blueskies Posted August 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Pete,Will you be turning the Super Hurricane into a Super Duper Hurricane ? I plan to run it as is until it needs something major. Then, if funds allow, I'll likely dive into something "extra"... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueskies Posted August 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Pete's Willys will probably still have some agitator in it Plenty of agitator left in my Willys... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted August 11, 2010 Report Share Posted August 11, 2010 Pete I went and looked at my Jeep book and it really only covers the WWII jeeps and amphibian vehicles. So I have no idea where I got that thing about them being stamped out on surplus washing machine makers. Second post on this has pretty much what I remember reading in an magazine article about Brook Stevens a long time ago: http://forums.off-road.com/jeep-mid-sized/75840-cj-2a-event-scrams-new-willys.html Towards the end of WWll, Willys originally never intended for the Jeep to be released as a general population civilian vehicle. They were going to market it to farmers as a multi-purpose field vehicle. (They never foresaw the recreational market potential of the Jeep, which is where the line actually best shines.) They wanted to use all that wartime profit to market a new line of sedans and coupes. Trouble was, they didn't have the facilities to make complex car bodies. The Jeep looks like it does because the body shop where the panels were made was a modified washing machine plant. None of Willys suppliers of body parts pre war were willing to furnish them with parts post war because there was an extremely high demand for cars after the war and those suppliers were over loaded with orders from the large manufacturers (Ford, Chrysler, GM, etc).So, in essence, Willys was stuck. They could produce Jeeps, but little else from their washing machine plant. So, they went ahead and designed a line of Jeeps and Jeep like vehicles that the washing machine plant could produce. Their chief design person was a man named Brooke Stevens...he is the man responsible for the Jeep "look" from that day to this. He used the Jeep, the CJ2A in this case, as a basis for a pick up, panel delivery, a wagon and a phaeton touring car (which we now know as the original Jeepster). All Jeep models from then till now take their styling cues from vehicles that were made in a washing machine plant. (I suppose that the newest designs, the Grand Cherokee and the new Jeepster are getting away from that but progress is progress). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is beautiful about Jeeps is that they were built, style wise at least, out of necessity. Sometimes even ugly things can be beautiful, if you look at them in the right light. How many other vehicle models can you think of that have an origin like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueskies Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 My old Plymouth spotted on the Salt... I haven't heard from the new owner, but I'm assuming he made it to Texas without issue. The Willys has become a much bigger project than I'd hoped... a bit of a can of worms really. It's going to take some time to sort out all the bugs. Have the rear axles out and re-doing the spring perches. They were cut off at some point and put on top of the axle for a spring-over-axle poor-man's lift, and then put back. Problem was, they were welded off center by about 2 inches... the passenger tire rubbed the body . My boys and I are enjoying the work though, and we'll get it fixed and on the road shortly. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48Dodger Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) Enjoy readin' this thread Pete....any new stuff to report? I have a 49 willy's sitting in the parking space marked "someday"....lol....so some of the info you share is being saved in my brain for later. 48D Edited January 26, 2011 by 48dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueskies Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Enjoy readin' this thread Pete....any new stuff to report? I have a 49 willy's sitting in the parking space marked "someday"....lol....so some of the info you share is being saved in my brain for later.48D Dodger- I have been driving my wagon quite a bit, and sorting out "issues" as they come up. I have redone the rear axle mounts, new rear brakes, rebuilt the carb, tuned the engine with new plugs, wires, points, coil, condenser, got the heater and defrost ductwork working, changed all the fluids, worked out some wiring bugs, and misc stuff like getting the door latches to work. Also rebuilt the generator with parts from my old Plymouth generator on the cheap. Fab'd a new windshield wiper motor from a 2002 Tahoe rear wiper and adapted it to work with the stock wiper linkage, It has left me stranded once, and failed to start on two other occasions after long back road runs. But the fix has been simple each time. It has been lots of fun driving it in the snow and in the hills, two places I couldn't drive my Plymouth. Took it deer hunting with my oldest boy, let him drive it all day in the hills. Lots to do though, to make it a reliable driver. I am planning on taking it to the 2nd annual Moab Willys ralley in May, so I need to get busy with all the little stuff that needs to be done. I am helping put the event together, I did the graphics for the event flyer and t-shirts. Probably tow the wagon there on a trailer, too far to drive it without an overdrive... Here is the event stuff: And here's a clip driving through the snow just before Christmas: Others here: http://www.youtube.com/user/idahoblueskies My forum, http://www.oldwillysforum.com, has really taken off with a great bunch of regular users, it's up to 738 members now. Lots of great info turning up there, just like this forum was when it started 10 or so years ago. That's it for now, until it warms up a bit progress on the wagon will be slow... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aero3113 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 The wipers look like they do work great, I like how they go to the stow position when you turn them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueskies Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 The wipers look like they do work great, I like how they go to the stow position when you turn them off. That took a bit of head scratching... I let the smoke out of the motor controller in about 5 minutes of "testing" circuits... I used a relay to cut the power when they hit the park position. The motor is from the back of a Tahoe, so it is not very fast, but fast enough for the wagon. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueskies Posted July 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Joseph wants to find a Willys pickup right away to start tinkering on so that when he gets his license in a few years it will be road worthy then. I said to him, what would we do with it in the mean time, and he said "we'll just park it out back, and when my friends come over, I can show them my pride and joy!" I think I have successfully passed on the old car affliction... Pete A quick update... Amazing how time flies... My son Joseph, pictured above with the flatty at the time we started our Plymouth project in 2001, bought his first ride yesterday with his own money... We drug home another Willys Wagon, this one a '53. He gets his learner's permit next spring, and his full time driver's license in about 2 years. After our last trip to Moab in May, he decided he had to have one of his own. He's hoping to have it road worthy by the time he can legally drive it. All those years of helping turn wrenches on the Plymouth will come in handy. And, I will be the one handing the wrenches this time around. The Next Chapter has begun... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Coggins Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think the image on his Tshirt says it all. I'm sure you'll have fun "helping" him. Merle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Holy Cow Pete. Time sure flies when your family has fun. Cherish the moments as they will be gone before you know it. For Joseph. Someday some one (perhaps my grandson pictured below) will challange you to a race. If it is my grandson back down as you will lose! If it is anyone else accept and I will do my best to coach you same as I did for your dad:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thats awesome Pete. I look forward to a day about 15 years from now when I get to do the same thing. Dad gifted me my truck at 21 but I paid for everything that went into it and did everything to it(with some help along the way of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 Hi Pete and Joseph. Good to hear from you. That green Jeep wagon doesn't look too bad.........I bet it will be on the road by drivers license time. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Nice willys, though I've always been partial to the later jeepsters{not the bullnosed ones...before those}. My son{7} has already asked for his own car......and the daughter{10} says she wants something in pink{what a shock}. Keep us informed as to the progress'{both rigs}.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40P10touring sedan Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 I decided to look at the Vid....ohhhhhhhh man, that is just what I want to do to my chrysler 265 block!!!!! Wish he had pics of just the supercharger mount and idler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Good on both of you!! G;ad yer doing some male bonding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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