Diamond Plated 1961 Willys from Craigslist

The doors look to be Meyer's/Orville units. I have a plastic template for the door glass so you can have a shop cut it if you like..
They need only to simply trace the template and cut it from flat stock. I used it years ago when I knew someone in the glass world. Lemme know.

 

My glass guy stopped by today. He said the problem is glass today is not as thick. He was thinking he could still get the wire mesh reinforced glass. If so, that would work for the oval back window, but at that point, I'd prefer to do all 3 back windows for uniformity.

I took this unfortunate opportunity to pull the dash to wire in a kill switch as well as a crank interrupt. Took the opportunity to eliminate some of the excess wiring since there's a whole 4.3L harness and fuse block to work with in there. I added a relay to run the heat right off the heater fuse through a switch and ran the wipers off the wiper fuse.

Got it back together and everything works as planned, but I have no headlights now! Taillights and signals, but no hi / lo beams! Have to re-trace some stuff on that matter.

I still have NO idea what they wanted that made them break into it other than maybe they thought they were going to steal the Jeep and then pull off and scrap the aluminum plates? The neighborhood isn't all that bad, but has it's idiots that are most likely on drugs.mehh

 

Well, I got my door back from the glass shop yesterday - $200.00 ! yikes! They didn't remove the inner panel like I showed them and the glass man made a radius on the one corner as he must have fit the glass into the door and then turned it to fit into the tracks. It has a tiny gap at the bottom rear. Oh well, at least it's fixed.
Meanwhile as I was waiting for the glass, I upgraded the lighting to LEDs and added some lights too. In the first pic, I pulled the double taillights out of the left side to replace with a clear 19 LED for backup lamp and a red 12 LED for tail/stop.



This pic's a little blurry, but you get the idea of how bright the backup LED is.



And onto the right side....



Then I added three strip LEDS to the cab rear. Left and right tail/stop/turn, and a high mount brake light with turn signal functions.



The strip lights are from eBay and are USA made! Very bright on turn or stop modes! This pic shows just the taillights on.



Also added side marker lamps and 5 cab clearance lights across the cab roof in front. Just like the front markers I added, I hooked the grounds from the outermost clearance lights to the turn signal circuits so they will flash with the signals. Looks great in action!
I'll take some more pics tonight in the dark.jeep toss

 

that pvc was most likely for carrying a level or pipes of some sort plumbers use em on there vans to carry copper pipe...lectricans to carry conduit ...

 

I'm digging it!

 

As am I LOL! :iagree:

The TBI engine really has tons of power for this cool rig. Starts great in the cold. It's been soooo cold here when I tried to take more nighttime pics of the new lighting, my camera cuts out and shuts down. I did manage to get a few though. Here's one of the B/U lamps on.....



When I back into my driveway, it's really lit up! The driveway, the fence, the house and Fussy, the '68 Jeepster. Then when the 57 brake LED lights come on, the intensity is wild!8)
This pic isn't the best, but shows the side marker lamps and the cab roof clearance lights I added.....



Here's another of the taillights on, the camera added flash though.....



And a taillight pic without the flash.....
'


You can also note that I got rid of the rusted hinges and useless latch on the offset back plate/door to nothing. I think it was a used section of diamond plate that may have been already cut that way since there was on the left and top sides aluminum strips for backing. I flipped the top backing piece over since the hinge area was cutout inside. That way I re-used the holes in the body and only drilled holes in the door plate to nothing. Looks much better without all that rust!

I'll try again tonight for turn signal/brake pics and better front pics.

 

That is a cool lil Jeep! Someone broke a window out of my 83 pile of chev pu once, only thing taken was t-case shift knob!

 

Finally got to take some pics. I also added a Stewart Warner temperature gauge to the dash, something I salvaged from a '63 Dynamic 88 I had back when. Been sittin' on that gauge for at least 24 years now! Still works great. Now I can see the idle speed absolutely relates to temperature of the engine. The first idle down won't start to happen until just under 100 degrees. I was able to take better photos of the front lights, with flash....



And without the flash...



This photo shows the top cab and side light off, when the right signal was illuminated.



Simple cool mod that eliminates the

excuse.
I'm short on my to-do list for this now - fuel gauge and windshield washer to fix and add respectively.

 

This is a cool little jeep, I think it kind of grows on you. Its like you rescued a mutt from the pound. Great write up too!

 

Well, had a buddy by this past Saturday and he gave me a hand bleeding the brakes on the hoist. Before, all I had done was gravity bleed by opening bleeders and watching the bubbles until they stopped. While I had Willy up, I pulled the LF drum, since I never had it off before. Wheel cylinder looked fairly new, moved OK and was dry. But the shoes were on backwards! Straightened that out and adjusted the shoes all the way around.

While it's on the rack, by Buddy's looking and says to look at the front axle shims - they are installed backwards.R)

So, lucky for me, all the U-bolts came loose and I cleaned off some of the scaly rust on the perches that was overlooked once I jack-standed the diff. Spun the shims the right way and son-of-a-gun, this thing can be rolled down the road without constant hands on the wheel. Sure was not like that before! One happy Jeeper right now!:driving:

 

Been getting cold here and since my Commandos have no heaters that function in them, I brought out the ol' 61 CJ5 since it has heat. Totally forgot how squirrelly the steering is compared to the Commandos! Anywho, as I cruise to work I hear a bit of vibrating noise from under the hood. At work I open the hood and sure enough, the water pump was loose and after I moved the fan to check it, it started to leak.

