My Wild Willy M38 Resto-Mod - or - It's All About the Wheels

[emory70]

Diggin yer modified setup. It always irks me to see paddles on the front of a 2wd.

[chevelle]

Looks excellent! I love those tyres & wheels on it

[richb77]

Are your wheels the same size as stock?

I ask as i have some severely cracked and aged paddlatracks on mine and been looking for good alternatives and the tyres you have on the modded Willy look really good.

[s2-g2]

Are your wheels the same size as stock?

I ask as i have some severely cracked and aged paddlatracks on mine and been looking for good alternatives and the tyres you have on the modded Willy look really good.

Thanks!

That was my motivation - not enough Willy tires for the Jeeps I do have. So, these are the closest I could find for the look I wanted.

(There are some very close sized paddle RC4WD Sand Thrashers, but they appear slightly smaller than the stock ones when they're on an M38 - I can take a pic of them installed tonight.)

The stock Willy tires are about 95mm 99mm (OD) x 45mm (ID) x 42mm (W)

These Gmade MT1902s are about 108mm (OD) x 48mm (ID) x 40mm (W)

So, they're a little larger, but to me they looked better installed than the RC4WDs I mention above. Plus, with a little weight sitting on them I think they settle to look about right...

It's that odd 45mm ID on the old Willy stuff that makes a 1.9 tire not fit so well... thus the custom rims...

[s2-g2]

So, the RC4WD Sand Thrasher (rear) 1.9 tires I mentioned above, according to their site, measure up like so:

The stock Willy tires are about 95mm 99mm (OD) x 45mm (ID) x 42mm (W)

These Gmade MT1902s are about 108mm (OD) x 48mm (ID) x 40mm (W)

The RC4WD Thrashers are about 95mm (OD) x 48mm (ID) x 43mm (W)

http://store.rc4wd.com/Sand-Thrasher-Rear-19-Tires_p_2050.html

I had thought the Sand Thrashers were gonna be the tires for the build. But, when I got a set and compared them, they seemed small...

They did fit the stock Willy rims somehow - without slipping. The rubber is nice and stiff, and they hold to the rim - but, the rim seems almost a little wide for them even though the specs say they are wider than the stock Willy tires... (?)

See for yourself:

They're not too bad all-in-all...

But, I like the meatier Gmade MT1902's...

So, quick edit/addendum here. I have always used 95mm as the OD of the original WW tire after seeing that figure mentioned online. I've never measured them myself... so I just did. I adjusted the measurements in the above posts to reflect what I found:

If you omit the paddles:

If you measure out to tips of the paddles too (at least on the ones I have here) :

So... for what its worth...

[emory70]

Are they not the same as Grasshopper paddles?

[Dojo Dave]

Are they not the same as Grasshopper paddles?

No.. don't make my mistake I did that a few years back grasshopper paddles look the same but are much...Much smaller

[s2-g2]

Are they not the same as Grasshopper paddles?

No. Different animals. Those are like 77mm OD. Same tire as a Sand Scorcher rear. Mine are still in the blister packs, but you can see the size difference:

[s2-g2]

No.. don't make my mistake I did that a few years back grasshopper paddles look the same but are much...Much smaller

identical post times. ha!

Thanks Dojo Dave!

[Dojo Dave]

identical post times. ha!

Thanks Dojo Dave!

Pm ed you

[Nobbi1977]

Those wheels and Gmade tyres make me want a WW more than ever. Great skills

[s2-g2]

Those wheels and Gmade tyres make me want a WW more than ever. Great skills

Thank you!

I do have plans this weekend to get some "finished" pics of this build...

But, This morning I threw a few different tires on the V.2 (2-piece) rims to see how they fit.

Some cheapie "offroad" no-brand tires I got off eBay... Same as the one used as a spare:

The RC4WD Sand Thrashers:

The GMADE MT1902s:

And - check this out. Again, the custom rim I designed is larger diameter than the original (made for the 1.9 tire), but you can squeeze original WW tires onto them! They hold pretty well - and it only flattens the look a tiny bit:

So that's an option too - as long as the tires aren't ash dry like a lot of the ones I have. They need to still be a little pliable to put on the rim.

I'm kind of excited about that

[XV Pilot]

Some nice options there. To my eye it looks best with the Fleabay cheapies.

[Nobbi1977]

Some nice options there. To my eye it looks best with the Fleabay cheapies.

I was thinking the same thing :-)

[chevelle]

Yes you would say that the smaller tyres look the more balanced but this is a WW so it's the GMADE for me

[Dojo Dave]

I like the cheapie.

[s2-g2]

Some nice options there. To my eye it looks best with the Fleabay cheapies.

I was thinking the same thing :-)

Yes you would say that the smaller tyres look the more balanced but this is a WW so it's the GMADE for me

I like the cheapie.

Wow! Lots of votes for the smaller tires. They cost a lot less, so that's a good thing. But, I'm obsessed with larger tires on my 1:1 Jeep, so that illness carries over to the Willy too Besides, Willy doesn't care about decreased gas mileage and a loud tire hum on the pavement...

Took the "final" product to the reservoir today for some pics. For the most part, the build is done. I'll add some small things - like a side-mount CB whip antenna and maybe a high-lift jack - maybe rework the lights so they're translucent and lit... You know, small tweaks and tunes...

Here it is...

1/4 view:

Other side:

Driver and windshield:

Watcha lookin' at?

Front wheel - V2 (wide flange, 2-piece assembly)

Rear wheel - V1 (smaller flange, 3-piece assembly)

Front on:

Tamiya parking decal for parking in the factory lot:

Hinges and windshield:

Rear 1/4 view:

Side shot. Both wheels on this side are V2 (2-piece):

Other rear 1/4:

OK, OK... for the smaller-tire crowd:

And, here's a mixup - stinkbug lift. small in front, big in back:

:D

[Dojo Dave]

Those wheels and Gmade tyres make me want a WW more than ever. Great skills

I'll sell you one

[Nobbi1977]

I changed my mind. I like the bigger tyres now I have seen them out in the wild.

[XV Pilot]

I've half changed my mind. Big on rear, small on front looks ace!

[Shodog]

Were the Gmade tires really loose on the stock wheels? I'm looking for something suitable for my Blazer.

[s2-g2]

Were the Gmade tires really loose on the stock wheels? I'm looking for something suitable for my Blazer.

...Unfortunately they are - the tire doesn't even come close to the rim all the way around. You really couldn't even glue them if you wanted to:

[Shodog]

Well that sucks. I jumped the gun and ordered a set. Looks like something else in my stable is going to get a new pair of shoes.

[emory70]

I'm all for the G Made tires. Tires should fill the fenders.

[emory70]

In case you weren't aware of them: