1943 Ford GPW Build from Rescued 1943 Parts

[70th Division]

Hello,

Here are some progress pics of the final passenger seat repairs.
I got the footman loops unscrewed, and borrowed some better condition oval head screws from another GPW seat frame.
I will fill in those remaining ugly pits in the tube once the paint hardens, and I can sand it down..
Then I will attach the nice, high quality, 2 piece JMP canvas top stowage straps to the seat.
Here are some photos so far :

This once very rough seat is really getting there




Next day update:

Ok I applied the additional metallic filler , eliminating the last pitting on the bottom of the seat.

I will sand off tomorrow, prime and paint. Then I will install the straps and footman loops.


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

I have finished restoring this once crusty and rusted original F passenger seat
It will soon be back in service, and ready for Jeeping expeditions and adventures !!
It has taken some time to get the seat done right, and rock solid again, but very well worth the efforts !!

Here are some action pics with the new Joe's Motor Pool canvas storage straps that will secure the canvas top under the seat when not it use.
Here in the Florida sun , the canvas top usually will be in use !!
From this :

,

To this :

I will attach new American made canvas seat cushions to it when I get them ordered and they arrive here.

One more part of the restoration agenda completed

I will put it up in the jeep barn loft for safe keeping until ready to reinstall


Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

I am restoring the 2 Ford headlight buckets.
After much searching of what I have available for the GPW buckets, I found 2 decent ones.
Both from a 1943 GPW, (I will replace them for that jeep later when I do more elaborate repairs on a broken set ) .
It is not easy to find good ones , as most of them have broken, broken off, missing, or Bubba welded hinges and brackets.
Not to mention the rusted hinge pins, that if someone flipped the headlights up, they usually broke the tabs off.
Here are some pics of the nice ones I found, that need only a few small welding repairs.

The welding came out great.
The driver's side one only needed a crack repair on the upper bracket.
Since the passenger side hinge was stressed and bent, I welded the broken side, as well as added a bead on the "unbroken" side since it was bent, and would crack, so best to repair now !
The hinge pin was also rusted tight.
I used WD-40 and tapped with a small ball peen hammer, a nail set, tapping on the end of the pin,and also a pair of small vise grips, to work it loose. It worked !!
I ground the welds back , they look great and the bucket and hinge are now rock solid

Here are some pics of the original paint in the buckets .

You can also take note that they left the mounting stud area unpainted, bare metal, to make the proper ground for the lights.
Be sure not to paint over all that area.
Now I will blast these units, prime and repaint, and install my new Seelite headlights from Ron.

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Some more progress on the headlight parts.

Note the nice F marks on the buckets, and hinge.

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Almost done with the headlights, and will add the Seelites tomorrow.

The F scripts look great !!

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

I bought a gas can holder from a G member, it was in perfect shape !

I did some scraping of the multiple layers of paint and happily discovered the WW2 42-B-22590 number

So this needed to be restored to go on the jeep.

I started the sandblasting and it was an messy job !
But I wore my P-100 respirator, and face shield as well.

Here you can see the number stamped on the holder, as well as a makers mark I discovered. It is an H in a diamond.
I wonder what it stands for ?

It came out great and looks beautiful !!!
I will let the first coat of paint dry overnight, then paint it again tomorrow.

Update -
Ok, added the next day coat and hooked it to the rafter to dry.
Looks great.
Will let dry and add another coat later.

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

During the rain storm today, I worked in the barn putting the restored F script headlight buckets and brackets together with the new Seelite headlights bulbs.
These are from Joe's Motor Pool via Ron, and they look great !!
I added the 2 short wiring harnesses from MV spares that were in the complete wiring harness kit for the Jeep.
I also added the 2 ground wires that go to the grill.
I will mount these to the grill soon.
Here are some pictures:

Here you can see the little clip that I put back onto the new harness .
The wiring kit I have did not have these stop clips as new items.
That is OK, as the old ones cleaned up nice and I clipped them on with a pair of pliers after spreading them open enough to fit the harness.

Here you can see what I found when taking the original 1943 buckets apart. Bare metal on the washers, nut, and stud. The nuts and washers, and stud all appear to be plated. They are all part of the grounding system for the headlights. The indent in the bracket was also bare metal on 2 sets of headlight brackets, so I taped them off and blasted the primer and paint away. The stud grounds there I am assuming.
So that is how I replicated what was found .

