Build 49 Willys buggy - bought not built but highly modified afterwards

[whiterhino]

This is not really a build thread but more of a continued work in progress. I did not build this rig but rather bought it turn key. Whatever that means. I think it's really important to state that there are very few people in this world who are experts at everything. Some are fabricators, others are engine builders, others are suspension experts and others are electrical gurus. Finding a person who is a one-stop-shop is pretty hard. With that said, I want to add that I have nothing but high regards to the seller/ builder of this rig. I think he is an exceptional fabricator and built a very nice rig. With that, it still has/had some shortcomings which I am in the process of fixing/modifying/improving. Although I ended up changing some things I was not expecting, I would buy it again in a heart beat.

I will also say that I think the seller did not run it nearly as hard as I intend to run. So, it's good to say that I bought a rig that didn't have the shit run out of it. The down side is that I bought a rig that didn't have the shit run out of it - meaning that it was not pushed hard enough to find some of the weak links.

The drivetrain is pretty traditional. A healthy LQ9 6.0, TH350 trans, 203/205 triple stick, Chevy LP 60 front and 14b rear. As bought it had Grizzly lockers f/r and Yukon axle shafts/lockouts up front.

A little back story, I have been wheeling for 46 years (yeah I'm an old codger) and rode the wave of off-road evolution. For the last 20 years I have had a stout, stretched, linked, LS, 1 ton YJ that had all the good parts and was about as capable as a full bodied rig would be. (old build thread here WhiteRhino's Latest Mods ) For the past few years I have wanted a tube buggy to move to the next level but never pulled the trigger due to cost and loss of winter wheeling comfort and I am getting close to retirement. Last fall 2020 we were going to Trail Hero, YJ was prepped and ready and about a month before the trip I pointed out to my wife a nice buggy that was on line and she said "go buy it". Then we headed down the same discussion road of "lots of money" "close to retirement" "open and cold in the winter" blah blah blah and she finally threw down the ultimatum of "either go take the money out of the bank and buy what you want or never bring it up again". LOL Well, she drew a line in the sand.

So I reached out to Rich Klein to discuss what I should buy. After giving me his thoughts, I started shopping and sending him links. He would say "that chassis is junk" or "suspension looks wrong" and so on. Then a buddy from Minnesota sent me some pics and info on this one. After back and forth discussions with my MN buddy and Rich, Rich said it looked like a good buy. I reach out to the seller the next morning, talk to him by 9am, make the deal and wired him the money that afternoon. Well now I'm committed. I leave on Friday after work with a couple pals and drive through the night to get to Duluth. We meet at 7:30 in a Lowe's parking lot, load it up in my trailer and head back to Michigan.

This rig is a pretty good looker. It's a one off, full tube chassis mocked up to look like an old flat fender. It's titled as a 49 Willys with lights and turn signals. It has made it into Crawl Magazine 3 times that I know of. First as a feature vehicle around 2017 (sadly I don't have a copy of it), once in 2020 on the Rubicon and once on the back page in a Yukon ad.
Pics before I bought it.

Loaded in the trailer to come home.

My fleet

I get home at midnight Saturday night and head over to the local ORV park Sunday morning to test out what I had bought. I ran it pretty hard on a variety of obstacles and was pretty happy. Since I wanted to test the roadability of it, I drove it the 10 miles from home. Satisfied, I head home, look down and see FLAMES between the floor panels! Holy Shit!!!! Turns out the trans vent tube dumped out right at the back of the block and was dumping trans fluid onto the headers. A shot with a fire extinguisher put out the fire and relocating the vent tube solved the problem. (for the moment)

 

[whiterhino]

So with the fire out and vent relocated, I had one other thing I wanted to change before Utah. I wasn't happy with the brakes. Both axles have Chevy disc brakes powered by a dual Wilwood master cylinder. The masters were 1" bore and it didn't have the holding power I wanted so I ordered 3/4" bore masters on Monday morning. They showed up Tuesday and I swapped them out. (felt better)
Then we loaded up the trailer and headed for Sand Hollow. So to recap, pick it up on Saturday morning and leave 5 days later for a 1600 mile trip to wheel. Since the YJ was prepped and ready to go, one might say I should have left the Willys home and took the YJ. But my wife was pretty insistent that "you bought it - you better wheel it" LOL.

