1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

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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Boyso
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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by Boyso » Wed Mar 03, 2021 3:42 am

Good work Ray :)
44 GPW 231738 10/23/1944
MVPA #36162


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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Sat Mar 13, 2021 6:43 pm

Hello,


Thanks Boyso !!!
Progress is being made nicely now :D :D

Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:13 pm

Hello,

The hood is really looking good, and done :D :D :D
The final paint coat was done last week, and now I have added the original hood latches to the
hood.
I had a fun time finding all original bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts and getting them restored, painted and installed.
I found that the nuts on many latches have rusted away, but the bolts and washers were still good.
gpwhood7.jpg
Here you can see the original hood tinning that was preserved, and how big an area they did in 1943.
I taped it off at the beginning of the hood restoration.
I will sand them with my rotary sander to clean them up a little more, from the over spray.
If anyone knows whether these should be painted over, let me know !!
gpwhood8.jpg
I will paint the hood block bolts as well, unless they should remain unpainted ??
Don't mind that reddish distortion in the picture, the hood has multiple coats of painted on its underside !!

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:52 pm

Hello,


Now it is Grilling Time :D :D :D
grilling2.jpg
grilling1.jpg
grilling3.jpg
And the other Grilling Time ..... :D :D :D
grill2.jpg
grill4.jpg
A nice F stamp on the top of the grill :D
Here you can see where I welded in 2 circular patches to repair the holes that were put there for a trailering plug. After grinding it smooth, it needed some metal filler to blend it in nicely.
grill3.jpg
Blasted clean before preliminary primer.
grill22.jpg
grill24.jpg
You can see the areas where the metal filler was applied, as only one layer of primer has been put on at this point. It does get covered nicely after a couple coats.
I had to sand back and add filler a couple times to really get it perfect to hide the repair.
Since the grill is something that is first seen on a jeep, I want it to be done right :D

Next I added the tinning to the required locations on the grill.
grill11.jpg
I then used my rotary sander to smooth down the solder. I used flux, and a small torch to melt the solder to the grill tinning areas.
grill14.jpg
I also tinned where the cats eye lights go as well.
The original tinning had been blasted off by the last owner, but the tinning remnants were in a circular pattern in all the areas on this 1943 grill.

Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:08 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:11 pm

Hello,

Here are some more grill restoration efforts.
The grill was missing a couple capture nuts and retainers, the ever handy spot welder took care of that in seconds :D :D A beautiful thing !!!
grill5.jpg
The cat eye tinning was done on the underside of the mounting areas.
I cleaned off the flux seen in the picture, around the tinned area, before priming the metal.
grill9.jpg
After the tinning was done, I taped off the tinned areas before priming the grill, as can be seen along the top edge of the grill.
grill15.jpg
The next issue that needed attention was damage done by someone years ago, when they ground the paint off the grill during an earlier re painting using a grinder !!
The grinder left ugly marks all over the vertical bars.
grill20.jpg
grill19.jpg
grill18.jpg
So to repair and remove these marks, I used my rotary sander, and sanded these suckers away !!!
It worked beautifully, and I was highly pleased that they buffed right out !!
grill28.jpg
I did the additional metal filler on the right side repaired holes, until it was perfect.
grill27.jpg
Once everything looked good, I put the first coat of paint on the grill.
I will put a few more coats of paint on it to really protect it for the future years :D :D :D
grill23.jpg
It is looking good, and next I will restore 2 GPW headlight buckets and brackets, and add the Ford cat eyes to the grill.

Best Regards,

Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by Jerseyhawg » Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:40 pm

Some of the work you guys do is so darn good. Kudos. I really enjoy reading and following the builds.
Glenn
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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by JAB » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:37 am

Nice work!

I once rented a cabin in Tellico NC that catered to 4WD enthusiasts. It had a Jeep grille in the yard. Literally a grille made for cooking made out of a Jeep grille. If I can find a picture I’ll post it, but I’m sure it’s not unique.

This isn't it, but you get the idea.

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.nFlYvIRv4 ... =5&pid=1.7

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.PQE5daxVw ... =5&pid=1.7

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.7amjk0Pk- ... =5&pid=1.7
-Jeff

GR8GPN2U!!!

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:41 am

Hello,

Thanks for the comments Glenn !!
i appreciate it, and I too look forward to everyone's jeep updates on their projects.
It is a great thing to have here on the G503 !!

I really enjoy repairing and restoring this jeep, and keep in mind this jeep is being built and restored using all cast off parts from others, and a few parts that I have collected along the way :D :D :D
The key is to keep at it, and keep busy hands on each part.
Even if it is only a short time, or all day.
It is all forward progress. I am getting a lot of the sub components done, and then will finish the last little weld repair on the body in a week or so.

Thanks Jeff !!!
Those jeep bbq trailers look pretty great, and would be a sure attention grabber, not to mention the tasty
fixings that can be grilled :D :D :D
Next thing will be a jeep "kegerator " :D :D :D

I am making progress on the windshield assembly now !!!

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:41 pm

Hello,

I have been working on restoring the original windshield .
It has needed a lot of work !!
The windshield as you can guess, also was "worked" on by bubba.
A former owner decided he would fit an M1 rifle rack, inside the rectangle tubes of the inner frame, naturally without the use of brackets. The rifle rack and brackets were not a factory option on this jeep in 1943. The holder does not fit in there !!!

