Claude---1960 Willys Jeep Wagon

[Claude]

For 35 years I have done upholstery in cars, trucks, boat, motorcycle seats, etc. Some 27 years ago I had a friend of mine-Larry- wanted a camo interior done. It turned out to be the 1960 Willys Jeep Wagon. I did seats, door panels, side panels and kick panels and he wanted it to be diamonds. It took me days to layout and sew them. I do not use the pre made stuff, I glue the vinyl to sew foam and then mark out the diamonds, then sew them up. Any how, last Friday my friend was having lunch in the same place and he asked me if I knew anyone that wanted to buy his Jeep. I asked how much and could I have a look at it. My lady and I looked at it and we bought it. He had owned it for about 40 years. All this time it was kept in a garage or his warehouse. With it came 2 pallets of parts, have not gone thru them yet. Now, I need to digest what I have and what I am going to do with it. I am sure I will have questions, will appreciate the help.

[LarrBeard]

Oh man - what a teaser!

Show us the camo!!!!

[Claude]

trying to figure out how to post pictures

[Claude]

I dropped-dragged 3 pictures

[Claude]

not sure about pics, tried, not sure they came thru

[gmwillys]

You are a master at your craft of upholstery. The patience involved in getting all the diamonds just right is a lost art. Your wagon looks to be fairly complete, so that should be a good starting point. Feel free to ask anything. There is several folks on here that will share their experience whenever asked. Look forward to seeing your progress.

[Claude]

Thanks, upholstery is a dying art. I am 73+ and I have been able to train only 2 people. People do not want to work anymore. I worked as a draftsman for 20+ years before I got layed off. Decided to try upholstery, I have used my drafting background in laying out seats. My oldest son now runs it. I am now disabled and can not hardly walk. I am going crazy because I was an active motorcycle ridder for about 60 years. That is why I am going to work on the Jeep. We are located in Hattiesburg Mississippi, about 50 miles north of the gulf.

Who is a business or place to get suspension rebuild kits from?? Every bushing is gone-age. Have not heard engine run yet. Carb bad and master cylinder bad. Would like to fab a pan hard rod to reduce sway. Any ideas. I have a couple of blocks, not sure condition along with a number of parts. Will lay them out and take pics. thanks

[LarrBeard]

Kaiser-Willys has just about every part you will need to rebuild the wagon.

Bushings? They have bushings...

[gmwillys]

I concur that Kaiser Willys has everything that you need to rehab your wagon. The prices are good, and the quality is superb. The sheet metal repair panels are American made, and fit just right.

A panhard bar or a Watts link are both more suited for a four link, and coil spring rear suspension. They both act as a centering bar for the rear end, because the four link allows some side to side movement, through the heims joints. Both links can be used on a leaf spring suspension, but the Watts link would work more efficiently in reducing sway. The panhard bar is mostly used on circle track cars, because the chassis mounts are determined by which direction the car turns the most, i.e. turn left, and the solid mount is on the left side, in order to keep the rear end from shifting to the left. Adjusting the panhard bar up or down within the solid mount is mainly done to work on over or under steer. The Watts link would act more closely to a sway bar, in terms that it would apply pressure to both mounting points to reduce the body roll when cornering. The Watts link also works the same in either direction of vehicle travel. The same principle could be applied to the front axle, but with the steering being in front and the offset of the differential, you are limited on options to fabricate a center point for a Watts set up. A sway bar would be more practical, in my opinion.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSF0JSbCfkmhtZbDVe8MOaIK9zo5fH1U B8eDMEZ6JAh359gzvTEnA

[gmwillys]

I concur that Kaiser Willys has everything that you need to rehab your wagon. The prices are good, and the quality is superb. The sheet metal repair panels are American made, and fit just right.

A panhard bar or a Watts link are both more suited for a four link, and coil spring rear suspension. They both act as a centering bar for the rear end, because the four link allows some side to side movement, through the heims joints. Both links can be used on a leaf spring suspension, but the Watts link would work more efficiently in reducing sway. The panhard bar is mostly used on circle track cars, because the chassis mounts are determined by which direction the car turns the most, i.e. turn left, and the solid mount is on the left side, in order to keep the rear end from shifting to the left. Adjusting the panhard bar up or down within the solid mount is mainly done to work on over or under steer. The Watts link would act more closely to a sway bar, in terms that it would apply pressure to both mounting points to reduce the body roll when cornering. The Watts link also works the same in either direction of vehicle travel. The same principle could be applied to the front axle, but with the steering being in front and the offset of the differential, you are limited on options to fabricate a center point for a Watts set up. A sway bar would be more practical, in my opinion.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSF0JSbCfkmhtZbDVe8MOaIK9zo5fH1U B8eDMEZ6JAh359gzvTEnA

[gmwillys]

I concur that Kaiser Willys has everything that you need to rehab your wagon. The prices are good, and the quality is superb. The sheet metal repair panels are American made, and fit just right.

A panhard bar or a Watts link are both more suited for a four link, and coil spring rear suspension. They both act as a centering bar for the rear end, because the four link allows some side to side movement, through the heims joints. Both links can be used on a leaf spring suspension, but the Watts link would work more efficiently in reducing sway. The panhard bar is mostly used on circle track cars, because the chassis mounts are determined by which direction the car turns the most, i.e. turn left, and the solid mount is on the left side, in order to keep the rear end from shifting to the left. Adjusting the panhard bar up or down within the solid mount is mainly done to work on over or under steer. The Watts link would act more closely to a sway bar, in terms that it would apply pressure to both mounting points to reduce the body roll when cornering. The Watts link also works the same in either direction of vehicle travel. The same principle could be applied to the front axle, but with the steering being in front and the offset of the differential, you are limited on options to fabricate a center point for a Watts set up. A sway bar would be more practical, in my opinion.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSF0JSbCfkmhtZbDVe8MOaIK9zo5fH1U B8eDMEZ6JAh359gzvTEnA

[Boodogboo]

Is your son still doing upholstery?