So now the real shakedown begins............. We decide to run Front Range as a warm up. First hard climb I start to struggle. My trans is slipping. It feels like it's a 3500 stall and I have no control. FAWK!!! As I start to turn around it seems better. Low on trans fluid? Yep. It was spitting trans fluid and it became obvious that the under cowl trans cooler was not doing the job. We dump a couple quarts of trans fluid in and the trans seemed to settle down. Note there was no trans temp gauge so we were guessing. But it was obvious this was not going to work. The other thing we discovered was that the trans cooler fan was wired in with the radiator relay. So...... if the engine was at temp and shut off the radiator fan, it also shut off the trans cooler fan. That's no good. So we headed back to the rental house and pulled the hood & cowl and hot wired the trans cooler fan into the ignition. Awesome!

So before & after. The first pic shows the trans cooler mounted right in front of the passenger firewall above the header. Not good. In addition, the cooler was a dual system where it shared cooling duty with the power steering.

Once back home, the trans cooler was relocated to the rear wheel well and dedicated both circuits to trans cooling. Also added a trans line thermostat and trans temp gauge.

So with the trans now functioning properly we headed back out for day 2 of wheeling. Had a good run up Double Sammy and then started playing in the dunes. With the mid range of the 2:1 doubler and around 450 hp, this thing is a fun dunatic. Problem was that all of a sudden I hear a crunch and lose 2nd gear. WTF? After a phone discussion with Tranny Tom Parks, he tells me that there are two different RMVB's for a TH350. One is strictly a drag racer up-shift and the other can handle up and down-shifting. Well it turns out I have the first one. It does not like down shifting under power (which I was doing in the dunes) and blew the 2nd gear sectors. So, I ran the next 4 days with only 1st and 3rd gears.

Next up, after a night run up Triple 7 I get back to the parking lot and my engine is running hot. Sheesh. Radiator fan is not running. Ugg. Side story; I am a huge fan of the fit & finish that the seller did. He is a master craftsman. All wiring is in looms and tucked away nicely. See a trend? The downside to this is that it's IMPOSSIBLE to trace any wiring and the relays are all behind a panel that literally takes an hour to get to. So, we hot wired a Bosch relay into the ignition. Now both fans are on the ignition. Back to wheeling. Not many pics, these are from the Fallen.

We ran the Maze and I was thrilled that I drove an alternate notch that the previous year I backed out of with the YJ. (remember Woody?) and then I drove the Soup Bowl in 90 seconds from the time I come into view at the bottom till the back tires crest the top. Felt SOOOOO stable. I was stoked! No pics and the video is on a friend's live stream so you can't see it. Woody, you are friends with Nick Rudolph so you can probably search his videos from Oct 2020.

 

[whiterhino]

I realize this is a build thread and not a trip report but so much happened on this trip that it's worth noting. We wheeled the rest of the week with no issues. Chain Reaction, DeKleined - no problem. Obviously I did not run the feature notch of DeKleined and I am disappointed that I didn't run the Snake Pit but I was not confident with the 43" SX Stickies, but they did really well.

Although we were there for Trail Hero, we actually only ran one guided tour on our last day - Joint Effort. We were stoked because our group was asked to offer up our passenger seats to some of the visiting vets. Really glad to do that! About half way up the run I lose my steering. FAWK! Turns out I had sheared the bolts on my steering ram which sheared one of the hydraulic fittings. We pulled the ram and I took it to the PSC tent. Although it was not a PSC ram, the guy there was really cool and helped me tap out the buggered threads and got me fixed up with replacement fittings.
Side bar story. I ALWAYS carry a Ready Welder. I carried it for 5 straight days without needing it. On this day, because we planned to hang out at the Trail Breaker comp, I didn't really want my welder being a target for theft so we left it back at the house. And of course, I sheared a couple Hyd ram bolts that we couldn't get out. @woody offered up a portable welder pack and I welded my ram back in place.

