Jessie The Jeep

With the tools packed away, I went for a short drive around the village to check the output at different speeds. The maximum voltage was 29.2, but generally around 28.8 volts. Turning the lights on gave a brief 0.2 volt drop before it returned to normal. It took most of the day, but I'm happy it's all up and running again. I'll keep the old parts to be sold with the Jeep in years to come, so who ever buys it has the option of repairing the generator and returning it back to standard.

With everything working and now no need for the original voltage regulator, that was also removed. It was another weighty item that was no longer needed. I then used one of the regulator mounting holes to fit the alternator warning light. This is under the instrument panel, out of general view, down by the passengers feet.

With all the mechanical side of things complete, I connected up the wiring. The warning light and cables weren't mounted until I'd tested the system. When the ignition was turned on, the warning light illuminated and when the engine started, the light went out. All good. With the engine a little above idle, the digital voltmeter ( fitted under the dummy radio in the back ), was showing 28.6 volts.

Fitting the new alternator was fairly straight forwards. Its new support bracket was a direct fit to the engine block mounting holes. However, I knew something wouldn't work out. There wasn't anything to support the starter motor and fuel pipe. The pipe would be free to vibrate against the new mounting bracket if it wasn't supported. I had a piece of suitable steel and made a new bracket for the starter. After bending, the pre-existing holes lined up where I needed them and only needed drilling to a larger diameter.

Since the Jeep is a former French Army radio Jeep, the generator is huge. I couldn't see any of the attachment fittings on the original generator and had to disconnect everything via feel. I almost ruptured something trying to lift it out of the engine bay. The large mounting bracket is still attached to the engine block in the first picture. The rear end of this bracket also supported the back of the starter motor and also had a clamp holding the fuel pipe. The second picture show the generator and mounting brackets removed.

Ongoing Work - April 27th and May 3rd On April the 27th I fixed an oil leak on the oil filter. I noticed oil spread around the engine bay after the York trip, but the oil level hadn't dropped noticeably. It was just weeping slowly from the union on the bottom of the oil filter. The brass fitting was slightly loose in the bottom of the can. I needed to remove the filter to tighten the fitting, as the drain plug was in the way while the bottom hose was connected. On May the 3rd, it was time to replace the generator. Again, during the York trip, I noticed the Jeep voltage was only 25 volts and slowly falling during the trip. Testing a few days later showed that I wasn't getting any power from the generator. Rather than trying to fault find on the generator, I opted for a replacement 24 volt alternator. This would solve another problem with the voltage regulator. For several years, I've had problems with the regulator, getting it to give a consistent voltage. The output would change with temperature and drive duration and on occasions went up to 34 volts. Here's the engine bay before work started.

I think I left somewhere around 15:00 hours, since I had another two hour trip ahead of me. Closer to home, one of the fields that usually has a small lake, had a huge lake, due to the amount of rain we've had since the turn of the year. Since January, if it hasn't been blowing a storm force gale, it's been chucking the Atlantic Ocean on us! I stopped briefly on the way home on the Darlington ring road. Along side the road, there's a brick sculpture of a Gresley A4 Pacific locomotive. February 2024 marked the 85th anniversary of the A4 "Mallard", setting the world speed record for a steam locomotive at 126mph. I got back home at 17:14 hours, rather tired, but having had a grand day out. Further pictures can be found here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2024/crankup.htm

The Crank Up is the Yorkshire Area's first official vehicle event of the year, 'though many members get their vehicles out all year around. What is great about the meet was the variety of vehicles in attendance and that it's free for members of the public to see them all at this location. While the majority of vehicles were Jeeps, there's a good mix of all sorts, both WW2 and Post War. Most people stay until about mid afternoon, before people start to drift away.

The vehicles were parked up mostly on the side towards the castle, due to a number of picnic benches on the opposite side of the green. The large and heavy vehicles like the halftracks and Corbitt wrecker were parked up on the road around the Green. Having the Castle on a mound next to the Green, gave a good vantage point to photograph the whole group. Including motorcycles and a para bike, there were sixty vehicles in attendance. That was a good number, but not the record, which stands at eighty five in 2015.

Yorkshire Military Vehicle Trust Crank Up at York Castle - April 14th It was an early start to the day, setting off from home at 07:50 hours, for the journey south to Tadcaster; the meeting point for the convoy into York. It was a nice bright sunny day, 'though quite breezy. However, the route was quiet and it was a nice drive, cutting through the country lanes to avoid the fast roads. It took about two and a quarter hours to do the seventy seven miles to Tadcaster, where there were already several vehicles of all sizes, parked up, waiting for the start at 10:30. There must have been at least thirty to forty vehicles in the convoy, trundling along at around 30 mph, so it took us around thirty minutes to make the ten and a half mile trip from Tadcaster to the Green at York Castle.

The Sun came back out after lunch, but as the storm moved North, the wind strength picked up to the point where it snapped the flag pole located in front of the ranging building. We packed up around 4pm and for part of the trip home, I was following Bob in the Dodge Command Car.

