Iowa Willys MB 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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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by 70th Division » Sun May 27, 2018 8:06 am

Hello Charlie,

If you could get a picture of your passenger side body gusset that is mentioned on the last page, regarding
a clip that is mounted there on the front facing edge ?

That would be great to see if you have anything mounted there, as a British detail.
It could solve yet another mystery for the British Jeep owners and restorers :D :D :D

Madcolars has a clip there and I had one mounted on my British jeep as well.

None of my US jeeps have a clip mounted there, but they do have a hole drilled.


Best Regards,

Ray


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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by CharlieGPW » Mon May 28, 2018 12:00 pm

Hope these help...
Attachments
gusset.jpg
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engine B.jpg
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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 pm

Hello Charlie,

Great action photo there !
It appears that the British mounted the fuel line to the gusset.

That must have been done during a refit of the jeep, as originally the lines were attached to the fender ,
but, this makes 3 British jeeps that have had the fuel line mounted there !!!!

Very interesting, certainly makes removing the fender much easier not having the line attached there !

Thanks !!

Best Regards,

Ray

PS- Are there any Base Shop Codes on that data plate on your engine , maybe telling where it was overhauled ?

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by CharlieGPW » Tue Jun 05, 2018 1:29 am

Hi,

Rich asked for dimensions of the British reg plate so I thought I'd post here as they may be useful to others:

Both front and rear are the same size, it's just a simple bit of sheet metal. Lettering is approx. 3.5 inches in height.
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Length.jpg
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height.jpg
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Rear plate.jpg
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CharlieGPW
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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by CharlieGPW » Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:28 am

70th Division wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 pm

PS- Are there any Base Shop Codes on that data plate on your engine , maybe telling where it was overhauled ?
The engine plate tells us is that it was reconditioned by 23 Base Workshops, REME July 53, Which is about the same time as when the Jeep was rebuilt.

http://baor-locations.org/23BaseWorkshop.aspx.html

So basically this Jeep and Rich's ( MadCoLars ) were rebuilt at the roughly the same time in Germany in 1953.

Regards
Charlie

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by MadCoLars » Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:00 pm

Thanks for the photos Charlie! Very helpful information and I will use this as a reference for making some future updates.

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by MadCoLars » Mon Jun 11, 2018 5:29 am

Getting the Willys started has been a bit of a challenge. Hard to get the motor to turn over with the starter. Foot switch was found to be the culprit. Going to replace it with a quality replacement unit. Wish I would have done this before the engine was installed! Next issue was no spark. Based on information on the G503 site I verified ignition coil operation which checked out OK. Moved on to the distributor and found that I wasn't getting a ground as the negative side of the coil always had voltage. Issue there was dirty contacts on the points. Cleaned those and now have spark. Need to double check timing and will hopefully have it running sometime this week.

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by MadCoLars » Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:36 am

Tracked down a bit more history on the Willys. Was issued a North Dakota title in August of 1979. The Owner moved to central Iowa at some point and Dad bought it in January of 1983 with 4,812 miles on it for $900. It now has 4,969 miles. Only drove 157 miles before it sat for a couple decades. Would love to figure out where it was between 1961 and 1979 and how it got to the states. Will make a few more calls to see what I can track down.

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by CharlieGPW » Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:45 am

MadCoLars wrote:
Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:36 am
Tracked down a bit more history on the Willys. Was issued a North Dakota title in August of 1979. The Owner moved to central Iowa at some point and Dad bought it in January of 1983 with 4,812 miles on it for $900. It now has 4,969 miles. Only drove 157 miles before it sat for a couple decades. Would love to figure out where it was between 1961 and 1979 and how it got to the states. Will make a few more calls to see what I can track down.
I can almost guarantee that it came to the US with mine, they are too similar for it to be a coincidence...this is what Jim M found out about 81YH05

From Jim...
Also do you know how it ever came to be in the US?
Imported in the early to mid 1960’s. There is a man in Wisconsin with a JEEP out of the same surplus lot (he restored his). I bought it from an old couple in Ohio. They had five to choose from and picked 158029 because it is essentially NOS. Interestingly enough, the man that had five British JEEPS, name was Adolf! Crazy huh? Adolph’s son removed the brass tag from the dash board. I inquired about the family to see if I could track it down but they are no more.

