New Old Guy

Old Willy

Bigger Hammer
Jan 1, 2010
170
Wi.
First Name
Bill
Willys Model
  1. Wagon
Willys Year:
  1. 1954
Just found this site and joined up. I have a '54 Wagon that I bought on eBay 2 years ago. It's an amature restoration but looks and runs good and is a ton of fun to drive.

My interest in the Willys wagons and trucks spans many years. As a kid, my Dad always wanted a Willys wagon even though we were too poor to buy one. Once a year he would go to our local dealer, look over the new models, con the salesman into a test drive, then pick up all the literature he could and go home and dream. I loved riding in those new Jeeps and looking at the pictures in the literature. He died in 1968 and never got his wagon.

For years I have been looking for a wagon of my own. Everything I found was either too much money or junk until I found the one I have now. I love loading up the wife and dog and going to a show, cruise night or just a back road ride on a nice day. I think of my Dad and hope he's happy we finally got a Willys Wagon.

I'll go by the name of "Old Willy" because I'm 62 going on 20 and my name is Bill (nickname Willy).

Thanks.
 
Nice to have you on board Willy. I enjoyed reading your introduction and am glad that you finally got your Wagon and are having fun with it. It looks nice in the pics, makes me wish I had mine on the road. :thumbup:
 
Glad to have ya "old willy billy"...in age I'm right behind you...appreciate you breaking the ground in front of me. Nice looking ride, I really liked the Halloween Theme picture...and the story about your father, brings back great memories of my own.
God Bless....Kevin in Georgia
 
Why am I always the youngest person by 30 years??

Great looking wagon Willy, this forum is like a fire hydrant of information, any questions or issues your having with your wagon, someone here will have or find the answer!
 
Bill,
Welcome aboard. Nice looking wagon you have there. I am hoping that one day my amature restoration will look as good as that. :thumbup:
 
Thanks for all the kind words. The best compliment I got on my wagon was at a gas station last year. As I was filling up, a guy came over and asked the year of the Willys, etc. He slowly walked around the wagon. He came back to me and said "I only see ONE thing wrong with your car." I said, "What's that?" He said,"IT'S NOT MINE!!!"

Old Willy
 
Hello Old Willy: welcome to this group of enthusiasts from one 62 year old to another. As others have stated, that is a very nice looking Willys wagon you have there.

All the best

Pavel
 
Welcome to the forum Old Willy... glad to have you in the mix. Very nice work you've done with your wagon... Like others have said, your "amature" work makes some "pro's" work look shabby.

Is that a Dodge lurking in the background of your pics? I have a soft spot for the mopar flathead six...

Pete
 
Hi Pete,

Yes that's a 1946 Dodge WC pickup in the background. I built that truck in 1968 and have been driving it the past 42 years. That old truck and I have a lot of memories!! It's got a '49 or '50 flathead 6 in it. The paint was done in 1974. Three years ago I put on new chrome wheels, radial tires and converted it to 12 volt electrics. The paint color is 1974 Chevy Vega Bronze and when I tell that to young kids they say "What's a Vega?"

Old Willy
 
Old Willy said:
Hi Pete,

Yes that's a 1946 Dodge WC pickup in the background. I built that truck in 1968 and have been driving it the past 42 years. That old truck and I have a lot of memories!! It's got a '49 or '50 flathead 6 in it. The paint was done in 1974. Three years ago I put on new chrome wheels, radial tires and converted it to 12 volt electrics. The paint color is 1974 Chevy Vega Bronze and when I tell that to young kids they say "What's a Vega?"

Old Willy

I love old trucks, of any make. I have a '53 Chevy pickup that I've had for 29 years, still drive it daily, when it's not snowing.

Here's the flathead six I built for my '50 Plymouth...
flattyicon2.jpg

more at http://www.50plymouth.com

I want to do something like this with a Willys flathead six one day-

Pete
 
Pete,

SWEET!!!!

I've got a modified flathead 6 for the Dodge that I bought over 25 years ago but never installed. It's got a .060 overbore, Isky cam, ported, polished, balanced with 3 carbs and dual pipe headers running 3 cylinders each. It's got an aluminum flywheel and Mallory dual point ignition. The guy I got it from said it was run on a dyno then pickled. One of these days I want to put it in the truck just to hear it run, but the stock engine that's in it now just won't die so I've never had the urge to swap it out


Old Willy
 
Old Willy said:
...One of these days I want to put it in the truck just to hear it run...

These little engines have a very distinct sound, which I love. You can hear a bunch of sound clips of mine running in the "sound" tab of my Plymouth site.

Here's one just for grins.

Pete

[youtube:25qku4lq]OMukzqkY0Z8[/youtube:25qku4lq]
 
Pete,
Sharp looking engine and that is definately a cool and distinctive sound. :thumbupleft: :thumbupleft:
 
Pete,

Love the sound of that engine!! Makes me want to start putting that "go fast" motor I have in my truck. My engine has an Isky Cam Grind #44 that I would hope would lope like yours. I'd like to find an old Dodge or Plymouth car to put it in instead of the truck.

However, besides the truck and Willys I have a '41 Ford, '46 Ford, '57 Volvo, '57 Austin London Taxi, '67 Ford Fairlane and numerous boats and motorcycles. Time and money only goes so far. My problem is I restore these cars, fall in love with them and never sell them. Besides the '46 Ford and Willys I've owned the other cars 20 years or more!!

Cheers,
Old Willy
 

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I always felt a bit odd...loved Willys when nobody knew what they were, loved old Dodge's when they were not cool...once upon a time I owned two 1/2 ton 39 and 40 one chopped 5.75 inches the other was on a lifted cj5 frame with 327 and 33" tires...loved to park them side by side on the driveway......now we are talking flathead mopar sixes....I got one in a 37 chevy truck with a 34 Auburn grill 59 impala dash...we call it Frankenstin.

Glad I found you guys I feel a little bit closer to normal now!!! :cheers:
 
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