Our 1942 MB Project "Jolly Rogers"

SaxMan · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2014 5:02 pm

Bdk has a Spridget, too? I know the Datsun A15 engine (used in the B210 and 210) and 5 speed transmission is an almost drop-in swap for a Spridget, since it was Nissan's copy of the venerable Morris "A" motor (Mine runs the stock 1275 with a 4 speed). The F and 2F motors in the Toyota LandCruisers are basically metricized versions of the Chevrolet 235 "Blue Flame" inline six. And the automatic transmission in 1970s era Rolls Royce automobiles was none other than the trusty GM Turbo-Hydramatic 400.

Never worked on an MB, but I know the M38 and early CJs are pretty easy to work on.

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2014 6:27 pm

Looking good Chris!!!!

CDF · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:57 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

Not to mention he had a Ford plant IN GERMANY. Oddly enough it was the only plant not bombed during the war. Coincidence?

Quote:

According to the Cologne Bombing Report found in the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey files, the first attempt by the U.S. Air Force to bomb Ford-Werke was on October 2, 1944. It was attacked by a B-17 bomber wing, No.111, part of the 8th Air Force. The bomb tonnage listed for this attack were 60.0 tons of incendiary bombs, and 215.0 tons of high explosives. The report notes that on October 18th, 1944, the plant was attacked again by two B-17 bomber wings, No. 68 and 70, also from the 8th Air Force. The first bomber carried 100.0 tons of incendiary bombs and 99.5 tons of high explosives, the second carried 101.5 and 100.25, respectively. The target listed for attack in all three of these bombing runs listed specifically, “Ford Motors.”

http://jasonweixelbaum.wordpress.com/20 ... f-cologne/

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:14 am

Well then I stand corrected. :wink:

rwdfresno · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:27 am

The GPW is looking good and I'll bet it is a lot of fun. As far as the transmission goes, there have been a couple of comments about replacement with non-OEM type transmissions. I think that would just be overcomplicating things as well as reducing the overall value of the vehicle. There are several vendors out there selling new parts for the T-84 and there is really just no need to "improve" upon the original design. There are several our there who are running T-90 transmissions which is the closest swap, but even that requires some bubba-ing of the original body and(or) transmission cross member because of the dimensional differences and there really is no functional improvement over the original design.

You can get pretty much all of the parts for a "light" rebuild for under $400. I saw another mention of a replacement T-84, but unless you really know the issue I'm not sure that replacing it with another unknown commodity is going to give you much peace of mind. When you pull yours, open it up and take a look. If it is one of the "consumable" type parts such as the synchronizer or bearings it will be relatively straight-forward to replace. If it is a shaft, bushing or gear it will be a little more complicated. Even if you get a replacement T-84 and inspection of the gears, shafts and bushings shows good, I would recommend doing the "light" rebuild of the syncro, bearings, gaskets, etc. since you already have the it out and apart. If the rest is in good condition you will probably never need to worry about it again.

I am curious though, and don’t at all mean to insult your intelligence, but I assume you have inspected/replaced the oil in the transmission? If the oil is low, or deteriorated that could be an issue, or the cause of the issue. Also do an inspection of all of the u-joints. They can often make a knocking sound that seems like it is coming from the transmission. It might be more noticeable in 2nd gear due to a balance issue when the driveshaft reaches a certain RPM.

Ryan
PS: A picture of your jeep's younger cousin enjoying the Colorado winter.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:48 am

rwdfresno wrote:

As far as the transmission goes, there have been a couple of comments about replacement with non-OEM type transmissions. I think that would just be overcomplicating things as well as reducing the overall value of the vehicle. There are several vendors out there selling new parts for the T-84 and there is really just no need to "improve" upon the original design.

You can get pretty much all of the parts for a "light" rebuild for under $400. I saw another mention of a replacement T-84, but unless you really know the issue I'm not sure that replacing it with another unknown commodity is going to give you much peace of mind. When you pull yours, open it up and take a look. If it is one of the "consumable" type parts such as the synchronizer or bearings it will be relatively straight-forward to replace. If it is a shaft, bushing or gear it will be a little more complicated. Even if you get a replacement T-84 and inspection of the gears, shafts and bushings shows good, I would recommend doing the "light" rebuild of the syncro, bearings, gaskets, etc. since you already have the it out and apart. If the rest is in good condition you will probably never need to worry about it again.

My sentiments exactly. We do have a replacement T-84 from our own Jerry O'Neill, so we will be going ahead with swapping them out.

rwdfresno wrote:

I am curious though, and don’t at all mean to insult your intelligence, but I assume you have inspected/replaced the oil in the transmission? If the oil is low, or deteriorated that could be an issue, or the cause of the issue. Also do an inspection of all of the u-joints. They can often make a knocking sound that seems like it is coming from the transmission. It might be more noticeable in 2nd gear due to a balance issue when the driveshaft reaches a certain RPM.

No insult whatsoever! We checked the oil and replaced it when we first bought her. Ill check the U joints but still feel very confident in the diagnosis that its a busted gear tooth in 2nd. BUT we will see when we get into her. Thanks for the info and advice!

The Inspector · **Posted:** Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:07 am

Warbird Kid wrote:

rwdfresno wrote:

As far as the transmission goes, there have been a couple of comments about replacement with non-OEM type transmissions. I think that would just be overcomplicating things as well as reducing the overall value of the vehicle. There are several vendors out there selling new parts for the T-84 and there is really just no need to "improve" upon the original design.

