Larry behind the wheel

Out of the garage again. Engine is running rough. Might be the gas or the high altitude. Rear seat is now installed and everything is hooked up and working. Waiting on the canvas top to arrive in a few weeks.

Almost done....never!

Got the Jeep out of the garage and drove around the block. Found a few leaks that need to be fixed in the brake system, but overall, things are working well. The generator is still a problem. A new voltage regulator is on the way and that should get the electrons flowing to charge the batteries.

Remaining major items, in addition to the generator, are mount the rear seat, add the canvas top when it arrives next month, and touch up the paint, bolt heads, scratches, etc.

After rebuilding and/or restoring several airplanes, I know that this Jeep project, like the airplanes, will never be 100%. There will always be a list of little things that need to be improved upon, or touched up just a bit. As we start to drive it around town, and to some of the local events, we will find things that we want to improve, or make better.

We hope to drive the Jeep some before we park it for the winter and head back to our sailboat. Next month is the Taylor Corn Festival, which has classic cars on display. Last year we saw a military Jeep there, so we hope to drive up to Taylor and put this one on display.

It moves under its own power.

If you compare this photo with others taken from this angle, you will notice that something is missing. The Jeep was moved outside, under power, with brakes working too! WOW.

This allowed me to sweep the floor and clean up where the Jeep had been sitting for most of the past two years.

Still having problems with the generator / regulator which prevents me from putting on the right front fender and the hood.

Front Seats are installed

The front seats are now installed with the new canvas seat cushions. Also the new steering wheel is now on. Running the engine today, put it in gear and actually moved it a few feet forward and back.

Major things still to do; Install the left headlight, get the generator working, adjust the brakes, install the right fender and hood.

The end is in sight! I have very few parts left to install. I am running out of bolts and holes to put them in, so it must be almost back together again.

Seats and Military Markings

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This past week was spent on striping, cleaning, sanding and painting the front seat frames plus the gas can. The seat cushions and canvas covers are ready to install on the seat frames as soon as the paint has dried. Also the military markings arrived and most of them were applied to the Jeep.

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The bumper unit markings are for the 12 Group, 11 Batallion, 128 Aviation, vehicle # 6. The 128 Aviation Company was my unit in Vietnam 1965 - 1966. In the early years of the Vietnam war, Jeeps like this one were in use. White markings were seen on vehicles and aircraft until 1967 when the Army switched to black markings. The uniform patches also changed to "subdued" black on green.