by Nathan C. Thompson

The story of my 1943 Ford GPW jeep started on April 30, 2015, when a friend delivered it to Butte, Montana. My wife, Pris, and I had come driven from Spokane, Washington, and we both arrived within ten minutes of each other. Having come up from the south, the jeep was sitting on a trailer. We were ready to take over with our car dolly.

I was very upset, however, when I first saw the jeep. It was much worse than the pictures had depicted. Later, after seeing a photo of the Jeep, a friend remarked, “I don’t see how you can make anything out of that!” What he didn’t know, however, was that parts were available to me, and I have a persistence to follow through on this project…for my wife. Yes, this was going to be a Jeep for her.

THE RESURRECTION BEGINS

That Jeep had to sit outside until I could make room in my shop. Then, the disassembly began.

Off came the fenders, hood, and tub. Once the tub was off, I could see that the hat channels were rotted out.

On the tub, I could see that cutting torch work had been done on the floor and back panel. At this point, I realized that both front and rear floor panels along with the rear panel and the left rear quarter panel would all have to be replaced.

The tub, fenders and hood all had to go into storage because the exposed frame was in very bad condition. The cutting torch had been used on the rear of the frame, as well, cutting out the V brace that helps support the trailer hitch and the back bumper, all of which was gone.

Furthermore, the front horns of the frame were both destroyed. The left front spring hanger was completely broken off. The right horn had been broken, and someone had tried to weld it (I don’t want to say any more about that!).

I ordered two replacement horns. As these (along with the cross member) were all riveted in, I had to cut the rivets before measuring and cutting off the damaged frame horns.

To replace the rivets, I used my drill press as a pseudo lathe together with my four-inch angle head grinder. With those, I fashioned the heads of the bolts to resemble rivets.

Both front springs had to be replaced. A previous owner had tried to weld the broken leaves.

While waiting for parts, I began to disassemble the engine. Even though it would turn over, I didn’t even try to start it.

Once I had the head off I realized it had been bored to the maximum. My machine shop cooked the block, and then installed sleeves back to standard size. They also planed the head and block and replaced the valves. Thankfully, the cam shaft was fine. The rods and main bearings were both ten under and in good shape. Of course, I purchased and installed new bearings, rings, and gaskets.

Meanwhile, the front and back parts of the frame had arrived. I set to work on the frame.

I rebuilt both the transmission and transfer case and front and rear differentials. Then, I replaced all of the wheel bearings, seals, the master cylinder, wheel cylinders, and brake lines. After I painted the frame, it went into storage. It was time to begin work on the tub.

WORKING ON THE EXTERIOR

I removed and replaced the rear panel first after straightening the rear supports for the panel. Body work was completely a new thing to me, but I learned quickly.

I used a small drill to weaken spot welds. It was a challenge to get the new parts to match up to the old parts. I learned to use self-drilling, self-tapping screws to pull the old and new pieces together. After removing any paint, I used my wire-feed and put small spot welds on either side of the screw. I then removed the screw and spot-welded the screw hole closed (which, ironically, looks pretty much like factory spot weld). I did this over and over and over again as I replaced the different body panels.

Finally, after painting the tub, I installed it onto the frame.

I will add, I purchased a complete new wiring kit that I installed. That’s a whole story in itself!

THE FINAL TOUCHES

I already had one restored vehicle (a WC-12) with Army markings. Having served in the Navy, I decided to finish the GPW as a Seabee Jeep.

I chose to use lusterless olive drab paint because that was what I had available. I chose to install front hooks on the front bumper and USMC-style lifting rings on the front and rear of the jeep.

Finally, I placed Navy Construction Battalion markings to the jeep. I added a replica wire cutter to the front bumper and a summer top. My son-in-law, Ramon Deslauriers, painted, “KILROY WAS HERE,” under the windshield on the driver’s side. It turned out great, and it was ready to “hand it over” to my wife.

Pris dearly loves to drive her jeep. Our plan is for Pris to drive her jeep, and I will drive the WC-12 in upcoming parades and many events. 

Interested in vehicles in olive drab? Check out Military Vehicles Magazine!
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The post Car of the Week: 1943 Ford GPW appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

In 1946, my dad purchased a 1944 Ford GPW jeep from government surplus for $300. That started my love affair with the GPW since it was in that vehicle — at the age of 10 — that I taught myself how to drive. Since that time, I have longed to once again own a 1944 Ford GPW. That realization came true for me in July 2017.

I was able to purchase my 1944 Ford GPW from a woman in Wilmington, N.C. Her husband’s father, a retired officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, purchased the jeep on April 7, 1948, for $600. The jeep was used on a farm in Virginia for many years. Her husband inherited the jeep upon his father’s death in 1977. The jeep brought a great deal of joy to her husband before and after the death of his father.

My wife’s dear friend lived in Wilmington, and her husband was a former Army Honor Guard. When I became serious about purchasing the jeep, my wife asked her friend if her husband would check out the jeep for me. I felt he was a knowledgeable person to perform an inspection of the jeep. The day he arrived at the residence, it happened to be raining. When he rang the door bell to announce his arrival, the owner informed him that the jeep was in the barn and could not be taken out due to the inclement weather. So, our friend had to return on a clear day in order to inspect and drive the jeep. We are forever grateful to our friend for being able to drive and inspect the jeep. He told me it needed some work, but it was otherwise in very good condition.

After we transported the jeep from North Carolina, the fun of restoration began. We had folks from north to south restore our 1944 jeep. It received a new transmission, radiator and some engine components such as a new starter, generator, fuel pump and carburetor. We painted the entire jeep the authentic color and gave it five new tires. Presently, we are revamping the braking system. Next on the agenda is replacing the steering box and tire rods. Our hope is to restore the jeep back to its original 1944 condition and someday donate it to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, La. According to our jeep’s serial number, we estimate that it was the 36,314th jeep manufactured in 1944. Its manufacturing date was August 1944.

We decided to dedicate our jeep to my wife’s deceased father, TSgt. Nicky Marzolla, a member of Company C, 397th Inf. Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, who on Nov. 21, 1944, was moving forward in the town of Moyenmoutier, France, when hostile troops within a building opened fire with machine guns and automatic weapons. TSgt. Marzolla seized an automatic rifle and by accurate fire, drove the enemy to cover. Later, he entered the building, killed 10 and cleared the approach to the objective. For the first time in history, an army crossed the Vosges mountain range. TSgt. Marzolla was seriously wounded in action. He was the recipient of two Bronze Medals, the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. We had all of his medals hand-painted under the windshield of the jeep in his honor.

We had the jeep back on the road in 2018, just in time for a Veterans Day parade. We have participated in every parade within our township since that date. This year, due to the pandemic, we held our own one-car parade and drove our restored jeep throughout our community on Memorial Day, Flag Day and July 4.

It is indeed heartwarming seeing the young and old sending admiring glances and salutes as we pass by.

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The post Jeep(ers) Keepers 1944 Ford GPW jeep appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.