So, after a 6 day shakedown run, I was still able to drive it back into the trailer. Such a great trip!

 

[woody]

I have both a ReadyWelder AND the Karnage...and love both for different reasons. Glad the Karnage came thru!

Is is really successful to drive on the trailer, or does that mean you didn't push hard enough? lol

 

[whiterhino]

I have both a ReadyWelder AND the Karnage...and love both for different reasons. Glad the Karnage came thru!

Is is really successful to drive on the trailer, or does that mean you didn't push hard enough? lol

Hmmm..... Trans fluid level issue (could be operator error), overheating issues: trans cooler issue, radiator fan issue, 2nd gear issue, steering issue.................... just how much do you want me to push in the first week of ownership? LOL

Don't worry, there is a LOT more to come in the following posts. Just organizing pics right now.

Found the pic from the back of Crawl mag.

 

[whiterhino]

So I get home from Utah and order up a new transmission from Tranny Tom. (for those that don't know Tom, he builds the trans's for Casey Gilbert's 4800 car and several other U4 competitors so he's pretty savvy in the off-road transmission needs) In the meantime I head out to the local park to fool around and start playing around in the rocks. I can't say what I really did other than to say I got out of control on the rocks and got throttle happy. End result was a broken link bolt and a broken front ring gear.

One of the things I have learned helping the race guys is to run a longer bolt and cut the threads so that you get a full shank through the heim joint. This didn't have that and resulted in a fatigued bolt.

So I replaced all of my link bolts and switched from a 3 piece heim to TMR solid center rod ends.

 

[whiterhino]

RE the broken ring gear, this is one item that I am disappointed with on this rig. My YJ had a Ford HP D60 and the Chevy LP is known to be weaker. Long story short, after research it seemed that the best course of action was giving a shot at the Jantz Jana76 conversion. In a nut shell, it's a Dana 70 gearset and carrier modded into a Dana 60 housing. Dana publishes a 33% increase in strength. After a talk with Carl, I ordered up a complete set including a new Detroit front carrier and Load Bolt. I have to say, Carl's system and directions are top notch. Installation was exactly as he predicted.

The housing requires some grinding.

Carl gives great instruction on where to locate the load bolt.

I preheated and then shot peened the shit out of the weld.

Due to the larger ring gear I had to make a spacer for the dif cover.

 

[whiterhino]

Backing up to my sheared hydro ram issue, when I got home I discovered that the Artec ram mount was bent which had stressed the bolts. I was able to get 3 out of the 4 broken bolts out and I could reuse the tapped holes. the other had to be clearance drilled and a thru bolt used. So how to fix? I took several approaches. First, I added a jam block on either side of the ram with a jam bolt and nut. This gives preload left-right so in case the ram bolts loosen up, the jam bolts keep it from shifting. Really hard to see in the pics.

Next, I added a support brace from the ram mount to the upper truss to keep it from bending. Note that Artec has an opening in this area of the ram mount to allow for the front dif to come in and out.

And finally I added a piece of 3/8 1045 across the entire front of the ram mount. This is something I learned on my YJ, that many front ram mounts are not really that strong when it comes to impact with a rock. I've seen more than one bend. So, a plate across the entire front with several bolts makes it darn sturdy.

 

[whiterhino]

Back to the wiring/relay access issue, the switch panel has a nice relay/fuse panel. (can't recall brand name) Anyway, the way that it was mounted, it was about impossible to access. Plus, the radiator fan relay was buried inside the console tunnel which was a PITA to access.
Remove outer skin.
Remove passenger seat/harness
Remove inner skin.
Ugggg........

