Fc-150 Resurrection

Nice progress on the FC, and nice collection of Porsches, both the 914 and the 930 (mid-80’s?).
I still have a two 150’s up at Hatteras, a ‘57 narrow track and a ‘62 wide track, both with rust of course. I have plans to use the narrow-track cab set on top of a Scout ll frame I acquired for it. The photos of your front portion of the frame show the unique “kick-up” I have to account for. The Scout has a similar (but more subtle) upturn, so I think it will be a good candidate. The Scout has a 100” wheelbase, vs the FC170 at 103”, so my 150 will end up almost as a 170.
I’m still looking for donor lower cab corners (I liked your “football” patch panel). I have a VW Karmann Ghia rear repair panel that gets me 3/4 of the right shape. My ‘57 came without doors, and my replacement doors are from a ‘60, but I discovered the top scallop and the bottom footwell is a different angle. Who would of though Willys changed the door slightly? I’m also still looking for door hinges too. Projects!
-Donny

 

Thanks its actually a 82 911sc with widebody conversion no turbo. I dont know much about scouts I guess the only way to really see what needs to be done is to start doing it. I actually just found another barbecue with even better corners on it and there is 8 so ill have to see if those will work. Im dreding the drivers door on mine its so bad Im going to be reconstructing most of it same with the bottom under the driver side but thats not as hard to make as the door shapes. Anyway im still making good progress i got the box kinda painted today. Its going to need sanding and a second coat its like a 20 footer id like to make it a 10 footer lol. Also got the transmission bolted up and the starter and painted them in.

 

Im working on fitting the tailgate to the bed now. The hinges are not exactly in the right place and i made that back frame part they bolt to out of bed frames. So the holes are right where its welded and hard as hell to drill. I actually grinded in the holes before i welded the two pieces together. Anyway I can work with it enough to get them right. Also one of the bed sides is a little bit far out so the hook doesnt hook so well. Thats going to need some fudging aswell. Also the sheetmetal on the bottom replaced. Im also getting the alternator fitted i think its a ford one. Just have to make a couple brackets it operates like a gm 1 wire so its easy to wire.

 

Thanks for reminding me what a Rube Goldberg setup that fan is! The actual cartoonist was alive when Willys designed this. I wonder is he had any input? (being facetious).
-Donny

 

It is a bit crazy but there isnt really a better way to do it. Seems like it will work fine. I dont want an electric fan. Also the fan is a 3/8" belt and the other is 5/8" I dont have a 5/8 pulley for the alternator so im going with 1/2" maybe ill change it later when i find one.

 

I was looking at that and thinking, "Is that really what I think it is"?.. comedy right there.

 

I got alot done lately but no pics to back it up. The tailgate is all done and fitted. Transfer case is in and filled but rear seal leaks so waiting on that. I got one of the back fenders fixed up and in primer. The other one is going to need alot more work so ill be starting that next. The engine is almost ready to test run. We got all new lines made out of nickel copper tubing for the fuel, vacuum, and oil. Im using an old empi vw remote filter mount between the starter and alt. Carburator is on. We cleaned it out and it looks ok so didnt fully rebuild it we figure give it a try first. Also got the exhaust all in. Im using an old subaru muffler and full stainless tubing from an old pool ladder. I hope it sounds as good as it looks.

 

So here's some pics of the exhaust and engine. Also yesterday i worked on the driver floor area. Got all the rust taken out and the cab corner off then i put a new pannel on the lower wheelwell and some box section to tie it to the front again. It went very well its nice and strong again. The measurements probably arnt all as original but iv got to reconstruct the door anyway so ill make it fit the opening. It was a bit of a fight getting the door off. I drilled out all the screws that wasnt too bad but then the door stop was fighting me because the hinges cant slide out the side at the same time as the stop had to come back. So you need to drill out the rivet that attaches it to the door not just the split pin at the end.

 

We got it running! Had a bit of trouble getting spark and ended up swapping out the coil. It ran great idles fine had great oil pressure gauge pegged at 55 and fuel pump works fine. Nice and quiet there was a squeak I think from the belt its a bit loose. Iv got a front shock bracket and the T case seal on the way then I guess the chassis is done until the body goes on. I started work on the steering box aswell. Got the wheel off. The column tube is toast its all rusted through so ill need to replace that with something. If i cant find a piece of tube that works I have my old cj2a column maybe that can work on it.

 

I dug into the steering box its going good. Surprisingly clean for having no oil left in it and water dripping down it all those years the seal really did its job! The upper race and balls were kinda bad I took apart the 2a box and looks like those will work in it. The upper race on the worm is pitted too so i kinda smoothed it out with the dremel tool. Its better than it was. I cant use the 2a worm or shaft because the worm is smaller and the shaft is longer. But I found a pipe in my scrap trailer to use for the column. Also got my t case seal so I can get that back together. Somebody just brought over a honda shadow with clogged carbs so thats going to slow me down tomorrow.

