By The Doge - 13 Years Ago
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Hey Guys, I picked up a 51 Willys wagon last weekend that has had the original engine replaced with a y-block. It is now parked at a friends house who lives in the country. I am currently restoring a 58 Willys wagon back to original and once that is done I am going to do a restomod with the 51. It sounds like I need to get a few numbers off of the block next time I see the y block to begin to narrow down the motor size. Just wanted to introduce myself and will be keeping an eye on the forum for info that I can use in the future. Dan 



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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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Welcom Dan! Looks like an early one you have there may be a 239. Check the 3s and let us know. You'll find a lot of info here to get it running it's best.
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By charliemccraney - 13 Years Ago
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mctim64 (5/11/2012) Welcom Dan! Looks like an early one you have there may be a 239. Check the 3s and let us know.
You mean the Shift-3's? The fuel pump looks like an early one.
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By pintoplumber - 13 Years Ago
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My guess is a 239 also.
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By jrw429 - 13 Years Ago
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For those of us still learning, what do you see that leads you to think it is a 239?
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By pintoplumber - 13 Years Ago
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I'm going by what's left of the color or the engine.
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By The Doge - 13 Years Ago
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Check the 3s and let us know I did a search on the forum and could not find anything pertaining to what a "3s" is. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks Dan
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By pegleg - 13 Years Ago
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Casting number on the block, above the oil filter, driver's side. He meant numbers as in # not 3.
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By Timbo from Mempho - 13 Years Ago
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Bet the heater don't work too good ;-)
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By mctim64 - 13 Years Ago
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charliemccraney (5/11/2012)
mctim64 (5/11/2012) Welcom Dan! Looks like an early one you have there may be a 239. Check the 3s and let us know.You mean the Shift-3's? The fuel pump looks like an early one. Ha Ha! Yeah I guess I didn't hit the key hard enough. 
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By YBLOCKMERC - 13 Years Ago
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I'll be watching this project with interest. I've got a '50 Jeepster that I'd like to do an old school hot rod with a 272 that came out of my Merc. Unfortunately it's not very high on the project list right now.
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By PF Arcand - 13 Years Ago
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Marc: Just a note. Don't know what size engine you have there, but no Mercs came with 272s..so ?
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By YBLOCKMERC - 13 Years Ago
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Thanks Paul. I was aware that the 272/2v was not original to my '54 Merc when I got it 20 years ago. At one point I even sourced a stock '54 4v carb/manifold/air cleaner to look correct. That has all changed and the Merc now has a 292 w/Holley 4160 and a host of other upgrades.
Back to the topic at hand, a Y in a Willys Wagon or Jeepster would be really cool, especially with finned aluminum T-Bird valve covers to dress it up and identify the engine. Otherwise, the uninformed masses would look at the distributor location and think it was a scrub. I've already had that happen with my finned E'brock valve covers in the Merc.
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By Doug T - 13 Years Ago
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Nice find and good project. Is that a bit of flame surgery on the firewall? It didn't seem too necessary from what you could see in the pics but the dist is probably well into the firewall. Remember Charlie Burn's fix on the Jimmy salt flats truck, cut down and sectioned garden wheelbarrows to fab up a solid firewall behind the engine. Check it out in the racers threads.
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By MoonShadow - 13 Years Ago
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Another firewall mod I've seen is old fire extinguishers or Freon tanks sliced and welded in.
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By The Doge - 13 Years Ago
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Is that a bit of flame surgery on the firewall? It didn't seem too necessary from what you could see in the pics but the dist is probably well into the firewall. As I understand the wagon was used on a hunting lease so they did not appear to be to concerned with asthetics. The distributor sits back into the original firewall a little but not too much. I still have much to do on the 58 Willys that I am attempting to restore back to original before I get to this 51. I do plan on making a trip out to my friends house to replace the master cylinder to see if I can get the brakes working so that he will be able to move it around while I am storing it there. I will find out as much info from the engine as I can to try to figure out what size it is. Once I determine this I will be asking for some help to figure out what parts I could use such as new exhaust manifolds. I can at least start to collect the pieces I will need in the future. Both of the wagons I have are a little unique in that they are called Parkway Conversions. Basically panel delivery trucks that had the side windows cut in either at the Willys Parkway factory or by the dealer. Apparently there were laws about driving delivery vehicles on a lot of the roads in the 50's & 60's so by having the windows on the side it was no longer considered a delivery vehicle but they still got the "barn doors" on the back instead of the typical wagon door to assist with loading. Dan Thanks Dan
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By Ted - 13 Years Ago
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Dan. Welcome to the site. Great project. Feel free to ask questions or post as you work on your rides.
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