1949 Willys Pickup Pushed To The Extreme
There are some builds out there that are mind blowing, like this 1949 Willys Pickup that's really an off-road racer wearing some vintage skin. It's the product of an experienced, accomplished shop hired by a client who essentially wrote a blank check, showing that with plenty of cash all kinds of crazy things can be accomplished.One of the few stipulations the client gave to RJ Fab was that it looked like the 1949 Willys Pickup when all was said and done. That was accomplished, but even someone who knows absolutely nothing about cars can see this is a serious machine.
This thing has a custom tube chassis and full cage, similar to what you might find on a trophy truck. In the rear are 30 inches of wheel travel and 22 inches up front. The whole thing rolls on 40-inch BF Goodrich tires mounted on 17-inch beadlock wheels.
Powering this bad boy is a 422ci LS3 V8 and a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. With boost dialed up to 8 lbs. it's making over 900-horsepower, which is crazy for a 6,400 lbs. vehicle.
Backing that up is a 4L80 automatic transmission with all billet internals built by Maximum, which caters to the off-road market. The driver can use paddle shifters to go through the gears for extra fun.
A lot of thought went into where to locate the different mechanicals on this rig. Because space is tight, everything is economized and can be removed without causing problems, allowing access to other parts of the powertrain.
There are plenty of other details incorporated into this truck that are amazing. To see them all and hear from the builder explanations for how it all works, watch the video review from Autotopia LA.
This build is still a work in progress. For example, it only has rear-wheel drive as the team tries to get the four-wheel-drive system configured and working correctly. Once it's completely buttoned up, this Willys will be even more amazing.
Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube
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