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Paul Re-plates His Plates

• CATEGORIES: Features, How To • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Paul continues to make progress on his build, though he does have a habit of becoming side-tracked with wood projects (if I am a Foodie,  he is a Woodie).

Paul writes, “The local exotic wood store has been letting me pick over the wood shipments right after they’re unloaded and this has caused some trouble with overheating my credit card.  While I’m still making progress on the never ending Willys project, money has been in short supply so many of these projects have to be low buck items.  One of the cheaper but necessary jobs was to repaint the brass data plates (a total of six plates) originally installed on the M 38.  While I really wasn’t looking forward to working on these plates ( lots of trouble for very little progress) I felt the appearance of the Willys would be improved by having bright and shiny data plates installed on the heater duct below the base of the windshield.

I use a really strong liquid paint stripper to remove the original black paint from the data plates. After the paint is gone I do a chemical wipe with lacquer thinner then gently rub the bare brass with a fine grade scotch pad before doing another chemical wipe followed by the spray can black. Cheap, easy, and quite time consuming but the finished plate looks pretty good.

While it isn’t difficult to redo these data plates it is real easy to screw up the paint (once the new paint is applied) while cleaning off the lettering and then have to start all over again.  I’m using rattle can glossy black spray paint to apply two light coats on each plate and I let them dry for one day after the second coat.  After the paint is dry I very carefully block sand the plate with 400 grit sandpaper with the plate supported on a thick, flat surface.  I’m using a 3/4 inch thick slab of granite (it’s flat and cheap) so if I didn’t damage the paint during the sanding process I spray a very light coat of clear over the data plate and let it dry for another day.  Don’t spray a heavy coat of clear, it lifts the black paint which results in more clean up time and then you have to start all over.  I figured this out the hard way so you wouldn’t have too.  Geeze, what a guy!

Anyway, if things went well you should have a new appearing data plate to attach to your Willys.  I’m still working on the remaining four plates because I got a little careless while sanding  but the first two plates look pretty good.  I’ve attached three pictures showing the stages of data plate repainting.

1. Cleaned Plates with paint removed.

2. After paint is applied.

3. After paint is lightly sanded off.

 
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Sam Gives Craig’s CJ-3B a Lift

• CATEGORIES: Features, How To • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

(Sam, feel free to correct if I have erred with any of my descriptions!)

Sam’s been keeping busy working Craig’s CJ-3B.  For example, Craig was complaining that the brakes didn’t work real well.  So, Sam took a close look at them and discovered that the jeep was only stopping with one brake!  Two of the brakes were completely rusted up and the third brake had suffered a pinched line!  So, Sam obtained some brakes off of a Wagoneer (shoot, I can’t remember the details Sam!), installed those and rebuilt the lines.  Now it “stops on a dime with 9 cents change” as Sam says.

Another project Sam tackled was the springs.  The ride was hard as a rock.  Sam told Craig he had a pretty easy solution.  Instead of installing new springs, they just needed to pull the leafs apart, clean them up, install new bushings and shackles, and then add a liner between the springs to help quiet the ride and improve the action between the springs.  So, Sam put everything back together, saving Craig plenty of money in the process, and the ride improved immensely.

A third project Sam tackled was a lift:  Craig wanted the jeep to ride slightly higher, but not as high as a SOA would have been.  Instead of using longer shackles, Sam suggested simply adding some blocks between the frame and spring holders.  This would provide the lift, but negate the need to change the axle angles.  Below are some pics of the finished lift.  During the process, Sam also installed new shock mounts in the middle of the frame, which allows for the use of stock shocks.

The blocks were made with 2.5″ x 2″ x 3/16″ square tubing that has been capped on each end.  Below pre-paint finished product.

Here is the post paint result of the front hanger (note the color is actually black, but the light faded the color)

You can see the homemade shackles that Sam built which utilize the horizontal piece in the middle. This helps reduce spring sway.  He prefers to keep the shackle as short as possible to additionally remove sway.

Here’s a shot of the front of the rear spring.

This shows the ‘new’ brakes, but does not show the lowered top shock mount.  It also doesn’t show the updated Rack and Pinion system which should be completed soon (here are some early images and discussion of the process).

