restoration Just when you thought it was safe another one turns up

[Pete Ashby]

Wings and grill on now things are starting to come together

Years ago a bought a job lot of the Bitumen impregnated cork welting for wings to body, grill to body from Walley Wheatly at Nordian Sevices, I'm down now to my last few rolls but it's the proper stuff and really makes a difference in terms of those irritating squeaks when driving.

To make fitting the welting an easy one man job I do the following, mark out the length required and cut then hold in place and mark the hole positions with a sharp pointed scribe. Take off the vehicle and use the appropriate sized wad punch to cut out the holes now I super glue one side of the welting onto the body or alternately onto the wing or grill, doesn't matter which, make sure the holes line up let it go off for a minute then you can use both hands to fit the wing or grill without any risk of the welting slipping out or getting misaligned.

 

So with a bit of fitting out inside the tub it now looked like this;

 

 

 

[simon king]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]93482[/ATTACH]

 

What are the chances of randomly choosing the same M number?

 

GPW43097 Built 29/6/42 at Chester, Pennsylvania - one of the last script bodied GPWs,

ex 40YH40/M1501912 with signs of airborne use,

ex Eagle has Landed and New Avengers

 

I just picked the number from the list in the Baan/van Meel book

 

Amazing

Edited June 27, 2014 by simon king

[Pete Ashby]

Now that is truly amazing Simon, I think you and I should do the lottery this Saturday !! :wow:, at the end of this blog I'll talk about how I chose the markings for this jeep and it wasn't via the route you arrived at yours.

 

Regards

 

Pete

[Pete Ashby]

I make my own wiring harnesses using cotton covered pvc sheathed wire. These are available from a number of vintage suppliers in a huge range of colours traces and gauges. Get the manual check the wire colour trace number and gauge against the suppliers catalogue then measure the run with a piece of string and add at least a meter extra and make up a shopping list all up it comes to about £75 in 2013 prices.

 

I use soldered terminal rings terminals and correct style rubber tube insulators to replicate the original harness. When Iv'e done vehicles that need a woven loom cover I make up the runs tape the turnouts and leave the turnouts over long and without terminals and send it all away with instructions and drawings to be over braided. Jeeps however have looms that were insulation tape wrapped so I can do the whole job in house. I used to use Lasovic black tape, now I use Self Amalgamating black tape this is magic stuff and every tool box should have a roll, it has a world of 'get you home' uses Google it if you've never come across it.

 

Back to the jeep, doing the wiring is always a pleasant task you can sit down at the bench with a mug of tea and the radio and soldering iron on and just pootle on. I incorporate indicator feeds into the harness as I go so nothing shows. I convert the blackout lights at the front and rear to indicators and the switch I hide under the drivers hip pad. The relay light goes into the body gusset upright by the drives left leg, bit fiddly but I like it as unless you really look for it nothing shows. Side lights are in the head light lens, I use head light lenses that have the glass integral to the lens and take standard fittings for head light bulbs and plug in side light bulbs the glass is very similar to the original sealed beam units and the whole thing fits perfectly into the original head light bucket. The different sized woven tar impregnated over sheafing can be bought by the meter again from vintage wiring suppliers for not a lot of money and makes a nice finish around the headlights and tail lights. Correct gauge battery cable for 6v (gauge 0 ) comes from the same supplies by the meter it's PVC covered but I over cover this with the woven tar sheaf so it looks like the original then I solder on the terminals.

 

OK so wiring is done and installed and all working and all the dash instruments are in I had to replace the speedo so chose to use one of the very good reproduction ones on the market. I fitted the second type long needle version which would be correct for the frame date but wrong for the body. I'm happy with this as it keeps the theme of mix and match from a wartime rebuild.......and for no other reason than I like the look of the long needle speedo:-)

 

 

The windscreen was fitted this is a repro of the later pattern with rifle holder brackets but an original inner, it took a bit of tweaking to get it to sit right and fit the hood correctly but it came good in the end.

 

And now it looked like this;

 

 

[Pete Ashby]

Here are some close ups of the head lights I was talking about in the previous post, not exactly right for the original sealed beam glass pattern but near enough I think so as not to look out of place.

 

 

here is the rear light conversion for indicators, this is a common conversion that a lot of people use for US tail lights and I think it works well both in looks and functionality. I convert in the inside of the light housings to take bulbs and I will be experimenting with LED clusters when I find time, I know some people on here have done this already but I've not tried it yet so will be interested to see how they perform.

 

 

Here is a couple of close ups of the installed wiring.....not much to see really on a jeep

 

 

 

The shielded lighting loom harness along the wing is from expandable nylon over sheaf available in a range of sizes I spray it sliver and Bobs your uncle.

[Pete Ashby]

Time to bolt back on a few detail parts;

 

this is a close up of the trailer socket the jeep came in with this fitted, it's a late war or possibly just post war version with a Bakelite end cap I believe the early war version was a brass cap (see a thread on HMVF by David Belcher). The convoy light switch is a NoS item that I've had tucked away for just such an occasion, the mounting holes lined up exactly with the holes drilled in the cross member. The number plate light is post war but does not look out of place.

 

 

Here is the convoy light again the jeep arrived with this in place. The light shield is not original and appears to have been locally fabricated but the bracket and light holder are correct.

 

 

These are the data plates I commissioned from Dataplates4u.com these are excellent reproductions using the correct style of stamping font, data information presentation and plate material depending on the month and year of production very highly recommended. I chose to use the frame and most of the running gear DoD for my plate details so correct for them but wrong for the body but consistent with a British army rebuild scenario in late 43 early 44.

 

[Pete Ashby]

The build was completed and it was time to start thinking about markings.

During the restoration it had become clear that this vehicle had been operated by the British so I wanted to reflect that with the new markings. Some research turned up the following: Ford frame No 14768 was produced between the 8th and 10th of April 1942 possibly in the Louisville Ford plant either at the end of the first contract or start of the second. 725 of these GPW’s were withdrawn from issue to US forces and diverted to the British and sent to the UK along with 175 MB’s. The GPW’s were given the census numbers M4938144-M4938868. Rubbing down the bonnet I found the remains of a census numbers on both sides on top of the OD, the left hand side clearly started with an M but no other numbers were clear enough to be sure of, on the right side again the prefix M then nothing to be sure of and then clearly at the end of the bonnet the numbers 625. So given the frame number and the above information I decided to mark the jeep with census number M4938625

 

 

And that Simon is how I came up with the number so how did you arrive at yours ?

Is it the correct number for the vehicle?... no way of telling….Deepcut did not have a record card for 24-YH-46 so the evidence is at best circumstantial but it just might just be part of those 725 units diverted to the British… I like to think so.

Another discovery was on the grill apron inside the engine bay the remains of ‘antifreeze’ stencil was uncovered along with the numbers 10.43 which I took to be the date so this went back on after re-painting.

 

 

The unit markings are for the 1st Battalion Suffolk Regiment 3rd Infantry Division

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

To finish a few shots taken 72 years to the week after this GPW rolled off the line.

400 miles on the clock now and so far no issues, the tappets on No1 are a bit noisier than I'd like but they can wait until we get 500 miles on the clock.

 

 

 

 

[Hoseman]

To finish a few shots taken 72 years to the week after this GPW rolled off the line.

400 miles on the clock now and so far no issues, the tappets on No1 are a bit noisier than I'd like but they can wait until we get 500 miles on the clock.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]93549[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]93548[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]93547[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]93546[/ATTACH]

She's a beauty and a credit to you sir. Truly a lovely machine. Excellent read and info. Thanks for sharing . . .til the next one!!! Lol

[simon king]

 

And that Simon is how I came up with the number so how did you arrive at yours ?

