New MB is coming home

[wjohn]

I must be bored, having finished the restoration of GPW 204556, I now have another jeep coming to join the motor pool.

The vehicle is Ex- Australian Army, and then went on to serve in the Forestry Commission. She is laid up at the moment, and will need a restoration, though the good thing is that she is fairly complete with combat rims, hood bows, front seats, MB engine, etc etc

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[Ian Fawbert]

Well bought sir! So this is what Julie meant when she said working on the house!!!

I saw that one (so did alot of people i think!). I think you did well- especially as it is so complete (or appears to be).

Please post more pics when you get/once you've gotten up to get her- and if you feel like a few more hours north on your trip, please give me a call and you can come around.

Welcome to the ooh so interesting world of Willys and the MB!- a very different beast to the GPW!

Cheers,
Ian.

[Halsey]

Looks like it has all the small parts that are usually missing! Very cool!

Congrats on finding a new project!!


Chris

[Mark Baker]

Now I have seen it all....

Nice Jeep project WITH Combat Rims, Handles, gas can rack, spare tire goodies...AND Top Bow.AND Top Bow Brackets..

BUT NO TIRES????????

That's a first!!!

[hell-fire]

Good one John, like Ian I had seen it as well & it is a nice Jeep with all the good bits on it.

Just a hint you can save time on the body work by swinging into Simons place on the trip back with it.

Keep us posted.

[wjohn]

John

Simon will defiantly be seeing ( and repairing) the body. I know I'll be up for front and rear floors due to the standard rust problems. That's based on the photos I have seen so far.

I am hoping that the rest of the body will need small repairs, and not major surgery. You can see all the panels are intact and even the steps only have some perforation and a small hole in the driver side wher the axe handle indent is located.

I'll take the wheels off the GPW today and use them for the recovery. There are five combats with the MB.

Based on the engine number, body cues, I think it is mid to late 1944.

[cjv-35]

Sure like that railroad rail as a front bumper bar.That's what I call one HEAVY DUTY bumper.Nice find and best wishes on the restoration.

[hell-fire]

John,

I thought it was a 44 from when I first seen it on the site by the grease gun bracket under the hood, It looks good, body work is easy when we have a guy like Simon & as this one has most of the usually missing bits it will be an easier restoration & easier on the pocket in the long term.

Give me a yell if you need parts, I may have a spare or 2 as mine nears it's "makeover"

[wjohn]

Bryony travelled up to Canberra with me for the pick up of the jeep. a range of photos from today. I put a fresh set of wheels and tires onto her to make the relocation into the trailer a bit easier. I have 4 combats, and 1 CJ rim. 3 look ok, the other is rusty.







1944 stenciled under the red. The hood is original paint, with a coat of red from its time in the Forestry Service.





looks like some work to get a original dash dash into place.



Original hinge, with grounding straps.



The motor is MB, was rebuilt in Dubbo.





Lots of the original parts are in boxes, Trailer socket etc













We will be driving back to Melbourne tomorrow. Toot if you see us..

[Bill M]

Well bought sir! So this is what Julie meant when she said working on the house!!!
Welcome to the ooh so interesting world of Willys and the MB!- a very different beast to the GPW!
Cheers,
Ian.

Ain't that the truth!

Congratulations on your latest acquisition John,
looking forward to the analysis of your new beastie.
cheers
Bill.

[wjohn]

Missing (so far)

Torsion Spring on the drivers side.
All gauges
Rear seat
Rear tool box locks
Rifle Rack
Generator
Regulator
Fuel Filter
Data Plates
Blackout lights
Tail Lights
Light Switch, Dash switches
Blackout Light (fender)
Front Bumper
One Combat Rim

Repair or replace

Inner Windscreen Frame (looks like a lot of rust in the channels
Front Grille (bubba mods)
Floors - Front and rear) Replace.
Hat channels (new is better)

[Dale Jordan]

Good to talk to you yesterday John . She looks good with the wheels on . It will be fun going though all the parts plus getting the cobwebs and dirt out of her , cleaning up some of the parts to put them away . John how does the chassic look ? Dale

[Ian Mastin]

G'day John,

Congrats on your new acquisition and welcome to the Mb club you will me very happy with her!!!! like Ian and John state's I was watch her to, will be interested in the engine and tub numbers.

regards
Ian

[wjohn]

Been a busy week, a trip to Sydney, and a major contract negotiation at work. Still managed to get some jobs done on the MB.

The five rims have been dropped into Colourex to be paint striped, and then they will be off to Newway to be re-spun. with my GPW project, I decided that straight rims was going to be better all round, than rims that had been driven hard over rocks and tree stumps, and were no longer round in shape. Four of the rims are Combats, while the fifth is a GMH trailer rim from WW2.

This morning, I took the five wheels I had mounted on the MB off and returned them to the GPW. the Frame is sitting up on Axle stands for now, while the strip down commences.

The previous owner had re-wired the vehicle with figure 8 white lamp cable. He must have knocked himself out with all the wires of the same colour through most of the vehicle. I have been cutting and removing as much if the old cabling as I can,


Lots of bubba cables



Tidied up and Starter removed

I posted a separate topic on the Rebuild Tag on the Engine. Looks like the engine was rebuilt on 23/8/1956 at P.J. Taylor's facility in Dubbo. P.J Taylor were one of the larger engine rebuild shops operating in NSW after the war. They advertised in the local newspapers for their five different locations. Rebuild Tag

It is just a matter to keep removing the old parts, throwing out the non-correct parts, and saving the originals. I have found a few EC bolts on the firewall that I have saved.



Starting to look better

The front Axles are MB, with a few mods. At some point, the vents on the axles have been replaced with ventilation tubes. The idea was to make it less likely for water to enter the diffs when fords streams etc. The hubs are original, thoughh they are looking at bit worse for wear. I have no idea what the backing plates are going to look like until I drop the axles out from under the chassis.





Nice orange Shock Absorbers!

The Front of the frame has suffered from the Bubba mods. The original bumper is long gone, as are the gussets. A trusty length of I Beam has been fitted in place. Lots of extra steel has been welded on.

[wjohn]

Did a few more jobs, starting to dis-assemble the Steering.



Dirt is extra!



Still has the Ratio Tag fitted



Nice Bumper! There is a Railway looking for a missing piece of track!



Nearly time to lift the engine out of the chassis