Ww M38 Swb Pics

[Real Wild One]

I've been learning a lot from many of you kind folk here on the forum when it comes to the resto of my first ever WW M38!.....

So.....I've posted a couple of pics for those of you that are interested. He isn't quite finished as the keener eyed amongst you will notice, but he's getting there.

I have kept the main color on the body as it was when it was originally painted in 1982, as the finish was good and unmarked. I've replaced the winch and the Wild Willy figure himself, as the original looked awful. I'm pleased with how Willy turned out as it is my first attempt ever at building and painting one. The spare wheel cover and fuel tank were stripped with caustic soda and resprayed and I also have sprayed the roll cage satin black which makes the whole model look a lot better in my opinion. The original nitrous bottle has been replaced with a new one, the windscreen surround painted matt black, along with the wheel arches, a missing radiator added and the front grill repaired as it had a few minor cracks. The headlights are new as the original had none and I have left the decals on the side of the body as they were...original, although I may remove them and replace them with repro's because I simply don't like their positioning. New indicator lights have been painted in along with newly painted brake lights, and I have sprayed the fuel filler behind Willy silver as it was originally Matt Green along with the body.

The windscreen is original and I've polished it for ages with Brasso wadding to remove many marks and scratches that it had and I think it looks ok.

The tyres were good when i got the model, but I treated them to a glycerin bath and have added the tyre lettering myself. Finally I have sparingly coated them with Auto Glym Rubber and Vinyl Care using a cloth and they now look like new.

The chassis still needs some work. I have stripped and rebuilt everything forward of the battery box and polished the arm stays as they were corroded. I am in the process of tidying the wiring in the battery bay itself as this is the first time the model has ever had any radio gear fitted and what is left to do after that is strip down the gearboxes and relube and then fire him up for the first time ever!

Although this model was essentially a un-run shelf queen when I bought it, it has taken a lot of work. It still required a total rebuild in my opinion and there are still one or two screws which are incorrect but I have that in order. (The model was occasionally robbed for the odd part or two to keep their 'runner' going).

Over all I'm pleased with how its turned out. I wanted to keep some of the 1982 originality to this model but renew and tidy up where required. I think I've achieved that by keeping the original paint job on the body.

Anyway...I hope you all like the pics.

[OCD]

Wow - Nice first resto!!!

You should get those wheels switched 'round though, they're on backwards!

-Steve

[Real Wild One]

Wow - Nice first resto!!!

You should get those wheels switched 'round though, they're on backwards!

-Steve

My GOD!! How did that happen?!! Thats a good spot! I had them removed to do some work on the chassis and must of got em mixed up when I refitted them just before I took the pics! Now where's my wrench and screwdriver....I'll swap them round right away!

[mikea96]

That looks very nice. Great job!

[Cooltoys]

Nice restoration.. I'm just starting myself to fix my old willy too..