jscherb
CJ-8 Member
- City
- Elmira
- State
- NY
OT... Some of you may recall about six months ago I posted my ideas for a retro-Willys pickup project based on a TJ Wrangler. I posted some design ideas and concept drawings and got a lot of great input from people on the board, so I thought I'd post an update for more input from you all.
The concept is to build a retro-looking stepside pickup using a TJ as a base and the bed of a 47-64 Willys pickup truck. I've always loved the look of the old Willys but I'd rather have something more modern and comfortable than that for a daily driver. Some of the inspirations for the design of this project include:
After doing some months of design and research, here's what I'm planning:
Base vehicle will be a 2006 LJ Wrangler Unlimited. I've traded my 2000 TJ on a 2006 LJ so I now have the vehicle to start with.
The LJ frame will be lengthened 24” to result in a 128” wheelbase. Originally I thought that might look too long, but it results in a vehicle with basically the same wheelbase as an extended cab Ranger or S-10 and an overall length just a few inches shorter than either of those, so it will be perfect. Also, at that length wheelbase I can use the full length of the Willys bed, and get the spare on the side of the bed just like on the old Willys.
Extending the frame: originally I thought I would use the AEV Brute frame extension kit, but I discovered that you can cut two LJ frames in different places and join them together with only one joint and get the right wheelbase for this project. I recently bought a used LJ frame that is bent in the front, so I've got the extra frame rear half I need for this. In a nice stroke of luck, when you cut and splice the frames like this, the resulting extra set of body mounts is perfectly positioned to be the front mount for the bed. Another nice side benefit of doing the frame this way is that the tub does not have to come off the frame. With the Brute frame extension kit, because of where the cuts and welds fall, the tub must come off. I have design drawings of the lengthened frame I could post if anyone's interested.
I was thinking of using a reproduction Willys bed because it will be impossible to find a used one in nice enough condition for what I want, but I have discovered that the 46 Chevy had an almost identical size bed and you can buy much higher quality 46 Chevy repros than you can for the Willys, plus there is afttermarket support like custom bed wood and parts for the Chevy. So I'll use a Chevy bed from www.mark-k.com and nobody but a true Willys aficionado will ever know it isn't a Willys bed. Also I'll be able to use nice custom bed wood instead of a steel bed floor.
The Mar-K bed comes with a “blank” tailgate; I'll cut the center “Jeep” stamping from the CJ8 tailgate left over from my Overlander project and weld it in for a factory-look logo tailgate.
The tub will be shortened using the AEV Brute cab closeout kit. They've done a really nice job on a new rear section for the tub, and they sell it as a separate unit, and I can't do any better than they've done. This also gives me the option of using the Brute hardtop (which I don't plan to do, but more on the hardtop below).
The initial build will have a soft top to save time because the hardtop will be somewhat complex to fabricate. I have figured out how with minimal effort to reconfigure the LJ soft top into a half-cab. A little rework of the bows and some cutting and sewing by a boat top place and I'll end up with a factory-looking soft top.
Rear fenders. Still a little bit of a challenge, but I've decided I'll need to fabricate my own. I've got a preliminary design done. They will be very similar to the Willys fenders, but will be shaped like the TJ flares to be be consistent with both the Willys inspiration and the TJ design. I won't use flares on the rear fenders because the Willys didn't have flares, but it will be possible to bolt on TJ flares to these fenders in the future should I ever have a reason to. I'll probably fabricate the fenders this winter before the main project starts
So here's the soft-top concept drawing:
The second phase of the build will be the removable hardtop. As I said before, I could use the Brute hardtop, but I'd rather have something in steel. I plan to build a custom top using parts from somewhat rare Jeep hardtops from the 80's – the rear panel of the top will be from a CJ-10a military tug, and the top panel will be from a CJ-7 World Cab. I originally thought I'd use the CJ-10a top panel but I really like the rake of the CJ-7 WC top panel, and it is one less seam to shorten that than it would be to lengthen the CJ-10a top panel. The CJ-10a rear panel sides will have to be lengthened because the tub resulting from using the Brute tub kit is longer than the CJ-10a cab, so the fabrication won't be trivial but it is very doable. I also have a method for attaching the front of the top to the TJ's windshield hardtop mount points and I plan to fab up brackets in the rear of the cab and use TJ hardtop latches so the top can be removable with only latches and no screws. Here's some photos of the source parts and a concept drawing with the top:
So now I've got most of the critical components – LJ Wrangler, extra frame, CJ-7 World Cab hardtop, CJ-10a hardtop, and I know where to source pretty much everything else, like the pickup bed.
Things I'm still working on:
I think the LJ springs are much softer than my old TJ's springs and I'm wondering if they're up to supporting the length of the longer wheelbase and loads a pickup might carry. I plan on installing an Air-Lift air bag kit inside the read springs, but I think I might need stiffer springs, at least for the rear. Any thoughts?
Might need to add an additional crossmember in the frame due to the length; probably will decide that as I'm building.
Need to find a nice tonneau cover that fits a 46 Chevy pickup bed. Haven't found one yet, any ideas?
I welcome your feedback on these questions and anything else about this project; as I said before your feedback from my last series of posts was very helpful in making some design decisions. Please don't post any feedback about me cutting up the CJ-7 World Cab top, we've had that discussion already :-)
Oh and please don't quote this entire post in your replies, I know this is probably too long but if everyone quotes the whole thing it will be too long for anyone to read.
