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Restoration of my 1942 Ford GPW Jeep


zepher11
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GPW_142.jpg

 

After reconstructing all of the metal in this area, it was nice to actually have it fit pretty decent. I had to drill the hole in the replacement floor for the fuel tank fitting. I used a paint stir stick and notched it in the shape of the fitting and slid it under the tank and found the correct spot. Worked pretty good:

 

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I almost forgot the rubber donut seal that goes around the fitting and will keep the future mud and dirt out:

 

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I then routed the fuel line from the fuel strainer to the fuel tank:

 

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I located my reproduction radiator and was bummed that the bolts were the incorrect size. They were 1/2” coarse and should be 7/16” fine thread:

 

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Plus they didn’t fit the mounts correctly nor did they fit the bonding straps:

 

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I took these bolts:

 

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And cut the off and replaced with the correct thread:

 

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I don’t know why I am getting hung up on little things, but I had purchased a reproduction hand brake handle and was going to replace my F marked handle onto the reproduction shaft. However, I noticed two things. First, the reproduction cable had a plastic sheath over the cable, however, the 1942 GPW had a metal sheath. Second, the reproduction shaft is shorter than the original shaft. Hmmm….what to do? I ended up finding another reproduction handle and cable with the metal sheath. I then decided to make a switch and move the cable to the original shaft and F marked handle:

 

GPW_036.jpg

 

I was really careful and cut out the new cable from the reproduction handle:

 

GPW_056.jpg

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The inside piece looked similar to the original which was good:

 

GPW_075.jpg

 

I carefully cut the original handle and inserted the new cable and then heated and closed the gap down to original size:

 

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Welded it closed trying not to ruin the new cable:

 

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Ground it down and it looked as good as new:

 

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Installed it and it looks nice in that the metal sheath matches the speedo metal sheath:

 

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What was odd to me was the fact that there is no grommet for the hand brake shaft where it sticks through firewall. After comments from those in the know, that is in fact the case. No grommet:

 

GPW_076.jpg

 

I also decided to abandon my WOF outer windshield frame project that I posted pictures of previously when I repaired that. I have now moved on and began repairing my original GPW outer frame. This was the one that had a couple of heavy metal rods welded to it due a catastrophic frame support failure. I figured it would hurt to repair now. Here is the really bad area and the original repair:

 

GPW_026.JPG

 

I performed a bit of an autopsy to determine what it looked like in there. I don’t know if the PO installed an inner pipe of some sort or if these frames are double walled. I’m thinking double walled as one can see the complete break through both pieces of metal. In any event, it was nice to have some good metal to attempt a repair:

 

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I then found a nice fat solid piece of rod to weld in there and add some support:

 

GPW_047.JPG

 

GPW_058.JPG

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Welding:

 

GPW_065.JPG

 

Lower down where the frame attaches to the cowl brackets above, there was a really badly rotted piece that had to be fixed as well:

 

GPW_077.JPG

 

Of course there are the extra holes to fill in. Never a shortage of extra holes to close shut with the welder:

 

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I also decided to take some photos of the wiring under the dash via the transmission hump hole in the floor. Likely I will never get that perspective again. Plus, these may come in handy for any wiring trouble shooting that may be required in the near future. Circuit breaker:

 

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Main switch wiring:

 

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Filterette:

 

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Ignition switch and panel light switch and some of the gauges:

 

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Another small project was making a pin for the original head light bracket holders. The pin holds these catches to the fenders and the butterfly nut holds the headlight arms in position. I found a large pin a the Ace Hardware and drilled it and the cut it down. Came out nice. Actually the final product is in the first photo posted today:

 

GPW_034.jpg

 

Not too exciting, but I can’t think of a better way to end the year. Gee whiz, I can’t believe another year has passed!

