Building a 61 Willy's Wagon Rockcrawler

get disc brakes on the front.... ( by the way, I am in the process off switching to front disc myself). Its not to hard to do just a few kinks to work out. I am posting my progress here. Good luck

 

How did you do your brake and clutch setup?

what did you use for the setup? would like to know more if you could take a few pics of you get a chance It would be great..



Willy's Looking awsome!!

 

I have disc brakes on the front dana 60, and did a disc brake conversion on the rear 14 bolt.

I used a pedal assembly from a mid 90's chevy 1/2 ton pickup. it was the donor vehicle for my engine and tranny.

imagestation is down. I'll load some pics later :-(

 

WOW! Looks great! Good to see someone is making some progress. Its also cool to see someone building something out of the norm.

Are you going to weld the roof back in?R)

Kevo

 

This thread is what I have been looking for. Not many Willys Wagon build ups to be found on the net. I just bought a 61 Willys Wagon and plan to go a similiar route with it. I am looking for axles and an engine now. Not trying to highjack your thread but thanks for the inspiration.

Mike

Here is the bucket

 

Mike: what are your plans specifically?

or have you started a thread aLREADY?

 

MountainJeep
I haven't started a thread yet. I am planning to go with a 44's and 350/350 combo with 208 most likely. I am not planning a hard core crawler so 35's will suffice. I am thinking of going with waggy front springs and chevy rear springs but will likely stay spring under. I have a set of front waggy springs and after a quick few measurements I can stay spring under and clear 35's no problem. In the end I want a mild wheeler capable of hauling my 5 and 2 year old daughters on the trail with me.

Mike

 

Dig the roof idea!! Now wondering if an XJ will enjoy that feature too, plus a ragtop:twisted::twisted:
Looks like a fun lil toy R)
-Sammy

 

be careful with the XJ as it is a unibody with no frame. My cage ties into the body and into the frame to maintain stability and structual integrity.

 

well I got myself a few free hours today!

I finished fully welding the cage. I must say that welding upside down sucks bigtime.

Also have on front seat fully in place. pictures later....

 

Turn your wire speed up a little when welding upside down.

 

yep I do turn it up..and it still sucks

 

pics of the drivers seat tie in.



The seat will be mounted on the flat steel that is tied into the cage. the seat's bolts (grade 8) go through the flat steel and through the body.



and seat installed

 

I began tying the cage into the frame and ran out of weld wire in my MIG.

I need to replace the alternator as its dead.

The clutch is messed up and needs attention.

I need to wire the guages and lights.

I need to make some rear wheel wells.

Need to fab and weld in shock mounts

Need to finish body armour.

Need to finish installing seats.

Need to wire up ARB compressor.

Need time to do the above.

Out of money on the project for now. The wife put the hammer down and issued a cease and desist order on any and all purchases related to this project until after winter.

Ill see what I can do to sneak in a new roll of wire for the welder

Its bloody close!

 

Cage is fully tied into the frame.

Put in a high output alternator from a Cadillac.

Tomorrow I start on wheel wells and other assorted body work

 

this thing is coming along nicely!

keep up the good work and don't be shy with more pics!!

 

yeah Ill get some pics this week.

I had a free 90 minutes last night and got one of the front shock hoops welded to the frame and the tabs fabbed and welded onto the hoop. I now have one shock in place!

Hooray for me!

 

Carved out some garage time today. Finished the front shock hoops and got the rear wheel wells fabbed and tacked in.

Question for ya'll. Fully welding the wheel wells is not going to happed as the sheet metal is way to thin for even my lowest setting on the welder. Whats the best stuff to use to run a bead and seal while providing binding strength> JB Weld? Something cheaper and easier to use? Liquid Nails? I need some ideas.

Anyways on with the build...




Had to cut out the old wheel wells as my big tires will not fit. Here is a look at the old ones.



original wheel wells



Cut out large enough to accommodate the 40" Iroks.



Cut the sheet and tack welded in place.



View from inside



Oh yeah...put a stinger on it. Ill eventually tie it into the tube fenders when I make those.