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Here are a few more pictures of the restored headlights and new Seelite 6 volt bulbs.

Best Regards,
Ray

[JAB]

Keep up the good work Ray! I'm enjoying watching your progress, especially as it's mirrored my own!

[70th Division]

Hello,

Thanks Jeff,

I love it !!

This is our Heritage that we are saving !
Safe and sound
Hopefully preserving it for another 75 years, ready for a new history making adventure along the way

The headlights came out great !!
It is very satisfying it to take some parts that need help, and get them restored and ready for Jeep service again
I will assemble the fender black out light soon with my nos Ford BO bulb.
I hope this restoration post will help motivate others to start working on their jeeps or other vehicles.

Just keeping at it , is the key !

I really like getting things completed and restored.
I am working on frame repairs now, and so far spending more time actually thinking about a plan of attack to repair the issues that need attention , than working on repairs
Once I decide how to do it , I will get some welding repairs going !

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

Here are some pics of the progress on the fender mounted BO Drive light.
I am waiting on a ground wire from Ron that is needed inside the light bucket. It wasn't included in the MV Spares kit.
But Ron had 2 wires left, so I ordered them both.

The ground wire attaches to the bulb retaining ring inside the bucket
with the other end of the wire screwed into the base of the bucket.
Here is a picture of a rusty BO light assembly I have for a Willys.

You can see the clip screwed into the base of the bulb bucket.
Here you can see where the other ends screws into the bulb retainer.

Here
is a pic of the attaching hardware as well as the main wiring harness for the BO light.

Forward Progress !!!

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

The new ground wire for the BO light bucket arrived from Ron !

So now I was able to assemble the unit.
NOTE : The wiring harness was from MV Spares, and the wire was missing, also the wire that goes to NOS Ford BO bulb has a round loop connection , in theory having never worked on one of these before, it would indicate that you take the screw out of the back of the bulb, put the loop and screw back into the bulb. The screw backed out then got tighter, but I held the bulb area tight so nothing broke while backing the screw out.
I then watched Ron's great G503 TV and saw Scott saying, HOLD IT, never unscrew the screw as it will break the bulb , and he had tested that the hard way.
So I was pretty upset with that, I should have watched the YouTube video first !
But, now I decided I better test the bulb to check if I destroyed it.
My super rare NOS Ford bulb !!!
Much to my happiness it lit right up !!
Scott's wire harness also had a horseshoe type connector, that you only loosen the screw on the BO bulb, and slide it on, and tighten up to the bulb.
It did not have a round loop type connection like the MV Spares harness I have, does !!
If you have one of these harnesses , cut the round loop connector and make it a horseshoe, or fork type connector.
It would be very upsetting to trash any NOS bulb if the harness maker used the wrong connector !

So after that issue, I assembled the unit.
Here are some pics :

It looks great, and works as well. I didn't get a picture of that test, but I was very happy !!!
No damage done !!
Hanging up now, and looking good,

I also would like to mention that I got my NOS Ford BO light bulb from an ebay seller in Bulgaria, and he shipped it here to Florida, from Greece. An outstanding seller, and 110 percent perfect packaging upon its quick arrival here.

Best Regards,
Ray

[70th Division]

Hello,

The next small item that I am restoring is the under dash radio filterette.
I am guesstimating that a Tobe Filterette is the one to use.
My 1943 British GPW has the exact same one installed, although it is from late Autumn of 1943.
I have several to choose from that I have collected, such as Solar,etc.
This one below is the one I am using, but if anyone has a better idea of the correct one, if this one isn't, please let me know.

I will get this one cleaned up and painted and ready to go !

Best Regards,
Ray

[1942 Ford GPW 352nd]

I also would like to mention that I got my NOS Ford BO light bulb from an ebay seller in Bulgaria, and he shipped it here to Florida, from Greece. An outstanding seller, and 110 percent perfect packaging upon its quick arrival here.

Best Regards,
Ray

Ray,
Great work on your BO Light! The Ford bulb is perfect and I'm jealous!

Best regards,
Todd

[70th Division]

Hello,

Thanks Todd !!
I surprised myself even finding it !!

It is beautiful and will add that extra touch to the Jeep.
I am so glad it works, especially after removing the screw to add the wire to it !!!
They say don't remove the screw !!
But the harness was made incorrectly.
Now we know !!!

Keep up your great work !!

Best Regards,
Ray