I started all over on my 1944 Ford GPW Jeep project!

[Art Anderson]

Well, not completely, as I only needed to do a new front crossmember.  As I mentioned earlier, Willys-Overland was the primary contractor for the Jeep in WW-II, but they were way too small to produce more than a portion of the some 670,000 Jeeps built 1941-45, so Ford got a contract as well.  Both Willys and Ford used the same body supploer, American Central Mfg of Connersville IN, who had been the stamping division of the Cord Corporation. for Jeep bodies.  Willys supplied Ford with a thousand or so Jeep chassis to get started, and then Ford took off on their own.  Willys used a tubular front crossmember on their MB Jeep all the way along, but Ford soon came up with a channel steel front crossmember, which is a very visible difference (you can see it right through the grille!).  So I decided to do my Haseagawa WW-II Jeep as the Ford GPW.  Here it is, with the correct front crossmember scratchbuilt and installd (much more correct than what I shared here a few weeks back!)

 

Art

[BigTallDad]

Great start, Art. I remember some of your other builds from that "other" site that was over managed by a certain rectum.

 

[berr13]

I'm looking forward to seeing more of this...

[D. Battista]

I'm looking forward to seeing more of this...

I am too.... I have this kit in my collection...on my to do list ...someday

[Art Anderson]

Many might ask  "DID Ford actually build Jeeps?", and the answer is, yes, they did!   The sudden ramping up of US War Department orders for Jeeps (along with just about every orther form of war materiel) in early 1942 was more than Willys-Overland could possibly supply, so Ford was brought in as a sub-contractor to increase production.  Willys provided Ford with initial chassis stampings and components, while Ford's people got to work creating the necessary stamping dies in order to handle this.  Willys (or their supplier) continued to provide the Willys "Go-Devil" flathead 4-cylinder engines, along with transmissions, transfer cases front and rear axle assemblies.  American Central Mfg of Connersville IN took over production of Jeep bodies for both Ford and Willys, further ensuring a consistent supply.  Fairly early into Ford's Jeep production, their engineers came up with a more conventional channel-section front crossmember which supplanted the Willys tubular unit--and with the deletion (by WPB decree) of all external manufacturer logos, that front crussmember (along with the various data plates) remained pretty much the only quick indentifying characteristic--so that's why I chose the GPW Jeep as a model subject.

One fairly large (and visible) detail missing from the Hasegawa Jeep kit (and I think from Italeri's 1/24 scale Jeep kit as well) is all the brake and clutch pedal linkages underneath, so I made those from bits of K&S brass, and installed them (I know now why these parts were omitted--they make setting the body shell on the chassis quite interesting indeed, but it can be done.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Art Anderson

[Joe Handley]

Looks good so far Art!

[ChrisBcritter]

Here's one of the early Ford jeeps; note the different front fender and doorway opening:

It also had the Ford script stamped in the rear panel; only one l've ever seen. Taken in Wisconsin in 1970; yes, that's me looking like a doofus at the wheel with my brother.

[Art Anderson]

Here's one of the early Ford jeeps; note the different front fender and doorway opening:

It also had the Ford script stamped in the rear panel; only one l've ever seen. Taken in Wisconsin in 1970; yes, that's me looking like a doofus at the wheel with my brother.

Yes, prior to the War Production Board's decree in the early summer of 1942,  both Ford and Willys had their logo's stamped into the right rear corner of Jeep bodies.  GMC, Dodge, Studebaker and other truck makers for both the US Military and for Lend-Lease even used their own cabs and civilian front end sheet metal--leading to concerns as to the ethics of private companies having such a very visible advertising situation during that wartime crisis situation.

Art

[Art Anderson]

Yes, prior to the War Production Board's decree in the early summer of 1942,  both Ford and Willys had their logo's stamped into the right rear corner of Jeep bodies.  GMC, Dodge, Studebaker and other truck makers for both the US Military and for Lend-Lease even used their own cabs and civilian front end sheet metal--leading to concerns as to the ethics of private companies having such a very visible advertising situation during that wartime crisis situation.

Art

And, very early on, in 1942, American Central Manufacturing, of Connersville IN (formerly Auburn Central Manufacturing--the body division of Auburn Automobile Company) produced ALL the Jeep bodies for both Willys-Overland and Ford--and those bodies were both identical (save for Identifying logo's early on( interchangeable from one make to the other.

Art

[Art Anderson]

Finally, the hydraulic brake system is installed in the Ford GPW chassis! 26-GA copper beading wire, into scratchbuilt brass tee-fittings.

[Art Anderson]

Quick jig I made for soldering up those tee-fittings!  I get all manner of small samples of high-end plywood wall paneling samples at work--they are perfect for making soldering jigs.  I made the jig blocks from ordinary popsicle sticks, cut down to size, to hold K&S 1/16" brass tubing in perfect T-formations, with silver solder for strength.  Once soldered up, just cut to size and install.

Art

[vintagercr]

Looking good Art

[Eric Macleod]

If it's a job worth doing it's worth doing twice,  right?

[Art Anderson]

A bit more progress on the GPW!  Engine has been basically assembled (still needs the aircleaner system, oil filter, and the fanbelt/pulleys/generator unit, but it was time to get the plug leads done, then paint.  Overall, these were painted in US Army Shade 42 "non-specular" (Military term for "flat") Olive Drab--Tamiya lacquer gets the call there.  EVERYTHING on those Jeeps was painted in the same flat olive drab--bodywork, chassis engine, transmisson and transfer case--all of it.

Next up, it's time to think wiring (beyond the engine), and next up needed to be the battery.  Making terminal ends for the battery cables was necessary, as those were not part of anything in the kit--just faint terminal posts, caps and that was it--so pieces of .032" brass rod got the call for the posts, the lead couplings for the battery cables are done with Evergreen strip styrene, cut to shape, then drilled out for mounting on the battery posts, and to accept the appropriate cables (ordinary copper wire will make the primary cable from the generator, but what to do for a braided grounding strap?   This detail had to be made so that it fit in place, and not under any tension whatsoever given the very fragile nature of "lead" (actually styrene) ground strap coupling.  After a couple of false starts, I settled on a short length of  1mm Stay-Brite Silver Solder, crimped flat with my trusty old slip-joint pliers--their serrated jaws providing a hint of the "cross-hatched" look of a bare, woven wire strap--then bent to shape (with the battery test-glued to it's "shelf" on the right side inner fender--just a bit of that .032" brass rod in a drilled hole in the inner fender made that terminal.  Once satisfied that the cable simply "slips" into place, and I removed the battery, and cleaned up the glue marks on the inner fender, ready for painting.

Slowly coming along!

Art

[afx]

Catching up late to this build.  Great project Art.

[doggie427]

Very well done (as always) Art ! Watching with great interest.