Would it just be easier?

[garage gnome]

If all the flat fender forums became one giant one with different tech sections for each model? Right now there is:

- G503
- WillysMjeeps (not 100% flat fender, mostly is)
- 2A page
- 3A page
- 3B page
- IFFC forums
- may be others I am unaware of

And they are all talking about the same tech questions and issues! So why not just have all the flat fender tech in one easy to find place instead of searching here and there and playing Where's Waldo? Granted, the 3B is a very different flatty with its Fhead, but still, a lot of the parts swap over, more so with the CJ5 I guess. It is more of a cross-over model then. But anyways, do you guys get my point?

[garage gnome]

The main web page would have different tabs that link you to 3A, 2A, MB, ect specific stuff, like we have here on the main web page. Then there would be a link to the forum with a huge long list of sub forums dedicated to each model.

My antique engine forum (http://www.smokstak.com/) is the only one on the web and it covers every piece of old farm machinery and machined thing you can think of. It is very nice and easy to search there or if you have no idea what something is or what it goes to, somebody there will have an answer.

Just throwing this out there FWIW.

[Macgraham]

This sounds good to me but getting this many sites to agree on it might be a tough slug. Mac

[F Bill]

That has always been my opinion too, Nate but when you get into the politics of combining sites it gets pretty gnarly quickly. I think the best we can hope for is all the sites link to each other, and if we end up with a FAQ �or parts project section that covers all flatfender permutations that would be just fine. The FAQ and how to sections we are adding slowly are going to be one major strength of this site, IMO.

 ï¿½ � �After all it is really common to find a 3A with parts from all sorts of jeeps on it. The average Joe things nothing of adding �WWII parts right alongside Cj5, as long as it works. A tech section that covers all the different stuff one is likely to find, showing what would be correct, would be cool to have. It is nice to know, for example, that that weird looking head you have on your 3A is really a GPW head and sought after by guys with Ford engines. �Or that tranny you have in your jeep is actually �supposed to be in a V6 Commando, not a 3A. Another example, that engine you just bought out of a junkyard is low miles, but that front engine plate looks different..Will it fit a 3A ? Or is it a genset engine plate? �And why is that intake so small? �(or why are the carb bolts 90 degrees from what you expected?) �All are struggles a new jeep owner might encounter.

When we bought out this site one thing that was considered as an alternative was just starting a 3A section on another site. The idea was not well received at the other site, which is fine. Each forum has its own following, some of which wouldn't play well together with other forums members. Each forum has its own moderation style as well. �We try to be pretty laid back here, and so far the members we have have made it easy to be laid back. Some other forums the moderators have to be on their toes constantly and I really do not want to have that problem. There was a lot of good info here at the main page we did not want to lose, so I am glad we all stepped up and bought Jonathan out. Whether we got our money's worth who knows, but we have the potential, with member participation, to make this into a really great resource for anyone building a 3A and even other flattys.

Off my soapbox for now.. Carry on...

[garage gnome]

I know it would never happen. I was just throwing the idea out there for discussion. Yeah the politics would get real messy real fast if that were to happen.

All I'm saying is, in the grand scheme of things, we are all talking about this little 80" wheel base, 134 powered, 4WD, go anywhere, quarter ton, utility vehicle known as the jeep. Well, the GPW guys might say different. �;D

I remember trying to merge the 2a and 3a sites.

[Carls_jeep]

What I think would help most of us is a parts interchangeability site that would show how the parts could be used on Jeeps from 1941 to the end of production of the CJ5. Many of those parts will interchange and it would be nice if it was easy to find that info.

[johnrb3b]

Bill and I have had this very discussion off-line.
We are both aware of the fact that a few of the forums have a very proprietary attitude toward their information.
We also know of some of the flame wars that have consumed other forums.

We aren't interested in any of that.

Yes, it would be great to have a single source to go to that had all the unique info for each model and also sections that covered all the cross-over info. There's really only 3 or 4 engines, 2 transmissions, 3 transfer cases, 2 or 3 axles . . . you get the idea. And there are only minor difference in each of those. A single source would be cool.

But the politics involved would doom the project before it could get off the ground.
I'm active on the 2A, 3A, 3B and Old Willys forums and they are all great groups of guys. Many of them are also active on more than one of the forums. If any of the forums could combine, those would be where to start, but even there, individuals have made huge investments of time and money and would probably be slow to let that go. We have had that here, where Jonathan needed to get something back on his investment - and we were happy to do that.

The solution I see working in the real world would be a site that indexed all the other sites with a search engine that actually gave useful results - separate articles from forum threads, search by name of thread originator or any poster in the thread, include a lookup table that would correlate all the different names for the same part or function, many other features to make searching easy and give good results - you get the picture.

