Daily Driver

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the WWII jeep.
gearhead
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Re: Daily Driver

Post by gearhead » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:18 am

Thanks for the links.

Confirms my opinions about general seat belt use.
Defensive driving cannot be replaced by safety devices.

I do not have seat belts in my stock GPW....my F****in choice.
I do have a full frame tied roll cage and belts in my "street" flatfender custom build.
I DO NOT drive highways or heavy off camber off road my GPW.

You get T-boned in a flatfender of any type on the road by a larger/heavier vehicle, you most likely will sustain injury.
Situation awareness counts for a lot. Something many of us in our teens did not think about.
I have had accidents, jeeps , cars and motorcycles, some my fault some not.

Enjoy em, be safe
Ed 8)
54 CJ-3A/B
56 DJ-3A for sale
45 GPW 271022, USMC 46 CJ-2A 2WD"gasser"
50 CJ-V35
58 CJ-3B
57 DJ-3A chassis for sale


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tamnalan
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Re: Daily Driver

Post by tamnalan » Thu Jun 05, 2014 12:57 pm

Wow - hand-drawn pie charts in the U Michigan paper. Personal computers and word processors were not quite ready for prime time in 1984!

To me the issue of seatbelts value in jeeps relates to speed. I prefer not to use seatbelts when off road in 4-low. On the highway at 35 mph or more, I would rather stay with the jeep.

I work on an Air Force base - the guards won't let me through without seat belts so I cobbled something up with a door safety strap and another strap on the rear seat footrest. The belt is mostly for "show".
Alan W. Johnson
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MB, 201453, "Lt Bob"
MB, 1942, not stock
M-100, Sep 1951
MB-TD, Mar 2012
Ford 91C, 1939

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horrocks
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Re: Daily Driver

Post by horrocks » Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:29 am

Hi Marty

No, not me, although the accident took place only 10 miles from where I live. I remember it well.

I rolled a Jeep some years ago when goofing about in a field. The brakes were in need of servicing, and when I tried to pull up from about 30mph she locked up on one side, skidded sideways, hit some soft ground and flipped. I suppose instinctively anticipating what was happening I somehow got myself out from under the steering wheel (I am a typically slightly overweight middle aged man), stood on the seat and jumped, even as I was hurled. I remember clearly seeing the spot where I was going to land, and I knew that I had to get off that spot in a split second when I did so. I rolled over twice, I guess a bit like a parachutist. All this happened in the space of two, three seconds, but I recall it in slow motion, very clearly. The Jeep took to the air and landed on exactly the spot that I had just vacated, upside-down and with the engine still running and the wheels still in drive. It was extremely violent.

Had I been wearing a seat belt, I would have still been in the seat, and would almost certainly have been killed or maimed. The windscreen was locked down on the hood. The damage to the Jeep comprised a flattened steering wheel, a bent column, a shattered and twisted windscreen, and a bent wing. We had her back on her feet and running in a few minutes. The only damage to me was some hurt pride, and the fact that I still wake up in a muck sweat when it replays in my mind.

Make your own judgement about Jeeps and seat belts, but I have already made mine. Seat belts, yes, but only with a rollover cage.

Incidentally, those articles weren't specific about which model of Jeep - they are most likely to have been SUVs with roofs or CJs with cages, in which case, yes, seat belts.
Toby

Willys MB 3/13/42 127415
Willys MB 1/9/45 404620

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Re: Daily Driver

Post by Ralph » Sat Jun 07, 2014 11:19 am

Jeep1942,
Since you asked...I'd advise no,as I would to my son;however,most of us,when we were your age,would not have hesitated....simply put,the stock ww2 jeep is more dangerous than most other vehicles,and more so at night or very early morning.Let us know what you decide.
Ralph


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