Got my '48 pickup!

Vintage Don

Vintage Don

Well Oiled
Oct 9, 2017
3,855
Medina, Ohio
First Name
Don
Willys Model
  1. Pickup
Willys Year:
  1. 1948
Finally, after much searching for just the right one, I have pulled home my '48 Willys pickup! Just completed an epic 4 day, 2,051 mile journey with trailer in tow from northern Ohio out to central Oklahoma, and brought back my treasure. 1948 all original 4x4 pickup, which has been sitting since last registered in 1960. Got the matching title with it, bought it from the step-son of the (deceased) man that had owned it since 1956. It hasn't run or moved in forever.

Old car buddy since High School days (and that's been a while) Doug went with me. So in the photos below, that's Doug and the Seller, Sam, doing the work - while I take some pictures. Good deal.

Made a stop on the second morning and picked up 4 tires and wheels I bought from a forum member (Mark) in Crocker MO. Then went on to Oklahoma for the night. Next morning, we jacked her up and stood her on her own feet for the first time in decades and winched her aboard my trailer. Then began two long days home.

Then on the way home, stopped at Midwest Willys in Indiana and bought a complete correct 2/3 - 1/3 seat from Harry. It will be a few weeks before I can get to work in earnest.

The short term plan is to get it out of the trailer on Friday and pressure wash everything inside and out. Long term, I will be keeping her bone stock, 134" flathead Go-Devil and 16" NDTs. Which is gonna take a little while. But that's the whole idea, after all. Keeps me out of trouble.

By the way, the vehicle towing the trailer was my Grand Cherokee Hemi, which just seems right.

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Very COOL Don! Your Road Trip to Get your 48 Pickup sounded like a Great Adventure! Keep taking and posting Pictures of your Project, as you will REALLY Enjoy them as your Project goes on. Great Start of a Cool Story! Pivnic
 
Welcome to the fold! I have two 1948s and yours is in better condition than both of them, nice score!
 
Good score Don! I did the same thing out of southern Ohio,went to Arkansas and drug 2 wagons home. It is a blast to work on,I hope you as much fun as I have had with mine.
 
Thanks, guys. I'm very pleased with it. The floor of the bed is rotted pretty badly, and the left rear fender is pretty ragged - but she has good solid bones and is quite complete and sound, and I can turn the engine. Very little has been altered, still wearing the original paint (what's left of it). Got a good, straight WO tailgate with no big dents or rust-out, and can even still read the "4 Wheel Drive" decal. Interior is very ragged, but as I said I bought a set of correct seats. The worst problems are just from sitting for a very, very long time. But mostly quite solid, thanks to having been in Oklahoma. Today, I got an Ohio title in my name accomplished (no small feat), so she's legal now, too.

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Nice find Don. Took me about a year to finish my 48 truck. Matter of a fact I just had it repainted (professionally) cause I wasnt happy with my paint job. Good luck and lots of fun.
 
Don, that first shot with new wheels and tires could be a calendar shot. Id vote for it. Not many days left! Congrats.
 
A little update. I spent most of the weekend getting the pickup out of the trailer, and then pressure-washed EVERYTHING - underside, frame, under the hood, body and cab, bed, interior... I would say, without exaggeration, that the truck lost 200 lbs of dirt, scale, mouse poop and nests, caked gunk and the usual. And then a lot of shuffling of vehicles and it is now INSIDE. Almost certainly, the first time it has been inside any building since the early 1960s, or before.

The cab floors are swiss cheese, not unexpected. I have also learned that the engine does not turn (yet). I dug out the big 1-7/16" nut on the front of the crank, but it won't budge with a long breaker and a foot of pipe. So after fighting out the 4 spark plugs (no two of which were alike) the top of the cylinders are now marinating in a mixture of ATF and WD40. We'll see if a couple days of that lets things move.

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I simply love your truck, it has all the right patina in all the right places! Its in WAY better shape than either of mine and I look forward to a lot of pictures of this as you work on it!!!

Austin
 
Hey Don... You might want to add a little Mystery Oil to your 'recipe' for your cylinders. Let it sit a WEEK. Be gentle when you start trying to 'break it loose'. The Original Hurricane 226 in Floyd was a Boat Anchor until a week after "The Recipe" soaked in. It broke loose by hand (Gently). I changed the Plugs, points etc at this point and then the motor Cranked and finally Started Up! It did SMOKE profusely for about ten minutes or so. SO YES, Your Chances are GOOD that it will start up, but don't Rush It. Give it a Week and be gentle! Let us all know how this turns out! It will probably Start! Pivnic
 
Hey, thanks, I appreciate all the positive comments - encouragement is a definite plus. At this point, I'm still feeling like this was all a good idea, ask me again in 6 months!

OK, I will add some Marvel Mystery Oil in the morning, I thought about that. A lot of guys like to put diesel in it, too. Unless it has spun a bearing and seized or something went wrong in one of the cylinders I can't see, I'm confident it will break loose eventually. But it's going to take more than that to make her run, I'm afraid. Wiring is all rotted away, no carb at all ( I will find a Carter WO 636S and make it right), exhaust system is only about 18 inches long (not that we need that to run), haven't pulled off the distributor cap yet to see what's in there, first priority was getting it cleaned up well enough to bring it inside. Had brush an inch thick inside the engine compartment growing around everything. Gas tank has a giant patch, the whole bottom of the tank - carefully riveted on and sealed - and the bottom of the PATCH has now rusted out! You gotta remember, this thing was last registered in 1960. Might have run a few more years than that off-road, don't know, but it's been a real, real long time since it was feeling any love. Been sitting outside at least 55 years. Hey, but that's part of the fun, the challenge to make it all work again. Door latches won't move, bushings are gone from the spring shackles and eyebolts. Fuel line and brake lines are gone, or might as well be. Takes two men and a boy to turn the steering wheel, but it will turn now. I was thankful that all 4 wheels would turn and nothing was locked up when we put wheels and tires on it to load it up, but at least it will roll now. Here's a photo of what I found when I raised the hood. That's before I started cleaning up much, but the brush you see isn't a nest or something - it grew there.

I'm thinking once the engine will turn and I get a little time, I will pull the Head and the manifolds (which are probably full of "mouse housing" since there was no carb and no plug in the hole). Might need to pull the head off just to get it loose and turning, if needed. I'll probably drop the pan and have a look in there, too. Then we'll add a battery and coil, put some new guts in the distributor, rig some wiring, put some oil in, and make it run. But only briefly, and once I clear that hurdle then I'll worry about a cooling system and let it run a little longer. Then I'll worry about all the other parts that need to go around, and eventually exhaust and a "real" fuel system, and eventually brakes.... Would like to make it driveable just like it looks, then somewhat later I'll start thinking about things like gauges, windows, seats, and on and on.



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Hi Don. Oh yeah... The initial "Cleaning Out' of Any Old Willys truck is an Adventure! Geez, you just about need to have a HazMat Suit on to do it! My 57 Willys Pickup had a family of Raccoons living in the Cab! Talk about Stench! It would make you want to Yack! My 63 Willys Wagon was a real mess inside too. I pulled out FIVE Mouse/Rat Nests, about 50 Pounds of Rat Turds... You get the picture. I've got Dibbs on any Money you Find in your Truck! Hahaha! I think that I've always found money in all the old trucks that I've been involved with. Money and Live Bullets! Keep taking those pictures, you'll really enjoy looking at them years from now! Pivnic
 
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