42 GPW "Bella"

Create a thread to track the progress of you MB/GPW restoration progress. Previously a General Discussion board.
mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:43 pm

Shes gonna need a bit more work than I thought so I figured I'd try to document it.
Engine- GPA 2977 / 1182111
Frame and data plate- GPW43979
90% of the engine bay was spray painted green, right over all the grime, dirt and debris with zero actual paint prep work. So its flaking off all over revealing a fun history of blue and red from a previous life. The body was bright orange, again hastily spray painted green.

She was having trouble starting when I got her, tracked down a leaky battery, bad grounds, hellacious crack in the manifold, home made ignition wiring harness, and bad gas. Replaced the battery, cleaned up grounds, cleaned up some of the wiring (new harness ordered from ron), cleaned out the carb, fuel pump, and filter, and ordered a replacement exhaust manifold. Also replaced the plugs, wires, condenser, and points for good measure. Untill my new goodies come in, im removing parts to clean up and properly paint to include fenders, grill, radiator, and hood.
I'm enjoying finding proper gpw and f marked parts as I go. Immediate goals are to get her running and stopping. She currently does neither.
Attachments
20201227_214459.jpg
20201227_214245.jpg
20201227_214202.jpg
20201227_214136.jpg
20201227_214100.jpg
20201227_213839.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW


IvorGPW
G-Command Sergeant Major
G-Command Sergeant Major
Posts: 244
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 1:56 pm
Location:

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by IvorGPW » Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:44 pm

That’s a great looking jeep to start with. You’ll have that pup running and stopping in no time. Keep us updated on it.
Tate Christensen
1944 Ford GPW #234613 USMC Radio jeep
1943 Willys MB #263100
1945 Willys CJ2A #10226
1941 Ford GP #9687
1941 Willys MB #100161

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:49 pm

Wiring prior to taking the solenoid out and running it as stock as I can with out the proper harness. Body will eventually need attention, hat channels are rusted out and have been replaced with pieces of angle. Hoping to salvage my intake manifold if I can free the bolts.
Attachments
20201228_184900.jpg
20201228_184547.jpg
20201228_184527.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

htc
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 888
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:15 am
Location: Belgium

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by htc » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:56 pm

Hello

Most of the time you will not be able to free the bolts.
However, you can save the manifold by using helicoils.
Easy ( and fun)

Good luck
Hans
Living in Belgium
MB 379881
GPW 253827

wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2572
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by wc56daveyboy » Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:33 am

I see the remains of blue and orange paint

Interesting. My 44 MB that I rescused out of oklahoma 5 years ago had multiple paint jobs with those colors.

I assumed that the orange was for a civil defense or forestry jeep. Or maybe a local DPW road crew jeep?

The blue I have no idea if it was a municipality or not kinda paint job

It did have on old california plates, however, still on it with last registration in 1972 if I remember
Attachments
742D9E5C-A047-43E8-9ABA-69431D91A5A1.jpeg
722CD68C-3D0D-4F31-92E9-1B3B9528B63E.jpeg
Last edited by wc56daveyboy on Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

wc56daveyboy
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 2572
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 10:54 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by wc56daveyboy » Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:43 am

Sometimes I wished I would have kept that jeep

Under all
That debris was one solid body...not a stitch of thru rust to be found
Attachments
94A82A5F-2739-4D8D-AA2B-999194730FFE.jpeg

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:06 am

Daveyboy i would kill for a rust free original body!

Slow at work today, so I took advantage of the shop and got pieces stripped/sand blasted. Disassembled the headlights and housings for paint as well.

Also went to work on the manifolds. The exhaust manifold broke in half while trying to extract the bolts, not surprising given the crack went almost all the way around the base. 1 out of 4 were successfully extracted, leaving 3 with snapped off heads. I weighed my options and resources and opted to drill and tap. I used the base of the broken manifold and the 1 good bolt hole to line up the others and off I went. Came out pretty good, except 1 corner still got a little close to the edge, not leaving alot of meat. All in all, I think I successfully salvaged the intake manifold.
Attachments
20201229_120523.jpg
20201229_120256.jpg
20201229_115048.jpg
20201229_115016.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

User avatar
zepher11
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 4355
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:37 pm
Location: The Real Northern CalifornIA

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by zepher11 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 10:39 am

Looks like you have a great GPW project there.