So one was fitted in by bending the tubes about halfway into themselves.
What a job I had to do to try to repair that issue. I cut the tube with many cuts where it was bent in and bent the thinly spaced cuts outward to restore a slightly rounded appearing tube.
When looking somewhat decent, I welded the cuts back up and ground down. I also added some weld to it to build up the damaged areas, then ground back.
Here are a few pictures of the repaired areas, and as you can imagine it also did a number on the metal panel that goes on the lower front of the windshield !!
wind10.jpg
wind11.jpg
wind5.jpg
wind8.jpg
wind9.jpg
wind15.jpg
The panel had holes in it, and also had other holes in it that were welded up by a former owner, with a stick welder. The panel was warped, dented, bent, wrinkled, etc :D :D :D :D
But that is likely why I have it now :D :D :D
No problems !!!

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by JAB » Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:18 pm

I'm doing the same job right now. I tried shrinking the skin to get rid of the wrinkles and it seemed to pull the two tubes in enough that I was adding waves near the ends of the panel where the tubes won't budge because the upright tubes are welded there. Then I had to stretch the center of the panel enough to eliminate the waves near the ends, then it oil-canned. I finally got the best balance between the wrinkles and waves and am priming it later today. Yours sure looks better than mine!
-Jeff

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:31 pm

Hello,

I next media blasted the windshield, added some metallic filler, the sanded it down to get a good look at what was needed to be done with the actual restoration of this well seen part of the jeep.
The lower panel was warped in 3 areas that had been repaired or damaged.

Here are some pictures of what issues look like, and the repair that I started.
win8.jpg
You can see that this area is oil canning, a section where the metal has been stretched !
win15.jpg
win13.jpg
Now, what to do ???
Well it was time to consult with the Youtube University of learning new things :D :D :D
I found a very simple and well done video on metal shrinking,on a jeep of course :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLfS6MhTHcw
This guy made an very good video showing how to do it !!
So I did it, and it worked beautifully !!
win14.jpg
I didn't have a dolly, but had 2 big steel block things and used them to good effect behind the panel when I tapped the heated metal at the center of the stretched area.
win12.jpg
win9.jpg
I had 3 areas to work with the torch and hammer.
I heated like in the video, just to the point where the humped up metal started to hump up more, then hit it to the block, and cooled it with a wet shop rag. I repeated it a few times as needed.
I flipped the windshield over, and did both sides as the stretched metal was in both directions in certain areas.
I was surprised at how effective this was, and that it worked the first time I ever tried it.
I didn't over heat it, tapped it lightly to make contact with the steel blocking block under the panel.
This issue was repaired !!! It was really straightened out, and looking along the flat view, was perfectly flat dimensionally.
I didn't have time to take any action pics, but it was just like the video :D :D

Now, once the warping was eliminated, and the oil canning eliminated, there still were small dimples and repair marks on the panel.
win7.jpg
I added metal filler, and sanded it down. I did this several times, on both sides of the panel.
win3.jpg
win4.jpg
Even after doing this several times, there still were imperfections and dimples that were not acceptable.
It was a lot of sanding, re-sanding, and doing it again.
I added a coat of olive drab as well.
I didn't like being able to notice high and low areas that are there even after sanding down.
It certainly was way better than it was, but still needed some work.
So I ordered up some Rustoleum "Filler Primer" that I had never used before.
I did watch some Youtube videos on it first, and thought it may just work to soften the remaining high and low points that were still remaining.
win21.jpg

Apply it thin, let it dry well, and then apply more thin layers, allowing plenty of drying in between the thin layers.
It does what it says it does !!!
I already did the inner , and believe me it worked wonders, like magic :D :D

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:39 pm

Hello Jeff,

Perfect timing !!

Yes they are labor intensive indeed :D :D :D

Watch the attached video on how to do it, it was a great help to me and worked perfect.

I added some pictures of the oil canned areas above, I only heated a small nickel sized area with the little torch pictured. Just enough to see the metal rise up a little, then whack !!!
Cooled it off with the wet shop rag, and it worked perfect. I followed any oil canning I saw and heated and repeated the process on the damaged areas.
Those metal blocks I have fit inside the panel and worked perfectly as a back stop for my little hammer when I tapped the heated spots.
I had 3 separate areas, but they all complied nicely :D :D

Good luck with your efforts !!
PS- Take a look at using some Filler Primer if you still have imperfections in it like I did.
Just spray it on in thin coats only !!
If you put it on too thick, it will spider web crack. Ask me how I know :D :D :D
It also is tough to sand !!
So do it slow and easy, I am doing the front side right now, slow and easy, thin sprayed layers, one at a time.

I got the filler primer from Advanced Discount Autoparts store, ordered it online, bought 3 cans and used a discount code googled online, and got like $5 off my order, a big beautiful discount , and did a curbside pick up as well, they brought it out and put the paint cans in the back of the truck :D :D


Best Regards,
Ray
Last edited by 70th Division on Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 1:53 pm

Hello,

I am using "Filler Primer" mentioned earlier to hide small imperfections in the well seen windshield panel.
Spraying it on Thin, did I mention spraying thin coats yet ?
Being sure to let it dry between the many coats !!

Here is a picture of the product in use :
win22.jpg
You will still see some slight imperfections when done, but certainly close enough to perfection for government work when done :D :D :D
They become not noticeable when this stuff works its magic.
This is the third thin coat of the filler primer.

Now back to work on it !!!

Best Regards,
Ray

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by JAB » Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:43 pm

If I had an extra hand you'd get three thumbs up from me!
-Jeff

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Re: 1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

Post by 70th Division » Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:59 pm

Hello,

Thanks Jeff !!

It is all fun to work on this jeep and see good progress :D :D
I just sprayed another layer of the filler primer on the front of the windshield, and it is looking good !!

The front grill I painted again earlier today, and will add one more coat, then locate the light buckets to work on, and install.

I also have the 2 Ford front seats lined up for restoration.
This jeep didn't come with any seats, but I have some
that I bought some time ago, in need of work :D :D

Ray


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