- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I'm already loving it!
:thumbs: Perhaps the next Rubicon trip will see me in something smaller than a JKU!
I'm having fun with it Bart, I think it'll be a fun project... and even funner once it's on the trail!
Jeep Willys 'Crawler' project
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
I'm already loving it!
:thumbs: Perhaps the next Rubicon trip will see me in something smaller than a JKU!
I'm having fun with it Bart, I think it'll be a fun project... and even funner once it's on the trail!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
So this may go without saying, but I'm trying to keep this project affordable.... spending a little money at a time and not dropping thousands on axles, engine, t-case, etc, etc. I have my JKU and it's taken much of my play money, so the build of the Willys had to be done carefully with attention paid to the overall costs. For now I'm going to mock up the Dana 300 as is and eventually add a HD output & 4 to 1 gears. Yhe Toyota axles will get upgraded over time... probably a rear locker first, then the front after it's on the road. That said, lets continue with the build!
So I pressure washed the Dana 300 and did more cleaning... it was nasty! Then after some prep work, I painted it. I think it came out pretty good!
Then today I decided to cut into the tub! There are probably 20 different ways you could do this, but I thought this was the most logical. I was thinking of separating the tub at the door opening where the 2 pieces join and there's the overlap, but there's a support on the inside that would have to be cut too, making it that much more work. I ended up separating the floor at the back, where it raises up into the rear compartment... and then cut the sides with 2, 90* angles so I can line everything up when it's time to put it back together. I picked up some tools to make the cutting easier then used a straight edge to cut against, using a 4 1/2" grinder with a cutting disc and a special guard on the grinder that I could slide against the straight edge. There were a handful of spot welds, cut them out with a spot-weld cutting bit, then took the grinder w/ flap discs and the cut-off disc to the many welds on the underside of the floor.
And the 2 pieces, pulled apart by 8". I setup a chair in the tub and sat down, I think it's about perfect for me! I don't have to deal with a tool box and gas tank under the seats, like a stock Willys so that helps too. I think 8" is just about right, not too much that it looks odd, but more than enough room at the seats and hopefully enough room for the drivetrain.
I'm hoping to pick up the material for the frame this week, then I can start setting up the frame and welding in my extended patch panels for the tub stretch. :freak:
So I pressure washed the Dana 300 and did more cleaning... it was nasty! Then after some prep work, I painted it. I think it came out pretty good!
Then today I decided to cut into the tub! There are probably 20 different ways you could do this, but I thought this was the most logical. I was thinking of separating the tub at the door opening where the 2 pieces join and there's the overlap, but there's a support on the inside that would have to be cut too, making it that much more work. I ended up separating the floor at the back, where it raises up into the rear compartment... and then cut the sides with 2, 90* angles so I can line everything up when it's time to put it back together. I picked up some tools to make the cutting easier then used a straight edge to cut against, using a 4 1/2" grinder with a cutting disc and a special guard on the grinder that I could slide against the straight edge. There were a handful of spot welds, cut them out with a spot-weld cutting bit, then took the grinder w/ flap discs and the cut-off disc to the many welds on the underside of the floor.
And the 2 pieces, pulled apart by 8". I setup a chair in the tub and sat down, I think it's about perfect for me! I don't have to deal with a tool box and gas tank under the seats, like a stock Willys so that helps too. I think 8" is just about right, not too much that it looks odd, but more than enough room at the seats and hopefully enough room for the drivetrain.
I'm hoping to pick up the material for the frame this week, then I can start setting up the frame and welding in my extended patch panels for the tub stretch. :freak:
Last edited:
BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
I agree on your placement. Nice clean chop!
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Yeah, looks like you thunk on this for just the right amount of time. :greg:
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Thanks fellas.... now if I can put it back together and still have it look good!
Appreciate it Colton, I already have a rear axle though! Details to follow...
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I started working on patching the body stretch, picked up some 16 and 18 gauge sheetmetal and got to cutting, bending and adding flanges for overlapping edges. It had been pretty meticulous work, lots of careful measuring. My cheapo Harbor Freight sheetmetal brake has been doing the job, but it doesn't like the 16 gauge very well.
It has been a LONG time since I have done sheetmetal work and I was never great at it... this has been pretty challenging for me, fun but frustrating at times. I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, just a guy that wants to challenge himself and learn a little more about something I'm interested in.
At this point I had the drivers side welded up, had to do a fair amount of grinding of the welds to make it flat but it looked decent. I started working on the passenger side and got in a hurry with my welds, laying too much down at once and introducing too much heat into the sheetmetal. I know better!! The panels warped, I tried to shrink them with the torch and quick cooling with water, but it still doesn't look great. :-\ I got out my body hammer and dolly (which I haven't used in over 20 yrs!) and attempted to straighten the panels out. It's far from great, I'm not super happy with it at this point...
So after that mess, I decided I was getting ready for the frame material. I picked up some 2 x 4 x 3/16th from the local steel supply house, decided to go with thick 3/16th since the Willys will have a linked suspension and air shocks. All the mounting points need to be beefy, as they'll be taking a lot of forces. Had I ran leaf springs I think I could have gotten away with thinner steel. I loaded up 2, 15' sticks of 2 x 4 on the roof rack of the JKU and hauled it home (wasn't real happy that they gave me rusty steel!).
