The mystery item was part of the filler cap. Either it had fallen off a long time ago, or when you broke the cap, it was collateral damage.
From your description of all of the sludge in the brake system, I'd not be surprised if things don't clean up really well. You'll probably end up with a new master cylinder.
That Jeepster is fantastic! It is one of the "pink unicorn" variety. From the photo of the dash, I can see that the speedometer is disconnected. If there is a speedometer issue, there is a good guy in Michigan who can rebuild it.
The engine turned face plate on the cluster is an earlier feature - I don't know when (or if) they changed the style in the Jeepster, but in mid '48 they went from the engine turned to painted face plate in the 2WD trucks.
At the lower left on the dash looks like an overdrive control. The Borg-Warner overdrive was an option on the Jeepster and it let it cruise at 55 mph, a breathtaking speed in VJ days. We worked with a guy last year to solve an overdrive issue and it turned out to be a bad control relay - the box on the firewall. Look for a nameplate with a VIN - that will tell us exactly how old the vehicle is.
A third generation Jeep/Jeepster is really neat - but not unusual here on the forum. Jeeps tend to stay in a lot of families for generations. I've been driving my Dad's truck since I was 12 years old - about 63 years now.
A serious suggestion; buy a Parts List and a Willys Mechanic's Manual for the Jeepster. Those two books will help you be a Jeepster "authority". And, get a KWAS catalog, it is a gold mine of Jeep information; parts, tips, serial number information and even color chips by year.
Let us know how the project goes, and don't be surprised if it grows a bit.....
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