Undercarriage Ready!

I have the axle all assembled, painted and ready to go. All the other small parts (mounting brackets, etc.) are all painted also and ready to go on, including the casting with the lunette. As soon as I get the tub back it will be all ready to bolt together. I've got all the bolts ready to go so it shouldn't take long! Here are a few pictures:

Fixing the tub

I decided to have the floor in the tub replaced as it was bowed significantly and also had quite a few holes due to rust-through. That is something beyond my ability to do, so a friend of mine who is well experienced in vintage jeep and military vehicle restoration is handling this for me.

Here is the tub after just having been separated from the frame:

Old floor removed! There were some 200 spot-welds holding it in place:

And here is the new floor being welded in place:

All the other parts are painted and ready to go. As soon is the tub is done, it shouldn't take long to put it all together! I will post pictures of the other parts soon. 

Ready for the Olive Drab

Got everything all ready to be turned to a nice shade of olive drab! Axle is all re-assembled. I had to replace one of the left-hand wheel studs as it was damaged and stripped. Luckily I had some originals in the garage thanks to having changed all my studs on my jeep to right hand thread. Cleaned up and repacked the original wheel bearings and re-installed the brake shoes. Here are a couple shots of the axle and casting/lunette assembly all primed and ready to go:

Getting serious....

I let the trailer sit as is for a while, but recently have gotten serious about getting the restoration done. I aim to have it completed by Christmas, if not sooner! 

I have gathered all the parts I need, and the tub has been picked up by a friend who will be replacing the floor and welding on the rear panel that was cut off to make a tailgate. All parts have been sandblasted or cleaned and primed. 

Here's a photo of some lovely sandblasted parts all nice and clean!

Just today I started putting things back together again starting with the axle, backing plates and brakes. Here is photo of the left side backing plate with brake shoes and a picture of all the primed parts just waiting to be put back together!

Trailer work is progressing...

Here is an update on the work I've been doing (slowly) on the trailer. I cut off the ball hitch that had been welded onto the drawbars. Luckily the drawbars were basically undamaged and I was careful cutting the welds so I didn't damage them. Here is the drawbar assembly and casting after the extra metal was removed:

As you can see, the top of the casting that holds the lunette was cut off. Fortunately I was able to find a replacement casting which has a lunette still intact. Here are the drawbars after cleaning up the leftover welds:

And finally, a mock-up of the original casting assembly!

The next project...

When people ask me about my jeep restoration, one of the most common questions is, "So, what's your next project?" Well, the next project is now here! I spotted this WWII MBT trailer next to the road in the backyard of a house on a fairly busy road. A few days later I went and asked the owner if he would sell it, and ended up pulling it home.

The good news is it still had 2 original combat wheels, tub is fairly straight, handbrake is intact. The not-so-good news is the home-made tailgate, conversion to a ball hitch, and rust-out in the bed. You can still make out the military star on the back and it appears there is some other markings as well. 

Here we go again...!

D-Day Rollout 2014!

For those of you who visit my blog, I wanted to let you know that I am organizing a WWII vehicle convoy to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The convoy will be made up of vintage military vehicles from my area and should be a lot of fun! I have created separate blog page for the event with all the details. Check it out here: D-Day Rollout