Restoration of a 1942 Willys jeep GPW Ford

[Skid Mark]

Great job Phillips,
A different Green Meanie!

[davejames]

Fantastic restoration Philippe

[Philippe]

Hello men

thanks a lot for all the compliments!

@ Bill: I don't know if Thorben will ride along...he's rather agressive towards other people and dogs when he's in the garden, who knows what might happen if he's in the back of a jeep...
@ 660smc : I also started long ago with a model jeep but in a 1/35 scale, who knows where a 1/6 scale model (a very nice one !) will take you...

Next week more news... hopefully good news.
GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Hi men

yesterday, friday the third of May, I went to the MOT with the jeep.
Since the jeep didn't came with a license plate I used the license plate of my car to ride to the MOT station. As long as you have an insurance for even one day for that vehicle, you're safe to do that in Belgium, allthough it's not completely legal but it's tolerated.
It was raining cats and dogs and I was happy to have the summer top on my jeep allthough it didn't saved me from getting wet .
The jeep passed the MOT brilliantly and I received a lot of compliments for the work I did.
One man said, when he was under the jeep, that it was a jewel and that he never before saw a bottom of a jeep that was so clean.
When they noticed that the whole brake and suspension system was completely renewed they didn't checked it, they assumed that it was OK and in good working condition (and it is !).
I left the MOT station with a green paper (approved to be used on the public road) and with a paper with the correct stamps and signatures on it to get a license plate.
Next monday I have an appointment with the insurance company to fill in the papers to receive a license plate. The company has to put another stamp on it and sign it to certify that there's an insurance for the vehicle.
As soon as the license plate arrives I can hit the road!
All's well that ends well and the moments of frustration that occured to me while restoring it are faded away now. It took me blood (a little bit), sweat ( a lot of) but fortunately no tears to restore it.
I'll put some pictures of the jeep on here when I'm taking her out in the country for a ride.
GrtZ
Philippe

[Z1streetfighter71]

Congratulations Philippe! Cant wait to see you the Wife and Thorben in your olive drab out and about it it.

[chrisNI]

Good work Philippe it's been an epic!

[Philippe]

Hello guys

an update of the adventures with the jeep.
The first big bug appeared!
When I parked the jeep in the garage after a 40 miles ride, the next morning there was a puddle of thick gear oil under it.
At the beginning I didn't worry about it and thought that it was normal, these jeeps are known for loosing a bit of oil.
The next day I took her out for another ride and there was again a puddle of oil under it.
I started to get worried about it and began to read more about loosing gear oil.
The manual advised to look at the oil level in the gear box. I removed the filler plug and the oil leaked out, there was too much oil in the gearbox. OK, problem solved...NO, the next time there was again a puddle of oil underneath.
After a bit more reading and searching on the internet I found out that sometimes the oil of the transfer case leaks into the gearbox...
bad, very bad!
In order to solve this the gearbox and the transfer case needed to be removed, opened and checked...easier said than done.
The cooling fluid must be removed from the engine because you have to lower the rear of the engine in order to remove the gearbox and transfer case. If you don't take the rubber tubes of the radiator the radiator can crack when lowering the engine.

A lot of parts need to be removed: the propshafts, the gear levers, the muffler, the skid plate,...

But OK, on monday I started to dismantle the jeep and in the evening the gearbox and transfer case were ready to be removed.
The next day they were taken from under the jeep and I separated them.

I mounted a new bearing and a new cork seal, filled the transfer case with new oil and prepared the unit to get back under the jeep.
It took me half a day to get it back under the jeep and I needed to use the litlle workshop crane and a few jacks to get it in place.
Today I'm going to continue the work and I hope to get it done. Let's hope that the problem is solved.
The gearbox and the transfer case were the only parts I didn't refurbish myself. They were both done by a friend of the seller who knew how it should be done.
I think he needs to learn more about how it should be done because the castellated nut that secures the gear on the secondary shaft of the gearbox wasn't tight enough . The washer wasn't thick enough to put the correct amount of pressure on the oil slinger in order to prevent the tranfercase oil from flowing into the gear box.
More news to come within a few days.

GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Hi men

it's done !
It took me three days to get the gearbox and transfer case back under the jeep...let's say that I had to start again twice because the fork that actuates the clutch slipped away and was hiding under the clutch and flywheel where I couldn't reach it anymore.
After a few days of frustration I started this morning with the final assembly.
This afternoon, at 4 PM ,the work was done. Finally !!!
I took the jeep out for a test ride, the gearbox is working, the transfer case does what it's supposed to do.
Tomorrow I'll know for sure if the operation was successfull or not .
GrtZ
Philippe

[zapo]

The fun never ends