My Flying Control Jeep - The Ongoing Story

[Jessie The Jeep]

I thought that the Tanfield Railway event in September was the last of the year although I did put both Jeeps on the drive on Remembrance day. I also took "Jessie" for a short drive after a suspected sticking brake shoe, but all seemed well during the drive.

 

A few days ago, I got a call from a friend about a school visit in Durham. Another primary school, so I suspect it is another year 6 class who are learning about WW2 history. The trip is on Thursday, so I'm taking Jessie along to that and also doing a talk about the air war. I've also turned "Jessie" back to a US Jeep, having appeared in RAF markings all year.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

Rosa Street Primary School WW1/WW2 History Day - Nov 15th

In early November, I was asked to attend another school who were learning about World War 1 and WW2 history. It was a surprise and very late in the year, when I thought my season was over. This brought the yearly total to twenty events attended. The school was in Spennymoor, a little South of Durham and about a 45 minute drive from home. It was a bright but cold day. I arrived during morning break and the kids had a good look at the all the vehicles on display. 

When break finished, we went indoors where I dressed up one of the teachers in flying kit, followed by my lecture on the 8th Air Force which took us up to lunchtime. 

The kids ate in shifts while others were back out in the yard to look at the vehicles again. After lunch we went back indoors for a lecture/demo about World War 1 kit and equipment. It was rather chilly outside but an enjoyable day bringing history to life. "Jessie" returned to US markings for this last event of the year, having been in RAF colours since April.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Baz48]

unfortunate that no british built or marked vehicle attended 

[Jessie The Jeep]

1 hour ago, Baz48 said:

..... no british built or marked vehicle ....

There was a British marked Jeep and a military police Land Rover at the end of the row.

[Baz48]

good to hear but not featured in your post hence my previous comment 

[Jessie The Jeep]

They are both next to my Jeep in the first photo!

[Jessie The Jeep]

November 16th - Starter Pinion Gear

Last event on Thursday, first day of winter maintenance on Friday. I had to park "Jessie" the other way around in the garage for the start of the work. This required the spare wheel to be removed so I could get it far enough into the garage while avoiding the trailer tow hitch.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The first job was a sticking starter pinion gear which happened mostly when the Jeep was cold. This meant both batteries out, regulator out and then starter out, down in the bottom of the engine bay. After cleaning the shaft and gear with some petrol, it was dried off and given a very light dusting of WD40. Next came the challenge of putting it back together. When I overhauled the starter last year, it was a challenge to re-assemble, as you need to hold the brushes out of the way of the commutator to get the end cap on. Because of the length of the brush wires, you can only do this from the inside with the cap on!!

I ended up drilling two 1mm diameter holes in the end cap to insert locking pins to hold the brush springs in the open position until the cap was on. After that, the pins could be pulled out, allowing the spring to push the brushes back against the commutator. The motor was tested, and re-fitted and the Jeep test started a few times. Another test was done today with everything cold as this is when the pinion would usually stick.

The starter is a 24 volt Hotchkiss type with built in solenoid.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

November 17th - Wheel Bearings and Brake Shoes

It would have been a squeeze to work on the wheels in the garage next to the other Jeep. As it wasn't too cold outside, put the Jeep on the drive to do the work.

Last winter, I got the rear left wheel off and the hub inspected while doing the bodywork repairs. Time ran out as the season approached and so the other three wheels were put off until today. Each hub was removed, cleaned and re-greased. The brake pedal was pressed, checking that each shoe operated, that there was plenty of thickness left in each show and that there were no leaks.

Tomorrow, I may start on some rust areas on the fender and side of the body near the step.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

November 24th - Fender Repairs Needed

For a while, there's been some growing rust spots on the corner of the right fender. The left one and left side of the tub were worked on last year. Now the right side needed some attention. While the fender was still attached to the Jeep, I took a rotary wire brush to the area to see how bad it was. I then started to look around the rest of the fender and realised there were more areas that needed attention.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

Some of the attaching bolts and earth cable screws were rather stubborn, but all came off without shearing. As I unfastened one of the lower brackets, part of the metal dropped away. It's obviously been broken a long time and it was only the friction of the bolt clamping it in place.  I took a small pin hammer to the fender and started tapping away around the hat channel on the inside. I found a nice hole and a few very thin areas.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The lower part of the hat channel where it attaches to the chassis was a bit moth eaten and the outside of the hat channel is quite rotten and needs work.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

November 27th & 29th - Fender Repairs

The more I looked at the fender, the more rust holes I found. It really needed a new hat channel, but decided to see if I could keep this one going a little longer. The main rot was in the hat channel and flat area next to the battery. I started by cutting out a rectangle from the flat inside skin of the fender behind the hat channel. A new piece of sheet steel was welded in here and the hat channel cut out of the front.

