Messages

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"Original"-- Technical Questions, Answers, Observations / Re: Well I thought I should show off some progress

« on: April 09, 2015, 09:58:39 AM »

Wow. That looks nice!

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"Original"-- Technical Questions, Answers, Observations / Re: Steering, Brake Lines, and Push Rods, oh my!

« on: March 29, 2015, 08:59:05 PM »

Thanks, Dave (and sorry for the delay in reply, I have been traveling a lot since I wrote the post).

I agree with you completely about the press. There have been more times than I care to count that I have run into a need for one. I took the bellcrank over to a friend of mine's (who's got a press) and we were able to remove the assembly in under 30 seconds (sigh).

Sadly, I do need at least one new bearing, as my attempt to punch the bearing further into the bellcrank damaged the metal. So, there's one on order, and when it comes in I'll go back to my friend's to help me put it in place correctly this time.

Speaking of which, I'm going to document with pictures how to go about doing it, so that if someone happens to be in the same situation I'm in will at least have some place to start (there wasn't anything I could find, unfortunately).

As to your other points, I think you're right. I have come to the same conclusion as well, and am glad to get some confirmation.

Thanks for reading through the blog, too! Glad that people are enjoying living (re-living?) vicariously through my experiences.

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"Original"-- Technical Questions, Answers, Observations / Steering, Brake Lines, and Push Rods, oh my!

« on: March 19, 2015, 10:40:28 PM »

Howdy folx,

After a very frustrating weekend, I knew I was going to need to ask for some major advice. I've updated my blog with lots of pictures of where the problems were (last weekend, trust me there are many many more where those come from). I could really use some help and advice on what to do about these areas:

1. Bell Crank assembly isn't going as smoothly as I thought it would
2. Brake lines for a disc brake conversion supposed to loop?
3. What's the proper length for the brake arm push rod into the master cylinder?

Photos show the story (and possibly more).

Thanks in advance,
J

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Rambling, Malarky, Rants, Etc... / March Pleasanton Auto Show

« on: March 29, 2015, 09:04:09 PM »

I thought this might be best suited to this topic thread. Went to the Pleasanton (CA) auto show today and got some great pictures of people's custom projects. A great day was had by all.

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Rambling, Malarky, Rants, Etc... / Re: Kaiser Willys Auto Supply??

« on: February 28, 2015, 03:16:59 PM »

But - here's the big difference.
I've called both on several occasions with questions before buying a part.
In every case, Carl has had the correct answer plus much good advice.
About half the time I call KW, I get someone who simply doesn't have the knowledge and background to correctly answer my question and also doesn't have the experience of actually working on old Willys vehicles.
KW is not bad people, they just don't have the weath of experience that Carl and his son have.

I agree with this. For the most part, if you know exactly what you want KW is a decent place to get it, especially since their threshold for free shipping is lower than Walck's. However, I had one experience that completely echoes John's.

I tried talking to "Mike," (there is more than one Mike at KW, so this was their "senior parts guy") about a problem I was having trying to find a replacement for a hub that got damaged when I was trying to remove a fused brake drum. Despite sending them pictures (and the link to the blog), they kept asking me what kind of brakes I had - which lead me to believe that they hadn't even bothered to look at anything I sent.

There was a lot of back and forth, because what they were telling me made no sense, and ultimately I ended the call without actually getting an answer.

Sometimes KW has parts I can't find anywhere else, however, so I'm forced to use them but overall I try to avoid anything that might require asking questions later.

Just for what it's worth, at least...

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Your CJ-3A Project / Saginaw v. Ross

« on: May 11, 2015, 06:30:01 PM »

There's no question in my mind that the Saginaw steering is a better system. So, perhaps the title is a little misleading.

Here's my issue, however. I mocked up the steering components (all NOS parts) on my CJ-3A this past weekend. They're looking pretty good, and I have a TightSteer component ready to be applied to the Ross steering box.

However, this is not without it's issues (no horn tube, for example). [Note, I've fixed the Bell Crank problem, as pictured in that blog, but haven't had a chance to update an entry about it yet]

Late last night I bought a donor CJ-3A which seems, on paper, to be a really good fit for Badger's restored frame. However, it has a Saginaw steering system. My question is this: should I (can I) remove the Saginaw system and replace Badger's NOS Ross steering setup? I've been almost obsessive about NOS parts and returning to original, but I've already modified the brakes to disc for safety as it is, and driving the donor Jeep made me realize just how awesome the Saginaw can be. I've driven a lot of flatties, and it is truly impressive.

Thoughts? Advice?

