Understood. I look forward to reading all about it.
Where was your Willys today?
- Thread starter Pete
- Start date
Vintage Don
Well Oiled
OK - a fine post here, not TMI at all. A few thoughts in response.
First - in total - it all adds up to an acceptable "excuse" for the original little 'poke' I gave you for not playing with your own tranny! Haha. And some sympathy to go along with it, that was a tough few years, sounds like. We had a similar stretch in the 2014-2016 period. We were not yet retired, my Dad was slowly failing and kind of a handful, etc - ending with his passing at the very end of 2016 at 92. And then my Mom ever since, although she's still pretty self-sufficient. But still requires daily support.
I suspect me finding my truck was partially a reaction to all that.
Your post also raises a couple further questions, my Brother-by-another-Mother -
so your Dad served in the Navy, on a carrier, in the Pacific.... Of course, my Dad served in the Navy, on a carrier, in the Pacific, during WWII. I'm guessing, from the younger ages involved, that your Dad was in during the Korean era. Also that he wanted an M38a1 for the tribute.
And you mentioned briefly about "taking care of the apartment building." Of course you already knew that my/our business for the last 25 years before retirement was owning and operating apartments....
And one minor correction, if I may: the Summer of 2016 was NOT "a long time ago." That was about 10 minutes ago. Haha!
Glad you got the original parts back from the Jailer, at least.
First state inspection sticker in 32 years. I drove up to the guy and said I'm a little overdue for a new sticker. His eyes opened up wide when he saw 1988 on the old sticker. It passed. Went for a cruise with the girls to celebrate. I scream for ice cream...
Thats awesome looking in all white. Tailgate action is always fun!
I KNEW there would be ice cream involved.
Congratulations!
So glad the People's Republic here doesn't require state inspections....yet.
Taxachusettes never misses an opportunity to get $35 bucks. It's a joke
67galaxie
Bigger Hammer
Now THAT is funny! Great wagon!
My audience demands a report, so here it is.
The Great Mendocino/Letts lake run
Leaving home at 5:30 am.
On hwy 29 as the sun starts it's ascension.
Gas up the truck and gas cans in Lakeport.
In Upper Lake, it was Hwy 20 to Elk Mountain rd, right on Pitney Lane, then left on (I think) Sam's Ridge rd, to enter Mendo Nat'l Forest. At some unknown point, the road became 16N30. This is what it looked like so far. Easy peasy...so far.
Found two derelicts alongside the road.
If the photos look dark that's because....it was.
Some territory.
Ruh roh. Lots of damage from the Ranch Fire exactly two years ago. For those out of state, CA regularly catches fire about this time of year and often stays lit until it rains in Nov. Lovely huh?
So 16N30 and 16N01 are a climb. Essentially you're travelling from lake level to the top of one ridge. The drive encompasses many, many, (did I say many?) ridge and valley adventures. The territory is very mountainous, no straight roads.
Here are a couple sights off the road.
An interesting rock formation. We'll see this later from the other side.
Breakfast of champions with a million dollar view to aid digestion.
Same rock but from the opposite side. So I drove along the mountain side around the rock. You may be able to see the road way in the distance. Some pics were taken with a zoom feature so similar to what your mirror says, objects are further away than they appear.
Look! I actually found a straight section.
Long about this time, I was probably either on 17N11 or 17N04.
This kinda stuff happened often especially as I moved deeper into the forests. There were groves of these burnt out trees. As they are relatively thin, they are falling down now. A ranger that I met at the lake said the major evergreens will begin falling next year as it takes about three years. Much further to the East, there is big time logging going on. The roads are much smoother and more densely travelled. Anyway, there were multiple occasions where I had to pick a line to get under a tree.
One of the banked corners for the fast movers. I thought it was a neat picture.
Up to this point it was all 2wd Hi. This hill was too steep for 1-Hi. Had to use 1-4wd Lo and lock the hubs of course.
My favorite meadow. I'd build a house here if this were private property.
