Truly Made in America
by Dennis Goodenow
I have been bringing back to life Willys Overland vehicles all my adult life. I am now 73 and my next to last project (Farm Truck) began with finding the very rare two piece PTO driveline for the Willys trucks. I started my hobby while I lived in California, but I now live in South Central Missouri and have for the past eight years. I chose the subtitle of this article “Truly Made in America” because this truck has been assembled from parts I found throughout the country.
As stated, the first part was the two piece rear PTO driveline for the Willys trucks. I found this part in Minneapolis Minnesota, but because it was Christmas time I did not want to drive all that way in poor weather to get the part. The seller was very easy to work with and he stated that he had a friend that lived in Central Missouri that was coming to visit that Christmas. The friend picked up the part for me from the seller and I drove to his house after the first of the year to get the part. It only cost me a tank of gas and a six pack of beer for his troubles.
The next part was the frame. I wanted a frame that was solid and complete, and I found one in Santa Fe New Mexico that had new tires, new wheels, brakes, and all new seals. I drove that spring to get the frame. All I needed to do was clean it up, paint it, and finish adjusting and assembling the parts. The guy I got the frame from did not complete the job.
Now I needed a motor. I found a F134 motor in Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis. The price was right and I was told it ran well before it was removed from the original vehicle. I cleaned it up, checked it over and decided it was a good candidate for my project. I already had a T90 transmission and Spicer 18 transfer case, so that completed most of the power plant
Now for the PTO stuff. I originally thought I would only install a rear PTO and started to look for a Spicer 18H PTO, rear gear box, and a belt drum pulley. I was very fortunate to find a Koenig Model 40 PTO in California. The seller agreed to ship it to me, and I was ready to go with the rear PTO, but I also had the option of a front winch as well. As things happened, I found a Koenig Model 100 winch in Texas and I drove down there to bring it home. As a side note, the winch came from a Willys wagon and the PTO on that wagon was another Model 40. I bought that one as well, and I sold it to a friend that was working on a Willys dump truck and he wanted the same configuration. I found the other PTO parts from various sources.
After assembling all the PTO parts, it was time to find a body. I found a 1950 Willys pickup in Wisconsin that had a very nice front clip, a decent bed, and a clean title. Unfortunately, the cab had a lot of rust. I thought I could save it, but it was too far gone for my novice skill level. But I did like the front clip and the bed so I purchased and returned to the house.
After the disappointment associated with the truck cab, I found a 1948 Willys stake bed truck outside Omaha Nebraska, that had a completely rust free cab and most of the stake bed parts. I drove as fast as I could to get that one, and used the cab and stake bed to start the final assembly. First I needed to repair the bed frame and the bed body.
Next I assembled the bed body parts.
Once the bed was complete, I sent the rust free cab and the very nice front clip to a restoration shop that I have used before. They do excellent work and I wanted this one to be special.
Once the body work and paint was finished, I picked up the parts and lifted the cab onto the frame ,and attached the front clip.
After that it was time for the seats and interior. I found a very nice set of split seats outside of Des Moines Iowa, and drove to fetch them. They were already recovered, so all I needed to do was paint the frames and install the seats. The headliner I bought from an after market parts supplier and had a friend help me with the installation.
After all that, of course, it needed a governor. I found a period Novi governor in Minnesota, the F134 linkage parts in Ohio, and the hand controller in Canada. Here are the installed governor and the hand controller.
That’s pretty much my story about this very unique Willys stake bed truck, and its journey from parts gathered from many locals throughout the country to home in Missouri.
