Quote:
Originally Posted by colin jones
Now there's a few things I noticed but the main thing was there was no radiator hoses fitted which meant no water so they would'nt have got very far. Still a good job though. 
Colin. |
Not true: let me tell you a story about Herb and the air cooled Jeep.
I was working at Minto Armouries in Winnipeg in the early 80s, and during a semi annual vehicle inspection, found a Jeep that had a separated front cross-member at the Bellcrank, which was somewhat common. My Seargent had me remove the grill and radiator, and we had the Jeep towed to second line Base Maintenance so the welder could do his thing.
A few days later, with the work completed and the workorder closed, the WO at second line told Craftsmen Herb (last name withheld) to go out and take Jeep 08123 back to Minto armoury. Herb walked the lineup of vehicles out back, but many of the Jeeps were missing their front license plates, so he walked the back of them and sure enough found the Jeep. He hopped into it and started it, thinking nothing of the pile of stuff in the back of it.
As he got to the two mile mark, (the route 90 bridge) he was starting to smell a bit of smoke and figured the clutch might have been going......as he passed the auto dealership at Polo Park, the salesmen out in the lot were pointing in wonderment.
It was best described by my French Master Cpl: "I was leeving, for a road test, when dis Jeep comes around da corner, smoking, and you could see smoke, da engine, and da fan turneeng, and Herb X is driveeng"
Herb had just driven the Jeep 7.0 kms (according to google maps) through the city of Winnipeg without the radiator or grill. They were, of course, in the back seat just behind Herb. The hood latches had held the fenders at the front, and from that vantage point everything would have looked just fine until the smoke started coming out.
I pulled the head later and the engine had survived just fine. The old Willys engines were prone to cracking the block in a T shape between the center cylinders when consistently overheated, but that had not happened here.
(Note: The CFR I listed in this story isn't correct.....after all these years the memory is starting to go a bit, but it was one of the two Jeeps from the Kenora Field unit. The CFR is actually in the back of my head somewhere, but it isn't coming out right now.)
As to Herb, I think he lasted another year or two in the Vehicle trade before he got out of the service. He wasn't really cut out to be a mechanic.