Any thoughts on this?

[jakewd]

This is on the chassis of a 1944 GPW jeep.The jeep tub is stamped Ford as is the hood. I am confused as to why a GPW body would have a chassis with an MB serial number plate. I would appreciate any help.

[gmwillys]

When the military performs a reset or overhaul on their equipment, they were stripped down to the bare frame. Each component gets sent off to the rebuild shop within the depot/contractor. The body was sent to a shop to be reconditioned, along with the drivetrain. Long story short, when the Jeep was reassembled, it was entirely possible that the GPW body was put onto the MB chassis. This is mainly caused by the time it takes to refurbish the chassis may take a lot less time than the body. The chassis gets the next available body and driveline. With all this being said, there should be a depot overhaul tag installed. Some examples are included, to include the process;

http://www.ewillys.com/2017/01/31/jeep-reconditioning-programs/#more-119216

[LarrBeard]

If the body had been swapped in a non-military rebuild, there would not be an overhaul plate.

I looked at the link - interesting. I saw that the Esslingen overhaul plate recommends SAE 30W oil above 32-degrees and SAE 10W below 10-degrees.

But, the most interesting was the recommendation for fuel having a minimum octane rating of 68. I wonder where we could get 68-octane gas today?

[jakewd]

Thank you for the information, you have been a great help. Thanks again!

[pjm10]

After a bit more research, I think I have an early GPW on a Willys
Chassis. Apparently Ford used Willys chassis for early jeep production. I intend to put the correct engine in the car as soon as I find one, the current engine is from a 1950s jeep. My jeep logbook tells me the vehicle is a 1944 but all the numbers are wrong I think the logbook is basically made up. I think this jeep is probably a 1942.

[gmwillys]

A good source for a period correct engine, whether you want to go with the MB Willys engine to match the chassis, or the GPW engine, would be the following;

http://www.ewillys.com/category/engine/

https://forums.g503.com/viewforum.php?f=110&sid=0965cd9d65de7e0f219af71f78a14652

https://wenatchee.craigslist.org/pts/d/willys-jeep-engine/6716815455.html

[LarrBeard]

After a bit more research, I think I have an early GPW on a Willys
Chassis. Apparently Ford used Willys chassis for early jeep production. I think this jeep is probably a 1942.

75+ years later we tend to forget "..that there was a war on..." back then in 1942. People did whatever was needed to get things to the troops.

Collectors of the M1 Garand were convinced that rifles with Winchester barrels and Springfield Armory internal parts had to have been mixed up in depot rebuilds and barracks swapping. As folks were able to look at rifles that were original and to get access to piles of old paper, it became known that the two builders would, on occasion, swap parts.

Much the same thing happened in late M1 production when Springfield Armory, H&R and (gasp) International Harvester would swap parts to even out line balances.

It goes back to Rule 1 of Jeeps: "What you see is what you have".

Then, Rule 2: "Don't say Willys never ..... ".