Good luck with the upgrades!
Zeph

'42 Script GPW Restoration Thread: CLICK HERE!

'41 Dodge WC16 Restoration Thread: CLICK HERE!

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:30 pm

Had a blown out bolt hole on my grill, and having no sheet metal on hand I decided to fill it with my 110v welder. This was my first time doing this, but Mr. Schillers video on it filled me with confidence the way HGTV makes me think I can reno my house in a weekend. So my ham handed approach went like this. I used a copper battery terminal and vise grips as a backer surface, and little by little filled up the gap. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Obviously needs alot of grinding to smooth it out still. I plan on making a template from the same spot on the other side of the grill to drill the hole.
Attachments
20201229_212013.jpg
20201229_211954.jpg
20201229_211938.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:59 am

While I have a lot of the front end off, I think im going to pull the engine, set the correct timing, clean it up and paint it. I was reading through an old forum post and came across this for the engine.
"Paint color. Think early 1940's.
What else was Ford making then ??
9N tractors.
You guessed it. The gray paint Ford used on their GPW engines was Ford tractor 9N gray.
Not the same as 8N gray which came later. The 8N gray was a lighter shade of gray."

That got me browsing tractor supply's offerings and I came acorss Majic 8-7108-2 Medium Ford Gray Antique Tractor Truck & Implement Enamel Paint. Has anyone used this for a GPW engine? The light gray seemed too light.
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

User avatar
twinflyer17
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1347
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 11:49 am
Location: Washington, D.C.

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by twinflyer17 » Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:22 am

mav1942 wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:59 am
That got me browsing tractor supply's offerings and I came acorss Majic 8-7108-2 Medium Ford Gray Antique Tractor Truck & Implement Enamel Paint. Has anyone used this for a GPW engine? The light gray seemed too light.
I actually used this paint from Autozone and I'm still extremely happy with it: https://www.autozone.com/paint-and-body ... 154729_0_0

I used that on the engine currently installed in my GPW (painted in 2013 and with ~1600 miles on it):

Image

And, I most recently painted my spare engine with the same paint:

Image
Sean

GPW 108175 viewtopic.php?t=267732
DOD 4/14/43 Louisville, KY USA20371070

MVPA
AOPA

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:27 am

That looks really good I like that! I'll check that out. Did you use a primer?
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

User avatar
twinflyer17
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1347
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 11:49 am
Location: Washington, D.C.

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by twinflyer17 » Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:40 am

mav1942 wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:27 am
That looks really good I like that! I'll check that out. Did you use a primer?
Thanks! Nope, no primer. Just made sure to do a good degrease on both before spraying. I wasn't sure how it would hold up, but it's definitely outlasting my expectations. You can see the start of discoloration on the manifold in the first picture - I replaced that last year and resprayed, so in that picture it might only have a couple of hundred miles on it. Eventually, even with high heat paint, it will turn completely white and cloudy looking, FYI.
Sean

GPW 108175 viewtopic.php?t=267732
DOD 4/14/43 Louisville, KY USA20371070

MVPA
AOPA

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:00 am

Got the engine out! 3 out of the 4 small engine mount bolts snapped off, but theyre easily replaceable. Other then that she came out pretty well. Flywheel is not wanting to come off the crank though. While the engine is soaking with degreaser, I can clean up the firewall and engine bay area.
Attachments
20210102_100018.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW

mav1942
G-Staff Sergeant
G-Staff Sergeant
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 am
Location: east coast

Re: 42 GPW "Bella"

Post by mav1942 » Sat Jan 09, 2021 4:00 pm

Popped the head off, and Holy crud batman. Glad I did because that needed to be addressed. Still working my way around the accessories, taking them off one by one to clean, paint and set aside. I find it easier to keep track that way. Gonna take the oil pan off too, im sure the pick up is a mess. Full gasket set coming as well as head studs for reassembly.
Attachments
20210109_195927.jpg
20210109_195911.jpg
20210109_195851.jpg
20210109_195837.jpg
3/8, 2nd Marine Division
42 GPW


Post Reply

Return to “MB GPW Restoration Projects”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests