I bought my Willys Wagon sight unseen and had it shipped from Arkansas to Idaho, in 2010. I had been looking for a number of years for the “right” stock wagon, and this one called to me. It wasn’t until I got it home that I discovered how much work it really needed. I have since rebuilt and or replaced the suspension, axles, steering, brakes, and a bunch of other little things. An engine rebuild is next on the list. I drive the wagon regularly, and my two sons and I (11 and 14) have had a ball taking the wagon into Idaho’s back country hunting and fishing, and to the red rocks of Moab, Ut.
I founded OldWillysForum.com in 2009, before I bought my wagon, as a way to create a community of like minded folks. At the time, there wasn’t much on the internet dedicated to Willys Wagons or Pickups, so I decided to put it together myself. The forum has become not only a great source of information about Willys Wagons and Pickups, but also a terrific group of friends. My oldest son, now 14, decided after attending two years of the Moab Willys Overland Rally that he needed to have his own Wagon. He found a decent Wagon on Craig’s List, bought it with his own money, and has begun to bring it back to life. He hopes to have it road worthy by the time he gets his driver’s license.
My wagon is a work in progress… aren’t they all? ?
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Pete Anderson
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I saw your Willys Wagon on the 2018 Catalog of Kaiser Willys and I like what you did with your wagon, Im thinking of starting my wagon project too, newbie here on this forum . Any advise you would like to share?
Thanks for sharing!
Our family 59 CJ5 is being prep for paint this week piece by piece. What a fun project.
Enjoy all that you can.
Thank you Rachel for the feature! Quite a lot has changed since I send in the pics and text above… My boys are now 15 and 18, and the forum has grown to nearly 6500 members worldwide. Joseph’s Willys Wagon project is now his daily driver, and an ongoing project.
@Gene- Joseph is graduating from high school this year, has been accepted to Harvey Mudd College this fall and will be focusing on mechanical engineeering. Building his Willys has certainly given him a love of all things mechanical. I’m going to miss all the father/son garage time when he heads off on his new life.
@Sands- Don’t look to close! My wagon is certainly a 20 footer. I drive it year round whenever it isn’t down for repairs. It’s no trailer queen, and sees just about every kind of road/trail condition I can find. It’s been through 5 of the 7 Moab Willys Rally events to boot, and will be going again this year. It was in pretty sorry shape when I got it, and I’ve spent the last 8 years keeping it road worthy.
My tires are Toyo Open Country MT 235/85R/16. The rears will rub on the inside of the wheel tubs in a full suspension twist, but do not touch the wheel openings on the body. Normally, they never rub, but on extreme trails with heavy articulation they will rub some momentarily. The fronts will just barely touch the drag link in a full lock left turn, in the same twist, but otherwise no contact.
You can see how the tires tuck in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceJ9oPQvGDg&list=PLg9JiekSBQcDmt24N8XtORlHz3gBqp3MZ&index=2
If you have some time to kill, and want to know more about my wagon, you can read all about it in my build thread over on OWF: http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/showthread.php?608-Pete-s-1960-Wagon
Thanks again Rachel for posting my wagon.
Pete
Congrats Pete.
Everyone else, if you haven’t checked out http://www.oldwillysforum.com, you should. It’s outstanding.
Cheers,
Dan
’64 Willys Wagon (Traveller)
Really nice photos! Great perspective and scenery.
Keep up the good work.
I have a 1961 Willy wagon with 52K original miles I got from CA 2 yrs ago. Runs and everything works but I need to do a brake job and cannot get the front or rear drums off. I have tried everything and i know how to do a brake job. They cannot be all stuck (drums). Any special trick?
THXS Kenney
Amarillo, TX
I watch your videos on Utube and really enjoy them.
I have a 1969 CJ5 i fixed up and a 1960 Wagon that i plan to start working on in the spring.
Thank you,
Dan Knapp
Thanks for the beautiful photos. I have a nephew who rebuilt an engine at the age of 15. He is a mechanical engineer now and graduate of Georgia Tech.
I rarely comment on these posts but your wagon looks exceptional.
What size tires do you run and do you have any clearance issues in the rear?
I would like to have a mild lift but I can’t find much info out there and there are no lift kits for the wagons that I can find. Appreciate your thoughts…