So, with the trans cooler relocated it left a nice area to relocate all of the relays. I moved the switch relay panel and also bought a solid state relay bar from Summit Racing. Now, simply remove the cowl and all electrics are accessible.

I kept my trusty old 8274 from my YJ and swapped it for the Smittybuilt winch that came on the buggy. I am a big fan and like the looks of the 8274 on a flattie and this one happens to be a 70's vintage with the Jeep emblem that was offered as an option back then. This included an under the hood solid state relay, under hood winch control plug and in dash 12V guy winch control.

And of course we needed some new treads. I'll keep the SX's for snow, sand and road driving and use the 42 Reds for rock crawling.

So the end result frontal view.

I missed my ARB and cutting brakes in the YJ so had to do an upgrade here. ARB went in the back and dual handle cutting brakes were installed. Handles were cut and bent to get better leverage.

 

[whiterhino]

A trip to Rugged Mountain Ranch in Oklahoma resulted in the need for a couple more upgrades. The hi-steer was set up as a single shear on the knuckle although it had a 1/8" double shear on the rod end. A hard hit on a rock sheared the 4 bolt arm. A run to the hardware for drill, tap and bolts got it back together but it needed an upgrade. This design looks goofy until you study what I did. The old tie rod ran slightly up hill. I wanted to accomplish two things. 1) get the tie rod straight. 2) double shear into the OEM steering arm. Since the upper and lower were not in line, the typical long rod was not an option. In addition, since they were offset, if I simply made an offset connection, it would still allow for it to twist under load. So, a couple added blocks and a straight bar added gives a very stout connection. In addition, I added a 5th bolt to the upper arm.

And later on our last day driver error bound up a tire and snapped an inner front axle shaft. No point in buying 4140 when you can buy Branik 300M. I'll upgrade the others as needed.

The race light bar has brake lights but they flash yellow along with the red. I really don't want to have flashing lights when street driving so I added a set of LED brake lights.
Note, that's an original Willys tailgate narrowed.

Needed a windshield for cold weather. Turns out half of a Viking sxs fold down windshield fits perfectly.

 

[whiterhino]

A trip to Montrose Colorado resulted in 6 days of wheeling with zero issues. I was really pleased with the upgrades.

However, I had one oopsy. Dropping off a steep ledge I got jostled and since my leg is close to the steering wheel I got a rug burn.

So I ditched the 11" wheel and went to a 9" wheel. Now I'm driving a go-kart. LOL

 

[woody]

Awesome updates....the PSC clamps are notorious for shifting, the block is a great option for keeping things centered.

I assume Red's for the spring trip?

 

[whiterhino]

Awesome updates....the PSC clamps are notorious for shifting, the block is a great option for keeping things centered.

I assume Red's for the spring trip?

Yep. They are nicely broken in now so should be ready.

 

[OldRocDoc]

Thank you for sharing details of this cool buggy

 

[whiterhino]

Thank you for sharing details of this cool buggy

I should probably post up some pics of the fit & finish on it.

 

[SteerAndStuff]

Thank you for sharing, keep the updates coming. I dig the looks for the rig.

 

[whiterhino]

Thank you for sharing, keep the updates coming. I dig the looks for the rig.

The grill and tailgate are OEM Willys. I really like how he cut the tailgate down and the overall look of the rear. This is as-bought. Note the totes, rack and light bar.

The light bar was attached to the rack, so to get to the totes in the lower storage area, the rack had to be removed and the light bar unplugged. I don't expect to pack it for big trips so I moved the light bar to the back of the roof (which you can't see in this pic) and switched to Rigid stackable tool boxes. This is a great pic of the narrowed tailgate.

The thin box on the above pic houses my Ready Welder. For not so big trips where the welder doesn't come along, I pared my tools down to 2 boxes - which is still too much. My tools weigh 97 pounds. But, I now have all my recovery gear in a tote in front of the cooler, and a bigger cooler. Next step is to get all the tools in only one of the big boxes. Fire extinguishers also got moved to the bottom side of the cage. No point in smashing them in the event of a flop. Light bar is visible under the roof.