I built up the new channel from three pieces of flat sheet, adding the top first, then the two sides.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The lower part of the hat channel had a piece of metal added to fill the hole above the mounting bolt holes. Weld was then built up over the top to bring the surface flush again. The angle grinder came out next for lots of noise and sparks.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The snapped rear attachment lug was welded back on and there was also rot in the sloping rear face of the fender between the lower and centre bolt holes. There were two one inch cracks, one near the bolt hole that attaches to the step and one on the inner face The other main area of repairs was the outer corner.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

Other than the hat channel, this corner was the other largest area of repairs. There were many holes and very thin areas in the metalwork. The inside face of this corner was cleaned up with the grinder and wire brush. Two pieces of flat sheet  were beaten into a curve to match the curve of the fender and welded to the inside. These pieces gave a firm surface behind the holes which allowed me to build up layers of weld to fill up the holes.

The grinder came out again to bring the surface back to the original shape again. All the areas were given a coat of primer to keep damp away while I work on the surface rust on the bottom of the fender. This is as a result of dirt and grit thrown up from the wheel and chipping away at the paint. Once I've cleaned up all the surface rust under here it will all be primed and repainted.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

December 1st - Fender Repairs

After a good clean up with a rotary wire brush, the underside of the fender was given an under coat of Hammerite smooth as a more impact resistant surface to protect the metalwork from road debris. It was then matted off with a Scotch-Bright pad to key it for the top coat of paint.

Another small hole was found in the hat channel near the mounting bolts, so this was filled with soft solder before being given a skim over of filler.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The corner of the fender was given a skim of P38 filler to even out the surface and after a sand was given a brushed coat of primer, as was the hat channel. This gave an even colour to check the surface finish and see where any further filling was needed.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The outside of the fender was sanded and primed too, and after these pictures were taken, some fine surface filler applied to even out some of the smaller hollows. This will be allowed to harden and then everything will be wet sanded before another sprayed primer coat. I can then decide if it's ready for the top coat.

While my workshop looks like a bomb site, the repairs have gone better than I expected them to and the fender should last a while longer. It could still do with a replacement hat channel, but that can probably be put off for a year or two. The main sheet metalwork of the fender is still in reasonable condition.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

December 3rd - Fender Repairs

After a light sand all over, the fender was given its olive drab top coat of paint. This was done in two stages as I couldn't get to all the surfaces in one go.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

The next step was to clean up all the fixings. all the threads and captive nuts were cleaned up with taps to re-cut the rusted threads. The bolts were all run through a die to clean up their threads. The bolts and washers were all then cleaned back to metal with a rotary wire brush and painted.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

On the Jeep itself, there was lots of surface rust where the fender fitted. All the contact points for the fender and its fittings were cleaned with a wire brush and primed ready for painting.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

December 4th - Fender Repairs

On Tuesday 4th, the remaining bodywork repairs were started. The body between the front pillar and step had rusted, allowing the skin to crack away along most of the length of the step. This was cleaned and welded.

There was also another crack just above the exhaust. The rotary wire brush revealed the crack to be no more than the filler, and the metal below, where a new hat channel had been welded in, was still good. This would just need a new skim of filler.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

After both areas were given a good clean with the wire brush, they were given an undercoat to seal the metal until I could proceed.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep

[Jessie The Jeep]

There was another small spot on the floor where the floor panel had rusted through. A patch was welded in and painted over, leaving it overnight for all the paint to dry. The hat channel under this part of the floor also needs replacing. I'm going to leave that until the spring or summer when I can get the Jeeps out and have more room to work. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep