Willys Wagon

There are four holes on each side of the hood, at the lower rear , in line with the darker line on the cowl.

I’ll see if there are missing bars on the grille.

Mrs. B. and a couple of doggies.
Jon B.

 

Speaking of holes in sheet metal…

Each front fender has a 3/8”-7/16” hole in the outboard forward edge. Looking at photos of ‘49-53 models, I don’t see anything attached there. The holes are near the hood hold-downs but farther out on the flat of the fender.

Maybe they’ll get welded shut when I’m patching things…

Jon B.

 

Photo of those fender holes:


I guess they’re 1/2” give or take a 64th.

Also, there are no holes in the vertical grille bars where two additional horizontal bars were or could be attached. It must be a ‘53 with an older front clip on it.

Jon B.
(My signature still won’t show - I may have done it wrong)

 

Looks as though the carb needs to be rebuilt. I used a ‘squeeze bottle’ to push gas to the carb, after pouring some down the throat. No joy. It runs until whatever was poured in is burned, then dies - maybe 5-8 seconds.

I hafta crawl under her to see if I can get the casting number off the block. Allegedly, it will tell me if it’s a 260.

Jon B.

 

And…

We found that the tailgate hinge is in bad shape. When opened, it took some prying to get it back to where the latches (only one, in fact) would engage.

The panel in front of the rear bumper is loose. The tailgate hinge is attached to it, and can move around. The floorboard at the hinge area is also rusted away. This could be an ‘interesting’ repair.

Jon B.

 

Cool find!
Signature won't show when mobile device is held portrait.
Mine should list the jeep my m416, two ford's and the camper to push them.

For yours I see:

‘72 CJ5 basket case
‘53 Willys-Overland 4x4 Wagon

 

Start getting some penetrating oil on the tailgate hinge. You might get it to loosen up enough to be usable.Rust in the lower gate/hinge area is typical, yours just looked pretty good in the photos. The rear panel below the tailgate is available and easy to change. The back edge of the load floor is where the hinge mounts, and that is much harder to repair, though I think someone has made a weld-in repair kit. A couple of my Wagons have barn doors, so they don’t have the rust trap under the tailgate hinge.
Post up the block casting numbers. I’m not an expert on small Fords, but I have a book to identify about any engine casting number. Like I mentioned, pulling a valve cover will likely show the engine size, cast between the valve springs.
-Donny

 

Nice Pick up by you, Jon B. The wheels alone are currently going for what you paid for the whole Rig.

 

Ack! It’s wearing a matched set of Wards 6.50-16 snow tires. Are those wheels really worth big bucks? It even has a spare!

There’s no way I’ll do a ‘faithful’ restoration, so perhaps I’ll sell the wheels to finance a set of brakes & hanging pedals…

I got called to work this week, even though I’m retired. Neighbor needed a semi driver to fill in for a guy taking a week off. No time to work on projects.

Jon B.

 

Mean the K-H Wheels........The tires may look good , but they're likely 40 years old !

 

Yup, I knew what you meant. I just wanted to state that they’re 16” wheels. There are discussions around what’s “original” for the wagons on the Old Willys forum.

Those old tires are still holding air (the tubes are, anyway) but I surely wouldn’t drive on them! Good tread but as you said: they’re OLD.

Jon B.

 

Got a lead from an old acquaintance at a car show today regarding Ford engines. The casting code on the intake manifold shows it to be a 289, built in 1962.
Saw a ‘51 wagon on a Chevy K5 frame that was pretty sweet and a ‘53 Willys CJx (the tall hood model) with the original four-banger. Not sweet but pretty cool. The show was in my home town, so I know the CJ’s owner. He has a bunch of old stuff - Jeeps, wagons, a couple of Power Wagons and a half-track with a Bantam cable-operated backhoe on it. And, no, none of it’s for sale.

Jon B.

 

This old beast is missing its brake master cylinder, it has manual adjusters on the brake shoes, and all of the lines are shot, so…

I have Brennan Metcalf’s caliper mounts, a new Wilson’s master cylinder and a set of hanging pedals (from member bkap). I think I’ll go with disc brakes all around.

I’ve started taking things apart to see if the front axle can be salvaged. There was a bit of water in the housing but only a bit, and it was followed by nice clean gear lube. OK! Removing the cover showed a small bit of rust, but no pitting of the ring gear. Nothing else touched the water.

At some point, the thing ‘grenaded’ and was repaired. Here’s the cover:

Ouch! The case/carrier that the ring gear bolts to is equally scored, but things turn easily and quietly.

