Time to dig in!

Blaze

Gear Grinder
May 18, 2010
15
Willys Model
Willys Year:
Well, I couldn't decide which of my 2 Willys trucks to bring home last weekend, so I grabbed them BOTH. Can't believe we got them both on the trailer, but a little finagling with the Bobcat, and my brother-in-law and I got them on and ready to roll.

One pleasant surprise: I thought my '48 was a 2wd - turns out it's actually a 4wd afterall. The leaf springs are mounted *under* the front axle (is this normal?), giving the appearance of a 2wd, but the gear is all there!

Funny how many guys nod, wave, and smile as you haul these babies down the road. The women just looked disgusted and shook their heads. :lol:

Anyway, time to get greasy.

The trucks pre-loading:


Road-ready for the 500 mile trip:
 
Factory spring mounts are under tha axle. 2wd models have a leaf spring going sideways across. Trucks were mostly 4wd.
 
Wish we were allowed to tow trailer that long over here!
Must be feeling great to have them home. :)
 
Time to get to work indeed! That should be a cool project, and those things look very solid. As mentioned, the factory springs are spring under axle.
 
The springs are on top of the axle on the '50, and it looks like the PO added a couple extra leafs as well for some lift.

I'm going to be piece-mealing them together to get one complete truck, I believe. The '50 is pretty hacked up inside the engine bay and firewall - will definitely be using the cab off the '48 since the FW/floor/cab corners are solid, but I love the front end on the '50 and want that grill. Thankfully, I've got a pretty decent set of parts to work with between the two - the '50 also has lockout hubs (not sure on details). I feel like a kid in a candy store. :lol:
 
The springs on top of the axle is an old trick to lift the body. Not a great idea as the steering geometry is adversely affected.
 
Blaze: I'm assuming you got home OK - it's quite a trailer! All the best with your projects.
 
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