195* willys m38

[MariaManche]

Dragged this beauty out of a farmer's field...

 

The bad:

no engine

t90 trans is in rough shape

no title or previous life information

 

The good:

Frame is extremely solid

Body has cool patina that I would like to somewhat preserve. 

 

The plan:

I have no idea.... I am open to community members input on how I should build this thing. 

Step 1 - is figuring out what drivetrain I want to steal. I will probably keep the original dana 44 and dana 25 axles.

 

[89 MJ]

This looks like a very cool project. If I were in you shoes, I would be choosing between a Renix 2.5L and a GM 4.3L V6 with TBI for an engine. I'm looking forward to seeing updates. 

[watchamakalit]

I would say it depends on what you want out of it.  Parade car I would say fuel injected and auto trans.  Wheeling rig big power V8 and manual to match with tons swapped in. Personally if I was doing it, I'd make a neat little ice cream\parts getter with a 4.3 chebby and and auto trans. 

[ThatJeepGuy]

I have a subtle need for a flat fender willy's. I've told myself numerous times if I stumbled across one like this I would find an excuse to make something out of it. 

 

My setup would be an obd1 era jeep 2.5 and manual trans; ax5 or nv4500. Abundance of either and simple, also modern enough for my interests.

 

I've had too many vehicles sit and wait for "the dream build". At this point id prefer they are running and driving with any drivetrain. Thats better than it sitting with vegetation growing through the thing.

[hgeranium]

1 hour ago, watchamakalit said:

I would say it depends on what you want out of it.  Parade car I would say fuel injected and auto trans.  Wheeling rig big power V8 and manual to match with tons swapped in. Personally if I was doing it, I'd make a neat little ice cream\parts getter with a 4.3 chebby and and auto trans. 

I love the 4.3 and have had a OBS with that powertrain, but why not a 350?

[watchamakalit]

9 hours ago, hgeranium said:

I love the 4.3 and have had a OBS with that powertrain, but why not a 350?

My concer would be space.  I'm not sure if there's V8 room with out major fab.  The 4.3 seems like it should fit, and be plenty of power for a flat fender. Fuel injection would also be a big factor to me. 

[89 MJ]

8 hours ago, watchamakalit said:

My concer would be space.  I'm not sure if there's V8 room with out major fab.  The 4.3 seems like it should fit, and be plenty of power for a flat fender. Fuel injection would also be a big factor to me. 

Exactly why my brain went 4.3 as well. A Buick V6 was available in a lot of early CJ5s IIRC, so I would think that the 4.3 should fit and just be a better choice.

[neohic]

1 hour ago, 89 MJ said:

Exactly why my brain went 4.3 as well. A Buick V6 was available in a lot of early CJ5s IIRC, so I would think that the 4.3 should fit and just be a better choice.

This. Buick 215 odd fires were all the rage in flat fenders. Now the 4.3 is turning into the cheap(ish) V6 swap in the early CJ world. Put one in front of an SM420 and you’ve got a very compact setup. 

[hgeranium]

16 hours ago, watchamakalit said:

My concer would be space.  I'm not sure if there's V8 room with out major fab.  The 4.3 seems like it should fit, and be plenty of power for a flat fender. Fuel injection would also be a big factor to me. 

 

6 hours ago, neohic said:

This. Buick 215 odd fires were all the rage in flat fenders. Now the 4.3 is turning into the cheap(ish) V6 swap in the early CJ world. Put one in front of an SM420 and you’ve got a very compact setup. 

Good points. That 4.3 was about as simple to work on as the 4.0 is. I loved the torque for a V6 in my C1500 (short box stepside), so I bet it would rip in a CJ with the weight of a tin can

[89 MJ]

53 minutes ago, hgeranium said:

 

Good points. That 4.3 was about as simple to work on as the 4.0 is. I loved the torque for a V6 in my C1500 (short box stepside), so I bet it would rip in a CJ with the weight of a tin can

They’re great engines. My parents had one in a 94 S10. I’ve driven a full-size truck with them too and it does well. Plus they’re just a small block short a couple cylinders, so parts are plentiful and V8 swaps aren’t too hard in the future. 

[MariaManche]

Thanks for all the unput guys!

 

It would be cool if there was a voting system on here and the ComancheClub forum could literally decide how this is built. 

 

I think I am on the hunt for a 4.3!

[89 MJ]

41 minutes ago, MariaManche said:

Thanks for all the unput guys!

 

It would be cool if there was a voting system on here and the ComancheClub forum could literally decide how this is built. 

 

I think I am on the hunt for a 4.3!

There is! You'd have to create a new topic with a poll.

[MariaManche]

2 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

There is! You'd have to create a new topic with a poll.

I tried creating a new topic, and I do not see options to create a poll? Can you send me a snip of where i find this feature?

[89 MJ]

4 minutes ago, MariaManche said:

I tried creating a new topic, and I do not see options to create a poll? Can you send me a snip of where i find this feature?

I know both The Pub and Tech have this feature. Here's a screenshot from The Pub.