Needless to say, I ordered a new water pump. Had no clue as to what year the 4.3L engine was, so I told the parts store I am going to guess it's around a 87 to 89 vintage. I was right, the first pump they sent, for a 89 Monte Carlo, was correct. I figured here was my opportunity to swap out the grille to the correct one I bought this past spring since this rig is so heavily modded and I'd like something to look a bit more original. So first out came the pump....



I put a coat of paint on the pump so while that dried, I started on the grille swap...



You can see here why the 74 grille was in there, it must have been less work for the PO who did all the heavy modding on this rig. It was an easy way to get it together with the 4.3L.



Never know where you will find a yellow jacket's nest. In this case it's behind the left headlamp...



Moving along...



Grille is loose now....



And the grille's out...



Here's a shot of the poorly hacked frame where the steering box was changed, I'll have to re-enforce this more to my liking....



The plate across the front looks like it was added when the body lift was installed making a spot to mount the 74 grille and then later cut off on the left side to allow for the gearbox. The original grille fits back on the original mounting frame hole....



The grille mount needs some serious spacing to maintain the correct height to the rest of the body - the 2 inch lift was stacked on the original mounts everywhere else, so the same needs done up front...



Sizing things up....



Test fitting the correct grille...



Looking better already (at least to me)...



Well, better get that that new pump on while there's a ton of room....



Time to cut the correct grille so I can force fit the radiator....



Re-fit the grille to the fenders and shut the hood to see how it looks....



Looking good here....



Next post will be the radiator mods, this was as far as I got last night. Didn't realize how late it was - 10 minutes after midnight!

 

I gotta say... that thing is pretty cool!

 

Yes, Willy is definitely cugly. My favorite parts are being EFI and a drop floor. Was very nice it sat all summer and I started it twice, never needing to open the hood. Gotta love that kill switch.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot paying 1300 was a deal too. I originally threw 89 worth of parts in and I rolled this rig out till last winter ended and I parked it. Best 1300 I ever spent, I swear! Don't get me started on the latest find - a 62 wagon. That story is on Old Willys Forum. According to the paperwork I become the 3rd owner.

 

Here's the radiator modifying pictures - starting with the cutting of the two mount side plates off the radiator...



I started with the easier side - relocating and attaching the bracket...



A couple of tack welds to hold where I need it....



Checking the alignment and holding with a bungee cord....



Drill some mounting holes in the grille...



First test fit of the right side...



Had to cut the three re-enforcement ribs to get some angle on the left side due to the angle of the proper grille....



Looking good....



Looking good on the left side as well....



Time for a headlamp....



Another headlamp and an upper radiator hose...



A shot of the finished left side...



And outside this morning....



Here's with the park lamps on, need to order my new park/turn lights from good ol' eBay today. For now, this will work since my outer clearance lamp is wired into the signal circuit...



A back end pic with the taillights on...



Willy seems to be happy this morning, I'll cruise Willy home tonight now that this water pump and grille swap job is finished!

 

Somehow I missed adding the rear pic in the previous post.....



Yesterday my package of new LED beehive lamps from eBay arrived, so I got right into it.....



Testing the lamp...



An angled view.....



After I sized the grommet to the grille, I started to cut the opening....



Hole fully cut and trimmed smooth....



Grommet installed....



Installed and illuminated...



Pic w/o flash....



And with the signal on for the left, see how the top clearance lamp is off when the turn is on....



Pic w/ flash.....



Now my lamp/light mods are done on this rig!

 

Just got done with warm days here - been scuffing the CJ to git-er-black. Since the grille swap, I could no longer tolerate the primer red doors and hood. So, Thursday I painted the passenger door. Looked horrible against the faded out black on the cab, so I had to scuff and spray the angled top over the door and the post. That of course, involved doing the jam as well. But it looked good for; a) a winter beater, and b) a rattle-can paint coat.

So Friday I got the left door and the left cab sides done. Last night I stopped by my buddy house since he has my pressure washer, and I cleaned off the black mold, oxidized primer and loose paint from the hood. Hood is on the verge of rough, but see (a) above. Of course some of my strokes with the wand touched the diamond plate on the top of the fenders, so I went over the fenders and cowl while I was at it.

Today, the hood got painted and now the ol' Willys CJ from Craigslist looks like this:



Thank you Krylon Satin Onyx Negro Outdoor wrought iron coat paint from Ollie's discount store at $1.59 a can! I used 3 can's worth, so it's solid $5 paint job we invested here...... lol.

 

Merry Christmas to my CJ. Yesterday I picked up some 33's (and mounted them on my rims) and today the new wiper arms and blades arrived instead of ETA of the 29th. Now where's that snow winter is supposed to bring??? I'm reading 56 on the shop thermometer here. Thought that should be reading around 30 this time of year?



Later tonight I'll get to each running Jeep I have and give them a Christmas Greeting start-up and run for a few minutes.



Merry Christmas ev'ryone!

 

Great write up. You have done a fine job.

 

I like it ! Heck of a deal at that price .