It would be a massive effort on the part of more than one person. And it would have to dynamically update itself or it would quickly fall out of date. Would be nice -maybe someday.

[athawk11]

It's a great idea Nate.  You and Bob clearly think  'Big Picture'!  Bill and Bob know more about the politics involved, but even I remember the discussion at the 2A.  The idea was not well received by the owners/moderators.

It's really too bad.  As you mentioned, there is a common goal at all the sites,  but common sense can sometimes be elusive.

Tim

[F Bill]

Behind the scenes we are starting to do some work on the sort of parts list talked about. As an example of the possible benefit of such a list, let me tell you what I ran into today out in the shop.

Quite a while back I bought a guys entire collection of flatfender stuff, axles, engines, etc and a aborted 3A project. At the time all I coudl do was oil the engines down and store them under my carport, as work was keeping me pretty busy. Now, almost 2 years later, I am trying to put together a good tranny and transfer case for Pintojeep.

One of the drivetrains I got was the entire F head drivetrain including a rear driveshaft all the way forward to the fan.. I found the serial number of the engine, and started to look at separating it from the Tranny and TC, with the intent of possibly using the TC parts on Pintojeep.  Well, being as I know WWII stuff from my GPW days, I quickly noticed a few details on the transfer case behind the T -90 that had me scratching my head. I think I have a GPW transfer case or parts of one attached to my CJ5 or 3B drivetrain! (still have to decipher that engine number.)

That is where a transfer case page showing key details for each model, like the small countershaft in the GPW case (and F bolts) would come in handy.   If you have seen a bunch of jeep stuff over the years you may not need this info. But if you are going to go buy a transfer case from someone, and you are new to jeeps, this will help you prevent costly mistakes. I thinbk our site is a great place to have such a guide, as we already have a lot of great resource pages and this sort of thing would only add to the value of our 3A page. (not that we are selling it or anything like that..lol!)

Good discussion  we are having here!

[Quebec Jeep]

Great Idea Nate! ...but don't count on me on it. �:-?

But I'll let you manage it with John and Bill. �;D

The website kept me busy enough. �;)

[garage gnome]

I know it will never happen unfortunately.  :-/ Too many big egos that don't want to loose their admin status. <looks a F Bill> �;D [size=8]just kidding![/size]

[F Bill]

Leggo my Eggo! Mine, Mine, all Mine!!


Oh wait, he said EGO... That's one of them hi falutin college theories isn't it?

Yup, thats what I do now, walk around with a big head and tell everyone I am the supreme exalted cheif webmaster in charge of the 3A page. Usually that is where they smile and nod and make an excuse to be somewhere else... :-?

And then I wake up and take a look at how I typed my last post and really want to crawl under a rock.  

[Carls_jeep]

The CJ2A site is a very tight click as well I know. I am new to the flat fender Jeeps, in fact any Jeeps but those in the know could put their minds together to assemble a cross reference list on this site that would rival any other site. If there is any way I could help I will but the info will have to come from those in the know. It sure would make the CJ3A site a place to come to for great info and could put us on the map as the go to site.

[duffer]

Yep, would be nice to at least have the ability to search 2A, 3A, 3B, G503, and Early CJ5 sites with one search but that is never going to happen.  We all know a lot of the pieces freely interchange between models covered in those sites and most of the repair data will work for all.  Only the specific details differ.

Each site does have its own ambiance but all of the above are more or less civil, something that can not be said for some of the other 4x4 sites.

Then there is the modification acceptance factor.  I don't think Derek even has a section for posting those.

[F Bill]

So far all the jeep sites have been really helpful to me. I have not been asking permission to post links to specific threads in threads over here, but I have asked permission to post stuff on our webpages. So far everyone has been very glad to spread the knowledge, which I really appreciate.

A few years ago Dr Vern pulled all his stuff offline and a tremendous resource was lost. Rick Stivers Rebuild guide also disappeared for a short time. Thankfully both have returned to the net.That is part of the reason I want to consolidate this stuff in one area here, so we have backups for the originators of those places. (We can lose stuff too, so I don't want to be the ONLY place where the stuff can be found.)

Lets face it too, some of us aren't gonna be around forever, so our knowledge will be lost unless we share it in some fashion somewhere.....The net makes that possible and more people than you will ever know read our stuff and benefit from your knowledge and even from my mistakes!!

Thank you to everyone here who is making this possible, from the sponsor members who bought out Jonathan to John and Pascal for their behind the scenes work, and to you, the member , for posting your experiences and how tos in a clear and interesting fashion for all posterity to learn from.

Well, I need to get back to my shop to see what other exciting things I can break, lose, or destroy in my quest for the perfect Pintojeep. �;D