 

 

 

Pete - Have to say that it was virtually at random. No more, no less. It was a number that seemed appropriate for the month and year of the jeep, bsed on pictures in the Farley and Birch books. There was no evidence of any markings during the stripdown other than the overpainted US Rangers lozenge on the windscreen apron applied for "The Eagle has Landed" Didn't leave army service till 1960.

 

The LHS front wing had the square base of a rifle clip and the transmission tunnel was drilled for the relocated jerrycan holder placed between the front seats, suggesting airborne use. The back panel had been cut out at some time. The whole body was randomly peppered with steel discs which had been welded into holes cut out with a tank cutter.

 

I knew that 40YH40 had formerly been M1501912 but the correct census nunber would have been applied to the rebuilt jeep with it's airborne modifications so I went for a more contemporary number

 

The jeep has been restored a couple of times over the 30 or so years I've owned it but it's always been presented as a jeep of HQ Squadron of 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry. The markings were researched with members of the OCA who showed picture to the CO, Pierce Serocold who'se comment was " I didn't know anybody took a colour photo of my jeep during the war" - so must have done something right.

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by simon king

[Pete Ashby]

Very nice jeep Simon it's obvious she's well loved and cared for just looking at your photos I can see a number of similar features to mine which are of British origin. Your jeep must have been one of the last out of service at 1960 mine was sold of in November 1957, very nice to see you kept the script body, as you have seen sadly mine got lost along the way somewhere. I did initially toy with the idea of putting a repro script body on however the composite ACM2 tub was so good and formed part of the vehicles history so in the end it was a no brainier. I have tried to present the jeep in a form that it may have appeared in the early spring of 1944 after a class 1 British rebuild ready for the invasion but before the field order to apply invasion markings was issued.

 

As for the coincidence of our identical census numbers..........what can I say........perhaps some one on here can do the maths at the chance of this happening when two people who have never met or seen each others vehicles arrive at exactly the same seven number set using different principles.... you and I should really dot he lottery together

 

Regards

 

Pete

[simon king]

Thanks Pete - it's nice to see British jeeps with a known history and yours must be one of the best.

 

Sadly the back panel is a repop as the whole back had been cut out at some time. I'd like to think it was done in service which with the sand paint found could suggest it was one of the 6 that the paras adapted to carry 106mm recoilless rifles at Suez - but perhaps that's way too circumstantial.

 

2DY got 4 10cwt trailers on 19/5/44 to "tow behind jeeps" and a further 7 on 22/5/44. I'm restoring an SS Cars built 10cwt GS trailer at the moment and it will be painted (at virtual random again) as X5392696. You will let me know if you find a trailer wont you! Robert at dataplate4U is currently making the plate.

 

If the two M4398625's ever meet at a show I owe you a pint - I bet when you titled this thread you never guessed how prescient it was going to be.

 

sk

Edited June 29, 2014 by simon king

[wally dugan]

PETE l have enjoyed watching 24 YH 46 being restored thank you for that HOW ever l was surprised that you said DEEPCUT had no record of this jeep when l collected the key cards a list was compiled of the postwar numbers GIVEN TO WARTIME B VEHICLES that we had these were titled KEY CARD No 2 not to be confused with the KEY CARD FORM 419B

Which relate to vehicles that came into service after 1950 as you can see from 09 YH 21 TO 99 YH 99 the attached list all numbers for jeeps in the YH range were present when the list was updated in 2002 at a Beverley so at least a reference to your jeep would be in the documents at that time if any were missing it would have been noted AND if it arrived after the listed had been updated a note in ink would be made so the next time it was up dated it will have been included in the new list

 

regards wally

[Pete Ashby]

PETE l have enjoyed watching 24 YH 46 being restored thank you for that HOW ever l was surprised that you said DEEPCUT had no record of this jeep when l collected the key cards a list was compiled of the postwar numbers GIVEN TO WARTIME B VEHICLES that we had these were titled KEY CARD No 2 not to be confused with the KEY CARD FORM 419B

Which relate to vehicles that came into service after 1950 as you can see from 09 YH 21 TO 99 YH 99 the attached list all numbers for jeeps in the YH range were present when the list was updated in 2002 at a Beverley so at least a reference to your jeep would be in the documents at that time if any were missing it would have been noted AND if it arrived after the listed had been updated a note in ink would be made so the next time it was up dated it will have been included in the new list

 

regards wally

 

Thank you Wally I'm pleased you enjoyed the blog.

