The Project

 From an early age, I have enjoyed doing most of the repairs on my own cars. At one time, I was pretty good at it, but with time, and lack of practice, skill sets fade. My skills are about to be put to the test, because I recently came across a barn find of a vehicle I have dreamed of owning since I was 17. 

I have become the proud owner of a 1950's era Willy's Utility Wagon! My children are excited, I am stoked, and we plan to work on it over the next few years to return it to a daily driver that will take us everywhere we want or need to go. 

It all started out about 6 months ago, a dairy farmer friend offered me an old piece of farm equipment to work on with the kids, a Daihatsu Hijet, which is a tiny couched sized 4x4 pickup most often used in Asian countries for delivery. The boys and I went out to look at it in an old turkey barn, out in the middle of a pasture on the dairy. It was there that I saw this, and immediately fell in love. 

I asked the dairy owner when he obtained it, as I had been in that barn before a few years ago, and I would have noticed it sitting there. He replied how he had mistakenly got it for his boys, and they were not interested, but if I was, it was all ours! 

Josh, John and I looked it over, and it immediately felt like gear-head Christmas to me! It needs LOTS of work, but we immediately started making plans. (By "We" I mean, me, and I have not stopped looking at videos, pictures, articles since learning about the find.)

It is not an unlucky number. 

                                                                    

    

I am very excited over the whole idea. The project has lit a flame under me, I feel excited about something  for the first time in many years. 

To start the project, we determined that we were going to need some basic parts, like a hood, door handles, tires, etc. I was researching sources for those parts when a neighbor who loves restoration projects sent me an ad with this beauty, a 1952 wagon, frame and body complete with doors, hood, and many parts I could use, all for $400. 

It was too good to pass up, so soon it was in my garage, begging to be torn apart. Now, to be fair, I put this in the garage where my wife normally parks, so there was a lot of motivation to get it stripped and disposed of. Turning the garage into a chop shop briefly, I got out the WD-40, an angle grinder, and went to work. Got the parts I needed, including a section of firewall, and had it hauled off. 

Two weeks ago, I got some used tires to put on it, so we could roll it up on a trailer to haul it from the barn to the house. once I had the tires on it, I called a friend who came over with a trailer and  helped me get it home. 

I have decided to give it a name. The name of the dairy that I got it from was originally called Willhemina, so in honor of the dairyman, and the fact that it is a Willys, Willhemina it is.

Made it home finally!

This will be my first restoration project, and I am trying to do it as economically as possible. I will be doing a resto-mod, which for the layman translates to keeping a vintage look, but adding some modern parts and technology, so it is safe and as comfortable as cars are today. The plans change as often as I change my clothes it seems. I am going to try and get the existing engine running, put in bucket seats, upgrade brakes to modern standards, everything I can to make it a car the boys will be proud of long after I am gone. 

A friend, and fellow car enthusiast has asked that I blog about the progress, so I will start posting about our adventures in parallel to my stories of raising kids as a middle aged daddy. 

I hope you all will enjoy it. 

Till next time, 

- Mark, The Middle Aged Daddy