Hartlepool and Heugh Battery was the scene of a German Naval attack in December 1914, trying to provoke the Royal Navy into sending out ships. They wanted to tackle the superior British forces in small numbers, where they hoped to whittle them away in small engagements. I think new for this year, was a painting of the attacking ships, on the glass of the ranging building. In one of the other buildings, there's a large painting depicting the attack.

There were also several dioramas and equipment displays, both within the courtyard and up on the grass around the gun emplacements. They were in a much more exposed location and I was pleased to be parked where I was!

Heugh Battery - April 6th It was a nice bright morning as I set off to Heugh Battery, for my first event of the year. It was windy as storm Kathleen was slowly moving North up the country. I must have been lucky on my trip as other people set off in rain. I got there early, so there was still lots of setting up going on. I parked up where I was last year, leaving a space for Andy's 9th Air Force Jeep. It clouded over fairly soon after I got there, with quite a strong wind from the sea. Fortunately, the battery courtyard is quite sheltered behind the gun emplacements and a wall around the rear of the side. Around half a dozen vehicles turned up, as some had been put off by the storm forecast.

My Set. 1958 Hotchkiss M201, bought in April 2005. 1944 Dodge WC51, bought in August 2010. It was repainted in September 2021. Lastly, my 1943 Ford GPW, bought in 2012 as a wreck and returned to the road in 2014. All together.

You could strap it under the passenger seat, using the stowage straps under there. Here's my straps.

19 years ago today, the 18th of February 2005, we went up to Scotland for a long weekend break. While there, we also planned to check out a Hotchkiss Jeep for sale at WHB Jeeps. At the time, it wasn't registered and was still in French army three tone camouflage. We placed a deposit before the weekend was out. Before we collected it ( in April ), I'd asked for new roof and seat canvasses to replace the French vinyl and a respray into olive drab. It would then be immediately presentable for the various events planned for the 60th anniversary of VE Day. That was the beginning of Jessie the Jeep.

First Run Out of the Year - February 3rd, 2024 The Dodge hasn't run or moved since the Historic Quay event at the end of September. While it felt mild today, it wasn't warm. As with the Jeep in the morning, I began with a fan heater under the sump to pre-heat the oil. After that, I turned the engine over several times, to get some oil moving around the engine. Once I felt I'd moved enough oil, the carb was primed and I went for the start. Oil pressure was up straight away. I pulled out of the garage and let the Dodge warm up on the drive before going for a drive. There wasn't much fuel in the Dodge, so this drive was only a couple of miles around a lane that loops around the village. I stopped a couple of times for some photos, then returned home and tucked it back up in the garage again. Springtime servicing can wait until the weather warms up.

I took the Jeep for a 5 mile local drive and shot a few photos around the route. I just followed my usual route out of the bottom of the village and to sun set lane. When I got back, it didn't go back in the garage straight away, as I had some work to do on Lynne's Juke. That was parked in the garage out of the wind, for a sensor and electrical plug change. An RAC man managed to mangle the plug during a call out after the sensor failed. Fixing that took until noon, then the Jeep was put away and I had lunch. The Dodge was out in the afternoon, but I'll post that in the Dodge thread.

First Run Out of the Year - February 3rd, 2024 The Dodge hasn't run or moved since the Historic Quay event at the end of September and the Jeep was last out for Remembrance Day. I wanted to get two of the three vehicles on the road to stretch all their joints and splash some oil around the engines. The GPW needs a head gasket change when the weather warms up. While it felt mild today, it wasn't warm, I began with a fan heater under the Jeep sump to pre-heat the oil. After that, I turned the engine over several times with the starting handle, to get some oil moving around the engine. Once I felt I'd moved enough oil, the carb was primed and I went for the start. Oil pressure was up straight away. I pulled out of the garage, locked up and went for a short drive.

This year, for a different look to normal, I tried it with the canvas on, but the back folded up. At almost every show I go to, everyone else has the canvas off and screen down ( because they think it looks cooler, despite the fact that driving a Jeep in any configuration is cool ). I usually have the screen up and canvas on, just to make my Jeep stand out as different. Nothing worse than looking around a show and seeing 20 identical Jeeps, screen down, baseball bat and mit, camo net etc! That was one of the reasons I have the Flying Control look too.

2023 Season Review As we head into mid December, it's time for my annual season review. With salt on the roads and a hacking cough ( a plague brought home from school by my daughter ), I'm probably not going to be out in my green vehicles during the remaining couple of weeks of the year. Normally I post a composition of one or two pictures from each event, but this year I've put them all into a short video. We've done ten public events, nine local runs and the Dodge has done nine sessions of moving materials around the garden for my landscaping and garden railway feature. We also did a couple of weeks around the Normandy beaches and museums in the Summer, but sadly without the vehicles.

An 'A' Frame tow bar. UK towing rules are complicated with regards to 'A' frames and braking, particularly in case of a breakaway.

I took a few more pictures of the Jeep amongst the trees before making my way back home.

From there, I made my way to St Laurence's Church yard, near Hallgarth Manor for the last memorial on my trip.