1943 MB 213301

If you have an unrestored WWII jeep, we would like to see pictures, and hear your comments. NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
Mark Jesic
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Mark Jesic » Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:36 am

You know youre nearly there when the stencils go on. Well done Beers. :D


Beers
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:18 am

Ez8 wrote:
Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:51 am
Beautiful work, Beers. I can only aspire to the attention to detail and high craftsmanship of your work.
Mark Jesic wrote:
Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:36 am
You know youre nearly there when the stencils go on. Well done Beers. :D
Thanks guys! Now on to getting the charging system set up, have had this operating just on the battery since I got it running.

Hey Ez8, our MB’s were stablemates, built in the same week, maybe they were sitting in the lineup together waiting for crating or transport?
1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Ralph » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:02 am

Paul,it looks great.Robert's stencils made what was a unique font easy for us to use, and I for one cannot know how they could be any better.
Your MB is in the benchmark category.Now get that Amp gauge moving into + :mrgreen:
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Thu Aug 22, 2019 6:04 am

Totally agree Ralph, those stencils are pretty much perfect in my opinion!

I cobbled together some parts on a 2X regulator, cleaned it up and painted, sanded the points, but still no charging so need to do some further diagnosis. Had the generator checked out by an old time shop a year ago and they said all good, but I’ll start from scratch on tracing the problem. No movement on that amp gauge as of now :(

I did do some work on the windshield and acid etched an LOF mark on each pain of glass. Ron didn’t have the stencil so picked up one from Kaiser-Willys. Pretty straight forward to use, I like the way it came out. I don’t have original glass but my guess is these panes have been in here for decades so just reused them.

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1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Sat Aug 22, 2020 4:47 pm

Been way too long since I’ve updated this, a year to be exact! Had a couple of items that took a long time to get sorted out, the generator and the speedometer.

I wrestled with the generator for a couple months, could never get it to produce more than just a fraction of a volt and it was pretty rough inside. Eventually decided to send it to RFJP to be rebuilt - they found out that not only were the field coils in rough shape but the armature was toast. Scott found an NOS one for just a little more than having mine rewired, so I went with that. Got it back, installed and it works like a dream. Nice to finally not have to charge the battery back up after every time I start it or drive it!

Also refinished my VR using the VHT wrinkle paint. Wasn’t able to sneak it into the oven while my wife was out, but ended up using a propane torch, circling around it at enough distance to get it heated up but not burn anything. Actually worked better than expected. I don’t think this wrinkle paint is an exact 100% match but it looks close and comes out really nice.

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I have the correct Motometer long needle speedometer for this early ‘43, but it didn’t work so sent it to Abbott Instruments in Oregon to be rebuilt. They did a great job, came out perfect. Unfortunately, they aren’t cheap (and this speedometer was toast, as was the back up one I also sent them for parts), and with the waiting time it took about seven months to get it back. But quality is worth the wait, especially since it’s getting harder to find shops that work on these.

Here it is installed, note that they didn’t redo the face, they just cleaned up (with the exception of painting over the two radium ticks at 10 and 20).

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Also redid my horn. Never did figure out what brand this was, but it looked like it had been on this jeep forever, and knowing the history of this jeep with one family owning it almost the entire time since they bought it from the military auction, I wonder if it wasn’t a replacement installed by the military.


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1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:32 pm

Also painted the stars, using the stencils from Robert DeRuyter.

Jeep fully operational now, just need to finish up a couple pieces like the spare tire and top.

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1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

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horrocks
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by horrocks » Sun Aug 23, 2020 3:11 am

Very nice indeed.
Toby

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by zepher11 » Sun Aug 23, 2020 5:39 am

Wow! Your '43 MB looks outstanding. Great work and attention to detail. Congratulation on a fantastic restoration! 8)
Zeph

'42 Script GPW Restoration Thread: CLICK HERE!

'41 Dodge WC16 Restoration Thread: CLICK HERE!

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Ralph » Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:30 am

Finishing up as expected...quality work start to completion.Thanks for these pics, you did a swell job and brought another one of our little jewels back to life.Well done,Paul.
Ralph

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:02 am

Thanks guys, really appreciate the comments!

It feels great to have finally got this veteran back in fighting trim, to be around for the next 77 years! :D
1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

irakli
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by irakli » Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:01 am

Finishing of the long restoration project is nice, but at the same time a bit sad to me, as I do not want to overrestore it. I am trying to substitute joy of making the Jeep back to the factory condition with driving it.
1944 Willys MB
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by conrod6 » Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:53 am

Nice job.

Barrie
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Wed Aug 26, 2020 5:21 am

Thanks Barrie!

And I like your point Irakli, you want to get it back from Bubba’s six coats of orange and blue paint, with all sorts of odd modifications, to at least something that shows its true nature and origin - as one of the pivotal military vehicles of the greatest conflict in world history. And there’s nothing quite like the sound of a flathead-4 in a Jeep going down the road :mrgreen:
1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43

Mark Jesic
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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Mark Jesic » Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:37 am

Full credit to you Beers, that looks fantastic, and well worth the wait. :D

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Re: 1943 MB 213301

Post by Beers » Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:11 am

Thank you Mark! And we all know these restorations never end :D :D :D
1943 MB 213301 DOD 2-22-43


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