Flop? That shit don't happen. LOL Glad I moved the fire extinguisher. Nice view of the UHMW skid plate. Speaking of the UHMW, it is not holding up on the leading edge at the frame rails. It's actually worn back about 4" on each side. I just ordered some AR400 and plan to do a combo of UHMW in the middle and AR400 on the sides. The UHMW has been held with flat head screws and big washers and you can see that they are losing the battle with the rocks. This will change also.

I'm still struggling with color. The buggy came with a non-spray bomb dark grey. Nice until it needs a touch up. Plus, I like a lighter color. I'm a believer that for a rig that will get scratches, a spray bomb color is the only way to go. So, I opted (for the moment) for Rustoleum Hammered Pewter. However, I would still like to get a pop of color but can't figure out what to do.

Color as bought.

Pewter. Likes, dislikes? Thinking maybe a red strip of some type. I like the green that I had on my YJ wrap but it may look gaudy on this rig. I'm hoping to make it "classy" vs "flashy". Still pondering..........

 

[Broski]

Sweet Reg!!!

Thanks for posting.

 

[woody]

The grill and tailgate are OEM Willys. I really like how he cut the tailgate down and the overall look of the rear. This is as-bought. Note the totes, rack and light bar.

View attachment 15950

The light bar was attached to the rack, so to get to the totes in the lower storage area, the rack had to be removed and the light bar unplugged. I don't expect to pack it for big trips so I moved the light bar to the back of the roof (which you can't see in this pic) and switched to Rigid stackable tool boxes. This is a great pic of the narrowed tailgate.

View attachment 15951


The thin box on the above pic houses my Ready Welder. For not so big trips where the welder doesn't come along, I pared my tools down to 2 boxes - which is still too much. My tools weigh 97 pounds. But, I now have all my recovery gear in a tote in front of the cooler, and a bigger cooler. Next step is to get all the tools in only one of the big boxes. Fire extinguishers also got moved to the bottom side of the cage. No point in smashing them in the event of a flop. Light bar is visible under the roof.

View attachment 15952

Flop? That shit don't happen. LOL Glad I moved the fire extinguisher. Nice view of the UHMW skid plate. Speaking of the UHMW, it is not holding up on the leading edge at the frame rails. It's actually worn back about 4" on each side. I just ordered some AR400 and plan to do a combo of UHMW in the middle and AR400 on the sides. The UHMW has been held with flat head screws and big washers and you can see that they are losing the battle with the rocks. This will change also.

View attachment 15953

I'm still struggling with color. The buggy came with a non-spray bomb dark grey. Nice until it needs a touch up. Plus, I like a lighter color. I'm a believer that for a rig that will get scratches, a spray bomb color is the only way to go. So, I opted (for the moment) for Rustoleum Hammered Pewter. However, I would still like to get a pop of color but can't figure out what to do.

Color as bought.


Pewter. Likes, dislikes? Thinking maybe a red strip of some type. I like the green that I had on my YJ wrap but it may look gaudy on this rig. I'm hoping to make it "classy" vs "flashy". Still pondering..........

View attachment 15955

old school Willy's deserves some old school coloring...

I vote pinstripes

 

[whiterhino]

old school Willy's deserves some old school coloring...

I vote pinstripes

like this? This was my truck back in 78. Of course those were the days when you rode in bean bag chairs in the back. LOL
My wife Dianne with the short hair. Still married 43 years later.

Not thinking that's what I want on this one. Suggestions on what you were thinking?

 

[SteerAndStuff]

I like the idea of that script style 50s hot rod pinstriping. My old rig I wanted a touch of color but cheap since panels are consumable. Found some graphics decals on ebay for cheap, I think they were for some BMW application. I did some random black hood decals on the new buggy panels again but pretty simple.

 

[whiterhino]

I like the idea of that script style 50s hot rod pinstriping. My old rig I wanted a touch of color but cheap since panels are consumable. Found some graphics decals on ebay for cheap, I think they were for some BMW application. I did some random black hood decals on the new buggy panels again but pretty simple.

