Ping--> Jeff Gross

Hi Kevin,

I haven't updated the site lately, but I'm still working on the Wagon!

I'm kind of rethinking the 'using the entire Toyota chassis' plan only because the motor sits too far forward in stock form to get the radiator behind the grill with everything else lined up. Everything else looks good to go, but I might have to move the entire powerplant back about a foot because of the internal web in the V6 has to go completely in front of, or behind the front pumpkin. The torsion-bar front suspension on the Toyo chassis is something I'd like to NOT mess with if at all possible. I'm not anti-Willys drive, but having a modern V6, suspension and a 5 speed capable of sustained freeway speeds is something that will make it a lot better suited for my uses as well as having a much stronger set of axles and an already fully boxed frame. Good thing I know a lot of serious local hotrod builders I can swap help/work with!

The doors, rear gates and grill & splash pan have all been plastic blasted down to bare metal (a beauty to behold being so clean), and sprayed with 'green death' acid etching primer. They're all wrapped in newspaper in dry storage in my garage attic waiting for assembly. All the gooey undercoating has been hand stripped from the hood. I didn't use heat because I didn't want to risk making the hood look like a taco cleaning it. Now, the hood & front fenders are ready for the blasting shop (it's 'U-Spray' in Butler/Milwaukee, WI. Tell the owner Dean I sent you for a good deal if you're in the area). Once those are done, the only thing left to blast and spray will be the naked body shell after I rebuild the totally destroyed firewall & floor in the cab & put the 'Willys America' brand new $140 quarter panels on it. Better to just weld on new ones than fix the rusted out ones that are there now, and for $300 they'll save literally weeks of work.

I'm not too busy to work on the FrankenWillys and take a ton of pics, but the website will have to wait a little bit, while I get some actual paying work done. :)

Cheers, - Jeff G

Kev> No updates on the Frankenwagon in a while.... hows it coming?

Good to hear. Hadn't heard anything in a while and thought maybe it got the better of you :-)

Sounds like you have done quite a bit actually. Sometimes updating the website gets to be more of a headache than working on the the vehicle. I'm getting ready to swap in a auto tranny to my CJ, but I keep having the thought that I should pull off the tub and do some major restore while I'm at it. My tub is shot, but I know if I pull it off, I'm gonna spend a year fixing everything else first!

I'll be heading out your way Dec 26th or 27th. Going to my first Packer game at Lambeau Field the 28th vs. the Broncos. I only hope it's a meaningful game (playoff implications). The way they've been playing so far, Favre may up and retire before the end of the season! And even though I've been in Colorado my entire adult life... I'll be rooting for the green and gold of course!

Hows the weather? I drove 2 hours to Moab the other weekend with no top on or doors! We have hit record highs in the low 80's the last few days.

But that's the FUN part! LOL! It's a good thing my wife likes the Willys Wagon or I'd be selling off the parts as I clean them up! ;)

If you're near Milwaukee and like Classic (old) Rock & Electric Blues, I'll be playing in Milwaukee on my birthday (Dec 27th) at a place called The Dr.'s Office with my band Dirty Ernie (a map to all out gigs is at

Should be quite the party - we're having free beer and giving away an electric guitar that I play onstage. BTW, Who died that you got their tickets? ;) Packer games are sold out at Lambeau for something like the next 13 years.

Packer fans don't give too hard a time to foreign fans at Lambeau. ;) If you want to root for Denver, you can do so here in relative safety. Of course if you're from Colorado and rooting for the Packers, you'll be in good company at Lambeau. Make sure you wander the parking lot for a good couple hours before the game. Tailgating there is like nothing else in any other stadium in the NFL. People will invite you to their cookout just because you smiled at them.

Oh, we've been having weather all right. :D In just the last week it's been in the mid 80's, down to the 20's and rained twice. Farther northstate, they've already had snow flurries. Not wearing a top or doors around here this tome of year can be a big adventure all by itself. :)

- JG

I'll have to see how my schedule shakes out, but I'm always up for live music! Playing any Bodeans tunes? Went to see them for the first time at Summerfest this summer. What a blast!

I was actually hoping to catch a Badger hockey game at the Kohl center saturday night, but that is looking unlikely. They have a tournament or something going on that weekend, so there's no telling if they'd be in the game that I'd have tickets for.

My brother in Lake Geneva has a good friend that took a job with the Packers front office this year. So he (the friend) now has two season tickets, and can apparently buy more. My brother has already gone to two games this year. Lucky jerk!

I'm actually STILL a Packer fan. I grew up near Madison. I do *like* the Broncos (hard to live in Bronco country for 13 years and not have them grow on you), but the Packers will always be my #1 team. I will be wearing my Green Bay jacket, my Favre jersey and my packer stocking cap to the game, so I think I'll fit in ok ;-) I have seen the Packers twice in Denver and wore all my gear to Mile Hihg Stadium. Didn't get too much of a hard time in CO either. A few comments, but nothing I didn't wexpect. Definately planning on doing the tail-gate. Probably will go see the new Packer hall of fame monday before I head back to CO.