Pat's Willys Pages

Cleaning the Frame/ Drivetrain

After I got the body removed from the frame I decided to powerwash the frame. It was covered in 50 years of dirt, mud, and gear lube so I thought that cleaning it with a powerwasher would be helpful in loosening everything up so I could clean it properly. My neighbor has a powerwasher, just one of those small ones with a briggs and stratton motor on them, that just gives you lots and lots of pressure, no steam. Since I could use this for free I decided to try it and see how it worked.

It took about 2 or 3 hours to finish cleaning this, and I had a lot of mud on the cement when I was finished. It did help a lot though, as you can see.

Next I pulled the motor, tranny/transfer case , driveshafts, and exhaust. The motor was pulled by laying a beam in the ceiling in my garage and hooking a comealong to it. Then I just winched it up and put it on the stand. I would have used a cherry picker, but I don't have one, and this worked just fine. The transfer case is very very heavy. But I got it out without incident and it is sitting on my floor awaiting my time.

With everything removed I decided to sandblast the frame. The sandblaster I used was just one of those siphon guns that have a 5 gallon bucket full of sand. In a matter of an afternoon I got the frame mostly clean, and I was ready to take the wire brush to it.

The wire brush I speak of is a grinder disk that I bought at the hardware store. It is probably the best tool that I have, as it saves me the most time and headache. I highly advise wearing gloves whenever using it though, it will save your hands of leaking blood everywhere. Within a couple days the frame was "clean" or as clean as I could get it. so I primed it. I just got some brush on primer, and did 2 coats to protect the frame and to hide those spots where it was a little pitted or not entirely clean. I bought some Ace brand primer that is supposed to be good for metal, even if it is rusty.

I decided to paint the frame Flat black. I was going to go semi-gloss, but I could not find any in town. Really annoying, and I didn't want to pay a lot for it. So I went with Flat. I got one coat sprayed on and then the weather got really cold. That was in November I think, and it didn't get another coat on it until yesterday, Jan 5. It's been too cold to paint, still is really, but I got tired of waiting. I'll put the front and rear ends in and then roll it out into the sun and put one last coat on the frame, hiding those spots that haven't been completely covered yet.


		Pat's Willys Pages
		Cleaning the Frame/ Drivetrain After I got the body removed from the frame I decided to powerwash the frame. It was covered in 50 years of dirt, mud, and gear lube so I thought that cleaning it with a powerwasher would be helpful in loosening everything up so I could clean it properly. My neighbor has a powerwasher, just one of those small ones with a briggs and stratton motor on them, that just gives you lots and lots of pressure, no steam. Since I could use this for free I decided to try it and see how it worked. It took about 2 or 3 hours to finish cleaning this, and I had a lot of mud on the cement when I was finished. It did help a lot though, as you can see. Next I pulled the motor, tranny/transfer case , driveshafts, and exhaust. The motor was pulled by laying a beam in the ceiling in my garage and hooking a comealong to it. Then I just winched it up and put it on the stand. I would have used a cherry picker, but I don't have one, and this worked just fine. The transfer case is very very heavy. But I got it out without incident and it is sitting on my floor awaiting my time. With everything removed I decided to sandblast the frame. The sandblaster I used was just one of those siphon guns that have a 5 gallon bucket full of sand. In a matter of an afternoon I got the frame mostly clean, and I was ready to take the wire brush to it. The wire brush I speak of is a grinder disk that I bought at the hardware store. It is probably the best tool that I have, as it saves me the most time and headache. I highly advise wearing gloves whenever using it though, it will save your hands of leaking blood everywhere. Within a couple days the frame was "clean" or as clean as I could get it. so I primed it. I just got some brush on primer, and did 2 coats to protect the frame and to hide those spots where it was a little pitted or not entirely clean. I bought some Ace brand primer that is supposed to be good for metal, even if it is rusty. I decided to paint the frame Flat black. I was going to go semi-gloss, but I could not find any in town. Really annoying, and I didn't want to pay a lot for it. So I went with Flat. I got one coat sprayed on and then the weather got really cold. That was in November I think, and it didn't get another coat on it until yesterday, Jan 5. It's been too cold to paint, still is really, but I got tired of waiting. I'll put the front and rear ends in and then roll it out into the sun and put one last coat on the frame, hiding those spots that haven't been completely covered yet.