Bantam Trailer Almost Done

[hell-fire]

I purchased this trailer a couple of years back although the Tub was history it had all the hard to find other bits and a good frame, I went with a Repro' MDJ Tub which was to long and this cost a bomb to put right just needs the wiring and the Data plate fitted, I have all the correct bits for this. The fenders are original but a little beat up but I like them.

As found




Now quick phone photos.

[Chuck Lutz]

I love to see the "Before" an "After" photos and especially when the before is so bad and the after is so stunningly beautiful!

Nice work!

[Bill H.]

John, that is an awesome job you have done. Congratulations!!!

[hell-fire]

Hi Chuck / Bill,

Thank you for the kind words, this is my 2nd trailer restoration and this one is way better than the first, the finishing of this will be stalled for a while as the cold weather has started out here and I am still deciding if I should go with dual tail / stop lights or keep it as pictured like I did with my MB either way I have all the Arrow doors to keep either option until I decide.

I will post up more photos when I get to this stage, I have really enjoyed doing this except for the cost of the tub correction.

Chuck, you have no idea how accurate your estimate on the USA number was.

[Chuck Lutz]

Hey John....

How close? Did you find it on the trailer? I'm very interested to know as it helps me with estimating other trailers!

[storchski]

Looks great John!

[hell-fire]

Nathan,

Thank you for the comments, I got the final couple of bolts drilled for the split pins and then I will look at the wiring.


Chuck I found the exact same number you estimated stamped on the left draw bar both top & bottom after I had them cleaned up, I couldn't believe it, I will try and get a photo for you.

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi John,

Great trailer! Well done on all your hard work and persistence with the tub- I had wondered what happened to this project after seeing the need for corrections a while back!

I wonder if your trailer was a rebuild one sent out here. In the ledgers, just like batches of jeeps which arent new and were second hand/rebuilt, there are batches of mismatched early/late/willys/bantam trailers. I wonder if that is why it had its USA number stamped on it? Regardless, well done Chuck on your estimating too!

Can you please share what that plate is on the front panel next to where the dataplate goes?

Cheers,
Ian.

[Chuck Lutz]

John...that's fantastic! I try to give guys the best possible estimates but hitting it on the head like that is great....that's why I ask guys to check the drawbars and front lip of the tub to look for signs of the serial number or USA number! They do occasionally get lucky!

[hell-fire]

Chuck,

The good thing was I already had the stencil made up before I found the number, it is a wonder you did not hear my yell of delight from where you live.

Ian,

This trailer was 100% all Bantam.

[Chuck Lutz]

Was that you I heard? I thought it sounded pretty excited but with the time difference between here and there it was in the middle of the night (for me anyway!).

That does not happen all the time but I encourage guys who have no data plate to look for stampings that might be the Serial Number or USA number....in Europe the French Army put on its own numbers but perhaps previously the USA or Serial Number were put on there!

Always worth checking! Glad it worked out for you!

PS....you owe me a beer!

[Gary Turman]

John, the trailer looks really great. I'm curious about the repo tub being too long. I plan on buying one for a project of mine. How long ago did you buy it? I will do some research before purchasing. Can you tell me what the total length was before repairing?

[hell-fire]

@ Gary,

My tub was a 1/2 inch to long, I purchased it around 18 months back maybe more but our dealer would not be turning them over as quick at in the US, I would suggest ringing you dealer and get them to guarantee that it is the correct length which is 6', some people said to me they would not have worried about it but as you will see by the photo I just couldn't live with it.

@ Chuck, regarding the beer, no problem, I hope to visit the U.S in the future so I will see what I can do otherwise you will have to come & get it.