Finally, when will I start cutting metal? Sometime in the first quarter of next year I expect to have an empty 3-car garage, so I won't start until then. Until then I'm acquiring the parts I need and locking down the design.
Thanks for your input.
Jeff
The concept is to build a retro-looking stepside pickup using a TJ as a base and the bed of a 47-64 Willys pickup truck. I've always loved the look of the old Willys but I'd rather have something more modern and comfortable than that for a daily driver. Some of the inspirations for the design of this project include:
After doing some months of design and research, here's what I'm planning:
Base vehicle will be a 2006 LJ Wrangler Unlimited. I've traded my 2000 TJ on a 2006 LJ so I now have the vehicle to start with.
The LJ frame will be lengthened 24” to result in a 128” wheelbase. Originally I thought that might look too long, but it results in a vehicle with basically the same wheelbase as an extended cab Ranger or S-10 and an overall length just a few inches shorter than either of those, so it will be perfect. Also, at that length wheelbase I can use the full length of the Willys bed, and get the spare on the side of the bed just like on the old Willys.
Extending the frame: originally I thought I would use the AEV Brute frame extension kit, but I discovered that you can cut two LJ frames in different places and join them together with only one joint and get the right wheelbase for this project. I recently bought a used LJ frame that is bent in the front, so I've got the extra frame rear half I need for this. In a nice stroke of luck, when you cut and splice the frames like this, the resulting extra set of body mounts is perfectly positioned to be the front mount for the bed. Another nice side benefit of doing the frame this way is that the tub does not have to come off the frame. With the Brute frame extension kit, because of where the cuts and welds fall, the tub must come off. I have design drawings of the lengthened frame I could post if anyone's interested.
I was thinking of using a reproduction Willys bed because it will be impossible to find a used one in nice enough condition for what I want, but I have discovered that the 46 Chevy had an almost identical size bed and you can buy much higher quality 46 Chevy repros than you can for the Willys, plus there is afttermarket support like custom bed wood and parts for the Chevy. So I'll use a Chevy bed from www.mark-k.com and nobody but a true Willys aficionado will ever know it isn't a Willys bed. Also I'll be able to use nice custom bed wood instead of a steel bed floor.
The Mar-K bed comes with a “blank” tailgate; I'll cut the center “Jeep” stamping from the CJ8 tailgate left over from my Overlander project and weld it in for a factory-look logo tailgate.
The tub will be shortened using the AEV Brute cab closeout kit. They've done a really nice job on a new rear section for the tub, and they sell it as a separate unit, and I can't do any better than they've done. This also gives me the option of using the Brute hardtop (which I don't plan to do, but more on the hardtop below).
The initial build will have a soft top to save time because the hardtop will be somewhat complex to fabricate. I have figured out how with minimal effort to reconfigure the LJ soft top into a half-cab. A little rework of the bows and some cutting and sewing by a boat top place and I'll end up with a factory-looking soft top.
Rear fenders. Still a little bit of a challenge, but I've decided I'll need to fabricate my own. I've got a preliminary design done. They will be very similar to the Willys fenders, but will be shaped like the TJ flares to be be consistent with both the Willys inspiration and the TJ design. I won't use flares on the rear fenders because the Willys didn't have flares, but it will be possible to bolt on TJ flares to these fenders in the future should I ever have a reason to. I'll probably fabricate the fenders this winter before the main project starts
So here's the soft-top concept drawing:
The second phase of the build will be the removable hardtop. As I said before, I could use the Brute hardtop, but I'd rather have something in steel. I plan to build a custom top using parts from somewhat rare Jeep hardtops from the 80's – the rear panel of the top will be from a CJ-10a military tug, and the top panel will be from a CJ-7 World Cab. I originally thought I'd use the CJ-10a top panel but I really like the rake of the CJ-7 WC top panel, and it is one less seam to shorten that than it would be to lengthen the CJ-10a top panel. The CJ-10a rear panel sides will have to be lengthened because the tub resulting from using the Brute tub kit is longer than the CJ-10a cab, so the fabrication won't be trivial but it is very doable. I also have a method for attaching the front of the top to the TJ's windshield hardtop mount points and I plan to fab up brackets in the rear of the cab and use TJ hardtop latches so the top can be removable with only latches and no screws. Here's some photos of the source parts and a concept drawing with the top:
So now I've got most of the critical components – LJ Wrangler, extra frame, CJ-7 World Cab hardtop, CJ-10a hardtop, and I know where to source pretty much everything else, like the pickup bed.
Things I'm still working on:
I think the LJ springs are much softer than my old TJ's springs and I'm wondering if they're up to supporting the length of the longer wheelbase and loads a pickup might carry. I plan on installing an Air-Lift air bag kit inside the read springs, but I think I might need stiffer springs, at least for the rear. Any thoughts?
Might need to add an additional crossmember in the frame due to the length; probably will decide that as I'm building.
Need to find a nice tonneau cover that fits a 46 Chevy pickup bed. Haven't found one yet, any ideas?
I welcome your feedback on these questions and anything else about this project; as I said before your feedback from my last series of posts was very helpful in making some design decisions. Please don't post any feedback about me cutting up the CJ-7 World Cab top, we've had that discussion already :-)
Oh and please don't quote this entire post in your replies, I know this is probably too long but if everyone quotes the whole thing it will be too long for anyone to read.
Finally, when will I start cutting metal? Sometime in the first quarter of next year I expect to have an empty 3-car garage, so I won't start until then. Until then I'm acquiring the parts I need and locking down the design.
Thanks for your input.
Jeff
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