I pulled the right side hub off to examine things. One bolt on the locking hub refused my efforts with an open-end wrench, so a torch, chisel and hammer were used to persuade it to come out. I think I’ll replace the hubs with Warn units and socket-head bolts. (Anyone have a set of 10-spline hubs fo sale?)

This morning, I separated the brake drum from the hub. The wheel studs are swaged into the hub, making things no fun. I center-punched the head of the stud, drilled a 5/16” pilot hole partway, then drilled out the head with a 3/4” bit. Drill presses are handy tools! A hammer and punch drove them out nicely.




Now to order parts… The bearings and cups are in very good shape, so will be reused. I’ll get seals, gaskets and new nuts - Walck’s?

The money pit grows larger!!

Jon B.

 

I do not believe 289's were available in 1962.

Please don't do a frame swap. So few turn out well.

DiggerG on the OWF often has Warn hubs for sale.

 

I agree on the 289. It’s almost certainly a 260 at that year. Unfortunately, a 302 won’t bolt up to that bell housing; five bolts vs. 6 on the new style.

No frame swap for me. The plan is to keep the frame it has, and the axles. Might need new springs, shocks, etc. It needs a bit of lift, as the oil pan is dangerously close to the front differential and the front driveshaft hits the bell housing right at the starter.

I hang out at OWF also, so will check. Thanks!

Oh, yeah: stupid autocorrect! The master cylinder is from Wilwood.
Jon B.

 

Another OWF'r here to chime in on the deal you got. Yep, good price but rot repair always sends shivers down my back, hence my paying 15x's that amount here in SoCal for a truly rust free '63. But if all you're looking for is a fun time with an old Wagon, I think you're on the right track. And yes, OE 16" Willys wheels are pricey, but personally I find new, US made Wheelsmith rims to be a safer bet.
Please permit me to offer this: save all of the original parts you take off or replace. Well restored Wagons and Trucks, as you've seen on some of the re=posted "For Sale" ads (including mine) on OWF are going for big money. Folks are always looking for old original parts. I'm always amazed at some of the restorations of seemingly worthless used parts; it's what makes these old Jeep sites so interesting to me.
@Jon B. If you have a build thread going on at OWF; would you mind posting up the link or thread title here?
Good luck with your project and I'm looking forward to seeing more!

 

Tralehead,

There’s no build thread - yet…

As for the wheels, it’s a mix: one has the valve stem aligned with a ‘stud’ hole, and the 1/8” hole at the hub. One has the valve stem hole between two ‘stud’ holes, and the 1/8” hole at the hub. Two have the valve stem between holes and no small hole at the hub. I’ve not yet pulled the spare to study it.

I have the original backing plates, drums, etc. from the disc swap. The drums are pitted badly, so may be unusable. If the front & rear brake shoes are the same, I may use the shoes, as they’re like new. Once I disassemble the rears, I’ll know more.

I rebuilt the carb on Sunday and got the engine running! It had all kinds of nasty stuff inside, including spider nests in the float chamber. Elbow grease, carb cleaner, lacquer thinner and denatured alcohol got most of the gunk out. Compressed air did the rest.

Before I ran it, I made sure the t-case and transmission were properly topped off with 90-weight GL4.

A set of used Warn hubs are en route from diggerG on the OWF, to replace the corroded pot-metal Free-Lock hubs that were on it (my ‘72 CJ has those, too).

As for rot, this thing is much better than some examples. The rear cargo floor & tailgate are in need of repair, the quarter panels have holes, and the floorboards need patching. The frame is nearly perfect, the roof is good, front clip has been replaced with later-model parts, the bumpers are serviceable (nowhere near perfect, but…). Glass needs work. I have purchased used window regulators and cranks. Brennan’s brake brackets and the new rotors, calipers & pads are installed.

Lots done; much more to do. But, I’m retired, the house is paid for, kids are grown & gone, Mrs. B. is thrifty; I have time and some leftover money. Tomorrow, I’m driving semi for a neighbor. It happens that I’ll meet up with “Jeepstar”, a member here (or his BIL) to swap parts 400 miles from my house. How cool is that? This and the OWF are two of the greatest resources for me; it’s a blessing!

Jon B.

 

Nice project Jon,I have a 52 2wd wagon, I have a parts wagon with a decent tail gate and a floor that is good for patch pieces, can send pics by phone if needed....I have bought some stuff from DiggerG on OWF,good guy