New member / New Willys Wagon Owner

[JW1954WAGON]

Hey All!

Just joined today after picking up a 1954 2 dr Wagon with the 4 cylinder, 4x4 this weekend. I have a lot to learn about these but ready for a good project. It is in decent shape. Not looking to restore but get it back mechanically sound to drive around. It runs but barely and smokes, will need a rebuild to get it back to normal. Running gears and 3 speed trans seem to be okay. Any ideas on different options of obtaining a rebuild kit? Thinking this is the F34 motor. I see different prices on rebuild kits depending on where you get them. Thanks!

[56willys]

Welcome, glad to have you on board. It's always good to see a new member join the willys community. That looks to be a very solid start to a project. Being 1954 you should have an f head I believe. This is a great site with some truly knowledgeable folks who will help you with any problems you run into. Keep us updated with any progress. Theses little willys engines are very simple. And if the rest of the drivetrain and body is solid. It shouldn't take you long before it's out on the road again.

[LarrBeard]

" It runs but barely and smokes, will need a rebuild to get it back to normal."

That sounds typical. Start with engine fluid changes, ignition tune up and a carburetor rebuild. Change out the lube in all of the gearboxes - strange things lurk in the bottom of gearboxes.

Once you get past that, give the engine a good looking over and see how bad compression is and go from there.

[bmorgil]

Welcome! Man that is one fine looking wagon there! You are going to love the project. I love that wagon. gmwillys on this forum, is putting one back together right now. I left you some suggestions on your other post. https://willysjeepforum.kaiserwillys.com/showthread.php?3250-1954-Willys-Wagon-Engine-Rebuild&p=23016#post23016

Here is gm's,
https://willysjeepforum.kaiserwillys.com/showthread.php?1664-63-Willys-Wagon-refresh

[gmwillys]

Welcome JW, We are sure glad to have you.

It does look like you have a good start to a project. As Bmorgil said, I'm in the process of welding in new floors in our wagon when time permits. LarrBeard has put up some good starting places to see what you have going on, and Bmorgil has you set up with some good internal engine advice. Both will offer up great advice, and they know what they are talking about.

[JW1954WAGON]

Thanks for the help! Yeah, so someone tried to save this wagon yrs ago. The good and the bad is they put a rhino liner coating which overt time hides rust. I recently just fell for the look of these although I am not a jeep guy. They just look cool! I want to get the main things working so i can drive it short range. Its a pre-retirement project.:)

[JW1954WAGON]

Thanks for the help! Not a Willys guy but I am now. I just fell for the look of these recently.

[bmorgil]

I love the wagons. They do have quite a bit more work to find! The panels are just plain cool.

[gmwillys]

The wagons will grow on you in a hurry, plus you don't see them in any quantity out and about, so they garner attention wherever you go.

[JW1954WAGON]

No doubt! I stopped in to get gas with this thing on trailer, guys started pulling out phones to video.

[LarrBeard]

Get used to it ... Jeep Wagons and Trucks attract attention.

I had a road crew flagman stop me one day so he and his buddies could take selfies with the '48.

[JW1954WAGON]

Good Morning!

I was hoping someone could tell me about this Wagon I just purchased. It is supposed to be a 1954, but wondering based on previous registration documents? Also, can you tell by the pics if this is the original engine. It appears to be the F-head 134, just wasn't sure if it was the original motor. Also the engine ID plate to me makes out on the model # as (1FU 4F) from what I can tell. Any info would be appreciated. It wont let me post pics here. but I have them in the other forum for technical. Thanks again!

[LarrBeard]

The answer is in the last picture you posted;

"454FA2" is the prefix for a 1954 4 x 4 Wagon - good information there.

Serial numbers for 1954 wagons started at 10001 and ran through 13528, a production run of 3,528 wagons.

And, the engine is a solid F-134 which is the correct engine for that model year.

What does the rest of it look like?

[JW1954WAGON]

Thanks for the feedback! Any way to know if the engine is original? With 88k, Im thinking it is. This thread wont let me post pics for some reason, but I have a pic of the Wagon in my intro. There is some rust in the usual places, need some good tlc, probably wont do a full restore , just get her driveable.

[bmorgil]

JW, try this if you havn't already. Click on this link.

https://willysjeepforum.kaiserwillys.com/showthread.php?2451-How-to-post-a-picture-in-a-thread

[LarrBeard]

"Any way to know if the engine is original? "

Unfortunately, not really. The F-134 was so widely used that engine numbers vs. year of vehicle don't have much correlation. There may be information somewhere (and if there is - someone here will point us to that source).

Look on the boss behind the water pump. If you can see a stamped serial number, the engine may not have been overhauled. Some rebiulders would restamp the number though - so that is not a definite indication.

When the block gets planed, the serial number usually gets ground off. On some F-134's, after overhaul, the original number gets stamped on a boss on the left side of the block above the fuel pump.

Just remember one of the Laws of Jeep:

"What you see is what you have"

and another:

"Don't believe anything you read or someone tells you until you verify it yourself."

And last:

Never say; "Willys-Overland/Kaiser would not have _______________________ ", (fill in the blank). If they could, they would and probably did at some time or another.

Enjoy your wagon.

[56willys]

If your new to the willys world. Like I was a year ago. Something you need to learn, is that what Larrbeard said above is 100% true. The folks here keep trying to tell me that, and the more I dig into my jeep the more I realize how true it is. Willys/kaiser never kept good records. And kind of did what ever they wanted. Without ryme or reason.

Although one thing you can check when you disassemble the engine. Is check on the top deck of the block. There should be marks by each cylinder with a letter. Those letters would state what size the bore is so workers could match a piston to each bore. To get the most specific tolerances. There is a letter code. With A, B, C, D, stating different bore sizes. If the letters are vivid and sharp. Then your engine has never been decked. Meaning not that it couldn't have been, but unlikely that you motor was rebuilt. Also then measure the bore to see if it matches each letter tolerance. If it does then it's never been bored. Even more unlikely that it was rebuilt.

If the letters are faint or not present. Or the bore doesn't match what the letter means
Then it has likely been rebuilt.

This doesn't really help finding out if it's original to you jeep. But some cool information could be found about your engine.

[bmorgil]

I think the important thing here is, the motor you have in there, is the original or is the "same as the original" for the vehicle you have.

[56willys]

Your right Bob. Either original, or replaced with a 20 years newer. It is still the same 134.2 Cid. And 75 horsepower is the same as 75 horsepower.