Grillin' Out

The Willys originally had round headlights. Someone in the past had changed them to square but left the parking lights round. Kind of looked funny, so it was either both square or both round. The square parking lights were purchased at The Chrome Shop on I-75. Yes, for you "Free-Thinkers" we did consider round on one side and square in the other.

I liked the square except they really weren't square so we thought lets just square them up. Well after all the Bondo removal, then the pop rivets, we determined that the headlights being square was not the problem but rather how they had been made square. Just put metal in, pop rivet and then using more Bondo than is legal in most states just smooth them out. We cut the metal and rivets out of the grill and then set in new pieces and welded them in place.

I must say welding on this vehicle was something to see. In most cases, no heat penetration and to finish a weld you just Bondo it smooth.

There were so many pop-rivets and Bondo in this car that I think someplace, somewhere, probably on the porch in a "Cracker Barrel" rocking chair there sits this happy couple who's daddy owned the Bondo Factory and Pop Rivet Factory respectively.

While dating it was probably in the back seat of a 51 Green Ford (a long story about this car) that you could hear; "If you touch my rivets again I will slap you!" I can just hear their wedding night intimate conversation. "Oh, dear your rivets look so good, here let me smooth them out a little!".