Johan Willaert Posted June 16, 2013 Share #301 Posted June 16, 2013 I have posted some Normandy pictures on the board... As for the BO light, I believe adding the light was prescribed by a general MWO, regardless of the location of the vehicle, so yours could very well have had it added... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 16, 2013 Share #302 Posted June 16, 2013 I agree with Johan, it was a general MWO, so it could have been added anywhere. Having said that, not all of them had all of the MWO's carried out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #303 Posted June 17, 2013 Had a fairly productive day today. I primarily worked to get the front floor panel installed. However, to procrastinate just a bit longer before getting started, I dealt with the broken hood bolt that I have been ignoring. Had to drill the remaining piece of bolt stuck in the captive nut and rethread. A mundane task, but had to be done. Hole drilled: Threads restored. I think that is the last bolt that I needed to drill and rethread in the tub: With that, I had no alternative than to actually try to figure out how to get that front floor panel in there. Last look with a gaping hole: I hulked the floor panel up there and tried to squeeze it in. I knew I was going to have problems with the two front floor gussets. It was a bit of a rubik’s cube. It became apparent to me that the only way to get it in was to replace it while the rear floor panel is removed. Well, they didn’t teach me that in GPW school as I had already installed the rear floor panel: Plus there were all kinds of other fit issues with the floor panel. I had to make a couple cuts here and a bend here, but overall the panel is a close fit. One can see how the weld tab near the hat channel needs to be cut and bent in line with the balance of the weld tab: Here one can see how the gusset does not allow the flat part of the floor to tuck under the tub portion with the holes. It was sort of a chicken and egg thing. I think if the rear floor panel was out I could have tilted the rear part of the panel down and tucked it over and in: After checking everything for fit and feel, I pulled it and started the task of prepping it for welding. I had to punch a whole lotta holes into the floor panel. I also had to strip all of the primer to clean metal on both the panel and everywhere on the tub where the weld tabs meet. I then painted everything with the last of my weld through primer: Panel prepped: Tub prepped: Here’s a better photo of the problem with the gussets. One can see that it is impossible to get the gusset over the top to the front of the firewall and insert the flat sheet metal of the floor panel inside of the weld tab here: J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #304 Posted June 17, 2013 MORE.... Therefore, after much debate between my let’s go have a beer and think about it voice and my lets knock this thing out voice, I decided to cut the gusset and bend it out of the way: It worked and I was able to get the panel to slide in behind the firewall: Next I had to punch in the weld holes on the rear side of the panel. I couldn’t do this ahead of time as I wasn’t sure where it was going to end up in relation to the rear panel cross member that the front panel is welded to: One area that gave me fits was the weld tab on the sump portion of the floor. To me it seemed bent in the wrong direction as it is in the opposite direction of all of the other weld tabs on the panel. I made a few cuts and bent it quite a bit to get it to seat correctly…well, maybe not correctly: Fitted. I think: Whoohooo…first weld: Some backside welds. They may not be pretty, but they definitely have penetration: Needless to say, there is a lot of welding to be done on this panel: Wow. Almost looks like a Jeep tub again: I ran out of time to complete all of the welding. I will need to tackle little issues like the gap at the firewall. One cannot get vice grips in there. I have an idea that Ithink will work for me: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #305 Posted June 17, 2013 MORE... Felt good to make some progress on the floor panel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted June 17, 2013 Share #306 Posted June 17, 2013 Wow!!!! I need to send you a tub to be restored.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted June 17, 2013 Share #307 Posted June 17, 2013 All I can say after looking at this latest installment is... oy vey! Your tub's looking great, but man, that's a heck of a challenge. Mine's gonna be similar if not worse and it's starting to scare the crap outta me. Mechanical stuff I'm good with... welding? That's a different story. You're definitely an inspiration though, Zeph! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #308 Posted June 17, 2013 Wow!!!! I need to send you a tub to be restored.... Awww...you're too kind Johan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #309 Posted June 17, 2013 All I can say after looking at this latest installment is... oy vey! Your tub's looking great, but man, that's a heck of a challenge. Mine's gonna be similar if not worse and it's starting to scare the crap outta me. Mechanical stuff I'm good with... welding? That's a different story. You're definitely an inspiration though, Zeph! Jon You are about in the same boat when I started this project. I sailed along with the mechnical work, but the tub was always weighing on my mind. I would suggest that you get some 18 gauge sheet metal and maybe some thinner stuff to practice with in your spare time. Run some continuous beads to get an idea in how fast the sheet metal well distort. Practice overlapping and get an idea of the penetration based on the welder's settings. The thinner metal will be good as most of the metal on the tub seems to be thinner where it may have had minor rust. Overall, the hardest part is remaining patient and not rushing. I have warped a few areas here and there. Believe me, you will be happier going slow. You can do it! Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 17, 2013 Share #310 Posted June 17, 2013 That IS good, really. Most of the "restored" MB's and GPW's I see do not look that nice. Is that an MD Juan floor? It looks like it fit without too much trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share #311 Posted June 17, 2013 That IS good, really. Most of the "restored" MB's and GPW's I see do not look that nice. Is that an MD Juan floor? It looks like it fit without too much trouble. Thanks RC! Yes, it is an MD Juan floor. It actually fit in there pretty good for a replacement panel. I'm really happy with it so far. I only wish I had a floor with a sump to compare the weld tab on that part of the floor. Of course, if the tab went the other way it wouldn't allow for welding as it would be sandwiched between the sump and side of the tub. Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted June 20, 2013 Share #312 Posted June 20, 2013 Zeph, You have made some great progress! It looks really nice. You got a lot done in one day. I love looking at your work. ...Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysmb44 Posted June 20, 2013 Share #313 Posted June 20, 2013 I see people looking oover my group's Jeeps and other WW2 vehicles at shows and so many of them go on and on about how easy it is to restore one. I've never gone through what you're dealing with (and frankly, would never want to), but I've watched several long-term MV restorations done by pals of mine and I just want to backhand people who think it's easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share #314 Posted June 21, 2013 Zeph, You have made some great progress! It looks really nice. You got a lot done in one day. I love looking at your work. ...Kat Thanks Kat. It's coming along slowly but surely! I see people looking oover my group's Jeeps and other WW2 vehicles at shows and so many of them go on and on about how easy it is to restore one. I've never gone through what you're dealing with (and frankly, would never want to), but I've watched several long-term MV restorations done by pals of mine and I just want to backhand people who think it's easy! One certainly needs to be resourceful and goal oriented that's for sure. Plus having a wide assortment of tools at one's diposal comes in handy as well. Other than that, Lee, it's a breeze! On another note. I see that you will be at the MVPA event in Portland next month. I'll be sure to stop by and say hello. Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share #315 Posted June 21, 2013 I worked a little more on the front floor panel yesterday. I had to really work the firewall area as it wasn’t a natural fit where the welding needed to be. It took me quite a while to figure out a solution on some of the excess firewall metal. A little cut here, a hammer beating there, and a few bolts and I think I’m done with the firewall section. I still need to weld the sides of the panel to the tub. Here is the gap as I tried to use my hydraulic ram (seen in orange through the hole) to push it toward the firewall. One can see the block of wood I used to prevent distortion of the firewall: This helped for a portion of the floor so that I could make a couple plug welds, but one can see the gap that remained. I didn’t think sheet metal screes would work, so I through bolted it. The first bolt striped, so I had to go a little larger bolt: The stamped contour of the floor didn’t match the original firewall very well on the driver's side. The passenger side was pretty decent...of course it didn't have any bends. I ended up cutting a “V” in the original firewall at the bends and then tapped them down and welded. I actually turned out pretty good: Now to mop up the sides. I did work a little on welding the passenger side of the panel near the step. Looks like I will have a lot of work to figure out how to get the steps to fit properly. The fit of the floor panel is not very good in these areas and it is difficult to close the gap for welding the tab to the tub. Oh well, I'll just keep plugging along. Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 21, 2013 Share #316 Posted June 21, 2013 I see people looking oover my group's Jeeps and other WW2 vehicles at shows and so many of them go on and on about how easy it is to restore one. How about the ones that talk about how cheap they are, you know, since you can still get them in the crate.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 21, 2013 Share #317 Posted June 21, 2013 Zeph, you make that look sooo easy. Hats off to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted June 21, 2013 Share #318 Posted June 21, 2013 Zeph, you make that look sooo easy. Hats off to you! Zeph does make it look easy! I cannot imagine how much time and effort it takes to do all of this work. My Dad always says you can work on boats without cussing. I am sure that goes for jeeps too! Zeph, I love seeing our updates.....Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobrahistorian Posted June 21, 2013 Share #319 Posted June 21, 2013 Zeph, What kind of welding are you doing? I've got experience with stick welding (20+ years ago) and I"m trying to figure out what would get me the best results. Thanks man!Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 21, 2013 Share #320 Posted June 21, 2013 Zeph, What kind of welding are you doing? I've got experience with stick welding (20+ years ago) and I"m trying to figure out what would get me the best results. Thanks man! Jon I'm pretty sure he is using MIG with gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share #321 Posted June 21, 2013 Thanks everyone. RC is correct Jon. Gas shielded mig. I just had to replace my mig gas tank today. I told the guy that I had started welding yeterday and the welds were great and then they went to heck...I couldn figure out why. After awhile he asked if I was welding outside. I told him it was indoors. I asked why he asked and he said the wind can blow the gas away from the weld area. What! I had turned on my fan in the garage to blow the fumes out. That must have been it as it surely couldn't have been me. No more fan to see how it goes! On a side note: They posted a lot of cool WWII color photos today on yahoo from the Normandy area in the summer of 1944. I thought I would post this one as it has a lot of Jeep detail. I blew it up and really checked it out. Outstanding...really had my mind wandering: Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 21, 2013 Share #322 Posted June 21, 2013 Check out the short wire cutter on the PRESS jeep! Yeah that fan is probably the culprit, supposed to use flux-core if windy but it's messy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher11 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share #323 Posted June 21, 2013 We'll have to ask Lee, but evidently those press guys had some really tough necks and only needed to protect the Jeep. I haven't used the flux core due to it being messy as you say. The gas works great for what I am using it for. Zeph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysmb44 Posted June 21, 2013 Share #324 Posted June 21, 2013 Check out the short wire cutter on the PRESS jeep! Wow, what an amazing photo, never seen that before. I'm equally baffled by the short wire cutter. Did anyone else look at the unit markings to the vehicle to the left? Beats me what that is, I would have assumed this was a public relations section but those markings make no sense to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted June 21, 2013 Share #325 Posted June 21, 2013 Wow, what an amazing photo, never seen that before. I'm equally baffled by the short wire cutter. Did anyone else look at the unit markings to the vehicle to the left? Beats me what that is, I would have assumed this was a public relations section but those markings make no sense to me... I was looking at the markings last night, I think it may have been for 15th corps. At least that is the only thing that would fit. Can you tell what that bracket is on the front of the hood of the PRESS jeep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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