Pete Ashby

I used to run at 35 all round seemed to give best ride and a reasonable tyre life. Pete

New purchase then Hanno Pete

Bit of an oxymoron there Gordon I fear :cool2: Pete

Pure conjecture on my part but would the water tanker be routed differently to avoid the service pipes and taps at the rear ? Pete

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Pete

Having owned 2 weapons carries and a LWB GMC I would say take the weapons carrier, it may be cheaper on the ferry and will turn in a better mpg on the mileage you are likely to clock up. It will also be faster and less tiring to drive over a long distance. Having said that you can't beat a GMC wound up to speed on a long straight French road......happy days Pete

After you check that your pump is functioning a full cooling system flush would be useful. As an aside be very careful if you blow the rad fins through with compressed air it will clean out dust and debris however don't use too much pressure or you may damage the tubes and fins. From what you describe I'm not sure that clogged fins are your problem as this condition would lead to general heating of both top and bottom tanks (assuming the pump is operational) as a result of inefficient heat exchange. As another aside removing a thermostat from a cooling system is never really the answer to a cooling problem it just hides the real issue for a while longer. Pete

Pleased you're got it running now Tim, however if everything is working correctly the lines should not need priming the suction on the pump is more than adequate for that task and can be accomplished by working the hand priming lever (if you have the correct type pump fitted). If you don't have a hand priming lever and are still on 6 volt then you may well not have enough umph in the battery to prime the system through I suppose. When you have a spare moment I would still suggest you check the items I suggested in my previous post as these things have a nasty habit of not going away :-( and letting you down in the most difficult and embarrassing situations I know I've been there :red:) regards Pete

Some questions and some things to check: I'm assuming you'r replacement pump doesn't have a manual priming lever ? Have you checked the seal on your bulk head filter Have you cleaned the filter out (they can get very gummy if left with modern petrol in them) Are you sure that your float needle isn't jammed shut in the seat Did you check that the pump sucked and blew before you fitted it Have you checked the flexi hose below the generator it can perish so all you'll do is suck air Pete

I remember that Robert, it featured in Wheels and Tracks if I remember correctly. Pete

Welcome to HMV good to see another British truck out and about regards Pete

I would hazard a guess most were gone by late 1957 and then a hand full in 1958. Currently I haven't got data on any being released after that however there may have been a few lucking in TA motor pools. The one I'm currently working on was sold off 13th November 1957 this was part of huge 5 day sale at Ruddington for all manner of wheeled vehicles a large number of which jeeps Pete

Thanks for the reply Jim, The reason I was interested in the light colour was that a GPW I'm currently doing has a similar colour on top of post war deep bronze green which is on top of a bright orange ( this is the second jeep I've come across that has been pained the same shade of orange) below this is a darker sand then red oxide base coat. This was a British operated jeep and appears to have been completely paint stripped before the application of a new oxide base coat and then the dark sand there is no evidence of factory OD except under the dash. I must say I fully applaud the decision to keep the jeep as it is a real piece of motoring history. regards Pete

Nice work, I have a bit of a soft spot for 8cwts as I once owned a F8, not a patch on the Humber though in terms of build quality. Pete

Thanks for posting the information Jim, such a rare find these days and equally rare to be able to have the vehicles complete post war history. couple of questions, the light paint on the dash is that light stone do you think or was it added post service ? and do you know the frame number? Pete

Hanno Old Bean !! and you take the rise out of me for for having a little J thing data at my finger tips Pete the Toff PS all good stuff and very interesting, In a previous life the establishment where I was gainfully employed was sited on a war time RAF station and in 1946 it took over not only the infra structure but a lot of the hardware as well, this included several hundred Service push bikes from various manufactures which were still giving sterling service well into the 21st Century sadly most if not all ended their days in the crusher.

