Building a 61 Willy's Wagon Rockcrawler

Just think its making your restored/stock vehicle worth that much more since there's one less around I got my 2a with the intention of keeping it close to stock but its starting to look like it's not gonna happen.

 

Kinda what I was saying in an earlier post. Not to mention how tall and bulky that thing is gonna be with an exocage. However, I haven't really seen it up close to know if it really is in as gooda shape as it looks, so there is no telling how much it will cost to fix it up. He has a good point on the money it takes to keep one in good original shape and if a rock crawler is what he wants, it could possibly make a cool one. Just have to wait for pics and see. All I know is that everyone around here with any kind of cab truck for crawling is switching to a Jeep for the more open feeling and more visibility. Good luck with what ever you do with it.


I will be in the corner with Rondog, wiping a tear also.

 

Build it and show pics and they will come... looks good... even with the exo going on in 10 years or so you could always bring it back to stock and be a parade waggy...

welcome from GA...

 

Welcome from Ga. Way back in the early '80s a had a 60 model Willys wagon that I used for sand drags and truck pulls, 289 4spd top loader D18, 4.88s. Sure had fun way back then.

 

I think it will be tough to build an exo and still show off those awesome lines of the Wagon.

I think it would be best as a trail rig with seating for 4. Its not our ride however and I am looking forward to seeing the future of this rig.

 

welcome from VB, VA, I would like to see it restored too, but then it is not mine. have fun with it and post pics of progress.

 

Thanks all for your kind welcome and replies.

I knew I would hear it from the "purists" in regard to modifying this vehicle, and I do want you all to know that I very much respect your views. To each their own.

I was surprised by the amount of folks off this board who also feel that the exo-cage would ruin the lines of the rig. So much so that I am rethinking my approach. I may just run tube along the fenders and rockers, as wll as a few other key impact locations to try to reduce the amount of body damage that will occur. Since I am so early in this process I love to get this type of input. Keep it coming.

Brakes....I recentlly ran a 76:1 crawl ratio in my TJ and never had a problem with braking, I mean if you let off the gas it stops moving right? This is not an automatic tranny, and if all else fails shoving the clutch to the floor stops the drivetrain from applying torque. Maybe I just dont get what you are saying.....my final crawl ratio will b in the range of 110-130:1 which is right where I want it. Having the manual tranny allows for a great variety of crawl applications through the transmission. I am also contemplating a four speed transfer case from Atlas (but its a bit spendy).

Thge one thing that worries me most is steering. The stock configuation is like nothing I have seen before. i am used to a gear box being forward on the fram, not behind the axle! When folks convert to power steering using saginaw type boxes do they just use u-joints inthe steering column to reach the newly placed steering box or what?

I am going to have to buy a new digital camera as my kids dropped my last one in a cooler full of water. Ill start shooting like mad and hopefully work on a place to host the build.

cheers!

 

I am somewhat of a purist but I am also a rock crawler and have helped chop up several classic vehicles to make them rock ready. Also, as for it being bulky, I just remembered a buddy of mine that ran a four door Isuzu Trooper with an exo-cage and didn't have too many problems. I do not agree that the cage will ruin the lines of it, they will only protect and preserve them. I know wayyyy too many people that had nice bodies on their hybrids and things like that that wish they would have put an exo cage on before they demolished it.

 

I don't know if an exo cage will ruin the lines. If it is done well it would help them, if it is done poorly( like most I have seen) then it will ruin a perfectly good vehical. To me to each his own.

 

sweet rig man. great plan. i agree with you on the brakes; vac, hydro, manual don't matter; push in the clutch. boxxing, just got dun boxxin my 3b frame...why not build new. especially since going fullsize axles. just make it 31.5" (iirc) wide to match spring perchs (assuming chevy front). if i didn't have a donor 5 frame to get the metal from, that's what i would have done and plan on doing later. on the cage, exo's are really hard to make that are strong and still look good, imo. good luck on that. anyway, welcome from nc.

oh...what you planning on doing with the factory axles?:twisted:

 

all factory take-offs will be sold!

Super Hurricane I-6
T-90
Dana 18
front and rear axles
leaf springs
shocks
steering
even the stock guages
and anything else that doesnt fit into my plan.

THE HORROR!!! :twisted: :driving:

 

Voice of Yoda "Towels, we will need"

 

just think of it as being an organ donor to a Willy's in need.

 

You're gonna get a lot of flexing in the stock frame when rockcrawling. These frames are really, really flexy and will crack. For this reason, and the aforementioned full width axle swap, most people opt to build their own frames. At the very least, cut some 1/8-inch plate and box your stock frame. You'll probably want to rebuild the stock crossmembers with some 1/8-inch or 3/16-inch wall rectangular tubing since all but the front and rear stock x-members are pretty flimsy. Then build a cage that ties to the frame as an added source of frame reinforcement and safety.

For the steering, I think Herm has a power steering conversion that will work for the older Willys trucks, www.hermtheoverdriveguy.com. It puts the box behind the front axle. A V8 is a fairly tight fit in that engine compartment, but I'm working on a '48 so yours may be different.

I reused my stock frame, boxed it, and stuck the front spring perches outboard the frame for use with a full width (70-inch WMS-WMS) axle. To run longer front springs than the really short factory ones you've got to extend the frame horns forward. Otherwise your tire is gonna sit right in your tub if you add longer springs with the factory forward shackle position. I chopped up a vintage Ramsey winch bumper as the basis for my stretch since it indexed nicely into the framehorns, but you could use rectangular tubing. I was building the rear suspension yesterday, but that's gonna stay under the rear framerails.

The thing about these truck is it's sort of like building a full-size flatfender. Good luck with your project.

 

Hey Dummy!!!

Thanks for the info. Boxing, crossing, and gusseting the frame was all in the plan from day one. I figured I would have to extend the frame forward a tad as I plan on running wagoneer 7 leaf spriings front and rear.

Thanks so much for the steering link, I got a lot of thinking to do on this one since I want to run hydro assist and a hi-steer configuration.

I have $1,000 budgeted for steel, with prices the way they are I just hope thats enough.

 

Uuuh - $1000 for steel. I've got about 2 sticks of 1-3/4 DOM in the interior cage at about $95/stick (it's a pickup, not wagon). It's gonna take about another 2 or 3 sticks to do the rear cage and about 2 sticks to do the front through the engine compartment. Then I've got some other crossmembers, cage runners, X-brace on the front framehorns, etc. all for about 1 stick. That's nearly $700-$800. Plus, I recently spent about $180 on 3/16 plate remnant to box the frame and a few other tricks I'm working on. I still need to pick up some rectangular steel to do the xmembers and the front/rear bumpers. That'll probably push me well over $1000 in steel.

Depending on prices in CO, you'll probably just squeak under that limit since I'm building mine more as a bastardized do-all than just a rock crawler. It's got to be able to go fairly fast down a wash and hit the occasional jump or two as well as crawl and do dunes. I did use the Rancho 44044 Wagoneer front springs for their offset centerpin, but I'm using Rancho Chevy truck rears. Depending on where I put the rear suspension the wheelbase should be around 128-135-inches.

 

:uwop:

Dummy, we definitly need some pics of this beast!