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Zeph

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After reconstructing all of the metal in this area, it was nice to actually have it fit pretty decent. I had to drill the hole in the replacement floor for the fuel tank fitting. I used a paint stir stick and notched it in the shape of the fitting and slid it under the tank and found the correct spot. Worked pretty good:

 

 

Zeph,

 

This thread has been amazing. It would be great to take all of your pictures, explanations, etc and make a reference book. Your little tips such as this paint stir stick are so helpful. Even though I have never restored a jeep, I have thoroughly enjoyed every post you have made in this thread.

 

When you finish this one, you are going to have to start another thread with your next restoration project. If not, I will have major withdrawal symptoms. :)

 

..Kat

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When this is done you will have spent at least:

 

Loved those movies! Thankfully, I dropped all of my parts receipts throught the trap drawer into the fire below...it will be a secret forever! Actually, I lucked out and bought most of the parts to complete this project from a guy that lost interest in his project GPW. I sold a few items and made my money back and kept the rest. I don't think I would be this far along without falling into that deal of a lifetime. I'm still discovering parts that are in boxes. It's quite "breathtaking!" ;)

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Zeph,

 

This thread has been amazing. It would be great to take all of your pictures, explanations, etc and make a reference book. Your little tips such as this paint stir stick are so helpful. Even though I have never restored a jeep, I have thoroughly enjoyed every post you have made in this thread.

 

When you finish this one, you are going to have to start another thread with your next restoration project. If not, I will have major withdrawal symptoms. :)

 

..Kat

 

Hi Kat, as always thank you for the kind compliments. I enjoy working on these vehicles and posting and documemting what has been accomplished helps keep me on task. It's nice to look back. I'll likely do the same for my next project. On many occations, I have actually learned from some of the replys I get, so it is a two way street...which is nice.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Z

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Zeph, looking great!

 

RC

 

Thanks RC. I may be moving a bit slower now, however. I can't recall if I had mentioned that I took my rugged GPW engine to the shop a few weeks back. It looked really bad, but the shop told me that the block is not cracked and is rebuildable. It may be out with the CJ engine and in with a newly rebuilt 72 year old GPW engine. I'll see how it goes. I'm not sure, but I may even post some photos... :lol:

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...

Not too exciting, but I can’t think of a better way to end the year. Gee whiz, I can’t believe another year has passed!

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Zeph

 

Not too exciting?!?

To speak in the words of The Dude: "Yeah, well, you know that's just, like eh, your opinion, man." :)

 

I really love to see how you decide to save as much of the original parts as possible instead of going for the easier option of replacing them all together.

 

A Happy New Year to you too, Zeph!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Kat, and thank you Ed, I appreciate the kind compliment! It was cold there for a while for sure...at least for our area. We had a long stretch of in the mid 20’s in the morning, but would warm up in the day. Gotta like those portable propane heaters.

 

I have been plugging along and been meaning to make an update. I don’t know if I mentioned it yet, but I became tired of looking at the CJ engine in there, and decided to take the plunge and see if that GPW engine I found sitting in a field in Santa Rosa was rebuild material. I took it in and had a local shop give it a thorough go over. Low and behold, no cracks and it pressure tested perfect initially and then again after all of the machine work was completed. Yes! So, I took the plunge and yanked out the CJ engine and had the GPW engine rebuilt.

 

This slowed me down a bit as I didn’t want to install the tub until I had the GPW engine tucked in there nice and tight. Anyway, on with the update. I didn’t let me not having the engine slow me down so I tackled a few other items while the engine rebuilding was progressing. First I started pulling out all of the engine related parts that came with items I had bought in the past. I found this GPW F marked exhaust manifold on another CJ engine I had:

 

GPW_039.jpg

 

New replacement distributor:

 

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I even had found what I believe is an NOS GPW F marked cylinder head and other things:

 

GPW_066.jpg

 

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New replacement water pump:

 

GPW_086.jpg

 

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Ta da! GPW engine block fresh out of the cleaner. 72 years old now. The nice thing is that it was able to be bored and required no sleeves:

 

GPW_104.jpg

 

GPW_Engine_01.jpg

 

