Wusty Welic ... wonderful!

[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

[Mike Cecil]

Still diverted onto home projects, but had the opportunity to drop by a local disposals store late last week. Found this little gem, which, upon further investigation, appears to be 1950s/Korean War vintage.

Most of the contents are not original, but the box and clips are in quite reasonable condition, and the typed instructions are still adhered to the inside of the lid. I have a repro clip to mount it under the dash panel. I'll keep an eye out for an original WW2 vintage first aid box, but in the interim, this will do nicely.

In addition, a couple of crates of other spare parts are inbound and should be delivered tomorrow (Tuesday).

Mike

[Mike Cecil]

After a hiatus due to having to work on our home, and the oppressively hot weather which made afternoons in the workshop intolerable, I finally got back to doing some jeep work. Couple of items sandblasted, hit with a couple of coats of primer-surfacer with some light sanding in between, and then a top coat with 33070. Always a satisfying milestone when more parts start changing colour back to olive drab.


Mike