What to do?

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW modifications, sugestions, and ideas, official MWO's and unofficial WWII field mods NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
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What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Fri Jul 24, 2020 7:38 pm

So I'm trying to decide to either get the L134 going, or replace it with an updated motor and electronics. I got this Jeep free and want a fun play around vehicle. Not restoration, not rock crawler, just reliable fun vehicle to take out on a easy trail, cruise town, and enjoy another Jeep -first is a '03 TJ. So I know it's been converted to 12v, coil is missing, wiring is all jacked up from 50 years on a farm. I'm no mechanic, plenty of buddies that are, just want some advice from guys I'm know have done mods from original and how to do it. Thanks in advance!
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Re: What to do?

Post by Ez8 » Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:14 am

Depending on what engine you put in there, you'll likely need to beef up the suspension and brakes and running gear to handle the additional weight and power of a new engine.

I'm not against modifying the old jeeps to whatever the owner's preference is, but I think that a lot of time a prospective modder jumps in not understanding the full extent of "just an engine upgrade" really means.

You have what appears to be a fairly complete and original jeep, my suggestion would be fix up the L134, see how you like driving the old girl around and then mod from there.
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Re: What to do?

Post by JAB » Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:55 am

Ez8 explained it well. Unless you've done it, you have no idea what it takes to upgrade or update something that is already essentially complete. It's usually easier to fix existing.
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Re: What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Sat Jul 25, 2020 8:48 am

Did I mention, I come from the Jeep community, so understanding mods is not the issue. It's more advice such as "path of least resistance". I'm not talking 350 bigger, maybe newer 4 cyl or 6 at most. I actually was thinking of using my 4.0 from the TJ, as I've got a 4.7 stroker lined up for the end of the year to go in that one. But I know that's a big heavy motor. I've heard many Ford 4 cylinders are good options.

"fix up the L134, see how you like driving the old girl around and then mod from there."
I do appreciate that, she's Delores BTW.

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Re: What to do?

Post by W. Winget » Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:48 am

Least resistance?
Sell the MB, take that money buy an old CJ-5 or Wrangler and beat the crap out of that one.
It will have all the modern HP and braking you want with minor cost, and someone will restore the other vehicle that you were going to "Mod" into something is was never intended to be.
You asked, and the least resistance is to build a modern vehicle with parts that can be sourced locally from scrapyards, craigslist or aftermarket places,
You can even buy a MD Juan repop body and drop it onto your modern vehicle to make it "appear" to be an old MB/GPW cheaper than modding the hell out of an almost 80 year old piece of steel.
IMHO
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Re: What to do?

Post by Adam » Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:26 pm

Yep, sell it and buy something turn key, or put 5-10 k in this. you will have 3 grand in paint wheels and tires alone.


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Re: What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:01 pm

Hmm, not sure where beating the crap out of it came into play? I love that's it's a historical machine, and have every intention of keeping as much of the original steel. I just don't want to deal with 80 year-old year stuff. It's funny how the cost appears to be an issue with you guys, I don't think I said I want the cheapest route."Least resistance" to me is the simplest path, I'm not looking on spending years assuring the screws and handles are "history accurate". But I do intend to use it, without worrying about having to source old, very old, parts. And...If I bought a body and just put on a frame, I have a replica, not a WWII Jeep!

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Re: What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:10 pm

"You can even buy a MD Juan repop body and drop it onto your modern vehicle to make it "appear" to be an old MB/GPW cheaper than modding the hell out of an almost 80 year old piece of steel."
Since you mention MD Juan, as you can see in the pic, my windshield frame was modified by welding it on and removing the curved section. I saw they have a replacement, are they a reputable place or was that sarcasm?

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Re: What to do?

Post by Ez8 » Sat Jul 25, 2020 4:48 pm

Limmkr wrote:
Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:01 pm
But I do intend to use it, without worrying about having to source old, very old, parts. And...If I bought a body and just put on a frame, I have a replica, not a WWII Jeep!
I this is an interesting argument. There's a thought experiment called "the Ship of Theseus" that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains the same object.
The Book of Knowledge wrote: It is supposed that the famous ship sailed by the hero Theseus in a great battle was kept in a harbor as a museum piece, and as the years went by some of the wooden parts began to rot and were replaced by new ones; then, after a century or so, every part had been replaced. The question then is if the "restored" ship is still the same object as the original.

If it is, then suppose the removed pieces were stored in a warehouse, and after the century, technology was developed that cured their rot and enabled them to be reassembled into a ship? Is this "reconstructed" ship the original ship? If it is, then what about the restored ship in the harbor still being the original ship as well?
Is a WW2 jeep with its engine, suspension and brakes replaced still a WW2 jeep? I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

Also, sourcing parts for these jeeps is not difficult. Our benefactor, Ron Fitzpatrick, has all the parts you will ever need to do a full restoration.
Further, in my opinion, MD Juan is a fine supplier of body parts. They have improved greatly over the years.
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Re: What to do?

Post by JAB » Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:33 pm

Thanks for the quick history lesson! I had forgotten that story, but I recall the Reader’s Digest version “Grandpa’s Axe”. I think it goes something like this: “It’s Grandpa’s axe and because of that it’s very valuable to us. Of course over the years we’ve had to replace the head once and the handle twice, but the sentimental value of owning Grandpa’s axe is priceless.” Or something along those lines. But I like the conundrum of the two ships in the Book of Knowledge story better though
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Re: What to do?

Post by Ez8 » Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:46 pm

I should point out that "The Book of Knowledge" is my semi-facetious name for Wikipedia.
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Re: What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:24 pm

I should point out that "The Book of Knowledge" is my semi-facetious name for Wikipedia.
Oh no, now we're getting philosophical!

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Re: What to do?

Post by JAB » Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:58 pm

I went back and re-read the original post to get back on track. "So I'm trying to decide to either get the L134 going, or replace it with an updated motor and electronics. ...............just want some advice from guys I'm know have done mods from original."

I qualify as a "source reference" for you in that I have indeed done both, several times in fact. In that vein I would like to offer my opinion based on my experiences. I originally saw a jeep (any jeep) as a starting point, a canvas on which to "paint" (display) my talents in how I could modify and individualize a jeep to suit specific purposes. After a few projects I thought it'd be fun to get back to basics and restore one to stock condition to see how capable these things really were when they were first designed. That got me to a WWII jeep (a script GPW) as that was the most original I could find and afford. I never looked back. While I do have a 3/4 ton CJ-6 project on the back burner project list, I am currently having so much fun with my MB in stock form that I exceeded my expectations as far as my original perspective. In fact, all summer long my wife has been asking to go for rides in the MB rather than the V6 powered CJ5 because it's "more fun" for both of us. We get a lot of "thumbs ups" in addition to the "jeep wave" rather than the scowl we occasionally got with the 36" tall Super Swamper shod CJ.

That's my humble opinion, both ways, original or modified, have merit, but with a WWII jeep, I'd keep as original as possible to really enjoy it as it was meant to be.
-Jeff

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Re: What to do?

Post by Wolfman » Sun Jul 26, 2020 7:14 am

Farmers !
You gotta love em !!
I have been dealing with them my whole life.
One of my favorite phrases is, "One of the worst things God ever did was give farmers a welder !".
As cobbed up as this is, it looks functional.
Does everything work ??
My opinion.
The least path of resistance would be clean up the mess.
That would get Delores on the road the quickest.
Then the two of you can decide where to go from there.
The two of you work on this together ??
That would be way too cool ! 8)
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Re: What to do?

Post by Limmkr » Sun Jul 26, 2020 9:13 am

Wolfman, nothing works at this point other than the lights come on as soon as I connect the battery! I can turn the fan easily, so she's not locked up. There's no coil and the starter is not connected to anything either. So that's kind of where I was trying to decide to either work through this, or don't even bother and put in something newer. Wednesday new tires coming, Thursday I take it to get inspected for a new VIN, then I'll be able to get a clean title. Then I can move forward.
JAB, my first thought was to remove the bed, but the wife likes the look and so I think that's staying. But I agree, I'd like it to "look" as original as possible. My TJ is really my off-roader, and limited at that.
Really I'd like to find a stripped down method of how to just get the motor running. A few of my mechanic buddies have come over and just say, well, it's a project! I think I need an older guy with more experience!


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