At that point I was on 17N07 which was the roughest portion of the drive. Some really challenging switchbacks, steep climbs, water rutted road, dry creek crossings and elevation changes. That road eventually put me up on top of my last ridge climb. At that point I was near the elevation of the lake. Letts Lake is not in a low valley but above 4000'.
I have arrived.
Letts Lake. Interesting murder history about the lake and the Lett brothers. I downloaded this pic of the monument.
Too many pics. Please standby.
The Great Mendocino/Letts lake run
Leaving home at 5:30 am.
On hwy 29 as the sun starts it's ascension.
Gas up the truck and gas cans in Lakeport.
In Upper Lake, it was Hwy 20 to Elk Mountain rd, right on Pitney Lane, then left on (I think) Sam's Ridge rd, to enter Mendo Nat'l Forest. At some unknown point, the road became 16N30. This is what it looked like so far. Easy peasy...so far.
Found two derelicts alongside the road.
If the photos look dark that's because....it was.
Some territory.
Ruh roh. Lots of damage from the Ranch Fire exactly two years ago. For those out of state, CA regularly catches fire about this time of year and often stays lit until it rains in Nov. Lovely huh?
So 16N30 and 16N01 are a climb. Essentially you're travelling from lake level to the top of one ridge. The drive encompasses many, many, (did I say many?) ridge and valley adventures. The territory is very mountainous, no straight roads.
Here are a couple sights off the road.
An interesting rock formation. We'll see this later from the other side.
Breakfast of champions with a million dollar view to aid digestion.
Same rock but from the opposite side. So I drove along the mountain side around the rock. You may be able to see the road way in the distance. Some pics were taken with a zoom feature so similar to what your mirror says, objects are further away than they appear.
Look! I actually found a straight section.
Long about this time, I was probably either on 17N11 or 17N04.
This kinda stuff happened often especially as I moved deeper into the forests. There were groves of these burnt out trees. As they are relatively thin, they are falling down now. A ranger that I met at the lake said the major evergreens will begin falling next year as it takes about three years. Much further to the East, there is big time logging going on. The roads are much smoother and more densely travelled. Anyway, there were multiple occasions where I had to pick a line to get under a tree.
One of the banked corners for the fast movers. I thought it was a neat picture.
Up to this point it was all 2wd Hi. This hill was too steep for 1-Hi. Had to use 1-4wd Lo and lock the hubs of course.
My favorite meadow. I'd build a house here if this were private property.
At that point I was on 17N07 which was the roughest portion of the drive. Some really challenging switchbacks, steep climbs, water rutted road, dry creek crossings and elevation changes. That road eventually put me up on top of my last ridge climb. At that point I was near the elevation of the lake. Letts Lake is not in a low valley but above 4000'.
I have arrived.
Letts Lake. Interesting murder history about the lake and the Lett brothers. I downloaded this pic of the monument.
Too many pics. Please standby.
Been looking forward to this! Nice to see your Willys in the wild!
Tralehead
Well Oiled
OK Joe, I take back the snark about you not getting out Great pics! And all the more reason the NorCal'rs need to put on a Willys Sierra trip!!
Great pics! And all the more reason the NorCal'rs need to put on a Willys Sierra trip!!
A portion of the campgrounds.
Edit: my cousin just got back into cell range last night. These are their pics.
A steep road that we tried on Thursday night. It was washed out up ahead. Randy had to spot me while I made a eight point U-turn.
Randy
Me arriving.
Joe putt putting away.
The drive in used 4 hours and 18 minutes, one minor breakfast, many picture stops and four pee breaks. I did not record the mileage. My bad. I was really worn out from all the sawing away at the steering wheel and bouncing on the seat.
The Departure
The truck chip seals the road as we drive. I filled the trans and rear end before leaving. I had to channel my inner @Flinthillsben to replenish before departing.
Our exit was East instead of going back over my entry. The road is far more traveled and therefore is kept nicely graded. The view changes more rapidly as well. You drop in elevation relatively rapidly and the plants are mostly oak, scrub, etc. It stays nice thru Deafy Glade and Dixie Glade until you bottom out in Fouts Springs area. The alpine effect goes away quickly. Here's one view in the vacinity of Fouts as I was climbing out of that valley.
