Windshield, Fenders, Wiring Removed

The next few pages will show you how I got started on the restoring of the 56 willys .First I have basic hand tools for the tear down. No air compressor good ole hard work, but getting one soon. Most of the body mounts are rusted away. All the wiring, seats, dash is all original from 1956 but there have been some shady mechanics worked on a few areas. But over all good shape. For example there is auxiliary heater for the floor heat. This is mounted on the right side. And the hole was cut with a butter knife. LOL I started on the willys on April/2/2005.
By mid May I should have the body off. Please don't get in a hurry in the tear down phase. Mark all wires, bolts, etc, for later use. It might be a year before you need to use again. Use a can with a lid or a cardboard box for your small parts.

This picture shows the top off. This top is a aluminum made product with doors and glass. It was held in with sheet metal screws. And leaking bad as you will see later on.

As you can see in the picture above the windshield post panel is rotted away. This is caused by leaky top and windshield rubber for years. And rubber is gone also. Hard to repair this panel and will be replace with a new panel and rubber.

This shows the fenders removed. Bolts on cowl or firewall are easy to get to but the bolts on the headlight panel or core support are wrench only with headlights in. Lucky for mine over half broke. That is good now but not later. Both fenders are bad and will be replaced. The left side could be fixed but a lot of work to repair damage. Also think of your safety. A front-end collision with rusted out fenders would be bad.

This is basic wiring on the willys. Wish picture was a little clear sorry for the blur view. Mark all the wiring with a numbering system or a coloring system. Leave all wiring intact Don't cut! If you are not comfortable of making your own wiring harness please buy a new one. Prices are 250.00 and up. 56 willys had very basic wiring and I am going to try to make my own harness. If I have trouble with making it I got a good friend (jerry a very good mechanic) to help me with mine. A wiring harness is a very important part of any vehicle and should be done right. A new harness will have all the plugs and ends on it and instructions on it too.

This first picture is the wiring behind the dash. Make sure you mark all the wires here before you remove any switches etc. When I removed my dash wiring I didn't cut any wiring and left all gauges to light switches intact. And second picture shows wiring remove and placed in a box for future use. I started with the taillights then headlights, horn and dash last to insure that wiring was intact for future reference.