Pete Ashby

The turn of the New year saw the start of a new project that has been in storage waiting it's turn in the workshop for far to long and so on a cold misty damp day the Dodge D15T was pulled out of storage and moved into it's new home ready for total strip down, restoration and rebuild. A couple of photos of the move here and in the next installment a bit of background history on the type and of this truck in particular. I apologize for the quality of these first photos however it was a damp misty evening and dusk was fast approaching but I hope they give the general idea and sets the scene. Out of storage ready to move across the yard into the workshop Me on 'Trevor' my trusty M35 tractor doing the business with a solid bar with my son David piloting the D15T into the workshop Pete

A number of people are using Ferret tyres including my old 12 cab Chevrolet C15A however the beads need to be trimmed or the rims turned down ( an option I decided not to take) so I ground out the bead using an abrasive buffing wheel on a drill, a messy and time consuming operation. Pete

Just another thought If your running vacuum windscreen wipers check all the connections are sound, the take off for them is below the throttle plate on the inlet manifold. If you have a problem there it produces a direct air leak into the manifold giving a weak mixture and dropping the inlet manifold depression particularly when you open the throttle plate suddenly on acceleration. The net result of this is two fold obviously a very weak mixture but also the loss of vacuum in the choke tube (result of air getting in below the throttle plate) will give issue with the fast running circuit as naturally aspirated engines rely on the correct vacuum to generate air flow to draw fuel (controlled by air flow via the throttle plate) to operate the fuel circuits correctly. In short air leak into the system as a whole = Pete

Are you running on a Carter or a Solex carb,? Only running on choke could indicate an over lean mixture caused by an air leak (running on choke will give you an over rich mixture to compensate for the leak). As you say you had this problem before you rebuilt the carb start by checking for air leaks around the inlet manifold to block mating face. Get the engine running after a fashion and spray a little WD40 around the inlet manifold joints and the carb to manifold joint, you are looking for a momentary increase in engine speed to indicate the leak or better still attach a vacuum gauge to a point below the throttle plate you should be reading between 17 and 20 inches of Hg at around 800 to 1000 RPM fairly steady. Pete

Just so, like it or not the market is self regulating. A jeep or any other vintage vehicle for that matter is not an essential purchase like food or fuel for example therefore the buyer has a choice to buy or not. The actual value of a 70 to 75 year old vehicle is in reality nothing so the price it sells for is one that the market supports. As ever in antiques world the buyer drives the price not the other way round the seller just follows the trend. I'm old enough to remember that one element that fueled the interest in MV collecting was the cost of veteran cars moved beyond the pocket of most interested people back in the late 60's and early 70s Mv's were cheap scrap price. Pete

To echo Nick above Rex is the man you need to talk to for Dukw spares. If he hasn't got what you need on the shelf he can probably find it for you over 50 years of experience in operating maintaining and fully restoring this particular type he has probably one of the most comprehensive stocks of NoS and reproduction parts in the world. Pete

It all seems a rather a long time ago Nick and at other times when two or three of us meet up it only seems like yesterday. I didn't know you were responsible for encouraging John Carter to hold the Shottesbrook shows they really fired up the imagination of a 16 year old and started a passion that is a strong now as it was then. That's where I first met Pete Gray and joined the MVCG it would be 1972 or 73 from memory, good days when you could still get on your bike and cycle round the local farms and scrap yards looking for Jeeps and find them, my first one was £250 on the road with an MoT and running after a fashion. Pete

Still got all my copies Robert, your right about the adverts they are a real blast from the past, sadly many of the names of both sellers and contributors are no longer with us however the magazines form a real piece of Military vehicle collecting history well worth having just for that. regards to you and Sharon Pete

You could try posting here https://www.facebook.com/groups/859603390775800/ with a couple of photos to see if any more information is forthcoming. You will need to apply to join the group before you can post but you will have no problem being accepted well worth a try. Pete

Excellent work really enjoying this thread, the explanations on how you tackled the various tasks are very informative thanks Pete

Just finished 'Fighting with the Screaming Eagles' Robert M Bowen ISBN 1-85367-465-6 first published 2001 by Greenhill books in the UK and Stackpole books in the US The book is a personal account by a Robert M Bowen a member of the 401st/327th Glider Infantry Regiment and covers his active service from joining and training in the US, subsequent shipment to the UK located at Brock barracks Reading then on through actions in Normandy, Holland and the defense of the Bastogne perimeter where he was wounded and taken prisoner. The book then goes on to describe his experience for the next six months as a PoW. The narrative is fast moving and in incredible detail written very soon after the end of the war using the authors recent memory and letters he sent home to his wife on a daily basis up to the point of capture. I found this book informative, incitefull and thought provoking and would highly recommend it as an alternative perspective to the memoirs produced by various members of the 101st Para troop units. I was left certain that Robert M Bowen deserves a place among the more well known and publicized authors of the subject. Fighting with the Screaming Eagles appears on the usual web sites at a variety of prices, I picked my new copy up from a local antique shop....... an excellent read. Pete

It's not a big deal really, there are some very poor condensers on the market coming in from China the points issue is a bit odd but ties in with a failing condenser it could also be related to an issue with the dwell it's a two minute job with a meter to fix it. Pete

