Old Jeep, new parts, what am I doing?

[EddieWalker]

About six years ago I came across a deal on an old army jeep. Technically, it's a 1942 Ford GPW, but most of you will recognize it as a World War 2 Willys Jeep. The difference is that Willys couldn't make enough of them during the war, so Ford built some too. Ford made a few changes in there verson, but parts are interchangable, and you have to know what to look for to ever know the difference.

The guy selling it was in his 80's and said he'd had it for 18 years and it wasn't running when he bought it. He just wanted it gone from his driveway, plus all the extra parts he had, for $100.

I had it in my driveway for over a year, then I hauled it to Texas, where it's sat for almost five years. During that time, I revised what I wanted to do with it. I'm married now, with two kids and it would be really nice to have a fun vehicle for all of us to go for rides all together.

I looked at golf carts and UTV's but kept thinking about my old jeep. If I got it running, it would be much better then a golf cart or UTV for what we want to do. Plus, I can get it running for allot less money.

Last year I found a 1988 Chevy S-10 blazer for sale on ebay that was less then an hour away from me in Athens TX for $300. I wasn't sure if it would run for that much money, even though he said it ran good. I fired right up when we got there, and I was able to drive it right onto my trailer. The kids and I drove it around the place until we ran out of gas, then I parked it next to the jeep. They have been sitting side by side ever since.

The front end was lowered and pretty much ruined, but the engine runs great!!! It's the 2.8 V6 with five speed manuel transmission and is 2wd. I don't have any need for 4wd as this is just for driving around our land on nice days. No mudding, or off roading.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

A few months ago, the kids and I took all the extra parts out of it and put them into the Blazer. If it's gonna sit there, it might as well store all those parts!!

They had a great time and will work on taking something off of it when I'm working in the shop. Peyton is 6 years old and he got a set of "real" tools for Christmas. He takes his ajustable wrench, pliers and screwdriver to it and can spend hours taking things apart!! Sometimes Alissa (9 years old) will join in and they will work together on it.

Today the three of us spent the entire day stripping it down.

Eddie

 

[crbr]

So what next? Is there a point, other than fun? I mean, where are you going with this?

Will this be a new project machine or is this disassembly / demolition the project?

I like the trailer that the Chevy is on.

 

[bx23barry]

So just bolt the engine/trans/miss out the blazer into the jeep, blast/paint the jeep body and run it. Ya may want to put the blazer steering in the jeep along with the rear axle too. Of course wacking the top off the blazer would be easier.

 

[texasjohn]

Eddie..... In every photo there are so many vehicles with so many tires that I lost count

You've got quite a project going there...and the kids are learning huge amounts about how to do things, how things are put together, and, perhaps more importantly, how to safely use tools and power equipment safely... by experience and watching you...

You can't find this kind of education on the streets of suburbia!

I don't know what you're doing...other than having amazing quality time with the kids and having fun.... that's certainly enough reason to take stuff apart.

 

[cp1969]

Eddie, if that GPW was/is in original condition, you might want to find a different jeep such as an old CJ to transplant the Blazer's drive line into.

There is a military jeep website that can give you much better advice than I can as to whether that is a very valuable old jeep or not.

G503.com Message Forums :: Index

We have an old M151 that we use for pretty much the same thing as you want to do with this one, such as taking the dogs for a ride in the country. They are a lot of fun, especially with the top off. My understanding is the GPW's are more valuable than an M151.

 

[BTDT]

Great project. And the kiddo's look like they are having a blast. I know you know better, and it is probably the camera angle, but the pic of your daughter looks like she's standing right under the backhoe bucket.

 

[EddieWalker]

crbr,

No point to the post, other then to share with you guys a project I've started and to seek advice and help when I need it.

I've learned that in starting these things, I always run into new territory that I've never been and there are guys here who know allot more then I do. When I get to those areas, I like to ask questions and get advice. With an ongoing thread, I'm hopeful that some of you will be able to walk me through these areas.

bx23barry,

You pretty much summed up my plan. I want an engine that I can get parts for without any problems, or delays. I want it to be reliable and fun to drive, but also easy to drive so Steph or anybody else can drive it. Heck, the kids will probably learn to drive on it in a few years.

