Low $$$ Willys truck rebuild

Hi Everyone

I have never posted a build on here...just got through doing a 1947 CJ2A Flatfender Willys Jeep rebuild that put me in the poor house and it isn't even all that fun to drive so I have been gathering pieces for another Willys build expect this one wont break the bank and it will keep up with traffic too...NAPA carries most of the parts I will need to rebuild it too....


The cab is a 1960's era Willys cab...really really rough...



This is the donor...my plan is to use as much of this 1991 S10 as I can and as little of the Willys as I can but still have the old tin but newer more modern underpinnings...



Right now I am cutting and replacing all the rotted sections of the S10 frame and there is a bunch of it...typical upstate NY salt infested frame rails...

Good looking project..I"ll be watching..I got a 47,thinking about s 10 frame+350 + 700r4

Good start.
Hope my message answered your questions.
Torchie.

Cool project.Always wanted a willys pickup.[dr
Where do you guys on here find all those S10 donor pickups?
People around here want 1500.00 and up for a non running one.
Then scrap it for spite instead of taking less for it,if they cannot get their price.
I am hoping to find one,but no luck yet.

Got the handy dandy mikeyc built transmission crossmember built....

Kinda rough but it should work...

Also cobbed up some motor mount adapter plates too...I was one happy camper last night...I set the engine back in the chassis...still dealing with typical Northeast frame rot...I would love to get the cab back on the chassis before snow flies...if not...I have plenty of frame clean up to do yet...above is beofre I set in place....below photo is before I bolted anything in...

cool

l like it[cl

are you gonna leave the old cab look or do body work to it

personally l like the patina thats on it.

Later

These trucks are high on my love list. My Dad's favorite.

Hi Mike C, looks like your going down the road I went ... 47 Willys onto a 89 S10 2w3d stnd cab ..only I went with a 78 460 engine & trans from a Lincoln .Think you'll really like it ...keep up the good work !
I'll be following your build .

Thats a nice looking truck Whyworry

Thanks, its gonna look a little different ... just chopped the top 4'' and now in the process of making it into a removable hardtop ..

Here is the front view...I roughed in the radiator mounts...trying to watch all the pinch points here...so far looks like everything is gonna fit..
This is a closeup of the right side radiator mount...

I added a second rear crossmember and a cutout on each frame rail so I could snake wires inside the 2x4 tubing I used as rear frame rails...

my goal is to reuse as much S10 as I can...Oh yeah I got the shortened drive shaft back from the drive shaft shop...kinda pricey at $320.00 but he came really highly recommended...Next up I think is keep cleaning all the rust off of it and re-plumbing all the rotted brake lines...This is not going to be fast and it isn't going to smoke the tires...I want reliable reliable reliable...oh yeah...decent fuel mileage too...I know BORING but Willys vehicles never really had much Wow too them...well except times of war...

Not much to talk about...I did get the 2 piece driveshaft done...was not cheap at about $325.00...he did replace all the u-joints and balanced everything too..I guess that is why it has all those gold dots on it....



These are one of the two front cab mounts...The look I am looking for is something that looks like a average Willys truck...not too low but not too high either... a lot of the Willys trucks are jacked way up in the air...I want something I can slide a floor jack under the frame rail without any issues... I will be leaving the frame stock height too...I want basic basic basic...nothing but S10 underneath and Willys vintage sheet metal on the outside...

Way more rust and rot on this frame than I had thought...still grinding and patching as I find soft or thin spots...

My goal is to have the frame done this winter and maybe get the Willys cab back onto this chassis during the summer of 2014.....I have to set dates or else nothing get done...every night except Tuesdays nights...fiddling around on something to do with this...

Looking good Mike. Sorry I didn't get back to you on the cab mount PM but here's a couple pics of the way I did mine......
The back ones show up pretty good in this pic....


And the fronts are visible in this one.......


I used the original mounts on the cab and built those triangular boxed mounts and welded them to the frame. That being said I believe the S-10 frame is wider than the Chevy Luv frame that I used........it looks like your front mounts will come down on top of the frame? What you have going on with the tube laying on it's side looks like it should be the ticket for the front and might be just fine for the rears too if they hit the frame or if they are off the frame maybe do something like I did. Hope his helps.
Keep pluggin' away, I like the idea of old metal on a stock chassis.......makes for a practical everyday driver.

A little update...

Hey Snake Farm

thanks for the pictures...I am going to copy your rear cab mounts like on your chassis...on this chassis cant wait to get to that point...



I got new springs in from the spring shop...above is the old and the new...I went with a 4 wheel drive "heavy-duty" 4 leaf shown here...$280.00 for the pair (including 4 new u-bolts)...front pivot bolts were I think another $5.00.



Another view of the new springs...currently shooting for the rear brake lines to be run this month....had a scare tho...went and bought some of that new fangled copper-zinc brake lines...25 foot roll was almost $70.00...I about fell off my chair when I was told....I was going to use regular steel coated lines but I real enjoyed working with this stuff on my last rebuild of a 1947 CJ2A Jeep...

MikeC

Lookin good Mike .. keep at it .

Love those old Willys, looking good so far. I like your idea of old tin and modern driveline. It'll be far easier to find replacement parts and cheaper too.

-Chris

Looking good Mike.
Have fun!

The driveshaft builder told me that I should replace the driveshaft support...I had never done this before...well angle grinders are a wonderful thing..

This is the result above...below is the new parts installed...

below is the front inner fender I need to patch...

Still working on all the rust on the frame...wire brushes on the end of drills...seems to be taking forever...
oh yeah...I got the new longer power steering lines on tonight too...

Looking great Mike.
That was the beauty of my 50 GMC panel truck. Old on top. New underneath. It still had the analyser port so I coiuld take it to any chain auto parts store if I needed to.
Your going to have a blast driving this.
Torchie.

I gotta tell you Torchie

I cant wait to drive this thing...I just got done with CJ2A Willys rebuild...cant believe I spent almost $7,000.00 on this project and NAPA auto parts sells nothing for it....every single piece is mail order...nothing is cheap for it either...

This S10 Willys I hope will be able to keep up with traffic...the CJ2A Willys wont do but maybe 45 MPH...struggling at that speed too...

Might even do another one with a different cab once this one is done...

Thanks for following along...

MikeC