I also traced out bigger wheel wells, on a 36" radius. I could go a little bigger, but this will make room for big tires sitting low and more room to move the rear axle back a couple inches more.
It has been a LONG time since I have done sheetmetal work and I was never great at it... this has been pretty challenging for me, fun but frustrating at times. I don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, just a guy that wants to challenge himself and learn a little more about something I'm interested in.
At this point I had the drivers side welded up, had to do a fair amount of grinding of the welds to make it flat but it looked decent. I started working on the passenger side and got in a hurry with my welds, laying too much down at once and introducing too much heat into the sheetmetal. I know better!!
The panels warped, I tried to shrink them with the torch and quick cooling with water, but it still doesn't look great. :-\ I got out my body hammer and dolly (which I haven't used in over 20 yrs!) and attempted to straighten the panels out. It's far from great, I'm not super happy with it at this point...
So after that mess, I decided I was getting ready for the frame material. I picked up some 2 x 4 x 3/16th from the local steel supply house, decided to go with thick 3/16th since the Willys will have a linked suspension and air shocks. All the mounting points need to be beefy, as they'll be taking a lot of forces. Had I ran leaf springs I think I could have gotten away with thinner steel. I loaded up 2, 15' sticks of 2 x 4 on the roof rack of the JKU and hauled it home (wasn't real happy that they gave me rusty steel!).
I also traced out bigger wheel wells, on a 36" radius. I could go a little bigger, but this will make room for big tires sitting low and more room to move the rear axle back a couple inches more.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I also have both axles in hand now, early 80's Toyota mini-truck front axle at 55" WMS and a Toyota IFS rear axle at 58" WMS. I got the rear axle from a local buddy Phillip, who also had a Front Range Offroad IFS Hub Kit, which uses Toyota IFS hubs to a solid axle, adding 3" width so the front will be 58" to match the rear axle! He also included the parts to upgrade to Tacoma rotors and calipers, which is a massive upgrade in size and braking strength.
BlueWolfFab
Running Behind
- Location
- Eagle Mountain
I like that you bent the filler pieces instead of just butt welding them.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Butt welding sheetmetal is a pain.... in the BUTT!
- Location
- Draper, UT
Check out MP&C's work on this thread http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53534
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Impressive, for sure! I think a lot of guys that can do sheetmetal work like that are artists! My biggest problem was getting in a hurry, and I have no reason to rush this project.
- Location
- Draper, UT
Yeah, when the next guy to do a repair can't tell it's been done before, you're doing it right.
Probably the major issue with repairs on older sheet metal is getting a patch with the right gauge metal.
Probably the major issue with repairs on older sheet metal is getting a patch with the right gauge metal.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Spend much of the weekend working on this thing, I wasn't happy with the warped patch panel on the passenger side.... so I cut it out and started over. Cut a new panel to size, added a few bends and flanged the places that needed it. Then I started tack welding it in, just a little at a time and working different parts of the panel, then moving somewhere else... I made sure to hit the welds with compressed air to keep things cool. The result is much better, not perfect but good enough for me.
Once the side was done, I started on the floor patch panels... they were pretty simple, but the transmission tunnel took some work.
Since the body was back together, I moved onto the frame... some measuring, a few cuts, some 45's and a little welding! I need to figure out how far I'm going to push the front axle forward and if I'm going to stretch the front a little before cutting those frame sections. I made the overlap on the rear 4.5" (the frame material is 2 x 4") and I'm not totally happy with the size of the overlap. I figured a slightly longer overlap will add more strength so I'll make the front with a 6" overlap. All of the frame 'Z's will be getting fish plated and boxed for additional strength.
Once the side was done, I started on the floor patch panels... they were pretty simple, but the transmission tunnel took some work.
Since the body was back together, I moved onto the frame... some measuring, a few cuts, some 45's and a little welding! I need to figure out how far I'm going to push the front axle forward and if I'm going to stretch the front a little before cutting those frame sections. I made the overlap on the rear 4.5" (the frame material is 2 x 4") and I'm not totally happy with the size of the overlap. I figured a slightly longer overlap will add more strength so I'll make the front with a 6" overlap. All of the frame 'Z's will be getting fish plated and boxed for additional strength.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
Good to see you're not Carl-ing yourself on this build . (Sorry Carl, we (the coalition of those concerned about Carl's Willys languishing lonely in the garage corner) decided some harrassment was in order for motivation)
do you have another Willys for parts?
. (Sorry Carl, we (the coalition of those concerned about Carl's Willys languishing lonely in the garage corner) decided some harrassment was in order for motivation)do you have another Willys for parts?
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Good to see you're not Carl-ing yourself on this build
do you have another Willys for parts?
I'm still working on it... waiting on parts for the Yellow one, so I had some time to work on this one.
Yeah, I have another parts CJ2a. I'm going to keep some things (hood, windshield frame and a few minor parts) and I'll work on getting you that Willys e-brake you wanted.
Eventually I'll probably sell what's left, rolling chassis, tub, fenders, grill, etc.