the jeep.  2 rear panels, and the rear valence with the tailgate.  I wish it was as easy as bolting them to the rear bumper, but it is not.

If you look closely at the rear panel attached and the rear corner they don't match up.  Not surprising considering the age of the tub and it has probably been sagging for decades.

So what to do?  See the engine crane lying there in the background.  I think it maybe time to reassemble it and use it to lift of the rear corner.  I might have to do it on both corners, I am fairly certain both sides will need some help.

So I am going to attach the other rear panel and see how bad it is, and then probably decide to erect the engine crane.  Exciting times, glad the tools are here to work with.

Wakefield Willys Update 5.11

With cold weather approaching, painting gets more difficult.  So taking advantage of a mild day, I cleaned, painted and rubberized the rear portion of the willys jeep.  The frame, the rear bumper are all cleaned up and drying as we speak.

Feels good to be done with this, now on to the floor, rear panels and rear valence.  Yikes! We are close to being done!

Wakefield Willys Update 5.10

 Slow but steady.

As you can see by the first picture, the replacement pieces are welded in over the rear right fender.  I am not done, I need to do some grinding and go over with the welder one more time.  Then grind again and then we might be ready to paint.

To weld and get ready to move on to other parts of the rear restoration.  I removed the tires so I can get into to weld and clean up the under portion on the rear of the tub.

Did quite a bit of cleaning the frame today, but still a long long way to go.

Once the underneath is cleaned and painted, I will get back to putting the rear panels back on and finishing up the rear.

Can't wait to see this finished.  Should look great.

Willys Wakefield Update 5.9

Still working on the Right Rear.

This was not on the list of fixing up the rear.  But as I was working back there I found holes that were not easily repairable.

So in the picture you can see what I have done.  Cut the bad steel out and plan to weld in a new piece.

The new pieces are fabricated, just waiting for another day to get the new pieces in.

I was able to work on the rear bumper, the rear left and clean up some parts.

A lot of work, but not much to show for it.  Hoping that will change before the snow flies. 

Wakefield Willys Update 5.8

The work continues..... slowly.

Yes, recently weeks have not been good for the willys project.  Got a few hours in today however.

What takes so much time are little projects like this. 

Drilling holes for the lights and hooks.  Sounds simple, but it takes precision, careful planning and then finally execution.

What was important in this step was the scrap bucket pictured towards the right of the 2 rear panels.  In there are the scrap parts that let me know where to drill.  I could have easily thrown them away but I didn't.  And boy, I am glad I didn't, made this job easier.

At the end of the day, I drilled a few hole and cleaned some parts up.  But it took hours, not minutes.  And that is why sometimes it feels like it is going so slow.