Mladen's 1956/7 Station Wagon

mladen.caver

Bigger Hammer
Feb 9, 2010
182
Knjazevac, Serbia
Willys Model
  1. Wagon
Willys Year:
All right. Since we discussed a lot my grandpa's vehicle in the new members section, I decided to open a separate topic here where, I believe, it should actually be. For those whom I haven't been introduced to, :D my name is Mladen and I live in Serbia, Southeast Europe.

I will copy-paste some information and pix on the wagon from the new members section and keep you up to date when it comes to any progress on my resto project:

The vehicle hasn't been driven for some 10 years now, and is currently under re-construction. I mean, grandpa and I intend to do as much as our finances would allow, so it wouldn't be a FULL restoration project. We intend to make some necessary work in order to put it back on the road, but nothing so much sofisticated has been planned so far. The Hurricane engine is OK, and the tin body needs to be carefully taken care of.

vilisjeep.jpg


willyswinter.jpg


Here's the link to my gallery:

gallery/search.php?user_id=348
 
Excellent Mladen... Looking forward to your progress-

Pete
 
Here's some news regarding the test ride... I drove the wagon yesterday but noticed a lot of noise in the rear part, somewhere around the left rear wheel. At first I thought it was the shock absorber but it must have been the tyres themselves. They had supported the weight of the wagon for 10 years before the previous short rides and must have got "disfigured" (Not sure how to put this in words) and therefore they shake the jeep a lot while driving it a bit faster.

Today I set myself upon finding new or second-hand 16" tyres in the town I live in, and found only the second-hand but as good as new BRIDGESTONE tyres. Dimensions: 215/75 r16. I believe they resemble pretty much this one provided here:

Dueler_MT_673.jpg


Whattdya think? Will it match the wagon's 16"" wheel? My current rear tyres are 6.50 r16 whereas the front ones are 6.00 r16.

I also found new tyres 6.50 r16, Serbian trademark, but I liked the looks of the bridgestone model....

p.s. I also have to have my leaf springs bent.... :(
 
I used those tires in a 31" size for a few years on my old Blazer, and had a set of Bridgestone Dueler ATs on my Grand Cherokee when I first got it, and I will be buying another set this summer for it. Ive had really good experiences with the Dueler tires. The mud terrain tire is pretty loud going down the road. It will hum and whir on the highway, but thats just the nature of mud tires. I think it would look great on the Wagon! :thumbup:
 
If the rear tires are 10 years old then best shuck them even if they appear new. The rubber has rotted internally. Tires actually have a 'shelf life' on them and if not mounted and driven they need to be returned to the manufacturer. The reason behind this is that tire are a 'wet' product and driving on them causes the 'wet' oils and other chemicals to move around thru the tire casing. Not driving and sunlight causes the tire to dry out and the rubber begins to disintegrate.

Your bridgestones are a good tire and a good choice. I would try to get a full set if possible.
 
SavageSun Willys said:
If the rear tires are 10 years old then best shuck them even if they appear new. The rubber has rotted internally. Tires actually have a 'shelf life' on them and if not mounted and driven they need to be returned to the manufacturer. The reason behind this is that tire are a 'wet' product and driving on them causes the 'wet' oils and other chemicals to move around thru the tire casing. Not driving and sunlight causes the tire to dry out and the rubber begins to disintegrate.

Your bridgestones are a good tire and a good choice. I would try to get a full set if possible.
Click to expand...

Thank ye all for your advice. What I am afraid of is that I am not sure if the 16 wheels I have are compatible with this 16 tyre in terms of the wheel width. Therefore I might take the spare wheel/tire to the seller and see if it fits (he runs a tire-repair store)!

Unfortunately, he has only two Bridgestone tires! I found the same tire dimension - some used but decent Michelin tires (also 215 75 r16) and I hope that the same dimension but slightly different shape and different manufacturer types might be a good match for my wagon: two bridgestone tires (rear) and two michelin (front). Your opinion?

p.s. Brand new Bridgestone tires are much too expensive here in Serbia, therefore I have to resort to these not-much-used and not so expensive tires.
 
Your budget is critical - very important to be cheap, but SAFE ! Your are going in the right direction and I wish we all were there to help you...enjoy the journey (trip) !
 
Vehicles to drive all four wheels must have all the same dimensions of tyres. Should not be on one axis 6.00 and on other 6.50!Your tyres are old and deformed and this is probably the cause of noice.
 
Well, yesterday I purchased the damn tires. I didn't decide on bridgestone tires (therefore am sad, because they looked so damn nice but couldn't find two more similar tires for the front axles) and chose new Tigar 6.50 r16, Serbian manufacturer. Here's what the tire looks like:

dsc00555h.jpg
 
SavageSun Willys said:
Nice looking tire... ;)
Click to expand...

Not bad. I believe its shape will be satisfying both for muddy and other off-road terrains... I wanted a higher and larger tyre, but ended up choosing this one... Not many tyre types to choose in my surroundings, I originally wanted smth.like 7.50 (Like the ones that aquawilly has) but couldn't find those.
I went for a test ride this afternoon and the tires seem to behave OK. I have still to release some air from the brakes, since the wheels "hold" too much...

edit: The shape of this 6.50 tyre reminds me of the "original" willys 7.00 tires which were, I believe, mostly used for the CJ and MB WW2 jeeps... right?
 
mladen.caver said:
[quote="SavageSun Willys":1579jn3n]Nice looking tire... ;)
Click to expand...

Not bad. I believe its shape will be satisfying both for muddy and other off-road terrains... I wanted a higher and larger tyre, but ended up choosing this one... Not many tyre types to choose in my surroundings, I originally wanted smth.like 7.50 (Like the ones that aquawilly has) but couldn't find those.
I went for a test ride this afternoon and the tires seem to behave OK. I have still to release some air from the brakes, since the wheels "hold" too much...

edit: The shape of this 6.50 tyre reminds me of the "original" willys 7.00 tires which were, I believe, mostly used for the CJ and MB WW2 jeeps... right?[/quote:1579jn3n]
6.00 16 was on Willys MB and original on Wagon was 7.50 15... ;)
 
presvjetli said:
mladen.caver said:
[quote="SavageSun Willys":2tra2rht]Nice looking tire... ;)
Click to expand...

Not bad. I believe its shape will be satisfying both for muddy and other off-road terrains... I wanted a higher and larger tyre, but ended up choosing this one... Not many tyre types to choose in my surroundings, I originally wanted smth.like 7.50 (Like the ones that aquawilly has) but couldn't find those.
I went for a test ride this afternoon and the tires seem to behave OK. I have still to release some air from the brakes, since the wheels "hold" too much...

edit: The shape of this 6.50 tyre reminds me of the "original" willys 7.00 tires which were, I believe, mostly used for the CJ and MB WW2 jeeps... right?
Click to expand...
6.00 16 was on Willys MB and original on Wagon was 7.50 15... ;)[/quote:2tra2rht]

So, I guess that mine are somewhere in between the two :mrgreen: I can't wait to test them on a hard, bumpy or muddy surface...as soon as I'm done with the braking problem... :thumbup:
 
splinterguy said:
Mladen,
Great looking tires. Hope they work out well for you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they look real fine. Here's a photo from yesterday, I took a short offroad ride, before I have a problem with the brakes fixed...
(in fact, this is my dad in the wagon :) )

image.php
 
mladen.caver said:
From 2 days ago:

image.php


image.php


...while it was starting to snow....
Click to expand...

Mladen
Love the old Willys, but would like to see more of the little black car in the photo.....I have a 1965 Anglia Panel and love the micro cars...as we call them here in the States.
 
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