Without Warning

May Long Weekend 2010

As the title implies, I walked up to the garage in the morning, and suddenly had this bright idea that I would strip the truck own to the frame; with the exclusion of the bed since it's welded on.

As a brief update from what the truck was when I bought it, you'll notice i've swapped the bumper for one off of something I found in our scrap car pile in the woods (all old farms have one). I did this for my sisters' wedding, to pretty the truck up a bit. otherwise I have done some light engine work, and tidied up a few things since i bought it, but it mainly remains untouched.

In a frame off restoration, you strip the vehcle to the frame, completley removing everything so it can all be separately treated and revamped. I however, do not have the time, patience, or desire to do that with this vehicle at this point in it's life. It is at the point where rebuilding it to original, although doable, seems rather pointless because of all the mods on it. Also, in keeping with a farm truck appeal, keeping it in the tow truck state ups its usability. The hood came off in about 30 seconds with 4 bolts, and I then moved on to the fenders, attached by bolts at the front and back, with only a few things meagerly zip tied onto them.

The grille was not too bad either, since by the point i got the fenders off there were only a few bolts remaining. oil seepage allowed these bolts to be free of rust too, so that was a bonus.

its a big rad for that engine, but the engine still runs a bit on the hot side (though recently the thermostat guage packed up). a few things in the engine bay will be stripped out and/or redone; namely the wiring, which i will completely rerun in nice looming. Also I should be able to strip all that blue paint from the undercarriage and repaint it satin black or something less conspicuous.

lastly, i unbolted the cab, by shearing 3 of the 4 bolts. no matter, i am rebuilding those portions anyways. The champion guys had grabbed whatever steel they could find and jammed it into the old body mount areas to dispurse the weight, and then made some prime bushings from old tires. the upside is they used more recent bolts, so the heads had enough grab to at least shear (i have no power in the garage for cutting, that's on the to do list). I unhooked all my old wiring, which surprisingly consisted mostly of dead end wires, along with my heater hoses, steering, pedals, and other various linkages/shifters. the doors are immutable at the moment, affixed with poor slothead and philips screws that are more or less stripped (no torx back then i guess). some short chain should allow me to remove the rest of the cab soon.

Through the Years

2005-2010

As with any older vehicle, you become familiar with its traits. Its strengths and weaknesses are part of what make it seem more alive, and though this would sound crazy to anyone but a car person, I think the thing has a personality. Not in a kitchy Herbie way, but in a more subtle way, like an old friend or a trusty dog. It begins to live vicariously through you as well, as you become "the Willys guy" to your friends, that sort of thing.

Anyways, after nearly 60 years of existence this old truck is beginning to show its age, and much like a human - its vitals display fatigue from a life of hard use. This truck is absolutely littered with what I have come to deem "old man fixes;" which range from body mounts made of tire slabs, coat hangers for stringing up the exhaust, 8' of wire made from splicing 7 peices together (not an exaggeration), and a host of in-between fixes, designed just to keep it going for a little bit, but ended up being permanent.

It is also home to what I now know as "Champion Fixes," which differ from old man fixes in that they are more permanent, and usually involve some form of welding. Since the Champion Grader Company had loads of steel and a host of welding supplies, it only makes sense that their yard truck would be privy to make shift spruce ups and plasma cut mounting brackets. Radiator supports made from 1/4" angle iron welded to the frame have an heir of solidity about them; and why make a rear bumper out of 1 peice of 5/16" channel steel when we all know 2 is better. This truck screams tack on, cut off, it'll do manufacturing; no wonder it needs a working restoration.

A working restoration, quite simply, is the rejuvination of an aging vehicle. It does not encompass a full on frame off restoration in which everything is dismantled and re-worked. Many mechanical things will largely be left alone, since they seem to be working fine (although they will be inspected). it will entail rebuilding most of the lower portion of the cab, which has been semi fixed many times, and finally tackling the roof seam, which is mostly bondo. might finally put a replacement hood and grille on it, like the original.

The Beginning of it All

November 5, 2005

Seeing as I have owned the truck for 5 years, and that I would like to make this a progress blog as opposed to a history blog, I am going to forgo more than 1 or 2 posts regarding the history of my purchase/ownership of the truck.

In the summer of 2005, I saw this truck, a 1951 willys pickup. With an initial price tag of $3600, it seemed a bit steep. Later that year however, after figuring his price was too high, the owner dropped $1100 off the asking price, down to $2500. While this still might seem a little excessive for a farm truck (with a non-original bed on it), you have to realize that this particular unit was in fact on the road, and daily driven. It's nostalgic value alone was worth the price, since you don't see them often, if at all.

Long Story Short, I bought it and had it floated to the family farm, where it remains to this day. Apart from driving it on the property and quick jaunts on the road, it hasn't had much use in the 4 1/2 years I've owned it (I have only racked up 150 km total on it since then).

As a brief, brief history, Willys Overland made these trucks in a 2wd or 4wd version from 1947 through 1962/1963. the 4wd version, which I bought, is said to be the 1-ton version. This particular truck, which had been owned by the Champion Company (construction, road equipment), has undergone some form of cosmetic surgery more times than Michael Jackson. A tow truck bed, built by Champion (including pto winch, boom, and toolboxes), a plow harness & plow, and a molested grille/hood combo that would make any purist squirm.

All in all though, I love it. It puts modern trucks to shame in both looks, feel, grunt, and other manly characteristics (except horsepower).