Am I at the correct forum for MB '43 Willy's discussion?

Just purchased a roug '43 Willys. Going to pick it up tomorrow. Is this the correct forum to gather information?

This isn't a bad place to be. Tons of general knowledge of all Willys models here.

There are a few forums more specific to your Jeep. Try the G503 forum for WWII Jeep info.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Where do I fond the g503 forum, and what does "G503" stand for .

http://g503.com/ is another forum. some people here my have the knowledge you need. I do not.

Ed
I'm an MB guy. I have 2 good ones now, a fewpartsers, and just sold a GPW. You can ask me anything. Been working on Jeeps since 1970.
diggerG

Hey diggerG! Thanks for responding!!! Let me go ahead and apologize now for all the stupid questions I will be asking.....my dad was in Korea in '52 and he drove an MB. He has told me so many stories about them. He has always wanted one to restore, and I stumbled up on this one last week at a price I couldn't refuse. We got it home yesterday. it os rough, but I think it is restorable. It appears to have been painted over several times. We found a small plate on the dashboard, and with some paint thinner and old cloth fount this plate apparently shows the shift pattern (was hoping to find the VIN, but nope). This was the inly plate we have found so far. Is there any other way to find the VIN number? The mesh radiator screen is there, but the grille is gone. Where is the best resource for looking for parts?
My name is Edwin Dixon
i am in Cullman, Alabama (50 miles north of Birmingham).

Thanks for responding!

Thanks so much for your help.

Have a great day!
Edwin

Hi Edwin -- welcome to the forum. There's a lot of great knowledge here on OWF that will probably get you through most of it.

Also, I know of another good bunch of folks in Middle Tennessee from the Ky line all the way down close to your location that have a good bit of experience with the MB. They have a group on facebook you can join "Middle Tennessee Vintage Willys Club" where you might get some local assistance as well.

Good Luck on your resto.
Greg

If the front frame ears are intact there will be a tag on the left (drivers) side frame ear on the inside frame brace under the gusset. Do you have a number on your bill of sale? Do you have the 4 cyl engine? trans? windshield? I may have a grille to spare. There should be a glove box door with 3 ID plates on it. No door, no plates. OOPS I just saw your picture. That is a CJ2A, 46 - 49, not an MB. There also could be a plate on the firewall pass. side. There are a lot of differences between a 2A and an MB. Most not immediately obvious.
diggerG (Greg)

No glove box door. I will send more pics to see if you can tell me more....

OOPs Ed It is a CJ3A, 1948 - 52 or near to. the frame ears are different. The widndshield is a CJ2A. That threw me off. You don't need a grille, I see yours. Does the engine spin over? have compression?
diggerG

Nice find.
Looks very restorable. Pretty complete.
Yeah, there's lots of rust and rot. Depends on how much body work you want to do.
Air cleaner is missing - easy to find.
And it has a fairly rare radiator chaff screen. Don't let that get lost.

diggerG, Ok, you have thrown me a couple of curves......

1) what are "frame ears"?

2) where are you seeing a grille?

3) do you have a grille?

Thanks Johnrb3b......i am a little overwhelmed..... glad my dad is the foreman on this job..... diggerG has replied, and inromed me that this appears to be a CJ3 with cj2 parts..... i am floored that you all can tell all of this by the cryptic pictures I have posted... thanks for ALL the info.... my dad turned 86y/o last week. He ahs always wanted to restore one of these... he had one in the Army whe he served in Korea in '52...this is our "project" now.... needless to say I am so excited (as is he).....

Edixon said:

diggerG, Ok, you have thrown me a couple of curves......

1) what are "frame ears"?

2) where are you seeing a grille?

3) do you have a grille?

Click to expand...

The frame ears are the frame pieces that stick out in front that the bumper bolts on to. The MB and 2A have top and bottom gussets that bolt the bumper on. The 3A has what you have,

The grille is what the headlights are bolted onto. There is nothing that belongs in front of that except the bumper.

Yes I have a grille, but you don't seem to need one.
The number plate should be on the firewall on the passengers side. If there is one. a little 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" aluminum plate. (rough measurements) with 4 screws holding it on.
diggerG

I am a bit confused...... thanks for your patience.....thoigh maybe you

1) in looking at pictures if mb, cj2, and cj3a's, they all appear tomhave a grille with vertical,bars. This jeep has a radiator chaff screen, but no grille with vertical bars. That's why I asked where did you see a grille. I assumed this jeep,should also have a vertical bar grille that fits over the radiator screen. Is this an incorrect assumption?

2) the fron bumper appears to be homemade (angle iron), so I will look to see if the VIN may still be visible (hopefully not obscured by the welding).

3) we have turned the engine... it turns freely and has compression.....

4) the jeep,is at my dad's house so I get to see him (and the jeep) at least once per week.

i can't wait to hear it run!!

Thanks so much for yoir valuableinformation and comments!

Ed
It's the other way around, The screen is in front of the grille and is attached to it. It looks like somebody put a 12v alternator in it. Get yourself a 12v battery and pull the spark plugs. Spin it over and check for compression with the thumb test. It helps to spin it over for a minute or so to get the oil pressure up, that will build up the compression (we hope!).
diggerG

Oh my goodness.... you are telling me that the grille os behind the screen?? I feel really stupid... i will check it when I fo back over there... my dad had started tinkering with the jeep already. he worked in a motorpool in the Army. He had already told me that someon had converted it to 12 volts. He said starter appears to be turning, but not engaging to turn the engine. I think he is taking it off to get it rebuilt.... inreally feel stupid about the grille/screen thing... we have 3 matching wheels and the 4th one is not solid
, but has holes around the perimeter.... whose my best source for one of those?

we will do the compression process you mentioned once we get the starter working correctly.

thanks so much for being patient wi.h my stupidity....

Wheel rims:
All our vendor sponsors sell new wheel rims.
Midwest Willys sells used parts that are trustworthy. I've bought rims from him.

Now that you have it pulled "out of the woods" we'd love to see more pictures of it.

I've got wheels Ed. Show us a picture of the wheels you do have and I'll match it (hopefully). There are all kinds of different ones. You really don't need a wheel if your jeep hasn't yet run. There is plenty of time on that one.
diggerG

I know.. i am getting the cart before the horse (or the wheels before the engine)...Igo to my dads once per week, so I will take more pictures when I am there next week... a problem I have is..... to order parts, I dont know dor sure the year and model.... is there any angles I can make pictures of that could help you to identify for sure the model and year? Someone had welded some plates on the frame ears and then welded the bumper to the plates, so it appears that the welding has covered the VIN, so, thats not an option....We have a good bit of rust, so We considered looking for a tub to replace the exiting tub wwith floor, back quarter panels, etc..... just not sure how hard that would be to find, and suspect it might be rather pricey.... my dad has 4 old cars he has restored.. 49 Ford pickup, 51 ford pickup, 48 Ford coupe, and a 51 Pontiac Chieftain..... due to this he has quite a bit of parts and we considered putting ghem in ebay and taking the money and applying toward a new tub... he has a good flathead V8 and a couple transmissions, and various other parts... now that those vehicles are restored he no longer needs those parts AND now he is excited about the jeep..... tell me if there are particular pictures that would better identify the jeep.... THNANKS so much for your help!!