The Waltham After Restoration

The two lower photos are of the same Waltham after restoration. Again thanks goes to Alasdair Brass in New Zealand who looked after the speedo, sent the case to be replated, arranged Parrott's in Christchurch to strip down and refurbish the workings. Al painted the bezel and made the missing bracket which holds the speedo in behind the dash using his Waltham bracket as a template. This has been well worth the wait and the small amount of money involved. The slight mottled appearance on the face of the speedo is a reflection.

 SCHRADER GAUGE

I sent Alasdair Brass my old Schrader tyre gauge tube and indicator arm to have the old nickel plate stripped off and re-nickel plated, this was returned along with the speedo. In the meantime I had cleaned up the brass parts, as someone in the past had used it as a hammer, there was also a slight curve in the brass tube, this was easily straightened, and cleaned up. Thanks again Al.

Bob Notman has a good section on his Home Page which shows the Schrader Gauge in cross section

TYRE PUMP

I purchased this pump off EBay for the princely sum of US$25, still with the original Olive Drab paint ( some are grey)  it had an original hose fitted but perished, so I emailed Ron Fitzpatrick who sells not only the hoses but also they come with the attached nozzle. On inspection of the reproduction I received from Ron, I was highly impressed that it matched the original in every respect.  However, I was a bit disappointed when the pump arrived, one end had been bent up at an angle of around 15 -20 degrees. Not wanting to straighten it out cold, and knowing it's cast steel, I heated the offending foot with a propane torch, and slowly squeezed it straight in the vice jaws, it came back exactly where it was meant to be... that called for a beer.( well...the day was hot!). Next problem was the leather washer, a good mate of mine ( funny how we rely on friends in this hobby/passion) who's a boot maker by trade, my immediate thought was I'd just get the leather off him and play around with it a little, he wouldn't hear of it, and right here and then asked that I bring in the pump for him to measure and fit a new washer. Apparently he had done one just the week before for a vintage car pump, and knew exactly what to do. The first tip he gave me was to chamfer the edge back, about 3/16", to half the thickness of the 1/8" leather, a grinder/buffer will do the trick, have a central hole that's a good fit to the shaft, next wet the leather thoroughly. Fitting the washer upside down on the shaft i.e.;- chamfer down, push the shaft , washer fitted, into the tube, making sure the edge is even all around, screw down the cap and leave it for a day or so. When you remove the shaft after that period, turn the washer over, refit it to the shaft, and you'll find it will slide into the tube without any problems. A little light oil will keep the tube in good condition internally, some dubbin on the leather and the pump should last a lifetime. The wooden handle was rubbed down with 400 grade sandpaper, and 3 coats of Penetrol Wood oil applied with a rag. This gives you an excellent satin finish with a smooth feel.

SCREW JACK

    One of the hardest parts to find is the jeep jack, or so "they" say, but persistence paid off big time one day when I found a few by accident,  again on EBay. I typed in screw, jack, got about 50 hits, and as I had nothing better to do a the time, went through each one, very time consuming as most sellers know nothing about cropping photos, well thank goodness for that. One particular photo was taking so long I was about to give up and look at the next item, but instead decided to go make a coffee while it downloaded. This auction was listed as a jack screw handle reflector, with no commas , turned out to be a screw jack, a handle and a safety reflector. Way down the bottom of the pic was this jack, so after winning, and emails were exchanged with the seller, I asked if he had anymore of these jacks, I nearly fell over when he said he had another exactly the same and I could have it for the same price as the other one... US$6.00.and that included postage.. Thank you very much.     The only restoration required was a light clean and touch up with Satin finish Black. The extra jack?. .that's what friends are for, now two people are happy. Some days are diamonds, some days are stone, that day was a double diamond.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER

I had searched high and low looking for a good dent free Fire Extinguisher, managed to get this one off EBay for US$13, postage here to Australia cost more at US$16, considering that if you look in EBay under MB GPW you'll be lucky to get one under US$50... but.. if you "Search" for Brass Fire Extinguisher they can be picked up at a third the cost. Most people who argue that EBay isn't that good, just don't know where or how to look. And complain when jeep part prices go through the roof. This one came without a mounting bracket or the three "stand offs". I made the "stand offs" using my JeepDraw drawings and the bracket was a combination of an old bracket and drawings I had done up of an original. As you can see this is for a late model jeep, having the two straps, made again from my drawings. I found that 3/4" carton bonding steel, is the right size, easy to work and inexpensive, derived free from the local hardware shop from some throw away piles that had accumulated. Total time taken to manufacture the two straps and clips was something like a Saturday afternoon. Almost all Fire Extinguishers are painted OD, some were left natural Brass, I prefer this look. I won't enter into an argument what's correct or incorrect. It would seem that the acceptable Fire Extinguishers for the jeep are Fire-Gun, Pyrene( Heavy Vehicle), Quick Aid, S.O.S. Fire Guard, there's no evidence that Ford jeeps had Ford fire extinguishers, It's listed in the Emile Becker and Guy Dentzer book Page 166, but this doesn't necessarily make it correct, if someone has solid evidence to that effect, please let me know, then I can kick myself for giving away a perfectly good Ford plate.

GAUGES

The picture on the left is the of the restored Stewart Warner Fuel Gauge, now fitted with the correct length and width indicator. Again Al came to the rescue, this gauge would still be sitting in a box up in the shed, patiently waiting for me to figure out where to start. On the right side is of three gauges as I found them, the Oil Pressure gauge is NOS, from Frank,  the AMP gauge requires a lot of work and is still in New Zealand awaiting the two basic requirements - Time and Money. I still have to find a restorable Temperature gauge with the correct Ford flat binding on the capillary tube.

My Reproduction M-2 DE-CONTAMINATOR

 Having the desire  to own an M-2 De-Contaminator for my '44 GPW and insufficient funds available for an original, I decided to make my own using a General Detroit 1.5 quart Fire Extinguisher and a reproduction decal from http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com   I was told that the original had a bluish gray colour, with a flat finish. I found that VHT high temperature paint sold in Auto Parts stores is very close to the finish and colour I needed. The number is SP-104 FLAT GRAY. I purchased the fire extinguished off EBay for around US$20, this included the bracket, the paint was expensive at AU$14.95 for an 11 oz. rattle can. I rubbed the exterior down with 800 grade wet and dry to highlight all the dents and dings, removed the top, using a round wood dolly, took out the dents then re-soldered the top. Having primed the fire extinguisher , a light rub down with 400 grade, sprayed with the rattle can of VHT and applied the decal. So easy!.

PLEASE NOTE

If you're considering making your own M-2 De-contaminator, be aware that the indention on the Model 95 HD Quick-Aid 1.5 quart General Detroit Pump is only  2.5" x  5"  and the label is 3" x  6". Info. supplied by David Cyphers
 

See NOS Section 3 for Original M-2 Pics

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