42FordGPW’s Weblog

Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you should! Taking it easy in an old jeep is the best way to get there…both of you in one pieces.

Joe Dope was the unsung anti-hero of WW2. His job was to show the troops the WRONG way to do something. Hopefully, they would get the right idea by his bad example.

Except for a jeep or two, I’m pretty sure none of the jeeps can stop THAT fast, but you get the message.

Trouble Shooting and Repairing the T-84J ransmission

Do you think it is hard to rebuild a T-84J transmission for the Willys MB or the Ford GPW? Well, it only contains approximately 58 parts. If you can follow step-by-step instructions, you can easily do it yourself. This is a combination of text, pictures, diagrams and parts lists that was produced to make the rebuild easy. Save yourself money and know that your transmission was rebuilt to your expectations!

More!

Just recently, a delegation from the Willys Corporation got together in a question-and-answer session with a delegation from the Spicer U-joint Company. Turned out to be a nice party too – you know- the kind that finally winds up with everybody running down the street in the middle of the night breaking milk bottles and turning over ash cans.

One good tip that emerged from the meeting was the Spicer warning that the nuts used to tighten U-bolts on universal Joints better be tightened evenly. Otherwise, there’s an uneven strain on the bearing cap which causes the cap to brinell. When this happens, you get a vibration about at a speed of 35 mph – a nice tingling sensation up the soles of your feet.

The bottom or “U” part of the U-bolt is a flat surface. This fits snugly around the bearing cap. Besides fitting snugly, it must fit evenly all around the bearing cap.

Best way to guarantee that it will fit evenly, is to first tighten each of the U-bolts fingertight, then, with a wrench, tighten them one at a time, a little more, and a little more then a little more, ’til the nuts are down snug. No fair checking for even tightening by counting the threads as they emerge from the nuts. Some of these U-bolts aren’t cut off evenly and one side may have more threads than the other.

During WW2, waterproofing kits were developed in order to allow the jeep (Willys MB/FordGPW) to make the transition from ship to shore without stalling out in the water. This was not considered a permanent installation but rather a temporary fix. In fact, the kit was designed to only be operational for eight minutes (!) to a depth of only three feet for transport vehicles. The kit was to be removed once the vehicle was ashore. The jeep required kit number WV-6 which was later known as G9-5700769. This kit wss actually for several vehicles ranging from the 1/4-ton to 2 1/2-ton trucks. The kits were packed five to a box.

Bantam Pilot coming out of some muck
Judging by the expressions on the soldiers faces they are having a great time testing the Bantam. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Of some interest and related to the photo above…maybe. I was contacted by a woman claiming to have three reels of film showing the Bantam BRC under test by the US Army. I passed this information on to some collector friends of mine and will let you know if anything cames of it.

The very first 1/4-ton reconnaissance and liaison car as built by the first producer-American Bantam Car Co. This car was delivered to Holabird Quartermaster Depot on September 11, 1940. (photo courtesy of William Spear.)

Bantam Pilot goes for a splash
The Bantam pilot model being put through its paces at Camp Holabird, MD. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Bantam Pilot goes in a ditch
From this angle we can see that the Bantam pilot model most have been at Camp Holabird for a few days as it now has cutouts in the cowling. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Bantam Pilot coming out of some muck
Judging by the expressions on the soldiers faces they are having a great time testing the Bantam. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Even a Bantam gets stuck!
Even the new 4×4 “jeep” made by Bantam can get stuck. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Civilian gets a ride in the Bantam Pilot
A civilian riding with a soldier on a test ride through the woods. (photo courtesy of Wesley M Phillippi)

Bantam Pilot gets dirty
ACME photo, dated October 3, 1940. Caption: “Army Tests Bantam Truck, Baltimore, MD-This week the Motor Transport Corps of the U.S. Army has been testing a pilot model of a new Bantam truck believed to be the answer to a long felt need. The little truck, with wheelbase of 80 inches and 40-horsepower motor, is being driven over a ‘torture course’ for 1,000 miles at the Holabird Motor Transport Depot, before production starts on 70 similar models. This photo shows the Bantam in the role it was designed for, that is to carry three men, swivel mounted machine gun and 3,000 rounds of ammunition. It will have to keep up with motorized columns equipped with caterpillar treads and multi-wheel drives. The Bantam, loaded with crew and weapons, weighs 2,000 pounds and can travel across country at 60 miles per hour. (photo courtesy of Dr. Bruce Lynch, DDS)