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Your CJ-3A Project / Re: Badger update

« on: February 28, 2015, 03:04:44 PM »

I think you may have been better off cutting the bolt heads instead of cutting the hood in half. At least then you could have more easily salvaged the hood itself.

Oh! The picture has the angle grinder just resting on the hood, but the hood is still intact. I did cut through the hinge of the hood, because I figured that even by drilling through the screws I realized that it would need to be changed out. At least, that was the logic at the time. Now I'm not so sure how I'll get that original remaining hinge parts off...

And you've probably learned by now that if you take that inspection cover off the back of the transfer case it gives you access to the transmission main shaft nut. Take that off and you can separate the trans and the transfer case without pulling the transmission innards out.

You are correct. I have learned a lot about how this stuff is supposed to work.

In the long run, though, I'm kind of glad that I did it this way for Badger. For one, I know now I shouldn't do it for Porkchop. At the same time, if you've seen the pictures in the most recent post, the transmission, etc. was really, really problematic from farm... stuff.

No worries. Trust me, I've done loads of stuff that I later wish I hadn't - I still do, pretty much on a regular basis. My point was don't be afraid to ask questions before diving into something. Lots of good people here. When I dragged home my 3A EVERYTHING was a learning experience for me. There is no chance I could have put the thing back together without these forums.

Agreed. Sadly, even though I did many hours of research before doing anything, I missed this particular forum. Oh well, I've found it now.

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Your CJ-3A Project / Re: Badger update

« on: February 28, 2015, 03:58:55 AM »

Well, yeah, I had a feeling that there would be (more than one) moment(s) where I would undoubtedly make mistakes. I probably still will. In al honesty, no one has mentioned anything about the angle grinder before now, so I confess I'm not sure what I did wrong.

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Your CJ-3A Project / Re: Badger update

« on: February 26, 2015, 11:08:13 AM »

Sadly, there's no way to wrap the puller underneath the wheel. The "donut hole" really can only fit one way.

Thanks for the compliment.

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Your CJ-3A Project / Badger update

« on: February 24, 2015, 01:09:26 PM »

Just joined a little while ago, and thought I'd up my contribution level. Just posted an update to my blog on updates to the steering and some engine systems. Complete with before/after pictures.

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Once You've Joined / Re: Intro from Silicon Valley

« on: February 24, 2015, 01:25:14 PM »

Welcome aboard!

Any pics of the 3A

As a matter of fact, I just updated a lot of pictures on the project today on my blog.

In the meantime, this is what Badger looked like when I got it. You can see updates on the blog, though.

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Once You've Joined / Re: Intro from Silicon Valley

« on: February 17, 2015, 12:20:29 AM »

Love the Blog, and the Jeeps, very funny story teller� Come to RI and lets have a beer and some laughs!

Sounds like a plan. I graduated from URI and still have friends in the area, but haven't been back in years. I'm overdue!

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Once You've Joined / Re: Intro from Silicon Valley

« on: February 17, 2015, 12:19:52 AM »

Welcome to the site. I'm just settling in to a few of your blog posts and they are hilarious. As a former part-time inhabitant of Sillycon Valley and former full-time inhabitant of Asia I'm really getting a kick out of your writing.

�Lift uour engine with safe easy. Holds 1000 lbs.��

I was about as mechanically numb as you when I dragged home my first flat fender. Some days it seems I haven't improved much. Looking forward to following your projects.

Thanks, and thanks for the compliments. I do try to make them somewhat entertaining. I figure that a noob boob like myself is bound to have lots of (mis)adventures to write about.

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Once You've Joined / Re: Intro from Silicon Valley

« on: February 17, 2015, 12:18:26 AM »

Welcome to the site! Is the M38A1 extended in the back?

Thank you. Yes, the previous owner said it was a "field extension" done by the Marines in '52. Unfortunately, I have no way to know one way or the other, but I do know (after spending so much time underneath Porkchop) that whoever did it spent a lot of time and effort on doing it well.

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Once You've Joined / Intro from Silicon Valley

« on: February 16, 2015, 07:48:48 PM »

Hello,

Working on two concurrent restorations at the moment - a 1952 CJ-3A ("Honey Badger," or "Badger") and a 1952 M38A! ("Porkchop," named after the Battle of Porkchop Hill in Korea). When I started these projects I barely knew how to change the oil.

I'm here to be a sponge and learn as much as I can and also report on Badger's well-being. I've been faithfully blogging my progress with both Jeeps, including lots and lots of pictorials, at http://myjeep.rocks (yeah, I couldn't believe the domain was available either

Here's a picture of Porkchop in his current state, for those who (like me) are into Jeep *. Badger is a rolling chassis at the moment and at this point it's the "before/after" pics on the website that are probably more interesting.

Best,
J