I believe the main reason I am into antique cars is because I grew up with a Porsche 356.  For most of my life it sat in a garage or a barn and then in the 1980s my father brought it home and we worked on it a bit at a time.  Dad bought the car for $500 in 1966 after driving a newer one.  Below is a shot of him with the car around 1971. The car is battered but is all matching numbers including the original engine.

When my parents moved from Illinois back to our home state of Massachusetts a few years back he sent the car to me.  I asked why and he said he thought I would fix it if it was sitting in my garage.  It took a few years but he was right. The first step was getting it running around the yard.

Then it sat for a while longer.  Dad came down to Maryland and taught me the leading and brazing techniques that were my first foray into metalwork on antique cars.

And finally I really got rolling on the project with the help of former students.

It was all worth it to see Dad with the car that I grew up hearing legends of. And with it all fixed up I heard even more stories that were new to me! One of my favorite stories is of a time he was pulled over for speeding.  The trooper started yelling at my father and Dad was very confused because he was driving the speed limit.  Well it turned out Dad had been speeding (120mph) an hour or two before and the trooper gave up chasing him!

Why suddenly talk about the Porsche now when I mostly talk Jeeps? Well after a year of sitting I finally took a couple days for my Dad and I, fixed some electrical issues, and put the Porsche back on the road again.

I feel guilty for not working on Jeeps for two days….. but it’s worth it to be able to call up my father and talk about the Porsche and having it on the road again.  As Harry Pellow, Der Maestro, used to say, “Keep the 356 Faith!”

Back to Jeeps now, but I will drive the Porsche to the shop.

Every now and then an opportunity comes along which you cannot ignore. And sometimes you think about the opportunity and wonder if you should be an intelligent human being and ignore it. Well, we took the opportunity just to say we did it. A customer dropped off a Jeep needing transmission work. I believe he was inspired by the photo below when he told us to flip it on its side if we wanted to.

During WW2 if you had a bunch of fellows with nothing to do, and wanted easier access for a repair I guess this was an option. I have seen several other photos of mechanics tipping and flipping Jeeps for repairs. Since none of us are young (but we are obviously sometimes stupid) we used a Jeep and winch to bring this Willys MB up on its side.

Once it was on its side we set about removing the offending transmission from beneath. There are several things one must think about when doing this. First is blocking the engine in place.

With shims and wood cut to size we set up a “field expedient” set of blocks to keep the engine from falling out. Later we would strap it in place with heavy straps and a 6 by 6 piece of lumber. Here is Mike getting to work removing the transmission.

Removing the transmission and transfer case gave us alot of time to think about the wisdom of what we were doing. If you had a group of young, healthy fellows you could perform the removal easily. However, installation would really not work this way. You would not have enough control when maneuvering the transmission back in place. At that point we strapped the engine in and decided to lower the Jeep back down. But not before taking some great vintage pictures. Below is a photo of myself after removing the transmission.

And here is a photo illustrating why we do not let Mike drive the Jeeps

What did we learn from this? First off tipping the Jeep did NO damage to the body, I am impressed. I did make sure to drain all fluids and remove the battery before tippping. While as a field expedient this might make work on driveshafts and such easier, it is not a practical method for swapping a transmission. And I must emphasize, PLEASE DO NOT try this at home. We are professional idiots :) Stay tuned as I will be updating this post later with a video of lowering the Jeep

The question I have received the most as of late is where do I get my parts?  Other than a secret underground bunker filled with NOS jeep parts (location to remain undisclosed) the list below is of the main suppliers I use and WHY I use them. Each supplier name is also a link to their website.

Beachwood Canvas: the best canvas products available in my opinion.  And the ONLY people to go to for seats unless you want to be feeling metal under your butt.

Army Jeep Parts:  George Baxter knows what he is doing and his parts FIT RIGHT. If you want a correct spec radiator that will not overheat, go to him.  If you want an amazing rebuilt transmission or transfer case, go to him.  AJP carries electrical parts made by MV Spares in Australia which are all engineered to correct WW2 specifications. AJP also carries panels produced by Midwest Military.  These are made in the USA to correct specifications unlike the MD Juan parts.  George is amazingly knowledgeable and a perfectionist.  Some folks want to save a few dollars and wrestle with the consequences.  Save your time, buy from AJP.

Walck’s 4 Wheel Drive:  I use Walcks for rebuilt starters, generators, and such items as brakes and brake parts.  They cover WW2 and up.  A family business they are wonderful to deal with and provide reputable quality. I cannot say enough about them.

D L Bensinger: On the east Coast if you need a gas tank, combat rims, handles etc.. go to Darryl.

Ron Fitzpatrick Jeep Parts: On the west coast Fitzpatrick is an amazing parts supplier.  Also use him for rebuilt transmissions, transfer cases etc..  Ron has everything.  Sheet metal is MD Juan as far as I remember though. Also, if you are not on the g503 forum then follow the link to his site and join it.

TM9 Ordnance:  I have not tried them yet but fellow restorers who have say they are the best paint suppliers.

Brent Mullins Jeep Parts: Brent makes rivets for your frame restorations.  They look like original rivets from the top but actually are a type of bolt which breaks off on the bottom after the torque spec is reached.  I use these on all frame restoration.

In the end the best thing I can say is that it does cost money to restore a Jeep.  Use the best parts and you will enjoy restoration, maintenance, and driving of your Jeep so much more.

Have fun!! -Merlin