1943 GPW 108175

[Cotterpin]

Hey TF. We probably walked past each other 100 X’s at Reading this year. I started going to WWII Weekend in 94 and went every year until 05. I, along with my buddy Craig who has the Pan Am model A Ford, started volunteering in 2000 and became members, unbeknownst to Craig and I, members of the Ladies Society for Victory. (Homefront) and worked the O club and 40’s house until 05 when I left after starting a small hardscape business. Craig and I supplied the wall panels and entire bar for the 40’s house and O club as well as a few things for the French village. I went back for a show in 15 and was asked to get involved again so this past year I re-joined the Victory Society and worked the Homefront again. It was great to get involved again and see some old friends and meet new ones.
I plan on having my GPW there next year but have a few issues I want to iron out. I plan on doing a similar restoration/referb on it seeing how 75 years took it’s toll. It’s an ETO veteran and was brought back to the states by an officer who purchased it for a personal vehicle at a government auction during the occupation.
It’s very solid but dented and I want to save as much of the original Jeep as possible. I like the used look of your Jeep with its little dents/flaws and character. Let’s keep in touch and get together at Reading this coming year.
Tracy.

[twinflyer17]

Hey TF. We probably walked past each other 100 X’s at Reading this year.

Let’s keep in touch and get together at Reading this coming year.
Tracy.

Cotterpin - yes, let's keep in touch! I first went to WWII Weekend in the late 90s and only started going every year in 2016 (GPW has been going since 2017). It's such a great show and I love the fact that everyone there is so interested and passionate about WWII history! The homefront is one of my favorite parts of the show, and my wife and I grab coffee and doughnuts every morning there

Good luck with your GPW and I can't wait to see it next year! Just remember, they require a lot of work and maintenance, but the longer you own one the better you get at working on them I appreciate the compliment about mine, too. I personally love the "original/used" look and honestly, it made the project that much quicker and less stressful without having to worry about straightening all the metal

[Cotterpin]

I bet we ran into each other at some point. John and Robyn have the Salvation Army camp and give out the coffee and donuts. They’re great people and are part of our group. We have a lot of good folks in the Victory Society. I remember walking past and looking at your Jeep this year. It was parked sort of to the right of the Pacific Theater.
Are you and your wife involved in a group?
I’ll send you a PM with my cell and email

[twinflyer17]

It's been awhile so I figured I'd post a short update. Since early summer, I've sporadically had "issues" with how my jeep was running. On and off it felt like it would miss fire, usually when under load going up a hill. I double checked the points gap, spark plug wires, and spark plug gaps - nothing helped. Thanks to a busy personal life in the fall, I ultimately ran out of time to mess with it so the jeep quietly sat in the garage without being touched until December. Over Christmas, I made some other adjustments and decided to take the jeep for a quick rip down my street...which ultimately left me sit. I was able to baby it home but was still scratching my head. I ended up deciding to replace all ignition components in an attempt to resolve the issue. Voila...new points, condenser, and coil solved my issues! Not sure how I didn't think of those things from the start. Oh well. Onto the next thing...for a couple of years I've had a slight delay in engine response upon pressing the accelerator pedal. My assumption was that the accelerator pump needed to be replaced, so I decided to do a complete rebuild. I disassembled, dipped in carb cleaner, and reassembled with new pieces and gaskets. Upon reinstalling, the jeep fired up right away and ran well, but only with 1/2 choke. This caused more head scratching, as I took my time on the rebuild, set the metering rod and float, and swore I had everything back together correctly. After 3 weeks of on and off messing with it, and replacing the diffuser gasket 3 times, I finally reached out to the G. Low and behold, someone indicated that the idle jet in some new rebuild kits is not the correct bore size. After a quick swap of the idle jet, the jeep fired right up and idled perfectly with no choke! Finally, after 6 months of head scratching and wondering, my jeep is good to go and ready for spring! It's currently running better than it has in a long time, so fingers crossed (and knock on wood) it stays this way through this year's driving season

[70th Division]

Hello Sean,

That is great to hear !!
You jeep looks beautiful, and well kept under cover.

It is amazing sometimes how little things create a big effort to figure them out.
My 42 GPW was running good several years ago, but was "agri-rigged" up by a farmer
with a rear pto and hole in the trans hump.
I recently repaired issues, added new fuel filter, new gas lines, tank, etc.
Everything missing was replaced back to spec. New plugs and wires.

Went to start it, knowing it used to run great, turned over, fuel in rebuilt carb, etc.
Nothing !
I was pissed, I didn't keep cranking it, but took time between efforts, 6V battery was
getting weak over time.

