langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
A few people have asked me to post my build so here it is !!!
Bare with me as i'm copying slowly from another site.
The whole car is being built on my drive outside as my workshop is full of customers cars.
I'm intending it to have the look of a period 60's Gasser race car but with some modern bits and pieces to give me the performance i'm looking for.
I will start by saying I will be using the fibreglass body I sell in my Hotrod shop, this is No1 out of our mould, Here in England there isn't much chance of finding a Willys shell and the fibreglass bodys that are available are pretty rubbish..
This will also be a bit of a budget build but hopefully look Ok.
Original Willys cars were very cheap cars and therefore the original panel fitment wasn't very good, A lot of work has been done to correct the really bad fitment parts but some have been left so as not to lose the period look.
The doors & trunk are moulded in 2 halfs to make the fitment of hinges, locks and window mechanisms easier to install.
Pic by Martin Drake
Parts list so far is
GRP 41 Willys bodyshell
1948-58 FX3 Taxi chassis
Cadillac 500ci engine/TH400 auto
9" Ford axle
4.5" x 15 Ansen slot mags (front) 5 x 4.75" pattern
8.5" x 15 Ansen slot mags (rear) 5 x 4.75" pattern
As you can imagine Willys chassis's are bit thin on the ground here so I will be using a 1948 FX3 London taxi chassis, Yep I know its an unusual choice but its already boxed and has a forged front axle and parallel leaf springs and looks old
The frame i picked up had been cut into several pieces for storage So will be put on the chassis jig after its sand blasted ready to be welded back together.
The front axle is quite a nice looking thing with just a few lumps and bumps that can be ground off. I will also be drilling it.
The front semi elliptics should cope with the added weight of the V8 Cadillac 500 i'm using as its a little further back than the 2.5 oil burner, If its a problem its easy to add leaves or get the springs uprated.
I'm going to deal with the front axle first, The stock rod operated brake obviously had to go along with the spindles, the spindles could be modified to accept other brakes/hubs but i found with a simple mod and spacer 37-41 early Ford spindles will fit a treat and allow the fitting of either 40 Ford or F100 drum brakes or if you wish a 11" GM brake kit.
The main mod is with the kingpins, on the FX3 axle the kingpins measure 0.875" the Early ford measure 0.811", The mod will be to drill out the axle boss to 1" and then ream to accept a sleeve to take it down to the ford kingpin size.
There is also a difference in the axle boss thickness, The FX3 is 2.152" whereas the Ford spindles are 2.914", A spacer approx .250" will take up the extra space and if fitted below the axle boss will give a little extra lift to the frontend
The kingpin angle is the same on both so we got pretty lucky there
Bare with me as i'm copying slowly from another site.
The whole car is being built on my drive outside as my workshop is full of customers cars.
I'm intending it to have the look of a period 60's Gasser race car but with some modern bits and pieces to give me the performance i'm looking for.
I will start by saying I will be using the fibreglass body I sell in my Hotrod shop, this is No1 out of our mould, Here in England there isn't much chance of finding a Willys shell and the fibreglass bodys that are available are pretty rubbish..
This will also be a bit of a budget build but hopefully look Ok.
Original Willys cars were very cheap cars and therefore the original panel fitment wasn't very good, A lot of work has been done to correct the really bad fitment parts but some have been left so as not to lose the period look.
The doors & trunk are moulded in 2 halfs to make the fitment of hinges, locks and window mechanisms easier to install.
Pic by Martin Drake
Parts list so far is
GRP 41 Willys bodyshell
1948-58 FX3 Taxi chassis
Cadillac 500ci engine/TH400 auto
9" Ford axle
4.5" x 15 Ansen slot mags (front) 5 x 4.75" pattern
8.5" x 15 Ansen slot mags (rear) 5 x 4.75" pattern
As you can imagine Willys chassis's are bit thin on the ground here so I will be using a 1948 FX3 London taxi chassis, Yep I know its an unusual choice but its already boxed and has a forged front axle and parallel leaf springs and looks old
The frame i picked up had been cut into several pieces for storage So will be put on the chassis jig after its sand blasted ready to be welded back together.
The front axle is quite a nice looking thing with just a few lumps and bumps that can be ground off. I will also be drilling it.
The front semi elliptics should cope with the added weight of the V8 Cadillac 500 i'm using as its a little further back than the 2.5 oil burner, If its a problem its easy to add leaves or get the springs uprated.
I'm going to deal with the front axle first, The stock rod operated brake obviously had to go along with the spindles, the spindles could be modified to accept other brakes/hubs but i found with a simple mod and spacer 37-41 early Ford spindles will fit a treat and allow the fitting of either 40 Ford or F100 drum brakes or if you wish a 11" GM brake kit.
The main mod is with the kingpins, on the FX3 axle the kingpins measure 0.875" the Early ford measure 0.811", The mod will be to drill out the axle boss to 1" and then ream to accept a sleeve to take it down to the ford kingpin size.
There is also a difference in the axle boss thickness, The FX3 is 2.152" whereas the Ford spindles are 2.914", A spacer approx .250" will take up the extra space and if fitted below the axle boss will give a little extra lift to the frontend
The kingpin angle is the same on both so we got pretty lucky there