 
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Stitch Welding

• CATEGORIES: How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Someday, I look forward to learning how to weld better; I’d especially like to work with MIG and work on my TIG (I actually have a rudimentary setup, but haven’t done much with it yet).  So, I’d hardly classify myself as a welding expert (though with two pieces of clean metal I can make a pretty nice stick bead).

Until, if ever, I master welding, here are a couple threads that discuss welding sheet metal together for body repair. If you have any other great, helpful threads, let me know and I’ll add them here.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=39466

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=43249

 
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Sears Allstate Locking Hubs

• CATEGORIES: How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

With Steve’s help, I have obtained some rare images of the disassembly of a Sears & Roebuck Allstate Locking Hub.  Accompanying them is a rough guide.

Here, the bolts are being removed:

Here the bolts have been removed.  Now, the big ring must be removed.

You need to get a hold of the ring and flexing it inward to get it out of the channel.

Here is the cap being pried out:

The ring holds in the four rectangular blocks that engage in the cams inside the cam to switch from locked to unlocked. After that, you’ll need snap ring pliers to remove the ring with the two small holes that you can see in the center around the spline.

Here’s another angle:

Here the parts are getting cleaned:

Shows a box with all the parts from both sides (two assemblies):

 
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Gary’s New Bell Crank

• CATEGORIES: How To, News, Vendors This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Do you have a problem with your Bell crank getting a little loose, affecting the steering on your old flattie?  But, you don’t want to go through the mods necessary or alter the originality of  the steering?

Gary’s friend Lawrence has developed a great solution.  Lawrence Elliot theorized that that the bell crank could be machined in a way to accept tapered roller bearings.  It is then fitted with a pin style adjustment.  As you can see in the pics below, the final product looks simple and slick.

If you are interested in having Lawrence build you one of these, you can contact him at 828-287-5275.  Thanks for sharing this great idea!

 
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Builds: Rebuilding the front of a CJ-2A

• CATEGORIES: Builds, How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

One item I often see on older jeeps are cracks, patches and general ugliness along the front 2 feet of the frame rails.  Sometimes, patching simply isn’t enough and an amputation/replacement is in order.

Over at Pirate 4×4, there’s some great pics of a rebuild that were posted during 2009.  Below are just a few of the many pics posted regarding this surgery.  If you want/need to do this to your build, I suggest you visit the site and check it out.

View all the pics and information here.  Here are some excerpts:

The Surgeon reports, “The front frame section was kinked I think from an incident with the tow bar hitting the ground at speed. It was like that when John bought it. The frame pointed at the ground and the front shackle lay flat against the front bumper meaning no suspension. I cut the fubared frame off and built a new section and front bumper out of 2×3 box tubing.”

The patient prior to Surgery, a 1947 CJ-2A:

pic1

Here’s a closer look at the problem.  Note how the frame still trends downward rather than traveling horizontal.

pic3

And, a closer look:

pic2

The front of the frame has been removed:

pic4

In this photo, you can see the new sections, build out of 2″ x 3″ square tubing that I would guess is 1/4″ thick.

pic5

And here’s another view:

pic6

You can view all the pics here

 
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Leaks in a Transfer Case and a T-90

• CATEGORIES: How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A reader sent me the following question.  He’s in the process of doing work on both :

What is the best way to stop leaks in a transfer case and t-90 transmision? Do you have a any tips?

My answer was the following:

I have found the most success using liquid gasket and following the directions (as I remember them) …
1. Clean the parts carefully
2. Put on the liquid gasket and put it on with bolts finger tight
3. Wait 24 hours
4.  Tighten to spec.

Anyone have additional thoughts, tricks or alternative ideas?

 
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Upgrading / Changing brakes on older jeeps

• CATEGORIES: How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Consider this a draft post that I’ll be expanding.

Jim mentioned in one of his emails to me that he once test drove (and purchased) a CJ-2A with stock brakes that stopped so fast, it surprised him.

cj2a-187Jim wrote, “The old guy I bought this sweet (seen to the right) all original 2A from laughed at me when I test drove it. I hit the brakes and about put my face through the glass, not normal for a Willys right? I asked what he had done, I had already looked underneath and knew it had stock drums. He laughed and said youll figure it out young man. Master cylinder was stock, brakes were stock but this thing would stop on a dime like no willys I had ever seen. Under the passenger side, I found a 1950s era huge vacumn powered brake booster, done so well it looked like a factory item, just brilliant!”

vacuum_brake_boosterThat got me looking around the internet and found a great page on the CJ-3B site about some power boosters that were offered as early accessories on CJ-3Bs. To the right is an image of a brake booster from the CJ-3B site.  These boosters were used along with the stock 9″ brakes.  There’s debate on the CJ-3B site about the wisdom of using the boosters with the 9″ brakes due to heat build up issues.   It’s an interesting solution if you only use your jeep occasionally, but probably not the best solution if you are going to use it often.