“When the jeep reached the using arms in the field it success was instant and sensational. At posts, camps, and stations all over the country, it won the admiration of everyone for the manner in which it performed. The demonstrations it gave of climbing and leaping, and its all-round ability to push its way through tough situations, impressed all beholders…its four-wheel drive proved that it could operate over the roughest terrain. Water eighteen inches in depth was forded with ease. Although riding in the jeep was far from pleasure driving, its auxiliary transmission, providing six speeds forward and two reverse, enabled it to hit a mile-a-minute clip on the highway or claw its way up grades of 60% or better, in low. In its appearance, too, the jeep was radically different. Soon well-known to every school-boy on the street were its squat, rectangular, utilitarian shape in its coat of olive-drab, lustreless enamel that had been developed shortly before; its low silhouette; the flat fenders on each of which an additional man could be carried if necessary; the heavy brushguard protecting the front; the folding windshield and detachable folding top or canopy; the pintle and towing hooks; the heavy duty mud-and-snow tread tires; and the front and rear blackout lights.” – from The Jeep –It’s Development and Procurement Under the Quartermaster Corps, 1940-1942 by H. Rifkind, 1943.

Bantam Pilot on Test
Original caption, “This week the Motor Transport Corps of the U.S. Army has been testing a pilot model of a new Bantam truck believed to be the answer to a long sought need. The little truck, with wheelbase of 80 inches and 40-horsepower motor, is being driven over a “torture course” for 1,000 miles at the Holabird Motor Transport Depot, before production starts on 70 similiar vehicles. This photo shows the little truck with its crew of three men coming down a 65 degree grade, followed by a 7-ton truck (7-ton truck edited from photo, editor). The Bantam is equipped with four-wheel drive and over-sized tires to negotiate difficult terrain. Credit Line (ACME) 10-3-40.” (photo courtesy of Veterans Memorial Museum)

The jeep proved so very successful that it has remained in production with minimal changes so that even today “every school-boy” still recognizes a jeep vehicle. Unfortunately, the jeeps’ success would not be tied to the success of American Bantam Car Company. The company would lose the bid for the standardized war-time jeep to Willys-Overland. Then through negotiations Ford Motor Company would be selected as the alternate producer of the Willys jeep. Bantam after delivering its last Bantam BRC would never again produce cars for the government or anyone else. During the war it produced trailers pulled by the Willys MB and Ford GPW. The company survived after the war for a time producing civilian versions of the jeep trailer. The company was bought by another concern and quickly faded from the scene. A sad ending for the first designer and builder of the jeep.

Setting timing on a WW2 jeep can be a difficult and salty exercise while nearly standing on your head. Clever WW2 mechanics came up with what they thought was an easier way.  You can found more WW2 mechanics tips in the book I edited, called Military Maintenance for MB/GPW Jeeps 1941-45. Click the link to see more about it.

Dear Editor, H.M. Johnson, Automotive Advisor, 70th Signal Co., Camp Butner, N. C.. complains, as many another mechanic before him has complained, that the location of the inspection hole on the 1/4-tan truck, makes it very hard to observe, the correct position of the timing marks. Constructively, Mr. Johnson comes forth with an idea on “relocating” the timing marks which will make checking the timing marks a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Since the fan pulley turns as the flywheel turns, Mr. Johnson center-puncbes a mark on the pulley and uses that mark, which con be more easily seen than the one in the inspection hole, as a timing mark.
Here’s the idea in three easy steps: Remove the inspection hole cover and line up the IGN mark on the flywheel with the mark on the flywheel housing. Proceed to the small dust pan directly beneath the fan pulley. There’s a small drain hole in the bottom of this dust pan. Take a three-cornered file and notch this drain hole as shown (see fig.). This notch will serve as a stationary timing mark. Now make a center-punch mark on the fan pulley directly above the mark as the small drain hole. – being careful not to let the engine turn. This center-punch mark and the mark on the drain hole now exactly “reflect& the correct position of the marks on the flywheel and flywheel housing, if you have transferred them exactly.We can’t stress too strongly that you’ve got to transpose the marks faithfully – otherwise you’ll ne setting the timing by screwy marks and consequently, your timing will be off.