View attachment 15957

I actually have a pic of your rig saved somewhere as an example of nice graphics. I've also seen it with the windshield and side windows for winter wheeling.
I can't copy yours - then I would be accused of being a copycat. LOL But I do like it.
I don't want to do script pinstriping because it will be too hard to touch up.
Whatever I do, it won't be a decal due to touch up. I'd rather tape it off and paint it.

 

[whiterhino]

UHMW not holding up.

So I cut it. AR400 removable panels will replace it.

 

[SteerAndStuff]

If you like it, do it. I just search ebay/Amazon for car graphics till I find something that fits the bill. Way cheaper than custom work. I have another red decal here I ended up not using I'd send ya if you want it.

 

[woody]

I was actually thinking of a simple vinyl script-type....fits the old school feel of the rig. Found a ridiculous number of ideas online.

 

[whiterhino]

hmmm...........
Still not following you Woody.

 

[Ghetto Fab]

I really dig flatty buggies! I think any buggy will take a bit of work to make it yours and everyone has their own priorities of what is needed in a build. Curious what your thoughts are going from an enclosed vehicle to an open one since you cited that as one of your early concerns?

Lighter colors tend to work better for photographs. That goes for frame/chassis colors as well.

I like the idea of using decals or vinyl graphics as its easy to apply and reapply later. I've always just taped and spray bombed though. I know some of the later twisted customs buggies had some neat retroish paint jobs on them.

Kevin

 

[whiterhino]

I really dig flatty buggies! I think any buggy will take a bit of work to make it yours and everyone has their own priorities of what is needed in a build. Curious what your thoughts are going from an enclosed vehicle to an open one since you cited that as one of your early concerns?

Lighter colors tend to work better for photographs. That goes for frame/chassis colors as well.

I like the idea of using decals or vinyl graphics as its easy to apply and reapply later. I've always just taped and spray bombed though. I know some of the later twisted customs buggies had some neat retroish paint jobs on them.

Kevin

Living in Michigan, we wheel in wet weather more than the west coast group. Any weekend trip is hard to predict. Up until Covid we always did an October run in Canada north of Sault Ste Marie, which is usually 40's and 50/50 rain/dry. Add in winter wheeling and being north of 60 (pansy) I like staying warm and dry. Since I bought the Willys 15 months ago, every major trip has been dry. (Sand Hollow, Montrose, Oklahoma, Kentucky) I've been out locally a couple times when it's been wet but I've avoided heavy rain so far. So to answer your question, so far - so good but a miserable day is coming. LOL I haven't snow wheeled with it yet. I still had my YJ last winter and we haven't been out yet this season. Hoping to get out around the end of the month.

I agree with light colors. My YJ was white, then we painted it a dark burgundy to match our motorhome and that was a mistake. Then I did the diet Dew wrap and it was easy to see. I'm thinking I'm gonna give @MNorby 's suggestion a go. I like the dark red on silver. I'm still leering of stick on graphics because I know I'm prone to scratches.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Cool to see the MNtal buggy from pirate4x4 living on. It was a cool build, with sadly all the pics gone. Love the upgrades you are making to it. I am curious how you are going to mount the AR400?

 

[whiterhino]

Cool to see the MNtal buggy from pirate4x4 living on. It was a cool build, with sadly all the pics gone. Love the upgrades you are making to it. I am curious how you are going to mount the AR400?

Thanks. I plan to add tabs welded on the inside of the current skid framework with weldnuts. Then 3/8 Grade 8 hex bolts up from the bottom. They get skuffed but unless I allow them to wear away I can pound a socket on them to get them loose - then just swap out the bolts. TSC bolts in bulk make it pretty easy. The buggy goes up on the hoist after almost every run so it's not a big deal to swap them.
I ordered 1/4" AR400. Kinda wishing I had done 3/16" but oh well.