You can get pretty much all of the parts for a "light" rebuild for under $400. I saw another mention of a replacement T-84, but unless you really know the issue I'm not sure that replacing it with another unknown commodity is going to give you much peace of mind. When you pull yours, open it up and take a look. If it is one of the "consumable" type parts such as the synchronizer or bearings it will be relatively straight-forward to replace. If it is a shaft, bushing or gear it will be a little more complicated. Even if you get a replacement T-84 and inspection of the gears, shafts and bushings shows good, I would recommend doing the "light" rebuild of the syncro, bearings, gaskets, etc. since you already have the it out and apart. If the rest is in good condition you will probably never need to worry about it again.

My sentiments exactly. We do have a replacement T-84 from our own Jerry O'Neill, so we will be going ahead with swapping them out.

rwdfresno wrote:

I am curious though, and don’t at all mean to insult your intelligence, but I assume you have inspected/replaced the oil in the transmission? If the oil is low, or deteriorated that could be an issue, or the cause of the issue. Also do an inspection of all of the u-joints. They can often make a knocking sound that seems like it is coming from the transmission. It might be more noticeable in 2nd gear due to a balance issue when the driveshaft reaches a certain RPM.

No insult whatsoever! We checked the oil and replaced it when we first bought her. Ill check the U joints but still feel very confident in the diagnosis that its a busted gear tooth in 2nd. BUT we will see when we get into her. Thanks for the info and advice!

Drive it as is for now to get used to taking your time between gears, you can't 'power shift' those old timers it's a more civilized, relaxed ratio exchange and when you get good, you can learn to double clutch into 1st while moving geek

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 4:34 pm

Hey Guys, figured you'd get a kick out of an update. So we've known about a gasket leak for some time. Oil started showing up in the radiator. We tried to put bandages on the problem until she finally wouldn't turn over. So we decided to dive in. It thankfully coincided with the end of the driving season up here in Connecticut and the beginning of our maintenance season.

We theorized it was the head gasket that had a leak. Here's our progress:

Finally Got the head off:

The pesky sleeve that didn't want to be removed from the goose neck:

How it should look:

How we found it:

Oil Pan being sent out for Steam Cleaning.
Thanks to: The New England Classic Car Company
http://www.newenglandclassics.com

We're planning on replacing the head bolts with studs for a greater seal and (should be) easier maintenance. Not to mention a new metal goose neck sleeve, gaskets, some lines, etc. We still have the spare transmission Jerry gave us and still need to have the original one sent out for overhaul. We'll take this opportunity with a lot of the engine apart to clean, sandblast, and repaint the parts to a more accurate finish.

One more project I'd love to do this winter is to fill in all the deep pitting in the bottom of the windshield. But who knows what we'll get to as we get into the holidays. We also have two showcases that are about 75% complete that are scheduled to be put on display near the Jeep, showcasing some of my grandfather's equipment and possessions from the war. Again, something always to work on!

p51 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 4:56 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

Oil Pan being sent out for Steam Cleaning.

Smart idea, I have dropped my MB's pan twice in the past, both times for a sticking oil float (I placed the entire thing with NOS parts the second time) and you simply can't wipe the pan clean enough. Real nightmare putting a pan back in by hand, I felt like my arms were gonna fall off after the first time I did it and used a jack the second time!

SaxMan · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:00 pm

Did you find a break in the head gasket? I know when my Sprite blew its head gasket, the break was VERY obvious.

IIRC, the Jeep has the Willy's F-head engine, which was a valve-in-head engine? I've never seen the inside of one of them like that.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:04 am

After it was removed, it was noticed that the head was slightly warped from over time. We're getting it milled and pressure tested right now. The gasket didnt show obvious signs of being blown, but you could tell it wasn't seating in a few spots.

robkamm · **Posted:** Thu Nov 20, 2014 12:18 pm

nice jeep. I have a 1946 early cj2a. love it.

simon king · **Posted:** Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:36 pm

When you come to put the oil pan back on, use a gasket sealant to fix the gasket to the pan and let it set overnight , inverting the pan onto a flat surface and weighting it down to ensure a good solid fix between the two - this will avoid the gasket being squeezed out of place as you bolt it up.

Do you have the pulley guard at the front of the pan? - if so there are special washers that go between the pan and the guard. This encourages a good seal between the pan and the timing chain cover - which you cannot otherwise get because if you have the pulley guard, the ribbing in the oil pan prevents the sump bolts across the front being sufficiently tightened to ensure an effective seal.

The other thing to check if you have a dribble of oil down the pulley guard is to check the tightness of the fuel pump against the block - it's difficult to get a spanner or socket in to tighten the forward-most bolt - although a 1/4" drive w/extension works well. The other trick is to saw a slot in the bolt head and use a screwdriver - an old jeep mechanic's trick.....................

just some experience from restoring a 42 Script GPW

DH82EH · **Posted:** Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:48 pm

Hey Chris,
Tell your dad that when you get her to Geneseo, I'll trade you guys a ride!

(this thread is now about warbirds :lol:

)

Andy

Nice to see the update BTW

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sat Nov 22, 2014 11:27 am

Thanks Simon. I'll make sure we check her out!

Thanks Andy, Im still trying to pester him about the idea, but he's reluctant. Im trying to tell him, it would be the ultimate golf cart up there on the turf!

By the way, the head is back from the shop. We should expect to see a greater seal now.

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Our 1942 MB Project "Jolly Rogers"

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