New to Willy's

[Onalaska53PU]

Hi I'm John from Onalaska Washington. I'm new to Willys ownership. I'll have some really basic questions at first so please be patient.
I look forward to being part of this group.
Thanks

[LarrBeard]

Hi I'm John from Onalaska Washington. I'm new to Willys ownership. I'll have some really basic questions at first so please be patient.
I look forward to being part of this group.
Thanks
I

What do you have and what do you plan to do with it? Post pictures!

[Onalaska53PU]

I

What do you have and what do you plan to do with it? Post pictures!

I am getting a 53 Pickup with the original F-134. I plan to drive it all around, enter parades, car shows and anything else I can. It's a beautiful truck!

Picking it up on Thursday. I'll take lots of pictures once it's home.

[gmwillys]

Welcome Onalaska53pu,

We look forward to seeing your new addition. We are here for anything you may need. LarrBeard is our resident truck and electrical expert and Bmorgil is our Dana axle authority. We look forward to seeing your progress, and answering any questions you may have.

[Onalaska53PU]

Welcome Onalaska53pu,

We look forward to seeing your new addition. We are here for anything you may need. LarrBeard is our resident truck and electrical expert and Bmorgil is our Dana axle authority. We look forward to seeing your progress, and answering any questions you may have.

We got back from Idaho last Friday with the Willys. I'll try to post a few pictures. We're taking him to the Cowlitz Threshing Bee next Sunday if all goes well. Great truck, just adjusting a few things. I've changed out the ignition, put the chrome '4 Wheel Drive' on each side of the hood, replacing the light switch and cleaning up the interior chrome. All of the lights and turn signals work except for the stop light. Horn doesn't work, no heater and the windshield wipers don't work. So I have a few simple things to fix.

[LarrBeard]

Very Nice!

You have a few projects:

".. except for the stop light." Maybe, if all of the planets in the universe line up, you just need a bulb and you can get the old one out. The brake light switch on the back of the master cylinder is as easy a fix as there usually is - no need to bleed brakes unless someone "helps" by stepping on the brake pedal you while you have the old switch out.

"Horn doesn't work.." One terminal on the horn is always hot so you can honk even if the key is off. Find the hot side, ground the other side and if it hoots, you get to chase the wires and switch up through the steering column. If it doesn't, it's not hard to take apart and clean the contacts. There is a contact adjustment on some versions that can get screwed in too far or backed out too much.

"., no heater.." Physically no heater, or no blower motor? The motor is a simple DC motor - brushes and bushings are very common issues. It will come apart with some persuading, but finding brushes can be a bit of a challenge.

".. and the windshield wipers don't work. " It could be the wiper motor itself, or you could have lost the vacuum boost section of the fuel pump - or even both! Mr. Google has advice on trying to fix a TRICO vacuum motor - some of them even work.

[gmwillys]

Very nice! I wouldn't know what to do if my to-do list was that short. We look forward to seeing some more photos!

[bmorgil]

I love those Willys Trucks! Nice looking project. You have a Willys truck expert to bounce that off of that's for sure. LarrBeards "Ham's Truck" is a show stopper. I saw it inside at The 2019 Toledo Jeep Fest in the showroom. Like a step back in time.

[scoutingranch]

Dang, nice pickup. Those are my weakness in the want department.

[Onalaska53PU]

Very Nice!

You have a few projects:

".. except for the stop light." Maybe, if all of the planets in the universe line up, you just need a bulb and you can get the old one out. The brake light switch on the back of the master cylinder is as easy a fix as there usually is - no need to bleed brakes unless someone "helps" by stepping on the brake pedal you while you have the old switch out.

"Horn doesn't work.." One terminal on the horn is always hot so you can honk even if the key is off. Find the hot side, ground the other side and if it hoots, you get to chase the wires and switch up through the steering column. If it doesn't, it's not hard to take apart and clean the contacts. There is a contact adjustment on some versions that can get screwed in too far or backed out too much.

"., no heater.." Physically no heater, or no blower motor? The motor is a simple DC motor - brushes and bushings are very common issues. It will come apart with some persuading, but finding brushes can be a bit of a challenge.

".. and the windshield wipers don't work. " It could be the wiper motor itself, or you could have lost the vacuum boost section of the fuel pump - or even both! Mr. Google has advice on trying to fix a TRICO vacuum motor - some of them even work.

Thanks for the helpful advise.

I've fixed the horn, the spring was on the wrong side of the horn button.

I've located the brake light switch on the master cylinder and will test with a probe.

The wipers control cable to the vacuum motor had broken off of the plastic retainer. I pulled the vacuum motor off a 51 PU that had been converted to 12v and will change out the plastic retainer. I hope if I do that and apply some Boeshield T-90 to all of the moving parts I'll be able to get the wipers working. I guess I could hook a vacuum (reversed) up to the intake line to make sure the vacuum pressure isn't a problem. Not sure I explained this clearly.

The heater is completely missing. Just a big blank spot where it used to be. I'm not sure I want to hassle with installing a heater. That's why we got coats.

Let me know what you think. I really appreciate your help.

Thanks,
John