If it came in from the states it's a fair bet that it was from a US contract all indications are that very few jeeps were returned to the US from Europe after the war, all to do with not crashing the US home automotive industry by flooding the market with surplus vehicles. Photos and a bit of description in the restoration forum are always well received if you feel so inclined Pete

Welcome in Smithy is your GPW a British or US contract vehicle? Pete

Looks a tidy Ford GPW, you don't give us a date or frame number, however for your information notice the following small points post war wheel rims Solex WoF carb Replacement fuel pump 6v generator replaced with alternator so presume now 12 volt 6v control box replaced on wing ditto above post war head fitted to the engine additional non original holes in the dash Non original horn Door well snap studs missing Non original horn (should be spartan long trumpet) The plates on the floor may be an indication that there is corrosion issues over the top hat channels ( body u channel strengtheners) under the drivers and passengers floor pans these are filled with wood which gets wet over time and rusts out, a very common issue on original bodies, not a problem to make a nice welded invisible repair and replace the top hat but will require the body to come off and a repaint. All the above with the exception of the floor plates are minor issues if you are happy with how it appears mechanically at the right price it could be for you. Pete

Not so bad as it goes but at the right price, Frame number tag is the wrong design for a jeep purporting to be in that frame number range, from frame number MB 339842 ( June 44 to end of production Sep 45) it should be the larger plate labeled 'Jeep Willys scout car' small point but it indicates that all may not be as it seems. Body has extra holes as well holes that should have fixings and fittings that are missing, The gauge you can see under the bonnet is the oil pressure gauge that is doing not a jot of good in that position where you can't see it at all times and should be in the vacant hole in the lower left of the dash cluster The rest of the gauges with the exception of the ammeter look wrong and are either post war or civilian replacements The dash has extra holes cut into it The hand throttle and choke knobs are in the wrong place The main rotary light switch is missing Ignition switch is wrong it should be a turn switch not keyed. no blackout light switch No door strap loops on the bulkhead Wrong carb it's fitted with a Solex (WoF) should be a Carter WO No rubber seal between the scuttle and the windscreen Addition of free wheeling hubs on the front axle, some people like them but not correct for war time vehicle Non of this is deal breaking but it would need to come at the right price ( and that up to you to decide what that is) and will require work which will include welding shut extra holes the body and anything else that may appear when the paint is removed then a full repaint afterwards and some additional purchases to obtain the correct fittings Pete

Very festive Clive...... Well done that Man ! Regards Pete

Spoilt for choice really, all the usual dealers in the UK have them and most of the French and Dutch outlets as well, do a web search to compare prices although there's not a lot of difference in prices remember to factor in carriage it's a relatively heavy bit of kit to courier any distance. Pete

That file would be interesting to a number of people could you post it here perhaps ? with the usual disclaimer about unknown source Pete

I think you will need edition No4 Hanno if it exists, my copy is edition No3 and has the same upper range limit ie L6277385 Pete

Try either of these companies both are very useful http://sucarb.co.uk/restoration-and-rebuild or http://www.carburettorspecialists.com/ Pete

If it was a genuine Canadian contract vehicle it would be an interesting project even so from what can be seen in your photos and what you have subsequently described £8.5 to £10K max would be ball park figures assuming it is running after a fashion and expect to spend £4 to £8K to bring it up to factory spec assuming you do the work yourself.

Agreed there is something unusual with the body as you note no door studs and also no evidence for location holes on the scuttle for the door strap rings that are missing also no trailer socket on the rear panel either (correct for an early Ford body but I would expect to see it scripted and without the factory welded rear panel gussets on the inside face the after issue kits were bolted) it could have been skinned of course. It's an odd one because if it was a repro body why hack a chunk out of the drivers foot well ? . The angle of the screen doesn't look right either it appear in the photos to sit too far back, common problem and not a deal beaker ,also notice looking again at the photos it has MB front springs again not a serious issue the engine bay will be interesting to see and also the left and right door wells showing the body sides and body brace.

It is always difficult to form an accurate impression form photos but Enignma has given you a pretty fair appraisal from what can be seen it would be useful to see an engine bay shot the frame number would be useful as well. It's interesting to see that there are Canadian contract lashing rings fitted front and rear it if they are original fittings it would be very desirable particualy as it's a Ford the bulk of Canadian contract jeeps were MB's.

Occasionally the combined light/ignition switch unit comes up on ebay they are usually the post war version the difference being one rivet on the face and a plastic bezel on the ignition light otherwise it's exactly the same unit you could also put a wanted add in the for sale/wanted forum here on HMVF Providing you are sure you don't have any shorts to ground on any part of the wiring system you can always hot wire the coil to get the truck running if that is just the object of the exercise ( disconnect the wire from switch to coil and replace it with a wire from the + terminal of the battery directly to the terminal you have just disconnected ie ignition switch side of the coil ) check for a spark at your distributor points and your good to go providing your plug leads are OK of course. If you are unsure about a short to ground on any other wiring runs you may like to disconnect the wires from D+ and A on the rear of the combined switch unit before you connect the battery main cables. Pete