Somewhere around Fouts, the road name seems to change to Fouts Springs rd/43A. I motored along that to the wee burg of Stonyford. I gassed up in Stonyford at 99,688 miles. That'll be relevant later. From the general store I went right onto Lodoga/Stonyford rd until I reached a tee. Then I turned right onto Leesville/Lodoga rd which turned to well maintained gravel in a few miles. That looked a lot like this.
BTW, the other choice at the tee would ha e taken me to Maxwell. I chose the other route to avoid driving on I5 bwtn Maxwell a d Williams.
Along the road I found this. Someone had a very bad day.
Apparently I found Leesville. Around here the route became Leesville rd.
At this point, the road was miles of straight between cattle land.
But rather suddenly the valley narrowed into a ravine, became nicely cool and was lush near the creek.
Later down the road, more water and green.
The road would soon rise above the creek and become quite narrow. Too many fast, late model drivers coming the opposite way. One damn near hit me as we rounded a corner and he was on my side. I'm not kidding, our mirrors ended up about 2' apart fore/aft, not side to side. I stopped before him in his fancy schmancy Ram truck. Thank you patron saint of Lockheed/Wagner brakes.
From there it was more of the same and other harrowing moments with oncoming traffic until Hwy 20. This highway would take me back to Lake Co. Unfortunately, Hwy 20 is steep inclines and fast traffic. Fortunately there are many passing lanes. The ol' Ranch Truck just didn't have enough steam in it's boiler to maintain 55 mph on the inclines. One incline was so steep that we were down to 35 at the top.
Here is the only sight to see along the road. Good point for a butt rest too.
But the old truck can still get it on along the straight sections.
Finally at the bottom of our hill.
The reason that mileage in Stonyford has relevance is that I tanked up again in Lower Lake. 99746 mi and 4.86 gallons. This was along mostly 40 mph gravel road and then steep up and down highway. More up than down. I kinda figured some people might call B.S. on the mileage so I had to take a screenshot. I could hardly believe it.
Almost 12 mpg.
Takeaways
-the brakes are bedding in and the parking brake holds on a hill. Remember that hill shot when I shifted into 4wd Lo? The engine was running and the parking brake was holding the truck.
-never once overheated in spite of long climbs and high rpm's.
-mileage was surprisingly good.
-for those that put down Ross steering, I don't understand. It worked very well. The low ratio makes for lots of steering wheel work but that same low ratio makes for easy effort. I've driven Armstrong steering. Stick with pizza cutter tires.
-plenty of power off road.
-gets toasty in the cab.
-gravel roads, open lug tires and metal floorpans make for a loud ride.
-speaking of loud, either the trans or t/c makes one helluva racket at light throttle above 45 or so.
-and speaking of drivelines, I've GOTTA seal up some of these leaks! Before leaving, two pinion seals, front diff cover gasket and one Speedi Sleeve were purchased.
-upon coming home, I drive right into the garage and drained the engine oil. I figured the high detergent oil would be scrubbing the oil pan and engine block. I was correct. Over 200 miles and it's black as tar.
Today I'm bushed. It was a grand adventure but these old trucks are a handful to drive. I hope you enjoyed tagging along.
Edit: my cousin just got back into cell range last night. These are their pics.
A steep road that we tried on Thursday night. It was washed out up ahead. Randy had to spot me while I made a eight point U-turn.
Randy
Me arriving.
Joe putt putting away.
The drive in used 4 hours and 18 minutes, one minor breakfast, many picture stops and four pee breaks. I did not record the mileage. My bad.
I was really worn out from all the sawing away at the steering wheel and bouncing on the seat.The Departure
The truck chip seals the road as we drive. I filled the trans and rear end before leaving. I had to channel my inner @Flinthillsben to replenish before departing.
Our exit was East instead of going back over my entry. The road is far more traveled and therefore is kept nicely graded. The view changes more rapidly as well. You drop in elevation relatively rapidly and the plants are mostly oak, scrub, etc. It stays nice thru Deafy Glade and Dixie Glade until you bottom out in Fouts Springs area. The alpine effect goes away quickly. Here's one view in the vacinity of Fouts as I was climbing out of that valley.
Somewhere around Fouts, the road name seems to change to Fouts Springs rd/43A. I motored along that to the wee burg of Stonyford. I gassed up in Stonyford at 99,688 miles. That'll be relevant later. From the general store I went right onto Lodoga/Stonyford rd until I reached a tee. Then I turned right onto Leesville/Lodoga rd which turned to well maintained gravel in a few miles. That looked a lot like this.
BTW, the other choice at the tee would ha e taken me to Maxwell. I chose the other route to avoid driving on I5 bwtn Maxwell a d Williams.
Along the road I found this. Someone had a very bad day.
Apparently I found Leesville. Around here the route became Leesville rd.
At this point, the road was miles of straight between cattle land.
But rather suddenly the valley narrowed into a ravine, became nicely cool and was lush near the creek.
Later down the road, more water and green.
The road would soon rise above the creek and become quite narrow. Too many fast, late model drivers coming the opposite way. One damn near hit me as we rounded a corner and he was on my side. I'm not kidding, our mirrors ended up about 2' apart fore/aft, not side to side. I stopped before him in his fancy schmancy Ram truck. Thank you patron saint of Lockheed/Wagner brakes.
From there it was more of the same and other harrowing moments with oncoming traffic until Hwy 20. This highway would take me back to Lake Co. Unfortunately, Hwy 20 is steep inclines and fast traffic. Fortunately there are many passing lanes. The ol' Ranch Truck just didn't have enough steam in it's boiler to maintain 55 mph on the inclines. One incline was so steep that we were down to 35 at the top.
Here is the only sight to see along the road. Good point for a butt rest too.
But the old truck can still get it on along the straight sections.
Finally at the bottom of our hill.
The reason that mileage in Stonyford has relevance is that I tanked up again in Lower Lake. 99746 mi and 4.86 gallons. This was along mostly 40 mph gravel road and then steep up and down highway. More up than down. I kinda figured some people might call B.S. on the mileage so I had to take a screenshot. I could hardly believe it.
Almost 12 mpg.
Takeaways
-the brakes are bedding in and the parking brake holds on a hill. Remember that hill shot when I shifted into 4wd Lo? The engine was running and the parking brake was holding the truck.
-never once overheated in spite of long climbs and high rpm's.
-mileage was surprisingly good.
-for those that put down Ross steering, I don't understand. It worked very well. The low ratio makes for lots of steering wheel work but that same low ratio makes for easy effort. I've driven Armstrong steering. Stick with pizza cutter tires.
-plenty of power off road.
-gets toasty in the cab.
-gravel roads, open lug tires and metal floorpans make for a loud ride.
-speaking of loud, either the trans or t/c makes one helluva racket at light throttle above 45 or so.
-and speaking of drivelines, I've GOTTA seal up some of these leaks! Before leaving, two pinion seals, front diff cover gasket and one Speedi Sleeve were purchased.
-upon coming home, I drive right into the garage and drained the engine oil. I figured the high detergent oil would be scrubbing the oil pan and engine block. I was correct. Over 200 miles and it's black as tar.
Today I'm bushed. It was a grand adventure but these old trucks are a handful to drive. I hope you enjoyed tagging along.
Last edited:
Thanks for taking us along and sharing the pics. Glad your truck did so well.
I've found some 3/8" felt carpet padding on the floor, including up the firewall to the major cross-seam (held in place by push-pins) and in the cubby under the seat, makes a huge difference reducing the racket and makes the drive much more enjoyable and less tiring. I also put closed cell foam under the flashing on the hump that covers the transmission -- cut it to fit and screw it down. Big difference.
Incidentally, you may benefit from an intermediate shaft refresh in the TC. When that gets worn, as it will, it contributes to the racket. That can be done in the truck from underneath.
I've found some 3/8" felt carpet padding on the floor, including up the firewall to the major cross-seam (held in place by push-pins) and in the cubby under the seat, makes a huge difference reducing the racket and makes the drive much more enjoyable and less tiring. I also put closed cell foam under the flashing on the hump that covers the transmission -- cut it to fit and screw it down. Big difference.
Incidentally, you may benefit from an intermediate shaft refresh in the TC. When that gets worn, as it will, it contributes to the racket. That can be done in the truck from underneath.
54 wagon ken
Well Oiled
I think you got yourself a real nice ranch truck there Joe ! What else could you ask for ?
Cool trip and story
Cool trip and story
Vintage Don
Well Oiled
A most excellent adventure, and well reported! I would also not mind having a cabin in that valley. (Although honestly, I'd be more inclined to find a similar valley in, say, Montana....). But a great ride, and the very best feature of it - nothing BROKE. Carry on...
KA8UDS
Sharpest Tool
Thanks for taking me along on your road trip. Excellent write up.
Rodger
Sharpest Tool
I enjoyed the ride too! Thanks Joe
A portion of the campgrounds.
View attachment 80461
The drive in used 4 hours and 18 minutes, one minor breakfast, many picture stops and four pee breaks. I did not record the mileage. My bad.
The Departure
The truck chip seals the road as we drive. I filled the trans and rear end before leaving. I had to channel my inner @Flinthillsben to replenish before departing.
View attachment 80462
Our exit was East instead of going back over my entry. The road is far more traveled and therefore is kept nicely graded. The view changes more rapidly as well. You drop in elevation relatively rapidly and the plants are mostly oak, scrub, etc. It stays nice thru Deafy Glade and Dixie Glade until you bottom out in Fouts Springs area. The alpine effect goes away quickly. Here's one view in the vacinity of Fouts as I was climbing out of that valley.
View attachment 80463
Somewhere around Fouts, the road name seems to change to Fouts Springs rd/43A. I motored along that to the wee burg of Stonyford. I gassed up in Stonyford at 99,688 miles. That'll be relevant later. From the general store I went right onto Lodoga/Stonyford rd until I reached a tee. Then I turned right onto Leesville/Lodoga rd which turned to well maintained gravel in a few miles. That looked a lot like this.
View attachment 80465
BTW, the other choice at the tee would ha e taken me to Maxwell. I chose the other route to avoid driving on I5 bwtn Maxwell a d Williams.
Along the road I found this. Someone had a very bad day.
View attachment 80466
Apparently I found Leesville. Around here the route became Leesville rd.
View attachment 80467
At this point, the road was miles of straight between cattle land.
View attachment 80468
But rather suddenly the valley narrowed into a ravine, became nicely cool and was lush near the creek.
View attachment 80469
Later down the road, more water and green.
View attachment 80470
The road would soon rise above the creek and become quite narrow. Too many fast, late model drivers coming the opposite way. One damn near hit me as we rounded a corner and he was on my side. I'm not kidding, our mirrors ended up about 2' apart fore/aft, not side to side. I stopped before him in his fancy schmancy Ram truck. Thank you patron saint of Lockheed/Wagner brakes.
From there it was more of the same and other harrowing moments with oncoming traffic until Hwy 20. This highway would take me back to Lake Co. Unfortunately, Hwy 20 is steep inclines and fast traffic. Fortunately there are many passing lanes. The ol' Ranch Truck just didn't have enough steam in it's boiler to maintain 55 mph on the inclines. One incline was so steep that we were down to 35 at the top.
Here is the only sight to see along the road. Good point for a butt rest too.
View attachment 80472
But the old truck can still get it on along the straight sections.
View attachment 80473
Finally at the bottom of our hill.
View attachment 80474
The reason that mileage in Stonyford has relevance is that I tanked up again in Lower Lake. 99746 mi and 4.86 gallons. This was along mostly 40 mph gravel road and then steep up and down highway. More up than down. I kinda figured some people might call B.S. on the mileage so I had to take a screenshot. I could hardly believe it.
