Wanted: GPW chassis

[Schelvis]

During the restauration of my 8/42 GPW it came up that the chassis is bent beyond repair. So I am looking for a donor chassis.

If you have something, preferably in Europe, please contact me...

Thanks!

[dpcd67]

How bent is bent? I have repaired some pretty bad frames.

[Schelvis]

Pretty nasty and I wonder if a repaired chassis will not always have a weak spot...

[Adam]

Was that repaired by the back of the front spring? Maybe a piece of frame spliced in? I would splice in a new piece of frame from behind the back of the front spring mount. Hows the area under the steering box? Is everything else goog or repairable on that frame?

ADam

[Michael O.]

I would spend the extra time and money making the necessary repairs to that frame, especially if it matches your tub and/or motor.

Splicing in sections as Adam suggested would be the best option...just make sure your measurements are accurate. I'm sure someone there in Europe has sections from a donor frame you could use.

[rjbeamer]

That looks very repairable of course depending your metal skills. Not an un typical type of damage probably due to a leaking battery and radiator coolant combination. Any frame that you get for replacement is most likely going to need repair at least in the front or rear frame horns.

Roger

[Schelvis]

There was a piece of iron welded on the right side of the frame. After removing that, this showed up (you can still see the welds above and below the frame).

It is bend and corroded just above the right spring. I guess this part gets a lot of stress due to the weight of the engine and the points where the leaf spring is attached to the frame.

I was adviced that repairing this will always leave a weak spot. In that case, the best option would be to look for a donor chassis and cut/weld the original serial number back into that frame. Another, more complicated, solution would be to replace the entire right side of the frame by a donor part. I am not to keen on using repro parts, especially for structural parts.

Anyhow I am waitig for a guy, who has experience with this kind of issues, his second opinion. Decision must be made the end of next week to be on track for my own deadline: have a running (not finished) jeep for the War & Peace show this summer...

[Chuck Lutz]

I'm with the others as far as the damage seen in the photo goes....however you would need to check the entire frame for rust-through holes or any rusted THIN sections as they would also need to be repaired.

I'm not familiar with what the replacement frame horns are in Europe so they may not extend back far enough to get back to solid thickness metal to weld to. That would require additional length of new metal.

Do a complete survey of the entire frame and set it on a level rack to see if it is tweeked in any manner from the problem. Checking the height up to the frame in 4 or 5 places along both sides and then seeing if it is twisted and finally from left front to right rear compared to right front to left rear.

You may find loosened rivets and you might find rusted metal that has to be replaced. You need an overall survey to determine if you should spend money on obtaining a section of the frame to replace what we CAN see first!

On the passenger side you need a replacement/donor section from around the spring hanger forward from what I can see....what is the condition of the frame on the drivers side in the same area?
You may need only one side and can re-use the crossmember. After you confirm this is the ony damage and the resto of the frame is structurally intact and not rusted/cracked/broken then look for a donor but I would suggest you also find out if the repop sections can be purchased that go far enough BACK to do a good welding job to attach one to the existing frame.

By the way....if this is a matching numbers GPW....I would repair this frame as you are going to do but if it was not possible to do that, I would find another frame and section out the frame number on the left frame rail and weld it into the left frame rail of the donor frame after cutting out a section to swap in the one with your frame number.

This is called a "repair" and as long as you document the "repair" with photos and do a NICE job on the transplant, that may be a workable solution if your frame is kaput.

[semberae]

Is that your Sherman in the back? How about some pics?

[airborne-53]

Is that your Sherman in the back? How about some pics?

hello
look like an amx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMX-13

olivier

[Schelvis]

Thanks guys for all the advice!

I will go to the workshop and do a final assessment.

If it is only the passenger's side that needs to be replaced, I will hunt for a donor part. I once saw that the left and right side of the frame were offered for sale.
If the frame is twisted and/or other parts are rotten, I will purchase a donor frame.

I don't want to use repro parts for structural repairs.

In case of a complete donor frame, the question will be which frame is the most solid. If the donor frame is more solid then the original one, I will use the donor one as repair with the serial transferred. I don't think it is wise to cut up a better donor frame to repair a rotten frame. Then you end up with a pile of metal and a patched up frame, maybe with weak spots. Anyhow the remaining usable parts of the donor or original frame can be used on their turn as donor parts.

Btw: that is not a Sherman (unfortunately) but a AMX-13 VTT troop carrier.

[Schelvis]

For those who want to know: the chassis will be repaired.

[Michael O.]

Outstanding!

[diamondjim]

have a late 1942 gpw frame for sale that can go either way,fix it or used it for parts #735xx,email me direct for pics jim@cj5.com 609-654-5070 NJ