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

On the film set

Haven't done a post forever, so I thought some recent photos would be good to post.

The jeep was used on a film set recently for a 3rd "Saints and Soldiers" film. Here are a few pictures from the set. The first one was taken by the production. That's me on the far right:

And just for kicks, here is the recently released teaser for the film. The jeep didn't make the teaser, but I did as a German soldier at 0:26:

IT IS DONE!!!!

After all the work that has been done, I'm considering the restoration process completed and the jeep is DONE!! There are still a few small things that need to be dealt with (does it ever end?) but for the most part, all the components are there and all the painting is finished, so I am declaring this restoration done!

Yes, I did the restoration myself, but there are many people who helped out and I seriously couldn't have done this (and wouldn't have done this) without them! I know this is sappy, but I really feel like there are a few people I need (and want) to thank (in no particular order):

• Ray M. - my friend and jeep guru for his infinite jeep knowledge who coached me through this (and was sometimes my therapist) and helped me find the best solutions for my jeep.
• Roger C. - the man who can fix and restore anything for his unparalleled knowledge and experience (that's seriously not an exaggeration) of how WWII military vehicles work. When I couldn't fix something, he could do it while blindfolded, underwater, and with one hand tied behind his back!
• My Dad - He was often more excited about this project than I was. There are many things that I simply couldn't have done and/or would have taken 4 times longer without his help. Our jeep building marathon got the jeep going on the 4th of July!
• My Wife - for agreeing to keep this former piece-of-junk in the garage and putting up with my long hours spent working in the garage. Also, now that it's done, thanks to her for loving to go on a jeep ride together!
• Many others: My Mom, Paul D., Keith R., Terry H., Gary L., the rest of my family (and my wife's), friends, neighbors - all who helped in one way or another, even just by being interested, that made this project do-able.

OK, now that that's over here are the photos! I took the jeep up the canyon for a photo shoot and here they are:

Details, details...

Now that the jeep runs and drives, most of what is left to do is just the details. I've added a few details over the past week that add to the look of the jeep: rear reflectors, data plates on the glove box door and the latches on the hood. I also have the stencils for the registration number on the hood so I'm thinking that might be next!

First Drive Away From Home!

Took the jeep out on an excursion today! I got enough of the bugs worked out to where I felt confident enough to venture more than a few blocks away from home. 

One bug I dealt with was a temperature issue - it seemed the jeep wanted to run at right around 200 degrees, which I wasn't comfortable with (current outside temperatures here easily reach 95-100 degrees F). I installed a new thermostat rated for 160 degrees and it instantly brought the running temperature down to 175-180 degrees. Much better! The floor was getting hot! 

Anyway, with that solved, I met up with my friend Lile in his Ford GPW (also a WWII jeep) and we headed up the canyon. Here are a few pictures and a short video I took on the way:

Jeeps at the turn-around point (mine in front).

Photo-op in the forest.

Here's a short video shot from my phone while driving with Lile following behind in his GPW: