Me and the Mr. officially broke our 10 year stint of being a one car household last month and brought home the most gorgeous beast of American automotive history I’ve ever laid eyes on. We snagged ourselves a 1960 Willys Station Wagon, and I can personally attest to it being every bit the tank-bomb you probably assume it is. Which brings me to my next point… Instead of being responsible business owners and purchasing a reliable work truck for my husband (Rob) to haul his tools in, we opted for a something that will take at least 3 months just to get street legal, and then probably won’t even run during our seemingly endless winters. However, despite this blatant disregard for convenience, practicality, cost savings, health, safety, and sanity – we both felt it was the perfect spokes vehicle for Rob’s design/build company, Fieldwork Architecture. And we all know that looking cool is what’s really important in life, right? Right. So screw all that practical nonsense, and let us commence with the motor head geek stats…
Make/Model: 1960 Willys Jeep Wagon Wagon 4×4
Mostly original except the Chevy 283 or 307, Twin Carb V-8
The Good:
Starts (whenever it damn well feels like it). Drives (like a tractor). Stops (eventually)
The Bad-Ass:
Um, Hello…it’s called a Willys. What more do you need? Well, since you asked… it’s got oak wood bed slats, mounting brackets on the front grill for your double bladed axe, AND will get you from 0 to 50 in 3 minutes flat.
The Ugly:
Holy sheet metal – we’ve got our work cut out for us, which is compounded in hilarity due to us not having a garage to perform this miraculous overhaul in. But hey, the driveway was good enough for making concrete countertops on, so why not use it to rip apart an old rust bucket in the dead of winter. We’re soooooooo going to love that part!
Anyway, just to get it street legal this year we’re putting in all new suspension, a new wiring harness, a front disc brake upgrade, welding in new front floor panels, and replacing some busted windows. Sounds completely mad, doesn’t it? Well, frankly I’m always looking for a reason to brush up on my welding skills and Rob is a total whiz when it comes to engine work, plus you might as well do this stuff when you’re still young enough to deal with how bad it’s going to suck manifold. For those of you that take pleasure in watching others suffer as a result of their own stupidity, this should be quite the source of entertainment for you. Progress photos and general updates will be posted on my blog (http://www.deadwilder.com/#!blog/crt8/Tag/willys/) under the willys tag, and will hopefully do a solid job in deterring you from following in our moronic, yet totally endearing, footsteps.
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I have a ’51 wagon, my daily driver. I work for Ford so I put a Ford 351W engine in it and a 4 speed O/D transmission. I have a Dana 44 front axle with disc brakes and power steering and a “Curry” 9″ rear end.
I haven’t touched the body yet and yes it has rust. It needs floor panels as you can see the highway through the floor. Reminds me of Fred Flintstone’s vehicle…lol. It is at a shop right now having new door windows, weatherstrips and door handles installed. I have waaaaay to much money into it but thats o.k.
The thumbs up that I get driving down the road makes it worth it.
Beautiful! I had a 61 when I was a kid. Same color scheme as yours. Best darn vehicle I ever had. Sure wish I still had her. Wish I could include a photo of her.
Ciao,
Leonardo
This very cute! friends I am restoring a 56 willys pickup, I need the rear fenders,
please.
Honduras
You sound like my kind of woman, one that’s smart, a little crazy, and loves old Willys. If you get tired of Rob, come to South Carolina and bring the ‘Beast’. Seriously though, I have a wife who loves old vehicles and shares my enthusiasm for collecting..to a degree. I love your style of writing, you have a great sense of humor and you’re GONNA NEED IT!
I’d like to find a good Willys Wagon to restore or just refurbish, but until I do, I’ll follow your blog and live vicariously through it.
Good luck to you and Rob, in your quest.
….and the goat too.
gehen Teufel, Glenn.
i have a 1963 wagon with a 350 chev engine and chev power steering and it will scare you how qiick it can turn with 33 inch tires. i alos have disc all the way around and yes it does stop. hope you have as much fun as i did working on it and driving ti. good luck with your project
Thank you all for your wonderful comments and feedback. It’s been 3 months since we started working on what I now refer to as the “sheet metal wildebeest,” and we’re finally almost back to road worthy. I should also clarify that when I say “we,” that of course means my husband Rob. He does all the heavy labor while I take photos and write snarky blog posts about it 🙂
Most of this year’s upgrades went into making it slightly safer to drive (disc brakes, e-brake re-install, heater/window defrosters, replacing busted windows, etc.) so that Rob can start trucking around town in it. Darrell – dynamic marketing was part of the plan from the get go and I see that great minds think alike!
Dave, it does start up fairly consistently at this point, but we still have a few other things to troubleshoot even after putting in a new wiring harness. Also, after further investigation, we think it might actually be a Chevy SB 307 out of a Nova. See http://bit.ly/justanoilchange if you want the whole dang story.
As for the goat, that’s Dahlia and she’s a totally fabulous ruminant from my friend’s dairy farm up the street.
I have had a couple of 283 converted utility wagons and I never had trouble with starting. Are you sure you hav a good ground and solid wiring?
Dave
I have a ’54 wagon with the original L6-226 on 6V I use as a work truck. She’s been starting right up (slow to warm up though!) this winter in sub zero temps. I’m building a sliding tool drawer to take up half the back to keep organized on the job. Good luck with your wagon, I’ve already had several people ask to buy mine off me – great for dynamic advertising!
I have a’57 wagon and ’48 williys pickup. Youre so right about no legroom in the truck…Im 6’5 and my knees bump the dash. I have a swivel seat in the wagon that makes it a bit easier. I love the wagons, and am seriously looking to add a ’56 to my list of projects that will eventually get done.
I think you two are perfectly sane!
I bought a 1955 CJ5 a couple of years ago, bad clutch, no brakes, bad starter and various other worn out parts. Now that it’s on the road I can say that (1) your wagon is faster, (2) the difference between perfect brakes and no brakes is hardly noticeable, and (3) given a football field, I can get my CJ turned around (most of the time).
Good luck! You are on the right track!
I’ve always found the Willys wagons to be very handsome (if not beautiful by modern standards) but must admit adorning one with roof-top animals is very artistic for around town if not the highway.
Permit an obvious warning… it is as easy to pour too much money into resto-modding a Willys as an old British Sports car – keep a close rein on your purse!
Did the goat add to the price??
I have had a Willys Pick up truck , a Willys Wagon, and two jeeps. One CJ3A, one CJ2A. All slow, with no leg room except the Wagon. You can put the seat anywhere you need it to be. Who cares if they are slow?You just get to drive them longer going to the same place! I like them all. Working on a 1948 CJ2A now……….
Good luck! PS: I like the goat on the roof!