Regarding the key card, I sent my £25 and a covering letter to Deepcut in August 2013 and heard nothing from them......not a problem as others on this forum have commented on the time taken to get a return by the time it got to Feb this year I thought I might give them a prod so phoned up and after being passed around several people was told that if they had not responded then no record existed, again not too surprised as I know from other research that war time records can be a bit hit and miss and indeed Deepcut warn of this possibility on their non refundable fee so I put it down to worth a try but bad luck.

 

Regards

 

Pete

[Pete Ashby]

She's a beauty and a credit to you sir. Truly a lovely machine. Excellent read and info. Thanks for sharing . . .til the next one!!! Lol

 

Thank you Hoseman much appreciated, actually you are nearer the truth than you may think with your last comment , if you look closely in some of the photos you will see another jeep body stacked on it's side in the workshop the rest of it is in the another barn. This is slat grill MB frame No 720 build date second week of November 1941 this belongs to my son David who is currently collecting parts from all over the world before he starts on it.

 

regards

 

Pete

Edited June 29, 2014 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Thank you Wally I'm pleased you enjoyed the blog.

Regarding the key card, I sent my £25 and a covering letter to Deepcut in August 2013 and heard nothing from them......not a problem as others on this forum have commented on the time taken to get a return by the time it got to Feb this year I thought I might give them a prod so phoned up and after being passed around several people was told that if they had not responded then no record existed, again not too surprised as I know from other research that war time records can be a bit hit and miss and indeed Deepcut warn of this possibility on their non refundable fee so I put it down to worth a try but bad luck.

 

Regards

 

Pete

 

There is a post script to this story, after nearly two years and thanks to the persistent efforts of Nick Thomas at WW2 Jeeps rebuilt by the British Army (Face Book page), a key card for my GPW has now been found in the Deepcut records.

 

The surprise was that it was a Canadian issue vehicle before being rebuild by the British and issued a rebuild number of M1502269.

 

Another detail worth noting is that the vehicle was struck off charge on the 6th November 1957 and sold on the 13th November 1957 so it appears jeeps didn't hang around very long in those days either.

 

Here's a copy of the key card that holds the details of my jeep (position marked with the yellow dots)

 

Pete

 

[steviem]

Amazing work, i have a lot to learn.

[Pete Ashby]

53 minutes ago, steviem said:

Amazing work, i have a lot to learn.

 

It's all fairly straight forward stuff,  read your manuals take note of the tolerance specs for bushes and bearings and don't be tempted to cut corners on the mechanical work it will only come back to bite at a later date.

If you haven't found this site already it would be worth having a look and putting it in your favorites folder there is a huge repository of knowledge from around the world of Jeeps here https://forums.g503.com/ some of the posts need a bit of filtering but it's well worth looking through the technical section particularity the engine and transmission rebuilding blogs that have been pinned at the top of the forum.

Look forward to following your restoration blog 

Pete 

 

 

[steviem]

Can you recommend  a good manual to purchase please.

[Pete Ashby]

3 hours ago, steviem said:

Can you recommend  a good manual to purchase please.

The Complete WW2 Military Jeep Manual ISBN 9781855201217 Pub by Brooklands Books,  this will give you everything you need it's a reprint of all the original war time TM's for the jeep.

Just be warned when rebuilding the engine the instructions for fitting the con rods to the crank are wrong this was not corrected until after the war.  To read about the correct assembly and the reasons why the war time TM is wrong do a search on the G503 forum( I sent the link earlier to you).

Pete