Very interested to hear it's history what an excellent find are you going to leave as found or do the full works ? Pete

I'm afraid without looking at the engine in it's entirety ie cylinder bores, pistons,rings, inlet manifold face and block face it really is not possible to be certain what the cause could be as it could be ware or damage to any one or any combination of these components causing the apparent colour difference. Pete

Good afternoon Robert, it is generally accepted that Ford stopped production of their own body by November 1943 using ACM1 bodies from that time as fitted to Willys frames up to the point of introduction of the ACM11 body or ' composite body' in January 1944 this was then used up to the end of production in 1945. The body number on both Ford produced and ACM11 bodies (which is actually a Ford body up to the join in the door well welded onto a ACM1 rear) can be found on the lower front of the scuttle gusset on the driver's side. Regards Pete

Eloquent as ever Clive........ totally agree as most of the piles of rust that sit waiting their turn in both mine and my sons workshops pay testament to.......all I have to do is live to be about 120 and I should have them all finished :nut: Pete

Interesting, so its a post war US inventory thing, like I said learn something every day. Thanks Pete

Have a look on the G503 jeep forum, there is a very good article with photos under GPW and MB technical knowledge forum on testing and repairing 6V gas gauges Pete

You see that's what I love about this obsession you learn something every day, Iv'e never seen one of those plates and I've had 10 jeeps through my hands over the years..... very interesting. It would be worth posting that photo on the G to see if our friends across the pond have ever seen anything like it. Do you know anything of your trucks civilian life ? regards Pete

Your welcome Carleton, I would not pretend to be a guru on jeep production figures but over the years I have collected a number of different sources that enables me to check data, the problem of course is that by far the majority of the information is not from the primary source so anomalies can and do exist. If you are interested I would suggest you go on the G503 forum they are primarily geared to US operated jeeps however there is a real depth of knowledge there on production data. Also one of the best books that I have come across on the market to date is 'The Standardised War Time Jeep 1941 1945 Vol 2' by John Farley (no connection with the author). The Nabholtz private published books vol 1 and 2 are also regarded as probably the best information available however these are now out of print and only very occasionally come up for sale at very high prices. Your current US reg number would appear to be in the correct range for your frame number was it found and copied from the hood do you know? Pete

Looking at production data your frame number would appear to equate to very early January 1943 I would guess at the first week of the New Year however it is so close to change point that it may be a mute point. First if we assume a Dec 42 build date then it was procured under contract W-398-QM-11423 this was amended to contract W-303-Ord-2532 and covered frame numbers.......... MB192501-MB199595...hood Nos USA 20242302-20249396 if this information is accurate you can see the last truck in the batch is 124 units short of yours. These trucks were supplied to USA, Free French and a very small number to South America. If we now look at January 1943 production the contract W-303-Ord-2532 is still current and covers frame numbers.... MB199596-MB205682....... hood Nos USA 20249397-20255483. These trucks were supplied to USA, USSR. 6557 units after yours contract W-303-Ord-2529 was placed and some of this contract was diverted to British forces. All of the above would seem to indicate that your truck was probably a US operated vehicle however as with most records things are not as clear cut and the Brish revived a number of GPW's and MB's that were handed over from US forces already in the UK these trucks were then accepted onto British numbering system yours may possibly have been one of these. The Chilwell List for Willys car 5cwt has the following information:- M4768471-M4771586 British procurement contract SM2275 this was the first delivery of the largest procurement for British operated standard production jeeps, these started to arrive in the UK from May 42 onwards I currently can't find the date for the completion it was fulfilled in 5 stages British 'M' Nos allocated as follows;- 476871-4771586 5534138-5539697 5220001-5221364 4922197-4923996 6128340-6133339 (this last batch is listed as 'reconditioned') 5558376-559875 ( listed as' Ex US forces') I think the short answer is that if you are looking to be as accurate as you can an M 477xxx number is a little early for your jeep my guess.... and it is only that..... is that a late 522xxx or early 553xxx number would be closer or a number out of the 555xxx range on balance I'd go for the 555xxx group. But at the end of the day its your jeep and it's just good to see it in British markings so feel free to do as you wish would be my parting shot :-) Pete