I took the rotor out, and put an old French made rotor in from an ex-French
return MB that I haven't even started working on yet . (Rotor from the 1960's)
........ and Voila, it fired up on the first crank over.
I could not believe it, but was very happy !!
I ordered a new rotor from Ron, and put it in.
Runs like a champion !!

I hadn't swapped it because it once worked, but it was a piece of junk !
( It was not an original, but a replacement that someone put in )


Keep us posted on your Jeep adventures !

Best Regards,
Ray

[nick peters]

Hello Sean
Just wanted to say I have enjoyed reading about your project. Good to see you have overcome those issues and that your jeeps runnin fine. Good luck for the future.
regards nick

[twinflyer17]

That is great to hear !!
You jeep looks beautiful, and well kept under cover.

Thanks, Ray! I took the old girl for a cruise yesterday and it ran flawlessly! Idle and acceleration were both nice and smooth and there was plenty of power. I think I may have finally worked out all the bugs I experienced last summer Glad to hear I'm not the only one who has experienced crap parts, though! It's amazing how one little thing can cause such a headache. Glad your jeep is running great now too!

Hello Sean
Just wanted to say I have enjoyed reading about your project. Good to see you have overcome those issues and that your jeeps runnin fine. Good luck for the future.
regards nick

And thanks, Nick! I enjoy reading everyone else's threads, so I always like to share my updates/experiences. Glad you enjoy following along!

[1942 Ford GPW 352nd]

Sean - thanks for sharing your experiences and lessons learned so that others can learn and hopefully, benefit from troubleshooting efforts. Your thread and others, continue to provide incentive that the handwork will eventually pay-off!

[twinflyer17]

Sean - thanks for sharing your experiences and lessons learned so that others can learn and hopefully, benefit from troubleshooting efforts. Your thread and others, continue to provide incentive that the handwork will eventually pay-off!

Thanks, Todd! Hope your restoration is going well and you're finding time to continue making progress!

[44cckw]

Nice looking jeep!..I'm working on gpw 108565 louisville plant

[twinflyer17]

Nice looking jeep!..I'm working on gpw 108565 louisville plant

Thanks! Great to hear of another 43' Louisville jeep in the works! Yours must only be a couple of days younger than mine

[1942 Ford GPW 352nd]

Hello Sean,
I was wondering if you had made any progress on rebuilding your T-84? If so, how is it going?

[twinflyer17]

Hello Sean,
I was wondering if you had made any progress on rebuilding your T-84? If so, how is it going?

Hey Todd,

Not yet, unfortunately. Thanks to COVID I've been stuck in job limbo since mid-March. Not sure if I mentioned the last time we spoke, but I found out on my last day at my 'old' job that I wouldn't be able to start my new job during the mass telework madness. That said, I was able to stay at my old job temporarily, but was told that they couldn't guarantee indefinite full time work, so I've been trying to limit my 'play' spending and pushed my spare tranny/xfer case rebuild to the side for now. I'm slated to start my new job on 16 June, though, so I'm crossing my fingers that actually happens! If it does I'm hoping to tackle the rebuild by mid-summer. I'll certainly keep you posted if I get to mine before you get to yours. It's completely disassembled, cleaned up, painted, and ready for a RFJP order and reassembly

[1942 Ford GPW 352nd]

Hi Sean,
Sorry to hear about the news on your job. Hoping things work out and for a smooth and quick transition with the new job. I'm planning on tackling my T-84 rebuild after I finish rebuilding my TC. Still hoping to achieve my goal prior to YE by getting a rolling chassis together.

Best regards,
Todd

[twinflyer17]

Hi Sean,
Sorry to hear about the news on your job. Hoping things work out and for a smooth and quick transition with the new job. I'm planning on tackling my T-84 rebuild after I finish rebuilding my TC. Still hoping to achieve my goal prior to YE by getting a rolling chassis together.

Best regards,
Todd

Thanks, Todd! I'm hoping for the same and am optimistic that things will be back to normal for me in the coming weeks. If/when that happens, I've already got my RFJP shopping cart full and just need to click 'checkout' I may reach out regarding your TC rebuild...I haven't disassembled mine yet, but planning to start that in the coming weeks, too, if things work out. I'll cross my fingers you don't hit any snags and can achieve your goal this year. It's a great feeling to have a finished, OD rolling chassis sitting in the garage! Also, it's too bad WWII Weekend isn't happening this year. I was hoping to bump into you and your son again! I'm sure it will be a bizarre year for you guys seeing as most, if not all, events are cancelled