1952 Willys 4x4 Pickup Truck

Nice find. I'd love to have one of those parked next to the Jeep to run errands in! Have fun with the resto

 

I snapped some more photos when I was out in Pahrump on Saturday...you can see them here: http://52willyspickup.shutterfly.com/

 

Pahrump...what a fun place.

 

beautiful find, you have to keep us updated on this one

 

I suspect Wagoneer axles, at least for the rear, are going to be too narrow for the pickup box. As I recall, the Utility truck is like the J-trucks, that the rear axle is wider than the front, so that the box is a full 4' wide.

 

Seems to me a 225 backed up with a T-18 would be a great old-truck drivetrain. Also, just my $.02 is that 3.55's are plenty fast but not necessary to cruise on the highway if you're comfortable with 65 MPH, and may be a little fast for using it as a real truck (pulling, hauling, etc.). GM's two most popular gear ratios for their 3/4 and 1-ton trucks through the late 1980's were probably 4.10 and 3.73, and that was without overdrive transmissions in a lot of them. But, it all depends on what you want it to do. Looks like a great start with a nice patina!

 

The best axle fit without cutting down would be a 76-79 J-10 rear and 82-86 CJ front.

Pickup front 56” CJ front 55.8
Pickup rear 63.5” / J-10 63.8

You would need to re-gear the front.

Personally, if I chose to swap axles I’d go with the J-10 set and cut down the front. There is no big expense if you own a chop saw and grinder just need to have the axle shaft cut and re-splined (around $100).

 

Thanks for all the input. That's really what I need at this point. Here's what I'm thinking...have the V6 gone through. Mate it to a T-18 that I own and I know is in good working order. Disconnect front drive shaft and bring the truck back as 2wd first. Drive. Look for a rear axle and do that swap. Drive more. Look for front axle and swap along with steering upgrades. Drive on freeway. Rebuild Dana 18 and mate to T-18. Drive down the freeway to favorite offroad desert trails. mehh This will no doubt take years to complete.

 

Absolutely love the truck, if I had more room around here I would look for one to add to my list of vehicles.

 

Nice find, I seen it on CL thinking it was a good deal. I'm from Vegas as well and there are a lot of us here in the valley who are Willys (wagon and pickup) freaks. We all get together, as much as life allows, to hanging out, help each other, trail running or whatever. I have re-powered my '56 wagon and love the outcome and I have driven friends Wagons that are bone stock and I totally dig them as well. It's your canvas and you are the artist.

Steve

 

Hi Steve, thanks for posting! We should get together sometime. I'd love to see your wagon. I'll PM you my contact info.

 

Nice truck! I have a '62 model, I6-226, T90, D18/w OD. Dana 53 rear, Dana 27 front, 4.88 gears. Would like to use I6 258, T18, D18, J10 rear/ Waggy front. Though the widetrack D30 would be an upgrade from a D27. My truck also has 11X2 drums all around. Good luck on your build.

 

Hi 69Willys

Looks like a nice find. I just sold a 1960 Willys truck. In original form they are not much as a daily driver. I fought with mine tooth and nail until finally I had to give in and got rid of it.

They have huge amounts of character. Not too fast...dont stop too good either....turning is not all that good either. You gotta really love them to keep them.
Also there is another website that I hang out at www.oldwillysforum.com that is basically just Willys trucks and wagon folks...everything from stock stuff to some crazy radical stuff too. A good group on there....kinda reminds me of the folks on here too. Lots of knowledge on there too.

These are a lot bigger than the real vintage Jeeps (CJ2A's and CJ5's) so you might wanna get some heavy duty jack stands to hold it up when you work on it....everything is heavy duty too.

Good luck with the rebuild. You gotta keep that patina....

MikeC

 

Mike C,
No doubt about the heavy-duty rating...thick spring packs for sure. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that these trucks are rated for a 1-ton payload. I never even looked to see if that Timken rear axle is a full-floater or not though. If the 1-ton rating is correct, it kinda makes me wanna look for an 8-lug D60 or D70 of the correct width...I could haul anything with that! Thanks for the link to the other forum...I've actually joined over there already. Just wanted to post here first because I like it here and I always get good, helpful info. I'm sure as the project progresses, I'll be checking in over there as well.

Gibson-d,
Have you been on Novak Adapters site? Lots of great information over there regarding engine swaps into various Willys models. One thing I really don't understand though, is why they strongly discourage using an inline six in these trucks, when they came with one from the factory. It says the front crossmember is too close to the firewall. Maybe has something to do with the shapes of different oil pans?

 

The Willys truck had different spring options. With the heavy duty pack I think it was rated at one ton, but I can tell you from personal experience that I've hauled a lot more than that. Rode like a hardtail when empty.

I see you are bound and determined to swap out a lot of stuff, but the axle is not likely to be the weak point, IMHO.

If the tires don't blow first, when they finally "give" it is the frame cracking between the cab and the bed, just forward of the spring mount. Jack it up, weld a plate over it, and carry on!

 

Pete,
First, I wanna say that I value and appreciate your input as much as anyone's for two reasons: first, I can almost feel your pain when you see these old trucks adulterated or whatever you wanna call it. And second, you are pretty much the lone voice speaking out from real driving and hauling experience with a truck like this, and that's invaluable information. In fact, the last time I was out to see the truck, and I lifted the hood, I thought of--you guessed it--PeteL. True story...there was that empty engine bay looking back at me almost begging for a new 134. Of course, I hurried up and shut the hood. Here's the thing...It's not my intent to change a bunch of stuff just for the sake of changing a bunch of stuff. This economy's been kinda tough on me. I had to sell my 08 Dodge Hemi 4x4 because I was afraid I might not be able to make the payments. I'm also a single dad and my son is now driving my 2000 Ranger. That leaves me the 69 CJ as my daily driver, which is fine, but it sucks not having a truck. I can't afford a new one but, in time I can make this one what I want out of a truck. From everything you say, this truck is already what I like--a tough, no-frills heavy hauler. Unfortunately, as much as I wouldn't mind driving 45-50mph, it would make for stressful driving amongst the crazy Vegas traffic. The T-86 in my CJ isn't real commuter friendly in stop & go traffic--first gear isn't synchronized and second is geared a little high. The truck has a T-90 which would be the same if I'm not mistaken. So, I want a different tranny. I asked about the 1-ton payload because I was confused about whether the axle was strong enough to carry the weight. But, even so, the 5.38 gearing is too low for me. Hence, the probable rear end swap. Then, it seems the easiest way to address steering and brakes is to swap in a wide track D30 with open knuckles and disc brakes. This would all be done with driveability and safety in mind. I want to keep the look as stock as possible though. No doubt, the whole time I will have two little guys on my shoulders, like the angel and devil you see in cartoons. On one side will be the spikey haired guy on Extreme 4x4's (whatever it's called on Spike TV) telling me I need Rockwells and 44's and PeteL on the other urging me to keep it stock! The point is, I'd keep it completely stock if I could just drive it for fun...but in the end it's gonna get used as a truck, which means it will see some freeway use. Damn, I wish I lived in a small town...somewhere like Mayberry. Please keep sharing your knowledge and experience Pete. I learn a lot from your posts, and not just in this thread.

 

69Willys, I know there have been the adventurous few who have been able to stuff and inline 6 into their Wagons and Pickups. I don't know how well their conversions turned out the only time I ever see them they are for sell. What I do know is that with a GM V8 conversion you will have to cut/notch the front crossmember to clear the harmonic balancer and pulley. With the V8 conversion you have the added heat in a small engine bay that will be your biggest battle. As you know living here in the desert, it wont be long til "100-n-stupid" will be back in town. I will give you a call later to see if you have time to meet up this weekend.


Sorry 69, I don't mean to hijack your thread.

PeteL, Is that a real rig that you use for your avatar? The reason I ask is because I met a guy last year who showed me his MB that he said was a prototype developed by the ARMY at the end of WWII and that it was verified by some guru. I don't know if there is any truth in his story but if it is true then someone needs to rescue it from the desert. I can't remember all the details but I think it had a small tailgate that opened to the side that was just big enough to slide the canon in and out of and then there was a trap door in the floor (off center) where they would pull the artillery rounds up through. Just though I would throw that out there.

Steve

 

You'll have me voting for stock as possible as well.

I understand the need for different gears, etc.

IMO, do what you have to, and try to make the mods easy to reverse. That's always been my rule for my rigs...

 

Steve, I hear you about the underhood temps when it gets to be "100 and stupid"! Even the V6 in my CJ sometimes makes me wish I had heat shields on the bottoms of my shoes. I got to thinking about the temps under there and how I could introduce some cool air. So i made this "Bubba" hood scoop. It was meant more to just get air flowing through there, but I figured I might as well point its flow at the air cleaner and I may just get some cold air into the engine. I scrounged the parts off the roof of an old mail Jeep (it was a vent) I found at the Pic-a-Part.

This was the rain cover that went over the vent on the roof of the mail Jeep. I cut it...

and bent it...


screwed it together...


painted it...


and installed it.


The underhood part sits right in front of the air cleaner...





when it's closed you can barely see it...I close it when it rains hard...


Open...there is a screen in there too...


I tested it with a fan and some light strips of paper taped on the underside to see the air flow...it seems to work pretty well...not a real cold air intake, but definitely pushing cool air through the engine bay