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View Full Version : Restoring Ham's '48 Willys; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!



LarrBeard
08-18-2015, 07:57 AM
A landmark this week. It’s been a year since we hauled the truck out of the barn.

I hate it when I’m right about something that’s going to be a problem or expensive. Remember the vacuum advance from a couple of postings ago? Yep. It’s no good. And, yep – it isn’t an Auto Zone or dealer part any longer. Another KWAS order. This also gives me the uneasy feeling that the diaphragm in the fuel pump may not be far behind the vacuum advance diaphragm in failing. Do I replace it as a pre-emptive move, or wait? I don’t want to delay the job any more than it has dragged out, so I’ll wait until we get the truck running and replace the fuel pump as a last task before we move it out of the shop.

There has been progress. The starter fix was quick and it turns the engine nicely. We finally found the timing marks on the flywheel – they don’t line up with the inspection hole and you have to look at an angle to see them. (Remember; F-head engine – L-head flywheel cover plate.) When we get the vacuum advance, we’ll go for engine start and see how well I did on the carb project.

The wiring harness is pulled into place – it went in very nicely. Wire breakouts were at the exact right place and the period wires (woven jacket, rubber insulation) look very nice. As an aside, you can’t build your own any cheaper, or make it look any better. The instrument cluster is reinstalled and wired. Wiring checks are in progress, lights light when you pull or flick the switches and – even the horn blows!

The replacement steering wheel has been repaired with some magnificent pucky that filled the cracks and sands down and works almost like metal. Good stuff. The steering turns very smoothly, we will need to adjust the little bolt on the steering sector gear box to work out the slack in the gears – I may go to the spring loaded adjuster if the stock unit doesn’t suit me.

Work on the bed is progressing. It has been set on the frame and the line up with the cab checked. The front of the bed aligns nicely with the stamped lines on the back of the cab – it’s level with the cab. It won’t take a lot of shimming to get it level. We’re still patching up the rust repairs; apply thin coat, go do something else while it dries, sand it down, apply thin coat … repeat until it’s right.

Now,the mystery quiz of the day. The '51 4WD in the bullpen outside the shop has a medallion (see picture) on the left front side of the cowl just above the flare to the fender. Is this a factory item - what year - what models?