Building a 61 Willy's Wagon Rockcrawler

Looking great!!! Are you going to try to incorporate the color contrast into the paing scheme of the body, or are you going to leave it like it is??

 

body paint is yet to be determined. what I do know is that I willhave a professional job done. it will be a shade of blue or purple (wife likes purple).

 

So it will be purple then.

Paint something purple and post a pic of it with the axles so I can get an idea of how it will look.

I sure do ask a lot of someone I don't even know.

 

lol...no purple paint here so photoshop something yourself

 

Hey all:

well the underbody and frame has been stripped and painted...that only took a month!

I have started on the front axle (dana 60). I have it about half done at this point. The passenger side was completely dissasembled, cleaned,, inspected, and painted. I am currently working on the drivers side and it will be done.

I have a question for those of you who have done spring overs for hardcore rock crawling applications. What leaf springs will give me the best flex, and still be able to support the wieght of my vehicle? Its fairly heavy to begin with and I will be adding a v8 engine, and lots more steel to reinforce the frame and provide body protection as well as a cage. I have been wavering between chevy rear leafs from a k5 and waggy fronts...

and now for some pics of my axle progress...

before



half done

 

Chevy leaf springs will work good and probably be about the easiest to find.

 

should I go with K5 or Suburban? is there a difference?

 

I can't really remember if there is much difference or not cause I have only ever worked on one Suburban, but I would think K5 would work pretty good. Stock springs seem to work good from what I have seen, but it would be great if you could find some with a couple inches of lift. Don't get too much lift though.

 

I am going to try to go with as little lift as possible. the spring over will provide roughly 4 inches which should allow enough clearance with a little bit of trimming in the rear. I may be cutting out the wheel wells anyways to allow for shock hoops, but thats down the line a ways...

 

Main reason I like a little lift with chevy springs is because of the sag that they tend to have on older ones, especially in the front. However, I have seen them on several rigs and no one has any problems with them. Of course, keep in mind that either way you need to outboard the springs, and you should be good to go. If I am remebering right, there are some that are also running factory YJ springs even with the 60 front, but my memory seems to be shot this morning.

 

I'd do the Chevy springs on the rear, but I'd go with Waggy springs on the front. The Wagoneer/FSJ springs will hold the weight of a V8, but they've got a 24-inch centerpin-spring eye length on the front compared with about 26-inches for the Chevy springs. That way you don't have to extend your front framehorns forward as much. Depending on how much tire you're running you'll definitely be cutting your rear wheelwells out.

 

dummy;

i am running 39.5x13.5 Iroks

 

Just thought I would share in case you haven't seen the Stacey David thread yet.

 

So, did he have to break out the winch to get the rest of the way up the bank?

 

I think I remember seeing the video clip of that and he pretty much demolishes that bank with long pedal.

 

I got the sawzall out today and cut some perfectly good sheetmetal away from the body of my Willy's Wagon.

:lurk:









The inner front fender wells above the frame had to go to make room for the Chevy 350. other areas that will get chopped inclide the rockers below the tub, the rear wheel wells, and the rear below the tailgate. all those areas will be reinforced with 1/4" plate.

 

That is the same way I am going to be going on my next Jeep trail rig as far as the rocker panels under the door opening and I aint even gonna mention what I am going to do to the rear part.

As always, keep us posted. Sounds like you're moving right along.

 

ok its time to beat a dead, or nearly dead horse..... frame boxing how to's and don't do's

I read this and other threads and have decided that boxing pretty much my entire frame will be the best given my driveline and intended use.

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17253&highlight=frame+boxing

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions before i jump in to this?

Ill be using a 220 mig welder with which i am an amateur welder at best. (gotta learn some how)

What thickness of plate is best?

I plan on using boxed steel to form front at rear bumpers that will be tied directly into the frame.

I will be making some pretty beefy crossmembers for the tranny and transfer case out of plate.

any other areas that need to have extra strength/

thanks again

Bill

 

The steel you use for the boxing should be the same thickness as the frame. If you are going to bolt in the crossmember for the T case, figure out where it goes and tack weld the nuts on the inside of the frame before you box. Full boxing is preffered. If you only partially box the frame will tend to crack exactly where you end the boxing. Don't ask how I know.

 

Okay well my summer of garage time was horribly interupted last month by me having to be a husband and a father. I should have the majority of July to spend time in the garage.

I have completely finished the underbody and frame restoration which included cleaning and painting all surfaces.

I just today began the process of boxing the frame with 1/8" plate.

For those in the Denver metro area I need to tell you that K & K Surplus in Commerce city is awesome. I got all my plate for the boxing project in the correct widths (damn frame couldnt be one width of c-channel) for under $40.

Some day i will get to weld on metal what is free and unobstructed, and maybe even not upsidedown and nearly unreachable. Until then you may poke fun at my welding prowess!!

heres some pics again poor quality..sorry

1 - engine compartment painted up



2 - frame rails all prettied up





3 - let the boxing begin!!!! started from the rear and working forward.