Paul’s made some progress on his Willys. You can read past posts about his jeep, Knardly Rolls, here: http://www.ewillys.com/tag/paul-m38/
Paul writes, I’m using thin poster board to make patterns for the interior panels on the Willys. Since the reinforcing structure for the top and doors will be visible from the inside and not covered by upholstery I’ve had to make 33 individual paper patterns so far. After adjusting the fit of these patterns I’ll transfer their measurements to 3/4 inch thick high density foam and then it’s time for the upholstery wizards to work their magic. Fourteen yards of fabric are on order so that should be enough to cover everything but the floor. All of the top and side wall panels will be covered with a silver gray fabric and this same fabric will be used on the seats with the exception of blue insert panels covering the center of the seats. That’s the plan right now. I still need to buy some thick upholstery foam so I can begin cutting out the padding for the seats but I wanted to finish with the patterns first.
More pattern pictures. To have enough room to make the patterns and install the upholstery pieces it was necessary to remove the fuel tanks and both front seats. The more work I can do myself the lower the cost will be to get the upholstery done so I don’t mind constantly climbing into and out of the Willys all day long. Things would be a lot easier if the Jeep was just a little bit bigger or I was just a little bit smaller. Oh well, I guess I need to call a Waaaaaaaaaambulance. Paul
Looking good Paul.
I was in Alaska last year. I found very, very few Willys to be since on the road or sitting in yards – I posted the pictures of the ones I saw in Talkeetna. I figured going up that with all the military in Alaska there would be military surplus everywhere on the roads – not so. If I had known of Paul’s I would have loved to have seen it. Keep posting. Paul are you planning on insulating the cabin? SS can be mighty cold. By the way it seems we in PA are colder right now then most of lower Alaska
Please keep sending as many pictures as you can because this by far has to be my favorite build on the internet. Looks fantastic and you Sir and a Master Craftsman!
Thanks for the kind words. I work by myself in a small two car garage behind a little house during our long Alaskan winters but it’s nice to know folks thousands of miles away are interested in my Willys rebuild progress. If anyone is interested in seeing this Willys project in person the Goddess and I would really appreciate it if you’d stop by anytime. I’ll try not to bore you and I’m even willing to buy lunch. Thanks again…Paul Bierman and the Goddess.
Paul
Just wondering – somewhere in the write-up- says you are an aircraft mechanic. Why didn’t you build an aluminum jeep? Not that SS isn’t neat. Where in Alaska are you?
Howdy Bill, Off-Road magazine had an issue (Sept. 1980) which featured a stainless steel Jeep. After just about reading the print off the pages I vowed to have a ss Jeep someday. Aluminum is fine but stainless steel is an interesting metal to work with so I ordered a ss body from Acme Truck Parts in January 1986. Since that time I’ve been working in my garage here in Anchorage (Alaska’s biggest city) having fun slowly fabricating the parts necessary to complete this rebuild. By the way, the foam interior panels will insulate the body along with providing support for the upholstery. With the original Southwind gas heater I should be quite toasty during winter driving.