what do you think of this 55 willys

[jaber]

I have used kaiserwillys.com/ with great results. Their cataloge is free, and thick with readers rides and other goodies...

[mathman]

Does anyone have a part number for the brake pads? Are the pads the same in every drum?

Yes, they're the same. If the set you get has different length linings be careful that they are installed correctly. Anyone who tells you to do the normal 'short lined shoe' to the front has likely never worked on the brakes on the Willys trucks. The Willys brakes from the factory have a fixed lower anchor - due to this, the shoe with the short lining MUST go to the rear or your braking action will suffer and you will wear the shoes out quicker.

I ordered a catalogue/ parts manual/ restoration guide from Willys America for 20 bucks.

Hopefully he's corrected the information in it since I bought mine over 10 years ago. Never did find it particularly helpful.

There are a suprising number of Willys parts houses, hard to choose which one to use.

The best place I found for parts was Walcks4wd.com - only part I had a real problem with was the new fuel pump. Kaiser-Willys was my second choice (just not rubber parts like door gaskets, windshield gaskets, etc). Willys America finally wound up on my "if I can't find it anywhere else" list. He lost me when he had a part I needed and refused to sell it to me because he was going to keep it for someone doing a 'true' restoration.

[AustinAubinoe]

Yes I do like Walcks. I will probably give him a call this weekend and arrange replacement parts. I dont want to run NDT;s on this thing, much prefer the old school truck tires. Decided and wait till I get the brakes reworked. Id be too tempted to drive it with new tires! Pulled all the junk out of the bed, yeah there is nothing left. Gotta run to class, will post some more pics. Figured out why I have zero brake pressure!

[mathman]

Figured out why I have zero brake pressure!

Always good to find that out when the truck isn't moving. I found out that I didn't have brake pressure coming off of I-40 on a downhill exit (yes, I would, and did, take the ol' Willys out on Interstate - but that was 30 years ago when the speed limit was 55mph). That was a bit more fun than I had planned for the day...

[AustinAubinoe]

Just figured out that Walcks is a 2 hour drive from my school in Williamsport. Might try and order everything through him and go pick it up. He also carries the tires!

If he has pre bent lines i will buy them. other wise I will go to napa. The master cylinder looks functional, but I bet its dry and rusty. removed the brake line from the rear axle, its trash.

[AustinAubinoe]

HA mathman I was reading a thread on vacuum wiper motors, I see your a member on the old willys forum!

http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/vie ... =24&t=2881

found this great write up. So is the longer pad in the front on the rears too? Do you know of any write ups on getting the drums themselves off?

[mathman]

HA mathman I was reading a thread on vacuum wiper motors, I see your a member on the old willys forum!

http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/vie ... =24&t=2881

found this great write up. So is the longer pad in the front on the rears too? Do you know of any write ups on getting the drums themselves off?

That's a great write-up, the only thing really missing is the detail of rotating the eccentrics for adjustment. They should rotate so the eccentric pin comes into the show from the top, not the bottom. And yes, the longer pad goes to the front on all four wheels.

Getting the drums off can be 'fun'. First, they're installed behind the hubs, so the hubs have to be removed (and the drum should come with it). The fronts are pretty easy - remove the hub like you're doing a wheel bearing job (wouldn't be a bad idea to do that on a 'new to you' vehicle anyway). The rears are the real fun. There's a center nut that is removed (that shouldn't be too bad) but the hub fits onto a taper on the shaft and it can be a bear to get off. Need something along the lines of:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/otc-wheel-hub- ... terid=u0j1

Be careful removing the drums from the hubs. You'll have to remove the wheel studs (weren't planning on replacing those, were you? ) and the factory 'swaged' them in place. If you're not familiar with 'swaging' it's basicaly a mushrooming of the end of the splined area to keep the hub and drum firmly attached. If you just press (or drive) out the stud you run the risk of enlarging the hole in the hub, ruining it. Machine shops have (or used to have) a tool that cuts down the swaged area so it's safe to remove the studs. I've never re-swaged the studs when I've put new drums on.

BTW, if you haven't already found it, my site on my 1950 Willys is at http://www.jeep-trucks.com/ - it has a lot of information, and pictures, of when I rebuilt mine. It went from this in 1996:



to this in 2003:



We've had the truck since dad bought it in 1957.

[AustinAubinoe]

I cant believe your dad bought the truck when it was new or near new! Big inspiration. So you are saying If I need new drums I will need to go to a machine shop. Maybe someone at my school can do it, we have a machining program. Any idea what size that nut is on the rear hub? Think tomorrow Im going to tear the front apart, actually seems easier now!

What kind of gas tank do you have in yours? Just ran all new fuel line yesterday and put a filter right at the gas tank. So everything is safe for now. Also cleaned out the carb with some carb spray. Running pretty great now! Need to look up the air filter (not an oil bath) and the oil filter cartridge PN and see if I can still get them.

Do you run 15W40 rotella in yours? Thats what we put in my dads old chev stove-bolt sixes, sO I figured thats what I would buy for this.

THANKS for the help david. Been searching the web for days and I am still pretty lost.

[mathman]

I cant believe your dad bought the truck when it was new or near new!

Here's a shot of it shortly after dad bought it:

So you are saying If I need new drums I will need to go to a machine shop. Maybe someone at my school can do it, we have a machining program.

No necessarily but could be the easiest. Your school might be possible depending on what tools they actually have. If you are going to put on new drums it's possible to take a grinder to the stud head on the inside of the drum and grand them off and then drive them out from the drum side. I'd only do that if you're replacing the drums as it's real easy to slip and damage the drum.

Any idea what size that nut is on the rear hub?

Don't recall the exact size but seems like it was in the 1.125" to 1.375" range.

What kind of gas tank do you have in yours?

Found an NOS tank and used it:



The tank for the '53/'54 and later models mounted higher in the frame so yours won't match that exactly. The later models also used a different filler neck setup.

Need to look up the air filter (not an oil bath) and the oil filter cartridge PN and see if I can still get them.

Unless it's something odd, the oil filter would be Fram C3-P or equivalent in another brand. Still available - got the last one I bought from NAPA. Don't know on the oil filter, I've only had the oil bath on mine.

Do you run 15W40 rotella in yours?

Castrol 10W40 is what I use. No particular reason, just had a bunch of it around because I was using it in the 1980 Datsun pickup I had.

[AustinAubinoe]

cool just got an email back from Carl at Walack's 4x4 and he has pre bent lines! That sure make it easy. He also said he would give me $20 off each tire if I pick them up! So Im probably going down one friday or saturday soon.

[AustinAubinoe]

Ok so I took the front hub apart. Very clean! however what size nut is that on the axle under the hub? 2 1/8"? Looks like someone took it off with a flat head screw driver in the past, so im going to get a new nut. Napa had the radiator hoses, and radiator cap. They ordered me the air filter for tomorrow, and gave me the wrong oil filter. Going to bring my old one in tomorrow. But now all of the rubber lines are new.

My major issue right now is that it keeps shooting coolant out of the overflow line. Think the thermostat is rusted shut? I flushed everything with a hose today with no issues?

-again if anyone knows the bolt size for the front, or the hub nut size on the rear that would be great! I searched and cant find anything.

[Stuka]

Socket you need: http://www.kaiserwillys.com/product/153 ... ccessories

[AustinAubinoe]

Socket you need: http://www.kaiserwillys.com/product/153 ... ccessories

cool so its a 2 1/8th for the front. Going to see if NAPA has it tomorrow when I go get my air filter and exchange my oil filter.

[66stepside]

Nice score... I love those willys era trucks and wagons!

[carnuck]

I wish I could find a set of those rear fenders!

[jaber]

I wish I could find a set of those rear fenders!

Look around the link above. They have repops.

[carnuck]

Not currently available. Everyone is out of stock and back ordered and so far none have metal ones.