A week in the life.

Progress on the second Jeep ‘Willy’ is progressing at a brisk pace. The body tub was soon off and I have been over to Jeeparts, in Shrewsbury, with a big - ish, shopping list. I dropped a careful off at the Matt Savage Overland Preparation Barn last week and, as I type, brakes are being rebuilt, wheel bearings replaced and repairs started to the floor panels. Meanwhile, back in the jungle, I took the original Ford Jeep, ‘Henry’ for a 320 mile round trip to Betws y Coed for a spot of fun on some old Droving Roads. It was 16 hour day, but worth every minute. The Jeep ran perfectly and managed to cruise at a respectable 50 -55 mph. There will be a couple of small issues to attend to before I can truly sign it off as ‘finished’, but they can wait a while.

A Lick of Paint

With the first coat of paint now on, the great thrill is to actually tick things off the list as finished! With the body tub welded and repainted, Matt and the chaps are moving on to the chassis. There are a few, small, welding jobs to do, then the fitting of all new brake pipes and fittings. The brakes it came with, were judged to be serviceable anyway and some parts even look new. My role has been minimal, but I fear I shall be doing what I do best, and heading back to Jeeparts, with another shopping list before too long.

Measure twice, cut once.

The Matt Savage team have now started work and removed the old, rusty, floor section. I went back to Jeeparts and lashed out a fortune on a whole Land Rover full of bits. The biggest bit was a new floor panel. This should fit in perfectly once the chaps have hacked out the original 1943 spot welds and tidied up the edge of the floor.

They found a few little wasp nests around the vehicle. These are genuine Californian wasps and one or two were sort of flying about and about 3/4 of an inch long. Hope this sort spell of warm weather we're having doesn't wake them all up! ahhhhh