Thread: 41 Willys Gasser project

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Well a Hotrod Drags update, done a bit of unofficial testing on the main road at the end of our road on thursday evening and the car felt really strong and launching nice & straight so set off for the Hotrod Drags full of confidence

Saturday came round quick and after my pit crew of Gary "just one more" Layton & Andy "fred" hone dragged thereselves from there slumber after another night in the bar and not forgetting Brian "Dad" Lucas, and got down to the pits we checked a few things and laid out a test plan, I was full of confidence but Gary calmed me down and suggested we take it easy with a soft launch and just peddle the car down the strip, I agreed.

Got to the line and everything seemed to be looking spot on so staged the car and then we was off 1st gear was great, next 2nd gear even better but as I slipped into 3rd the transmission locked up and therefore the rear wheels locked up a bit smartly too the car slewed slightly sideways and I slipped it back into 2nd which unlocked everything, slight brown trouser moment

Got back to the pits and jacked it up on stands and tried it through the gears again and sure enough when it went into 3rd the trans locked again, Fred had a quick look but couldn't do much and Mike Couch came over and had a look too and general concensous is its a valve body problem so it needs to be got out and inspected.
So that was our first weekend in the circus suitably curtailed, We will sort it out and hopefully do a RWYB at North Weald strip at the end of the month.

Heres a few pics from the startline











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SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully the problems sort out well. Can't wait to see a video of it lighting up the strip!

It looks awesome out there! Sorry to hear of the trans issues, but at least you figured it out and put it back in 2nd and saved it.

Hell yes, as the two above mentioned, the Willys looks SOOOOO GOOD on the strip and the photo of it beside and then in front of the Chevy...... bloody priceless...

Steve,
I'd seen on FB that you'd had some tranny issues, but not the details. Don't think I've ever heard of an automatic locking like that, and then unlocking when dropped down a gear. Can't wait to hear it's all sorted, and know that your grin won't fade for weeks after the first "all in" run.

While its been dead on here i've managed to get a lot of small updates on the Coupe done, I upgraded the brakes a while ago but found they needed a good hefty push on the pedal to lock them up, first thing was the master cylinder was replaced with a 1" bore Wilwood cylinder and this made a big difference but I still wasnt really happy as they still needed a good push on the pedal when street driving so I decided to go with a remote servo booster, the only problem was a blown motor doesn't make enough vacuum to power one, the answer was to fit an electric vacuum pump.

Looked at the various kits around and thought they all seem pretty expensive for what the are so had a hunt around on Ebay and come up with a pump and pressure switch for the princely sum of £20 ($30) I think its from a Volvo but they are all pretty much the same thing.
The servo I had laying around, it was brand new but been sitting on my shelf for about 10 years, a bit crusty but it will clean up ok.

I mounted the pump in the trunk as I didn't know how noisy they were and there wasn't much space up front. The pump is mounted on 4 factory rubber mounts. The vacuum pipe runs through the floor and along the frame to the front mounted booster, its 1/2" rubber vacuum hose at the moment as thats all I had !!! But will replace it with 1/2" aluminium hard line later.
A relay for the pump is mounted on the rear bulkhead.











The servo is mounted under the front of the drivers side fender on a couple of fabricated brackets.












A clean up and a splash of satin black paint and it all looks pretty tidy.





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Feeling dead chuffed this morning as I got invited to take my Willys gas coupe to display and run at Goodwood

For those who may not be familiar with the name, Goodwood is one of, if not THE premier automotive event in Great Britian - https://grrc.goodwood.com/#wEffKqGr3GpLgsg2.97 To be invited to attend with any car is enviable, and with a one-off tribute gasser is quite an honor. Good for you, Steve!

Originally Posted by rspears

For those who may not be familiar with the name, Goodwood is one of, if not THE premier automotive event in Great Britian - https://grrc.goodwood.com/#wEffKqGr3GpLgsg2.97 To be invited to attend with any car is enviable, and with a one-off tribute gasser is quite an honor. Good for you, Steve!

Thanks Roger, I got a call out of the blue and was a bit dumbstruck at first !!!

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"Dead Chuffed" = "Quite Pleased"?
I love new phrases! Congrats Steve You deserve it as does the Gump mobile!

Originally Posted by stovens

"Dead Chuffed" = "Quite Pleased"?
I love new phrases! Congrats Steve You deserve it as does the Gump mobile!

Thanks Steve, it was very unexpected for sure !!!

Steve ,, this has came out so sweet .. remember when it was just a frame ..

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Steve ,, this has came out so sweet .. remember when it was just a frame ..

Yeah, seems such a long time ago now, can't wait to tell all the toffs is was built on my driveway

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Steve, congrats and enjoy it! I'm betting you could build a space ship in your drive way!

Hi sorry to bump an old thread but what happened to the body moulds Steve?

Cheers paul