1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

If you have an unrestored WWII jeep, we would like to see pictures, and hear your comments. NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
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70th Division
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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Sat Jan 28, 2023 6:33 pm

JAB wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 6:25 pm
Wow! What a find! It looks more like an old horse trailer right now, but I have no doubts that when you get it done it'll be a perfect bug-out camper! Where do you get the time and energy...and good deals?!
Jeff,

Let me tell you, it was a great deal !!

And will make a beautiful RV trailer in the future.
The interior is wood paneled, so it is a lighter weight trailer hopefully.
Likely from the Army Signal Corps, but might be Army Air Force as the seller said he can see Air force written under the paint.
The cats eyes are 6 volt WW2 style.
Resized_Screenshot_20230127-210150_Facebook(1)(1).jpeg
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It will be a lot of fun building the inside !

The power washer wet media blaster will work wonders on the outside :D :D :D !

There are unit markings under the paint !


PS- All the special tools I need for the rear end rebuild, are on the way !!
Thanks for the tool list !


Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.


Nightstalker86
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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by Nightstalker86 » Sat Jan 28, 2023 8:27 pm

Wow Ray you are very ambitious. That thing will be awesome when it’s done.
Don H
45 GPW
2012 Boss 302
2021 Mach E
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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Sun Jan 29, 2023 3:53 am

Nightstalker86 wrote:
Sat Jan 28, 2023 8:27 pm
Wow Ray you are very ambitious. That thing will be awesome when it’s done.
Thanks Don !!!

I am looking forward to it, I will make a post on it, when I can get to it, after it gets here.

The good thing is that I will clean it out, and can use it right away to store jeep and Dodge parts, that are all over the place in my jeep barn, and gain some room !!
I will make some windows and seal it up weather tight .

Just need to finish the 2 jeeps I am working on right now before really getting into it, but that really is in my wheelhouse, since the original interior is all wood studs and paneling.

How is your jeep doing ?


Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by Tuareg » Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:40 am

That trailer is beautiful and a good piece of history, a very good complement to your jeep or dodge.

Also you can live there if your wife decide there is
too much scrap at home. 🙄😜
Willys MB
DOD 27 july 1942
TUB 63439
CHASIS MB161718
Estimated Hood number very high 20214xxx to very low 20215xxx
Probably 1st Armored Division, Operation Torch, still doing research.
Probably Diplomatic number plate by French Government in Morocco. Still doing research. Any information is welcome!

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by JAB » Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:45 am

Ray,

You can probably sell some of those parts in there (hood, dashboard?, etc.) to offset the purchase price! Mobile storage...exactly the delema I was facing when we moved and built the barn instead. No regrets!
-Jeff

GR8GPN2U!!!

Image

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Sun Jan 29, 2023 7:18 am

tuareg wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:40 am
That trailer is beautiful and a good piece of history, a very good complement to your jeep or dodge.

Also you can live there if your wife decide there is
too much scrap at home. 🙄😜
Hello Tuareg,

Yes it will be a great vintage camper from WW2 !!
No wife yet, so I better get all my scrap and vehicles restored first :shock: !!
Maybe I can find a nice senorita in beautiful Spain someday :D
One time my brother and I talked to a girl from Spain the entire flight back to the USA.
What a nice time, and nice girl, and on KLM, which was nice too !

I am looking forward to getting it here, and worked on.

Another great memory from traveling in Spain, was when in beautiful Toledo, some school girls interviewed me on the street about what I thought about Spain, and I let them know how I thought it was one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and a great travel adventure, as we also camped all around the country.

She asked me about any family connections to Spain, and I told her no, but that my Grandfather fought in the Spanish American War, so
that was my only connection to Spanish history.

She was very surprised to hear that, so I told her about his experience.

She said her professor will appreciate her interview efforts , and such a discovery :D

Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Sun Jan 29, 2023 7:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Sun Jan 29, 2023 7:27 am

JAB wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:45 am
Ray,

You can probably sell some of those parts in there (hood, dashboard?, etc.) to offset the purchase price! Mobile storage...exactly the delema I was facing when we moved and built the barn instead. No regrets!
Hello Jeff,

If those parts arrive with it, that is a great idea, they look maybe Chevy or GMC, 1950's ?
I will see what the seller is planning for them.
Mobile storage is a great thing to have, when you are packed to the gills with parts that have to be protected.
I can right off put hoods, fenders, transmissions, transfer cases, grills, bogey wheels, engines, etc right in there :D :D

Until I get the big barn built this summer !!

This is a nice save of a piece of our WW2 history,which was kept from being scrapped by the seller who obtained it.
I have to give him great credit for making it available for someone to rescue.
Most people would have trashed it out, and the history would have been lost, of an already super rare WW2 trailer !

Here is the G503 link to the only other known example, which I added my pics, so we can keep the 2 known examples together, so when another one is found, it hopefully can be added as well, building a little G503 Signal Corp Trailer data base on them :D
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=256265


I am sure I can retro fit in modern travel trailer items like the propane/electric powered fridges, kitchen, and bathroom with holding tanks.
While making it all a very vintage style camper interior, like a mountain cabin on wheels :D :D .