May be hard to see, but every internal part is F marked including the piston rods and main caps. Even the GPW block is F marked. Mr. Ford sure wanted to make sure that when he did warranty work…it was actually a ford part:

 

GPW_Engine_03.jpg

 

GPW_Engine_04.jpg

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I also worked on installing the blackout drive light on the driver’s side fender. I blew it. I didn’t realize that the holes for the bracket on the fender did match before I painted it! Oh well, I had to close the holes and drill new ones:

 

GPW_0311.jpg

 

Running the wire through the fender:

 

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Painted the radiator and top bows OD. Yes, the Ford GPW came with an OD radiator:

 

GPW_0511.jpg

 

I also realized I was missing the captive nut on the front passenger side shock tower. The battery ground cable is bolted there, so I had to weld on in there:

 

GPW_0112.jpg

 

All done:

 

GPW_029.jpg

 

I installed the radiator felt seal to the grill using staples. I tried to match the original holes. Back in the day, they must have had an awesome stapler:

 

GPW_0114.jpg

 

GPW_0211.jpg

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GPW_0313.jpg

 

GPW_0410.jpg

 

GPW_0513.jpg

 

GPW_069.jpg

 

I also noodled through what I wanted to do with my hood numbers and markings. I decided to use my original hood number and mark it in honor of Kelly in the markings of the 91st Bomb Group. I have a picture of Kelly standing next to a GPW as he was leaving Bassingbourn, England having evaded after being shot down over France in Sept. 1944. I also am planning on double stamping as was discussed earlier in this thread like this:

 

White_over_Drab_01.jpg

 

Another project that I have been dreading for like a year now is the replacement of the front and rear seals on my transfer case. A month or so after installing the transfer case it started to leak oil! First out the rear seal and then the front seal. I remember thinking that it was odd that the oil seals I received from the Jeep parts dealer didn’t have paint on the outer surface. I also noticed that my front and rear differentials were leaking and had the same unpainted type seals. I checked them and noticed that they were not leaking out of the rubber as one would assume, but around the outside where the seal was unpainted! I have installed literally thousands of axle seals from my racing days, and not once did I ever have a problem. Anyway, I noticed the Jeep dealer now stocks the seals with paint on the outer surface! I reordered and set about removing the parts to replace the seals. One can see the front seal bleeding out here:

 

Seal_Project_01.jpg

 

Guess which seal is not painted on the outer surface:

 

Seal_Project_02.jpg

 

Seal_Project_02.jpg

 

This side was a little more work, but I wanted to get this project done before I installed the tub:

 

Seal_Project_04.jpg

 

Oil spewing out:

 

Seal_Project_05.jpg

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Pulling the E-brake drum:

 

Seal_Project_06.jpg

 

Soaked my new brake pad with oil. The seal put up a fight, but I won:

 

Seal_Project_07.jpg

 

Cleaned everything up and repainted:

 

Seal_Project_08.jpg

 

Installed the top bows:

 

Seal_Project_09.jpg

 

Robert DeRuyter, recommend by Johan earlier made up all of my stencils and data plates. I purchased a spare glove box door for the new data plates. I didn’t want to disturb my originals. I will likely mount them to a board for display. I can also switch box doors if I feel the urge. I had to drill the holes for the new plates:

 

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Whew, the holes line up and the brass rivets fit:

 

G_Box_04.jpg

 

G_Box_05.jpg

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The date plates and stencils by Robert were superb. Stencil time:

 

G_Box_06.jpg

 

G_Box_07.jpg

 

I tried to place the stamped F mark in the bumper between two letters. I have no idea why:

 

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Bumperette treatment:

 

G_Box_13.jpg

 

G_Box_14.jpg

 

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The long block was finished up last week, so I went to work on getting it in the chassis:

 

GPW_Engine_011.jpg

 

GPW_Engine_02.jpg

 

I searched high and low for F marked head bolts. I ended up finding that I had quite a few stashed away. As one can see, went ahead and used a combination head bolt and stud arrangement on the cylinder head that the early 1942 GPW’s came from the factory with. Later they switched to more studs and less bolts and the finally all studs:

 

GPW_Engine_031.jpg

 

I also hated that Ford grey paint that I originally used. It looked almost white. I picked up some New Ford grey paint that is more period correct I believe, so I took the time and repainted the transmission and bell housing to match the engine:

 

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Timing mark painted and clear coated so that hopefully it can be observed through the little peep hole:

 

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Found some original GPW NOS engine plates:

 

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Install time:

 

IMG_26702.JPG

 

IMG_26713.JPG

 

IMG_26722.JPG

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IMG_26732.JPG

 

IMG_26743.JPG

 

GPW engine stamping. Poor GPW 89865 rotted down in Santa Rosa:

 

IMG_26782.JPG

 

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Last shots before I attempt the tub install by myself:

 

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I also over sprayed with OD paint all of the brake lines and other expose unpainted areas. Again, I don’t know why. I think I read they came from the factory that way. I guess it doesn’t really matter:

 

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Tub time:

 

IMG_26903.JPG

 

IMG_26912.JPG

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Just before I lowered the tub on, I realized that I didn’t have a throttle linkage that appeared to me would be a real bummer to install later. I search and found this one in a box and low and behold it had a double F mark on it. Rosie had the shakes that day:

 

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Now it’s really looking like a Jeep:

 

IMG_2700.JPG

 

I proceeded with mounting the tub etc… I will post some more in a few days of that process. Thanks for looking!

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Thanks for sharing the remarkable progress. It is a Masterpiece and you are a Master Craftsman! Your work is a joy to behold! Thanks......Bobgee

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Zeph,

 

Thanks so much for the updates. It is looking great! You have an eye for detail. I like all of the extra added touches you have been putting on your jeep. It will be a beauty!

 

...Kat

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Add me to your list of admirers. I've been watching this post from the beginning and am amazed at your work and attention to detail. Thank you for sharing each and every post. You are a great artist.

 

One question if I may ask. Have you ever imagined yourself in a pair of coveralls in 1943 repairing similar vehicles?

 

Craig

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Incredible detailing and documenting your progress.

 

Thank you for sharing this project with the envious masses among us...me included...

 

Leigh

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Add me to your list of admirers. I've been watching this post from the beginning and am amazed at your work and attention to detail. Thank you for sharing each and every post. You are a great artist.

 

One question if I may ask. Have you ever imagined yourself in a pair of coveralls in 1943 repairing similar vehicles?

 

Craig

Thank you everyone. It has been a fun project. When I started I thought I would just plow through and not worry about the small details....right! Lately, now that I'm getting close to finishing, I find myself consumed by the little details. Maybe I'm just delaying the completion of the project. B)

 

Craig, that's a great question about imagining myself in 1943. I often do and only listen to WWII music while out in the garage to get "In the Mood" to work...pardon th pun. :lol: I have quite the WWII song list nowadays. I know I'm a little odd, my wife reminds me often, but hey, I'm always by myself and in my own little world. And to make things worse, I do have a pair of OD coveralls that I wear once in a while...they aren't period, but I have had my eye on some WWII reproduction coveralls before. Mostly I just wear shorts...even when it's in the 20's!

 

I have a fairly stressful job running a City, so the work on my my projects during the weekends is my primary stress reliever and seems to work for me. What's interesting is that I don't think I have completed any work on this project on a weekday after work. I usually have meetings and such, so I am definitely a dedicated weekend warrior.

 

Like I mentioned before, posting the progress on this project really helps keep me focused and on task. As soon as I get this GPW completed, I have a Dodge WC63 lined up and ready for a complete restoration. Likely, I will post progress on that as well. We'll see how it goes...

 

Thanks again,

 

Zeph

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As soon as I get this GPW completed, I have a Dodge WC63 lined up and ready for a complete restoration. Likely, I will post progress on that as well. We'll see how it goes...

 

 

I sure hope you do! I restore vicariously thru you! :D

 

...Kat

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