GPW Help (UPDATE!!)

[Arnold43GPW]

Well, after about 9 months, my GPW is running! I ended up finding an L Head from an old Hobart Generator. I sandblasted the frame and tub, and got fresh paint on it. This GPW had been cut in half (I still have no idea why.. but I suspect that maybe it was scrapped by the military after the war?). This GPW was abandoned, had a seized F head, and had been cut in half. It is not a show winner, but I am so happy that I brought this old Iron Soldier back from the dead.. I will post pictures up soon! Thanks for everything guys!


- Arnold

[W. Winget]

Glad to hear you succeeded, when I started I bought a $2000 jeep, spent $4K on parts it's not pure, but it makes all the shows.
Regarding the generator engine (I'm using one now) did you:
Change intake manifold (larger intake bores on GPW/MB)
Grind down excess bell housing mount bolt holes along the sides which block the timing indicator hole on a T84 bell housing.
Remove the dual pulley set.
Remove the governor setup.
Change starter
Change flywheel (too many teeth)

These are a few of the things to make the Hobart generator (it's a Willys engine) run properly, more were listed under the generator engine section of the G.
Again congrats on the progress.
V/R W Winget

[Arnold43GPW]

Winget,


I did not change out the intake manifold. The generator had been converted to a 12v system, so I ran the starter from it, and it has been working great (my GPW is 12v), and I ran the flywheel and clutch that I had on the F Head that came with my GPW. It runs great, and after changing the points and condenser, the engine purs like a kitten.

[Arnold43GPW]

Im having trouble posting pictures because of the file sizes, I will try to reduce the sizes, and post later. Sorry guys. I was able to post one picture of the frame with the engine in it. Frame was sandblasted, primered and painted. I had to get rid of the ugly farm style bumpers that the GPW had..

[thidisbogus]

Hi Arnold!

I have been off the G for a while but trying to get back on and came across your post. Congratulations on your purchase, and on the progress you have made thus far on your GPW. If you check out my thread in my signature, you will see that I purchased my GPW off of ebay, and had it delivered. I was a novice and didn't know what I was looking at and wound up spending two and a half years of nights and weekends taking it apart and putting it all back together again like you. To me, the most fun part was putting it all back together, and especially when it comes time to stencil it, deciding which army group or unit you want to honor. I settled on 2nd Rangers, since there are so many 82nd/101st jeeps around.

My GPW is also a 1943, from July and from the Dallas plant.

Keep posting photos, as there are many that will learn from your project and it is very gratifying when you discover you helped somebody else along the way.

[Arnold43GPW]

Rodney,


Thank you for your kind words! It was a lot of headaches, trial and error, and money! I am glad that I did it though, although it may have been cheaper to have purchased one that ran. I'm just proud to have brought this old iron soldier back from the grave. I will post more pictures as soon as I figure out how!


Best,


Arnold

[Arnold43GPW]

A few weeks before I mounted my M1919...

[1943Willysgpw]

Looks great. Do you have any in between pictures?

[ghiltgen]

The data plate pictured looks suspicious to me. I see a raised strip in each location where the SN, DOD etc are stamped. I would be concerned that the plates were modified to look like the body has a matching number to the frame. I have never seen a raised strip like that on an original data plate.

[ghiltgen]

I think I got in late on this thread, I was commenting on the orginal data plates posted. Your resto looks top notch!

[Mark Jesic]

Arnold, that is a top class restoration, my congratulations, please show us the end result.

[Arnold43GPW]

Looks great. Do you have any in between pictures?

Thank you! I do, I have pictures of the body and frame after the sandblasting, and the engine before it went in.. I’ll be adding more pictures shortly! Thanks again!

[Arnold43GPW]

I think I got in late on this thread, I was commenting on the orginal data plates posted. Your resto looks top notch!

Thank you for the compliment! As far as the data plates, They had about 4-5 layers of paint on them, each layer was consistent with the paint that was on the GPW, I don’t think it was changed.. also, the GPW had a seized up F Head when I bought it, and the new engine mount covered up the last number on the frame.. I just don’t think that the previous owners cared much (or noticed) the numbers on the tags/frame/engine (I do not have the original engine). Maybe someone did mess with it, I don’t think I’ll ever know. I’ve been trying to find a previous owner, but I’ve had no luck.. I’ve tried Facebook, and contacting the guy I bought it from (he didn’t have the previous owner’s info). Hopefully I can find more info on it, all I know is that it came from the Gonzales/Carmel by the Sea, California Area..

[Arnold43GPW]

Arnold, that is a top class restoration, my congratulations, please show us the end result.

Thank you! I consider it a Motor Pool restoration, but I’m beyond happy with it!

[Arnold43GPW]

Here are few more pictures of the build.. I apologize, many of the files are too big to share..