Yep, Like this.
Yep, Like this.
Good looking Jeep there. You can get a lot of help here. Was wondering, is there a history about how your uncle became owner of the jeep. Was it something the Americans left behind?
Wow, you guys are great! Thanks for all the feedback. I am feeling a lot better about this project now.
A couple tidbits I didn't mention, "the male flare nut has been rounded off". Unfortunately, it was in this state when I started. I will follow the points you all so kindly outlined above, and report back. "Solex carburator". Yep, this is what was on the Jeep when I received it. I probably jumped the gun when I ordered / installed the replacement (the earlier one was in pretty bad shape).
As for the history, this jeep has an original war-time American Willys chassis (my assumption left behind in France, WW2 timeframe) and a more recent French Hotchkiss body. Hotchkiss (as you guys probably know) is a French company, and manufactured 28,000 jeeps under licence from Willys from 1956 to 1967. According to my uncle, when the French army wanted something complicated done to a vehicle, they sent it to an E.R.G.M. (Etablissement de Reserve General du Materiel Automobile) which was an official military "repair station" between 1946 and 1979. The ERGM's received crashed vehicles or vehicles with a blown-up engine or gearbox, so they frequently took parts from one or more vehicles to repair another one. So, today, you can see jeeps with a Willys chassis, a Ford engine and a Hotchkiss body … or variations of that. The biggest ERGM was La Maltournee near Paris, and my jeep left their premises on May 25th, 1970 after at least the body and engine were changed. The French army wanted to use more modern military radios, so they modified the jeep's circuit to 24 volts. My jeep was modified along the way, i.e. the ignition circuit to use 12 volts parts but working in a 24 volts circuit. Hence the reference to "batteries" in my earlier post (x2 6V batteries). Hope this helps.
Thanks again!
Ah, so the 24 volt (two 12 volt batteries in series) system was "converted" by simply putting two 6 volt batteries in series, instead of two 12 volt batteries? Same wiring just different voltage?
As far as the Solex vs. the Carter there is a lot out there for parts and information on the Carter for early Willys. Not so good around here on the Solex. We do/did pick on the Solex. We are in love with the Carter. The Solex is a very popular carburetor in Europe. This is probably why it is on your Jeep, based on your great story of its life. It (the Solex) is or was made in France under licenses to Mikuni which is a large Asian Motorcycle carburetor manufacturer. You may have better luck with it, you are right were they were made!
That's correct - at least my understanding! It has a modified ignition circuit to use 12 volts parts but working in a 24 volts circuit.
The Solex seems to be fairly straight forward, and yes, parts are readily available (so far) over here.
Originally Posted by Willys_Alsace
WOW! Now that is a story!
That old jeep has seen a lot!
This web site has a ton of info. It includes information on the French Hotchkiss Willys.
http://wwiijeepparts.com/Archives/JeepSerialNumber.html
Many farmhouses and barns from Normandy through Paris have WWII Jeeps parts built into the structures. I've seen pictures of MB hoods flattened out to make roofing.
That would be a painful thing to witness.
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