Like mountain cabins I saw in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains, in Spain !!
What a beautiful place if you ever visit there !


Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:22 pm

Hello,


I finally got the additional efforts and sanding completed !

The pits are gone, and everything has been sanded smooth and blended in.
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It takes a lot of time, but a couple days making the extra effort is well worth while !
All the while preserving every visible factory spot weld along the top and side panels.

If you are going to restore something , do it right !

Here is what some if the typical pitting looks like on our jeeps.
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This has now been eliminated !!

The grill will be painted olive drab tomorrow 😁 !

Once dry, I like to add a few more coats to really protect it for the future.

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by Tuareg » Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:01 am

70th Division, very interesting that your grandfather was in that war against Spain.

That war was as all of them a completely waste of lives. Spain was not in that era the great empire it was for many years, peace and a good agreement was on my opinion the best option. I collect antique fire armas and I have an old Spanish Rolling block in .43 Spanish that participate in that war.

Spain is a very beautiful country, with a very nice weather, specially in Canary Islands, now we are at 18 Celsius.
Willys MB
DOD 27 july 1942
TUB 63439
CHASIS MB161718
Estimated Hood number very high 20214xxx to very low 20215xxx
Probably 1st Armored Division, Operation Torch, still doing research.
Probably Diplomatic number plate by French Government in Morocco. Still doing research. Any information is welcome!

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:53 am

tuareg wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:01 am
70th Division, very interesting that your grandfather was in that war against Spain.

That war was as all of them a completely waste of lives. Spain was not in that era the great empire it was for many years, peace and a good agreement was on my opinion the best option. I collect antique fire armas and I have an old Spanish Rolling block in .43 Spanish that participate in that war.

Spain is a very beautiful country, with a very nice weather, specially in Canary Islands, now we are at 18 Celsius.
Hello Tuareg,

My grandfather was in the US Navy off of Cuba during the War, and was active in the Spanish American War Veterans Association in Boston, many years later.
He worked for Frank Knox, another Spanish American War Veteran, on his newspaper in New Hampshire.
Knox during WW2 became the Secretary of the Navy under Roosevelt.
Wars are never good, and as we see today, many powers that be, are feeding the war in the Ukraine, more and more, instead of looking for ways to end it early.

WW1 was started in a similar way, which eventually led to WW2.


Spain is a most beautiful country, and believe it or not, has many areas that are almost identical the the western USA, in names and in geography !
What a place !!

I love all the Western movies filmed in Spain !!


Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:27 am

Hello,

She is looking good now !!
The first coat of paint is drying in the Florida heat 😀.
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I will let it dry and add more coats.


Most of the instruments needed to rebuild the rear differential, using all nos gears, and new Timken bearings, are on the way !!

Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:39 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 17thAirborne » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:29 am

Looks factory new!
Oz

Feb 43 GPW 98532 USA 20206257
Oct 70 Land Rover Series 2a 25334079G NZ16GF36
http://gpw.castraponere.com/ (My Restoration Page)

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:35 am

17thAirborne wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:29 am
Looks factory new!

Thanks Oz,

She is getting there 😁 !


I can hardly wait to rebuild the leaf spring packs using the Slip Plate graphite paint that you highlighted on your website !!
I have a few more cans here already, and the fun part is that the leaf springs are all in beautiful condition before I start !

I also have a set of nos front Rzeppa axles to replace the very likely worn or damaged ones there now.

I really am looking forward to rebuilding the rear end now, especially with all the great assistance from the G members who have done it before.

Jeff and Adam have really encouraged me to do it!!

If I can figure it out, and I am sure I can, I have many more to do in the future 😀 !

I am glad your brother is showcasing the restoration of his orginal USAF GPW !
That will be a beautiful Jeep when finished , and a very rare variety as far as jeeps go !!



Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:44 am

Hello,

While waiting to paint the grill again, I decided to remove some broken off bolts that were holding the rubber axle bumper to the frame.
Resized_20230130_121214.jpeg
I couldn't weld a nut to them, so did it the old fashioned way.
Resized_20230130_132338.jpeg
Tapped a center punch on the broken bolts, and drilled them.

Then I used the punch to catch the edges , and collapse the threads into the center.


It worked well, then I used a tap to go over the threads to clean out any steel or residue left in them.
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The new EC bolts and bumpers are from JMP, via Ron.
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One more little, but important task completed !

The frame is ready now to blast and make new again 😁.


Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1945 Willys MB Restoration Project

Post by Tuareg » Mon Jan 30, 2023 11:05 am

I edited because I thought mine was different, but i just check my frame and it is ok just need to refill and repair the threads with the tap. I guess 3/8 24
Willys MB
DOD 27 july 1942
TUB 63439
CHASIS MB161718
Estimated Hood number very high 20214xxx to very low 20215xxx
Probably 1st Armored Division, Operation Torch, still doing research.
Probably Diplomatic number plate by French Government in Morocco. Still doing research. Any information is welcome!


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