Dave Simmons’ 1963 Willys Wagon

I know many of you have a specific project hidden in your barn, shop, garage, yard, or elsewhere that you would love to transform into something special one day. You are all thinking of it right now, telling yourself that you will find the time and cash to give it a new lease on life. Well, Dave Simmons recently did just that. He took his beloved 1963 Willys Wagon that had been in the corner of his shop for 20 years, ripped out its heart, and slammed it on the ground so that it could become his newest cruiser.

The 1963 Willys Wagons came from the factory with the new (in the 60s) Tornado gas-powered motor that churned out an eye-watering 140 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque, which produced 17 mpg on the highway and 14.7 mpg in the city. That’s not too shabby, given the circumstances, but Dave knew that if he wanted a reliable cruiser that could get up to highway speeds without issue, the Tornado had to go. So out came the ‘nader, and in went a 1995 12V Cummins motor coupled with an HE351 turbo from a third-gen Ram.

The Cummins now has a Bosch P7100 fuel injection system and a custom 3-inch exhaust made by Dave himself, paired with an NV4500 transmission by Auto Tranz. While the horsepower of the Cummins may remain in the same ballpark as the Tornado, the torque more than doubled, bringing some much-needed oomph to Dave’s new cruiser. We think the Cummins looks perfectly at home in the Wagon’s engine bay. Who would’ve guessed that a power plant 30 years younger would look so proper in an old Willys?

We are also suckers for anything slammed, so seeing a vehicle such as this sitting so low always ticks off all the boxes for us. It’s a diesel swap, it’s low, and it has a ton of presence—plus we know achieving such a feat is not plug and play. Dave fully boxed the frame himself, added a Chevy Nova front clip, threw on a rear 4-link kit that he had lying around, and even fabricated mounts for a custom airbag kit that he also made himself.

“What does it mean to box a frame? You are reinforcing the chassis. Most take sheets of steel and weld them to the open frame rails, creating a fully enclosed frame that is stronger and able to manage the increased power that modern drivetrains have.”

One of the coolest things about this particular airbag setup is that Dave hooked up a Freightliner valve that controls the ride height. He even tossed in a semi air brake that allows him to dump the bags and air out. To us, that is just so much cooler than using an app or a tethered remote. One of the few things Dave did not do himself on this build is the super clean pinstripes. He can thank Christian Blackman out of Garden City, Idaho, for those.

During the shoot with Diesel World, Dave shared that this build gave him confidence and helped him realize he is more than capable of creating a vehicle like this. All that is left to do is add air conditioning and revamp the sound deadening. He has already taken his Wagon to the Great Falls Car Show in Montana and a handful of other local events. Be sure to catch Dave with his Willys around Idaho and the surrounding area in the future!