Jeep project underway

[Mike Kelly]

I am making new spring/shock plates, the originals are often bent/warped, the factory used 1/4" plate which is prone to bending as the axle U bolts are tightened up with 4 long nuts.

I found an old bumper bar and cut it up , it is a slightly heavier gauge that 1/4" so should hold up OK .

Looks like the jeep designers had weight in mind and they tried to manage weight versus the projected life span of the vehicle. The bumper bar is one example of the weight compromise, made from light gauge sheet steel with a wooden insert for added rigidity.

[Mike Kelly]

Spent some hours over the past days removing the 50 year old tyres from the combat divided rims. Some swearing ensued ! Hydraulic jack and levers , lubrication and much physical persuasion - all needed.

Jeep owners: please install the rust bands for future problems will arise. The divided combat rims do rust to the stage of being U/S. The original rims are now around 80 years old.

Repro rims are now available , but they are not cheap ( $1500 for a set here ) and there have been reports of a particular brand actually failing

In my case , I have four useable rims and one only good for a spare. The four best have rust to varying degrees but IMHO are safe enough. But I have to check them for runout and balance.

Looking at this G503 video shows how the rims rust but are still serviceable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHmnqpCk22E

The other very common problem : people overtighten the lug nuts, doing this damages the tapered holes in the rims, the hole is splayed out into a distorted oversized shape and this results in the situation where the lug nuts do not have enough grab effect, the rim can be slightly loose on the hub......have seen this problem myself.

[Mike Kelly]

My GPW block is back from the machinist...Hmmm 4 years wait.

The block had some corrosion evident and it was a 50/50 call if I should find another block. The machining turned out sort of OK , but even at +40 the bores have some tiny pit marks visible. The opinion of the G503 experts is: the Willys blocks are better , with thicker castings and less prone to cracks.

The engine machine shops are mosty gone in this part of the world, retired and closed. You have to travel a long distance to find one. The remaining engine machinist guys know this and they charge like a wounded bull and don't care how long it takes. The VMVC guys use a business in the S.E. suburbs of Melbourne, that's where I will be going next time.