View attachment 80475
Almost 12 mpg.
Takeaways
-the brakes are bedding in and the parking brake holds on a hill. Remember that hill shot when I shifted into 4wd Lo? The engine was running and the parking brake was holding the truck.
-never once overheated in spite of long climbs and high rpm's.
-mileage was surprisingly good.
-for those that put down Ross steering, I don't understand. It worked very well. The low ratio makes for lots of steering wheel work but that same low ratio makes for easy effort. I've driven Armstrong steering. Stick with pizza cutter tires.
-plenty of power off road.
-gets toasty in the cab.
-gravel roads, open lug tires and metal floorpans make for a loud ride.
-speaking of loud, either the trans or t/c makes one helluva racket at light throttle above 45 or so.
-and speaking of drivelines, I've GOTTA seal up some of these leaks! Before leaving, two pinion seals, front diff cover gasket and one Speedi Sleeve were purchased.
-upon coming home, I drive right into the garage and drained the engine oil. I figured the high detergent oil would be scrubbing the oil pan and engine block. I was correct. Over 200 miles and it's black as tar.
Today I'm bushed. It was a grand adventure but these old trucks are a handful to drive. I hope you enjoyed tagging along.
(In the voice of 1980s Chevy Chase
Just close your eyes, and be the ball..... na na na na na na na na .................na na na na na na na na na na.
Awesome write and pics! Looking forward to the next one.
Lou
Bigger Hammer
Looks like it was a good day for many of us to get away for the day.
I finally was able to make the trip down to the Gulf.I loaded up my fishing gear and strapped one of my surfboards( the long slow one)on the roof and took off.
filled the tank in Katy Tx and started heading south.T
This is the causeway going into Galveston This is where you start to smell the salt air.
II alway stop at Smittys bait shop to get some fresh shrimp and what ever I forgot to bring with me.
So here it is folks,The Gulf Of Mexico.And I met that storm on my way back home.
Just some pictures of my machine posing at the beachThe surf was really flat I still took the board out and paddled around a bit.Then Went back to fish another hour.Kept catching Gafftop,a sort of salt water catfish and a few Pompino.No keepers.
Time to head home
So here you have the Houston skyline.
It was a successful trip made to Galveston and home with no issues. I bought this machine to do what it did today.Surfing and fishing.
It's still a work in progress. AC would have been nice, but I'm still looking for the right setup. I have a box of parts that need attention. I bought new shocks and a third brake light, so people can actually see I’m stopping. There's plenty to still do but today was all about using the machine for what it was bought for and proving that it’s mechanically capable.
I'm satisfied and I made some folks smile today.
One more thing: cruising at 70 mph, I actually got 15 mpg.
I finally was able to make the trip down to the Gulf.I loaded up my fishing gear and strapped one of my surfboards( the long slow one)on the roof and took off.
filled the tank in Katy Tx and started heading south.TThis is the causeway going into Galveston This is where you start to smell the salt air.II alway stop at Smittys bait shop to get some fresh shrimp and what ever I forgot to bring with me.So here it is folks,The Gulf Of Mexico.And I met that storm on my way back home.Just some pictures of my machine posing at the beachThe surf was really flat I still took the board out and paddled around a bit.Then Went back to fish another hour.Kept catching Gafftop,a sort of salt water catfish and a few Pompino.No keepers.Time to head homeSo here you have the Houston skyline.It was a successful trip made to Galveston and home with no issues. I bought this machine to do what it did today.Surfing and fishing.
It's still a work in progress. AC would have been nice, but I'm still looking for the right setup. I have a box of parts that need attention. I bought new shocks and a third brake light, so people can actually see I’m stopping. There's plenty to still do but today was all about using the machine for what it was bought for and proving that it’s mechanically capable.
I'm satisfied and I made some folks smile today.
One more thing: cruising at 70 mph, I actually got 15 mpg.