Pikupp
Gear Grinder
Hello,
I found my Willys 5 years ago and have been working on and off (more off) since. I almost bought one while in high school in 1980, something about the lines of the truck grabbed me. It was so different from the other 50s pickups that had gone to a more curved style. The Willy's has a very simple outline and to me the cab itself looks much like a 1930 Ford model A pickup.
The former owner of my truck did a frame off and had the original F4 bored out 20 over and gone through it with new pistons, rings, bearings, seals, valves, springs, and the crank ground. He also installed a new manifold rebuilt the Carter carburetor new fuel pump and went through the transmission, transfer case, and rear end. In addition he replaced the entire brake system, differentials, fuel tank, and wheel bearings. The engine came out of the machine shop 7 years ago and has never been started. I found my pickup on Craigslist in Colville WA, the owner was unable to complete the project as he was entering the service.
I own a 2nd 53 pickup that I'm using as a donor truck it had a repower done on it with a Chev V8 and adapter plate mated to the original 3 speed. With it's wide fat tires it's kind of a sand monster but is not something you can drive over 25 MPH. I enjoy reading how many of the forum members have customized the Willy's into a daily driver but this one is off road only.
The plan for my donor rig is to remove the bed, gauges, beauty bars, and other items, for my restoration. I'm going to get a Saturn O/D and covert to 12 Volt (like it stock but would enjoy driving 50 MPH) not trying to win or enter any contests but have a reliable weekend truck I can run around in.
The cab floors, front brackets, and portions of the firewall were rotted out so I have taught myself how to wire weld (still not the best welder but becoming proficient with the angle grinder(s)). I've finally made some pretty good progress on the cab and am starting to think about painting it. One of the bigger decisions you make when you have rot is how much do you cut out. I kept the floor tunnel and one of the floor braces and scabbed onto the existing metal bending the replacement pans into the space. This turned out to be somewhat like forcing the wrong jig saw pieces into place but it turned out solid.
I have POR15 I'm going to apply to both sides of the floor and the bottom section of the firewall, I'm also going to use their OEM rubberized bed liner on both sides to protect and provide some sound insulation.
If anyone has a stock Hurricane and would send pictures of the firewall I would love to see it. The top section of my firewall has dozens of holes and I would like to know which ones I need. I also will need to fabricate a battery box as I don't have one and that section of the firewall was rotten. Pictures of the dash and the interior floor when an overdrive has been added are other items I would love to see.
I've been reading many of your posts and have gleamed a great deal of information and motivation seeing your projects!
That is all I have for now thank you for looking, any comments, ideas, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff
I found my Willys 5 years ago and have been working on and off (more off) since. I almost bought one while in high school in 1980, something about the lines of the truck grabbed me. It was so different from the other 50s pickups that had gone to a more curved style. The Willy's has a very simple outline and to me the cab itself looks much like a 1930 Ford model A pickup.
The former owner of my truck did a frame off and had the original F4 bored out 20 over and gone through it with new pistons, rings, bearings, seals, valves, springs, and the crank ground. He also installed a new manifold rebuilt the Carter carburetor new fuel pump and went through the transmission, transfer case, and rear end. In addition he replaced the entire brake system, differentials, fuel tank, and wheel bearings. The engine came out of the machine shop 7 years ago and has never been started. I found my pickup on Craigslist in Colville WA, the owner was unable to complete the project as he was entering the service.
I own a 2nd 53 pickup that I'm using as a donor truck it had a repower done on it with a Chev V8 and adapter plate mated to the original 3 speed. With it's wide fat tires it's kind of a sand monster but is not something you can drive over 25 MPH. I enjoy reading how many of the forum members have customized the Willy's into a daily driver but this one is off road only.
The plan for my donor rig is to remove the bed, gauges, beauty bars, and other items, for my restoration. I'm going to get a Saturn O/D and covert to 12 Volt (like it stock but would enjoy driving 50 MPH) not trying to win or enter any contests but have a reliable weekend truck I can run around in.
The cab floors, front brackets, and portions of the firewall were rotted out so I have taught myself how to wire weld (still not the best welder but becoming proficient with the angle grinder(s)). I've finally made some pretty good progress on the cab and am starting to think about painting it. One of the bigger decisions you make when you have rot is how much do you cut out. I kept the floor tunnel and one of the floor braces and scabbed onto the existing metal bending the replacement pans into the space. This turned out to be somewhat like forcing the wrong jig saw pieces into place but it turned out solid.
I have POR15 I'm going to apply to both sides of the floor and the bottom section of the firewall, I'm also going to use their OEM rubberized bed liner on both sides to protect and provide some sound insulation.
If anyone has a stock Hurricane and would send pictures of the firewall I would love to see it. The top section of my firewall has dozens of holes and I would like to know which ones I need. I also will need to fabricate a battery box as I don't have one and that section of the firewall was rotten. Pictures of the dash and the interior floor when an overdrive has been added are other items I would love to see.
I've been reading many of your posts and have gleamed a great deal of information and motivation seeing your projects!
That is all I have for now thank you for looking, any comments, ideas, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff