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:33 am

Hello Madcolors,

Any update on your great British jeep ??

Ray

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by 70th Division » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:54 am

Hello,

How are things going in Iowa with your great British jeep ?


Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by damar2yxr » Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:13 am

I just read this post for the first time. Sometimes it’s humbling to see where a guy started from...WOW what a turd you started with! You had a vision and the desire though and look where it’s gotten you. How this Jeep got to Iowa would be a story itself. The Brits are all watching and you’re doing them proud. Keep it up. That’s American Midwest pride and drive!
Proud father of a Marine, Navy pilot, Army dentist and a Princess. Life is good!

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by MadCoLars » Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:35 am

After many months of sitting I'm finally back on the old Willys! I was struggling with the engine turning over very slowly. I bought a replacement starter, foot switch (original was bad anyway), and a new positive battery cable. Same issue with the new parts. I was at a loss for what was causing the problem. Last month I decided I would try to pull start it. After a few brief pulls we got it to fire, but not long enough to get it unhooked and run on its own. One the last pull I lost spark and oil pressure. Figured something broke on the cam or oil pump when we saw the distributor wasn't turning when cranking. Pulled the oil pump and found a three broken teeth.
Oil Pump.JPG
Broken oil pump
Oil Pump.JPG (137.67 KiB) Viewed 4257 times
Not sure what caused this to bind up enough to break the teeth, but I figured I may have found the issue behind my starting problem. Pulled the motor out again and dismantled it enough find the broken parts and clean it up. Also pulled the head and re-checked the valves/clearance. Purchased a new Melling oil pump and got it installed. The new pump used two studs and bolt in lieu of three studs like the original. Upgraded to a copper head gasket while I had it apart.

Dropped the motor back in the Willys, got it hooked up and tried to start it again yesterday. It cranked over fine and came to life! I would have never assumed the oil pump was causing my starting issue. What a relief to finally have it run after almost 2 years (many months of sitting in that period) and a fair amount of money spent on parts and machine shop work. Got the radiator, drivers fender, and grill installed last night and took it for a brief test drive. Very brief actually as it was dark and haven't messed with the any of the lighting on the Willys.
IMG_0644.JPG
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IMG_0646.JPG
IMG_0646.JPG (234.19 KiB) Viewed 4257 times
Have some loose ends to deal with. Need to see if the water temp and ammeter gauge are working as well as getting the lighting working. What a rush of relief and excitement to hear that old girl come back to life after sitting for around 30 years. All my kids were home for the weekend and we all got to experience it coming back to life. Can't wait to get home tonight after work to take another test drive!!

Thanks to those who checked in on me during my absence on the site while I was dealing with the starting issue. Excited to be back with a running rig and I'm looking forward to enjoying it this summer and making more minor tweaks. The exterior is going to stay as-is for now. Popping the hood is the only way to see that any substantial work was done to this piece of military history.

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by 70th Division » Mon Apr 22, 2019 5:25 am

Hello,

I am so glad to hear it is now running and you are working on it again !!!

I am very excited that you have gotten it running now, what an accomplishment indeed :D :D :D
It must be very satisfying to know that you have done it, after all the years of it sitting idle,
and the elements and time working against it.

Please post more pics , and a video of you driving it around would be GREAT !!!

Nice discovery of the bad oil pump gear, something we can all check on our engines.

PS- Your engine bay looks awesome !!

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: Iowa Willys MB Project

Post by MadCoLars » Mon Apr 22, 2019 8:19 am

Thanks Ray. Took almost 10 months of time off with the starting issue due to aggravation and being tired of spending money on it. With warm weather here now I had to get it going. Oil pump teeth broke while trying to pull start it, something with the pump had to be bound up which is why it was cranking slow all this time. I never would have thought this would be the problem.

I took a video of the engine start-up and will get some video of driving it as well.

Extremely satisfied with the accomplishment as you noted. My son commented last night that he remembers climbing around on it at the farm like a piece of playground equipment and he thought it would never run again. We are fortunate to have suppliers like Ron Fitzpatrick Jeep Parts and others who make the parts we need to keep these historic vehicles going. This forum has also been a huge asset in researching topics and gaining knowledge. Many thanks to all who contribute knowledge and experience to the group!


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