Willys MB Jeep - MB365678

First off I added a picture of the Jeep's rear - no particular reason, I just thought I would. The canvas top is very nice apart from it really shouldn't have the plastic glass window, it should be just a hole - a little modern addition I can live with. Generally the jeep looks good like this but I still prefer to drive without any canvas.

Next a picture of the latest bond (ground strap) addition. This one earths between the starter and the generator. As I've added ground straps I've noticed a distinct improvement in the "oomph!" delivered by the starter, this was also much helped by changing the spark plug leads to ones of much lower resistance (courtesy of Dallas Autos!)

Next series of pictures are of the front and rear differentials. I opened these up today to check the level of the gear oil in them. You can see in the pics that the oil level should be just at the lip of the inspection plug. Happy to say they were both good, no additional oil (Hypoid type) was required.

Then I had a look at the transfer case oil level. The inspection plug is high on the side of the case. Oil level should be at the lip of the inspection plug as with the diffs. Photo is great, you can see the oil level and nice shiny gear teeth inside. The oil level was a little short of the plug - there's a small leak at the main seal - but it was a minimal addition - 50ml at most so I'm very happy with that.

Just waiting for the arrival of an original oil pressure gauge I acquired from the famous auction site, installing that should provide a bit of challenge!

More photos:
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=498
Dallas Autos, Jeep Specialists:
http://dallasautoparts.com/index.htm

First of all I received my Billings & Spencer 11 inch auto wrench from USA. Looks very nice and passes the "hub wrench test" - see picture. Having got that I thought a full on toolkit update would be in order - so here it is:

The contents are:
Billings & Spencer 11 inch auto - original
Durochrome 731A wrench - original
Durochrome 28-S wrench- original
Durochrome 27-C wrench - original
Durochrome 25 wrench - original
Select Steel 723 wrench - original
Spark plug wrench 41-W-3335-40 - original
Pliers, slip joint, Samson - original
Fire extinguisher, Pyrene Heavy Vehicle - original
Tire pump US-ORD, Walker - original
Grease gun, lever type, Lincoln - original
Tire pressure gauge, Schrader - original
Hand crank - repro
Lugnut wrench, Mossberg - original
Hammer 16oz ball peen, VLCHEK - original
Screwdriver 11 inch, Irwin - original
Hub wrench WOA-692 - original
Adapter, grease gun, lincoln - original
Brake bleeder wrench, Cornwell - original
Bristol wrench - repro
Oiler Gem Manufaturing - original
Tool Roll US - Original (1950's)

Not a bad tool set now, still missing two big items - the jack and the tire chains!

Also, I discovered that the choke linkage and panel lights switch were in the wrong places on the dash! After much trepidation I decided to reverse them, turned out to be a much easier job than I thought! Now what I need is more original gauges and replacement knobs for the choke and throttle.

More photos at:
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=498

This is one of the most intersting things I've attempted on my jeep so far. I bought an original fuel (gas) gauge on the famous auction site, I had no idea if it worked or not. I found some superb info on what to look for on the G503 website (Courtesy of Elwood Jay Blues - Cheers!), if you need it, follow this link:

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=118652

I took the gauge all to bits and cleaned everything up as well as I could - it was pretty rusty on the outside but clean like new inside. I tested all the coils as per EJB's instructions and made sure that all the connections were clean and secure. The resistance measurements were all in line with spec.

I cleaned and painted the bezel with nice fresh coat of OD and reassembled all the parts then retested - no good Then I realised I'd got the insulators on the wrong side of the casing ..der! After taking apart and re-reassembling all was back to good.

After that I tested the function by removing the repro gauge and connecting it in - all good. Final step, fitting it back into the dash with all the lock washers and nuts in the right order and hopefully connected the right way round - VOILA! SUCCESS!

I'm pretty happy with the results. 60+ years after it was built the gauge still worked first time - tribute to the builder I'd say.

Pictures show all the parts of the original gauge and how it compares to the repro. The repro is actually bigger than the original, so much for modern miniaturisation! Also included one of the gauge in place and working - just to prove it

More photos at:
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=498

Nice drive Saturday afternoon after work, thought a picture would be good, first proper one of the season with the summer top in place.
Also photos of Daughter, Dog and Son - everyone loves the jeep (apart from the dog, she's a bit wary of it!)
Sunday afternoon I fitted new bond (ground) straps to the underside of the radiator. They help grounding between radiator and frame, the old ones were shot away. I cleaned all the contact surfaces back to bare metal and took the old paint off the star washers before refitting, not bad for a "post pub" job.

Decided to strip down the tire pump to see if it could be got to work again. Component parts are very simple, in fact just the same as my Dad's old bike pump. Once I had split the tube from its base, taken off the top and pulled out the main shaft, I could see the problem - the leather grommet which forms the main seal of the pump was the wrong way round! So, after a good clean and thorough re-greasing I teak oiled the handle and painted the OD parts with Owatrol Oil (paint preservative-Penetrol in USA). Even though the paint is rough and a bit rusty in places its the original OD finish so I thought it best preserved rather than repainted. Tire pump now fully functional! (although it will need replacement hose of the correct length with the nice little brass nozzle adapters - when I've saved up some more pennies)
Also re-sprayed the jeep's rear wheel hubs!