The JP website has a nice historical look at jeeps and brakes.  As 4x4wire.com puts it, “The stock brakes on a CJ-2A are frightening by modern day standards. They use a single cylinder master cylinder that has no redundancy and small drums all around. ”  So, there’s good reason to update those older brakes if you plan on seriously driving your older jeep.  There’s a variety of web page “how to’s” on upgrading brakes on older jeeps.   I’ll have to do some web searching to find the good ones, but here’s a draft list of options (and the options could vary depending on the front and back housing you run):

  1. STOCK BRAKES: Stick with your stock brakes, stock pedals and stock master cylinder.
  2. BOSTER PUMP: Add the booster pump.  Here’s info about the booster pump.
  3. SINGLE TO DUAL MASTER CYLINDER: Change your single master cylinder to a dual master cylinder
  4. 10″ BRAKES: Upgrade to 10″ brakes.  I had 10″ brakes on my Dana 44 that I pulled off a mail jeep.  I’m not sure where you find 10″ backing plates from the front.
  5. 11″  BRAKES: Put on 11″ brakes.  You have a couple options, you can use 11″ backing plates from a 60’s J-10 or redrill later-model backing plates (such at CJ-5 or CJ-7 backing plates from mid 70s).  Here’s a discussion of both options from the CJ-2A site.
  6. HYDRO-VAC: Install a Hydro-vac unit.  I ran across this as part of the sale of a jeep.  Apparently, these little devices were used on Trucks and Buses to improve hydraulic pressure. Here’s an image of one and more info.
  7. EARLY DISC BRAKES: Put on disc brakes from a mid 70’s chev truck. Here’s more information on it.  & Here’s a great overview from a Pirate 4×4 installation of disc brakes on a ’47 CJ-2A.
  8. LATER DISC BRAKES: Put disc brakes on the front from a late 70’s early 80’s CJ-5 or 7 (if you are running a dana 30).  Though the knuckles for a Dana 30 from a drum and a disc might look similar, they have slightly different outside bearings and slightly different knuckle shapes.  So, if you use a disc brake setup on a knuckle designed for drums, you’ll need to grind a little off the back of the knuckle.  Here’s one link on the subjectHere’s another Dana 30 drum to disc swap discussion.

Here’s some additional links

(Willys Brakes — Jeep Brakes — Upgrading Brakes)

 
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Reader Question: Wiper Shafts Too Long … Options?

• CATEGORIES: Features, How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

A reader wrote to me asking for some input regarding some replacement electric windshield wipers.  I couldn’t answer his question and, in fact, I’ll have the same problem once I install my electric wipers.  Here’s what he wrote:

” I just bought the electric wiper conversion kit from Omix-ada, but the instructions are limited to the wiring diagram. As you can see from the picture, the shaft length would seem to cause a problem in a direct exchange. I have thought of cutting down the shafts(inner and outer) but wonder if I’m missing something easier. I have Googled the web to see if any one has discussed the conversion, so far no luck. I wonder if you or any of your readers has used these. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thanks Phil”

So, if anyone has any ideas, we’d both appreciate it!

 
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Wiring Harnesses — EZ2Wire

• CATEGORIES: Biscuit, How To This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

When I built my last jeep, I removed the wiring from a totaled Chevy Vega.  Using schematics I copied at a library, I was able to sort out the wires and hook everything together.  This time, I don’t have a wrecked Vega in the driveway.  Moreover, I didn’t want to spend the time at the junkyard pulling one out of a wrecked vehicle.  So, I made the decision to purchase a kit.

My first thought was to use a Painless Wiring Kit, but they seemed to be few and far between on Craigslist.  So, I figured that I’d have to buy a new wiring kit.  When I looked at the price of a new Painless Kit, I thought the price was a little high, so I turned to ebay to see what was available.

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