 

Got my t case seal put in. Its always a fight getting those original ones out they used thick steel. I just chizeled at it until there were pieces sticking up that i could grab with pliers and it eventually pulled out. Also got the steering box put together that went great. I used leftover OO grease from the knuckles and a little cv grease i had to top it up. I have a bunch of steering wheels from cjs with the inset horn button so im going to use one of them. Also received my shock mount so i can get that on tomorrow. The honda shadow didnt take long turned out the leaver on the petcock was positioned wrong so on was off and off was on. I discovered that when i was going to take the tank off. It did need fresh gas and i ordered a new battery for it. Runs good though. I added up what i spend on parts sofar its up to $760. Those nickels and dimes add up but I guess im doing ok. New tires are going to be the biggest expense so ill save them for last.

 

Today had a setback there was a puddle on the skidplate it was leaking at the front of the trans. I pulled it back an inch or so and it was leaking from the cluster shaft so i cleaned it up and gooped it up and stuck it back together. They didnt warn me about that in the utube videos ! Well it wasnt too bad other than it didnt really want to slide back together. Then a bolt for the rear driveshaft was spinning so I had to drain the case and pull the drum again. I had welded extra bumps on the bolts so they wouldnt spin and one of the welds broke off. So i welded two big bumps on all the bolts so they should be ok now. Im sure its not the last time its going to have to come off. Im working on the front cab corner now using the barbecue lid and its going good other than that the steel is kinda thin but itll be fine.

 

If your leak persist between the trans and bell housing you can get some gasket material and make a gasket for the entire area. guarantee it will work.

 

I made a gas tank. The sender was toast so i drilled a hole in the middle and use it for a flange to back the tank. with nuts welded on. I had another sender from a cj so i extended the float arm but when i welded it it messed up the sender so i had to take it apart and solder up the connection that went poof. Also drilled and tapped it for a fitting to run the line in and keep it all in one spot. The baffle in the middle made it very hard to get the last end cap on because the square box didnt want to tweek into shape very well. End result was good other than the laps dont quite line up on top but nobody is going to see that anyway. I used the old filler neck. Lots of welding and its galvanized sheet. I havnt pressure tested it yet im sure there are plenty of leaks but Ill work on that another day. Also pushed out the chassis and brought the cab in so I dont have to work outside anymore. Although its kinda dark in the garage so i might be pushing it out anyway

 

If you're not already, please take the proper precautions when welding galvanized steel. It's super toxic. I knew a guy that nearly died from it, and he is gone now.

https://www.wikihow.com/Weld-Galvanized-Steel

 

For sure I did it outside with a tailwind and a mask and held my breath most of the day. Nasty job. I still didnt pressure test it have to make a block off plate for the sender. Iv been working on the body I took the roof skin off and started welding up the edges of it and working on the passenger side cab corners. Its a little bit worse than the other side was but now i have practice. Not that it makes it any easier lol

 

I decided to bolt the bed on. I was going to wait til after the cab goes on but I dont really need to. Now ill be able to keep going with that when the cab repair gets monotonous. I counted about 20 patch panels that iv done already and i figure it will need about 50 more not including the doors. ugh. I got a bunch done on the driver side dash corner. Still much more to do there but it will be nice to get that opening solid.

 

The driver side floor area is done I decided to also replace the top of the tunnel part instead of just patching it but I messed up when i made the pattern. I drew it on upside down. There is an angle on the driver side to allow more gas pedal foot room and that ended up on the passenger side. I didnt realize it till it was all done 2 days later! So had to cut up my nice new floor and move it over. It worked out. I also made a little tray in the compartment behind the driver for tools and thats also where the battery will go. Still have to make the lid once i decide which way it will hinge. I cut and stained the rough cut deck boards with old motor oil they look good. Also got some D rings from harbor freight they bolted right up to the back bumper. Im sure they arnt super strong but for small tugs they will be fine. Otherwise there is nowhere to hook to back there all the openings are so small you cant even sneak a chain through. Im working on the passenger side of the cab now its a little more tricky because im trying to make the door fit. Since its not as bad as the driver side it will need less reconstruction if I can make it fit reasonably.

 

I was cleaning the shed today and found some arm rests from a 58 chevy they are in good shape. Im sure I could fix my original ones and i might still but the chevy ones will work they are almost the same just the mounting holes are 1/4" wider i can file out the holes in the door and slide the clips over

 

Fixed up the front bumper it was kinda bent up and a 20" section in the middle bottom was rusted out so replaced that. I have one bumperette from a willys wagon. They have a different bumper profile but I can modify that. But im not going to until i come across another one. Or use something different entirely. I have some from a studebaker that might be good or just leave it plain. Anyway I started working on the other fender. See the picture what is left of it. Its not as bad as it might seem. I replaced the bolt flanges already and the top I should be able to do with 1 piece. Also got all my paints mixed together I had about 9 quarts a bunch were slightly different colors. So i dumped them all in a 5 gallon bucket and mixed it up. Had to buy an empty paint can for $6. !? So now i have a gallon and a half to play with.