Thread: New member with a lot of work to do

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Hi everyone,
My name is Brendan and I just wanted to introduce myself. In case this posted already sorry, but I had a bit of a computer hiccup. I am the recent new owner of a 1930 Willy's 98B sedan. I have thought long and hard whether to go traditional period correct or just custom and given that the car is a bit of an oddball I have decide to just go custom Hot Rod. The body has already been chopped and the original frame design is pretty cool and looks like it will be great to work with. I am still tossing around ideas, but I am thinking I am going with either a 351C or a 5.0 carbed with an aod and ford 8.8. I am going traditional hairpin transverse leaf front end and a cupped spring four link rear. I am open to ideas, but that is my initial thought. So just wanted to say hello and look forward to sharing and learning via the forum.
Thanks
Brendan

welcome to chr bb. looks like a interesting build. please keep us up to date with pictures. we love pictures

Welcome aboard.

I'm not sure that I have ever seen an early Willys (or is it an Overland??) such as that. It looks like a decent start for anything you want to do with it though I would consider leaving it pretty close in appearance as stock. As far as drive train, and since you mentioned Ford power () why not consider a 351W as well as the 5.0/302. Currently a lot more reasonably priced aftermarket parts for these two 'W' design engines then the 'C' as there are some hard parts that will interchange.

Again, welcome and bring your photos, comments and questions

Welcome Brendan. Looks like you found a good old Willys to use for your base! Willys went through a lot of problems in the 20's, and it gets kind of confusing but I think the '30 Sedan was still a Willys-Overland Company vehicle, and it looks like it may have gone by the name Willys Six? Here's an old brochure that pops up -

1930 Willys Six Flyer-01.jpg

and here's the link - 1930 Willys-Overland

Welcome BBP, Sounds like a cool project and you've got some great ideas so far! Also thanks for the pics, it's gonna be a cool ride.

Thanks for all the comments. As far as what the car is in relation to being a willys. It is tough finding out info on willy's from that era. There was just willy's, willy's knight, willys overland. The list is endless. After doing research though. This one appears to be just a plain old Willy's. I do want to go Ford powertrain. The reason that I was considering the Cleveland was simply that I am just a fan. I built a 73 Gran Torino a while back and just enjoyed that motor in it. The 351w would be a great option though and cheaper for sure. I will put a couple more pics below and I plan on posting many. I will be starting a thread in the build logs to keep my build in one place. Thanks for all the interest so far.
Brendan

Cool old car. Good luck with your project. I like those "suicide" doors which make it more interesting than most more-doors.

Looks like a good start to being a very nice ride.

Brendan,

Looks like a neat project. Just a observation but I see that the frame has a partial box plate in the engine/trany area. I did a similar partial box on my 34 for the 1st build. Drove it that way for 15+ years. When I tore the coupe down for the rebuild I found the frame was cracked on the driver's side right at the front end of the box plate. The crack was on the top C channel nearly to the vertical channel. I planned to complete the boxing in the re-build even before I tore it down but had no idea the frame was cracked and potential fatal flaw. Don't know if this could happen to you but the potential is there and it stands to reason each end of that partial box on the frame is a stress point and a natural point for the frame to crack. Just a heads up.

Jack.

I am planning on boxing most of the frame. I feel the same way. You never know what weak spots an 80 year old frame might have.
Thanks
Brendan