The engine, transmission and rear axle are the main parts that are going into it. I think that will be fairly simple and easy to do. The power steering will be a little tricky, but I don't see any major issues. I want the power steering, so it's just a matter of making it happen.

I also want power brakes and front disks. This is where it's gonna get tricky, because I also want to use the original front axle. When it's all done, I want it to look like the original WWII jeep. The front differential is very important to me in that look. So I have to figure out how to get the disks and calipers from the Blazer to fit onto the jeep axle. Don't ask me how, because as of right now, I don't have a clue. hahaha

I did consider just swaping bodies, but it's realy not what I want to do. The blazer is allot longer and wider. The frame wold take allot of choping and I only have a very small amount of experience in that. Not something that I think I can do and know it's perfect. 90 percent might be OK, but I'm not gonna try it. I like the body to fit onto the frame and feel I can come up with mounts to install the driveline easier and better by using the original frame. We'll see.

texasjohn,

I sort of feel like Fred Sanford sometimes with all my junk. The three wheeler is my brothers and I'm just storing it for him until he moves here. He also has a golf cart that's not running that I'm holding for him too. The Blazer is history after I finish taking it apart. That should cut it down some. hahaha

The kids are really exited about the jeep and were talking about it this morning. Both kept saying that I'm not to do anything, or start on it without them!!! One thing that I think they are starting to understand is that when they stick with it, they can get it done. Some of those old bolts are kind of tough to get off, but all they have to do is keep at it, and eventually it will come out. I heard Alissa tell her little brother that several times, and if they learn that one lesson, I think they will be set for life. Don't give up.

cp1969,

Thank you for the link. I used to frequent that site when I was considering restoring it, and learned allot about the old jeeps there. Two things sort of caused me to change my mind on wanting to do a full restoration. One is money. It will cost thousands to get it done right, and if I'm very lucky, it might be worth what I put into it. That alone isn't enough to stop me from doing the restoration, but added to the fact that even if I get it factory perfect, it's still an unreliable, 40 hp engine with poor brakes, bad steering and very uncomfortable seats.

I'm going give ebay a try to sell all the original parts to those who want them, and maybe G503. They have a section with parts for sale too.

I really just want a fun little vehicle that we can all ride around in together and not spend a bunch of money on. I have too many other things I want to do around the land to spend money on, so this is more a low buck project that the kids and I will mess around with from time to time.

When it's finished, I won't have to worry about getting it dirty, or breaking anything. That will make it even more fun to have.

BTDT,

Your correct, the camera makes it look like she's standing under the bucket. She was probably four or five feet in front of it, and was walking by when I told her to stop to take the picture. They know to never walk under any part of the tractors.


Thanks,
Eddie

 

[RobJ]

I think it's going to be cheaper to buy something. But it'll be fun watching.

I had a CJ-3B that was in the family since the 70's, 1956 if I recall. It ran great (F-head), I rebuilt the engine, new leafs, new style axles (no more balls and knuckles), brakes, steering, converted to 12v, a rare thing was it had a full top with doors that would keep you dry, it was even street legal until Texas said you had to have liability insurance which I didn't want to pay for. It had some rust and bondo but in the end it was just to big to use at the time. I sold it for $1700 and moved into a 4-wheeler (also sold my 3-wheeler). Even after building the weekend house I've never looked back at the jeep. I can go more places with the ATV in the woods and such. I got a lot of the parts from JC Whitney. At the time you could get just about everything.

Good Luck wit it.

Rob

 

[jimmysisson]

What's really amazing about those old jeeps is how flexible (and weak) the frames were. That probably helped them off-road, to keep the tires on the ground more often.
I had an early postwar with tin cab, rebuilt the engine, and drove it around upper New Hampshire for a year, then sold it to a guy who drove it to Alaska. 6000 miles maxed out at about 53 mph, better him than me. He said the rings seated somewhere in Minnesota. Tough old beast, but flimsy, a funny combination.
Jim