Wusty Welic ... wonderful!

[Mike K]

I am having trouble with the repro spring pivot bolts I bought . The original bolts were specified as being 9/16" diam. or .5625" The repro bolts are actually .550" diam. which is undersize.

Various Jeep parts vendors sell these repro bolts, they have a dark appearance and are longer than the originals too. I bought a set and did the basic hardness test with a file , the file bites into whatever the metal is easily. I believe the originals would have been case hardened because these bolts take a pounding . Often, the spring hangers on the chassis , have pivot bolt holes that are elongated due to wear. If a bolt has become loose, it jerks back and forward and makes a mess of the hanger holes, I've seen this scenario many times on WW2 Jeeps. https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.ph...spring#p992991

Good luck with the gearbox. Greendot 319 on utube has a few tips

Edit: I will buy a length of 4140 Chrome moly steel and have a go at machining some new pivot bolts.

[Mike Cecil]

Hi Mike,

I purchased a set of repro pivot bolts from RFJP and checked these after your comments. These are all .5625 inch (9/16 inch) and match the originals I had for length and with the slightly deeper castellated hex nut. I also had a few odd new pivot bolts that came with some other parts, and these were .550 inch, so thanks for the tip.

Spent yesterday afternoon assembling the gearbox after the arrival of a second T84 small parts kit (the first kit is still AWOL!). Once it is mated with the yet-to-be assembled transfer case, I'll paint the whole assembly with the early US Army olive drab colour supplied by Rapco. Also have the axle housings back and have primed and painted them, and fitted a new steering bell crank pivot pin and bearings.

The next few days will be office - the proof copy of my next book arrived from the publisher this morning, so finding and getting the bugs out of it will be the focus - there are always a few bugs that creep in during the transfer from Word to the publisher's layout program, and during the layout process. But overall, it's looking great!

Chassis is at the sandblaster and should be ready to collect in a week or so. I discovered that the chassis fits neatly inside the Chev Suburban with only about 18 inches beyond the tailgate, so makes getting it to and from the sandblaster much easier than having to go and get the trailer from storage. Also dropped the starter and generator into the auto electrician for rebuild: I could have just purchased change-overs from any number of jeep parts suppliers, but like to use local suppliers whenever possible.

Mike

[Mike K]

All looking good !

I have found another little Jeep glitch that might be of concern to GPW owners. There were a few cases of the engine block cracking due to mechanics over tightening the valve cover studs . Ford changed the design of the block where the studs screw into the block. Source: http://psmag.radionerds.com/images/a...ugust_1951.pdf

Wonder what the new book is about ? I dipped my toes into the writing pond and scribbled a few articles for MV magazines. Made the basic error, didn't find somebody to proof read my writing and spelling mistakes were printed. I think I can lay claim to revealing the reason behind common non-working Jeep fuel gauge problem and how to fix it.

[Mike Cecil]

Collected the chassis from the sandblaster today, and have primed it. What I had not noticed before were the three stamped lines of numbers on the left front dumbiron's vertical surface.

The lines read:
Top: 25407.02.278
Middle: 043
Bottom: 20201690

The bottom line looks to be the same format as a US Army registration number. The hood/bonnet has 20191569 on it, which had a different chassis to this. Have any Forum members encountered this type of marking before, and is anyone able to interpret them, please?

Also picked up the restored/rebuilt starter motor and generator, and added them to the small mountain of parts ready for installation.

I'll be taking a break from work on Wusty for a few weeks as I'm building the 'better half' a deer & racoon-proof garden enclosure so she can grow flowers and vegetables, and to continue renovating the elevated deck on the back of the house, as the carpenter ants have been feasting on it!!

Mike

[Mike Cecil]

The GPW came with a post-war Willys L4 engine with gear-driven camshaft, which, when disassembled, appeared to be in quite good, rebuildable condition. I was going to use it with a Ford head and fittings, but eventually came to the conclusion I should at least look for a genuine GPW engine.

I was fortunate to locate an engine in Nebraska which turned out to be a 1945 manufactured Ford replacement engine, which was not stamped with an engine serial number. It has only some of the exterior fittings, but I have the remainder from other sources. I'm yet to disassemble it, as I've been busy working on rebuilding the rear deck on our home, but here it is upon arrival earlier this month, and seems to be everything the seller said it was.

Also in the last month I picked up two NOS tyres mounted on combat wheels from Northern California. The tyres still had the remains of the labels on them and appear to be in excellent condition. Again, everything the seller said they were.

Mike

[Mike K]

Looking good Mike

I hope your exhaust manifold is useable because the repro manifolds are around $250 . I have a couple that are cracked , they are possibly repairable but not a easy job without the appropriate equipment- pre heating and so on

[Mike Cecil]

I have at least one good complete manifold already restored with a new 'flapper' and bi-metal spring, and hopefully, the one visible on the GPW engine will be as good as it looks from a quick external 'once over'. The 'flapper' moves freely, which is a good start. I'll test the bi-metal spring, but will probably replace it anyway - I have several in the spares box.

Mike