Swenson's Willys Wagon

For the past year I have been restoring a 1961 Willys Wagon. It started when my son and I saw a wagon for sale. We stopped and looked and my son thought the flip-up license plate (for resting your coffee cup in the morning) was the neatest thing yet. It sounded like a good father/son project, so, after some more searching we found a 61 Willys Wagon at Seneca, Kansas, limped home with a leaking gas tank and missing engine, and drove it into the back yard.That was August 23, 1996.

Our intention was to just do a tune-up and then fix things as needed to keep it running reasonably well. One thing led to another, until as Peter Egan says "One night I got carried away on a dangerous mixture of French roast and Guiness and accidentally disassembled the whole car." That's not quite what happened to us, we just kept saying we should fix one more thing until we were at the point where it was only twelve more bolts and the frame would be off, so we did.

I didn't take as many " before " pictures as I should have. Here is a picture of the wagon with the engine out. It looks worse than it actually was. Mostly dirt and grease, with no significant rust on the frame. The previous owner had used it as a hunting car in Wyoming. He had added a Ford power steering unit that leaked everywhere. It had been used hard (we replaced one of the frame cross members because it was so bent), but he had also kept it pretty well maintained.

My son and I pulled and disassembled the engine on September 14, 1996. We then took it to Billy Graham and Jerry Gregg at Performance Machine (Manhattan, KS) for the machine work. It turned out the old block was cracked, so we got a replacement block from Carl Walck (610-852-3110), a wonderful parts source. I should also mention Ron Meditz (803-648-4923) who specializes in Willys parts and has been very helpful. That's Billy on the left and Jerry on the right.

Performance Machine did a beautiful job. Here is the engine block before assembly. A low-compression, flat head, in-line six with 226 cubic inches (3.7 liter) of displacement.

Over the winter I didn't get much work done on it, but in the spring I sandblasted and painted the frame. We also had all seals replaced in the axles and transmission. There was some extra work needed on the emergency brake that is on the front of the driveshaft. In the end, everything that moves has either been replaced or rebuilt. The Jeepster Man (908-458-3966) supplied the new gas tank and exhaust system.

This summer the wagon was finally ready for the engine to go back in. That is my son on the right, his friend in the middle, and me on the left. We have the clutch and transmission mounted to the engine and the hoist is ready. It is heavy (850 lbs?)! One thing you can't see is the temperature, which ran between 95 and 105 (F) most of the days we were out working.

Everything went well installing the engine. Finally it sits in the wagon. Next we had to add all the accessories: rebuilt generator, rebuilt starter, rebuilt carburetor, new fuel pump, new exhaust system, etc...

It started on July 29, 1997, and sounds great. Some minor problems getting it running - first we had to get the fuel pump primed and then set the timing carefully. I made the mistake of trying to start it before really thinking and a big backfire blew up the muffler. Live and learn.

It is now out of the back yard. This afternoon (August 7, 1997) I will drive it to the paint shop for an estimate and insurance. So far, everything is perfect!

Update August 28, 1997: I guess life just isn't always perfect. After some driving, we found another crack in the block. This one was on the side and apparently was an old freeze crack that we missed during machine work. Talk about disappointment! Anyway, we recovered and, since the access was easy, brought the block to a local welder. He had some trouble, but got it sealed and everything seems to be ok. My guess is the problem is solved and we feel pretty good again. Painting should start in about six weeks.

Update June 19, 1998: Painting was finished in April. Here is a picture showing my son and Bob Whitney, who did the work. I kept telling him not to make it too perfect, but he has his own high standards.

I need to get the correct bumper, but here is a front view.

In the last week we replaced the wiring harness, so now it is on to finishing the interior. We drive it all the time, it is my son's main car. Great for hauling guitar half-stacks or a canoe.

Our engineering graphic artist had some old magazine ads: