A little project update on Chug A Lug

SO Birthday weekend which of course meant working 5.5 hours on Sat and then a Family BBq with a few friends over in the early evening. So I got very little done yesterday.

but since my son is in need of money and was going to be down anyway. I had him doing a bunch of clean up in the shop while I worked. (not sure if it will be easier or MUCH harder to find things now)

I did get my poor air compressor drained and serviced boy did it need it.

This morning (Sunday) I got my Head light buckets inner and outer painted with some nice VHT Epoxy Satin Black So they are ready to assemble in the grill when the time comes.

I wanted to trial fit the front fenders and grill in place but with no help around I decided to go back to working on the Tail Gate.

I got the little repair and reinforcing pieces I made to go where the tailgate chains break the edge of the gate welded in place and plugged and welded up the M-38 style Gas can and Tire mount holes Dad drilled. I used thin pieces cut off of some 1/2" and 3/8" shaft material as the Plugs.

I have about half the grinding done but then the Wife came home from her early shift at the Grocery store and took a nap. SOOOOO no more grinding for a while. My turn to cook dinner so might not get the rest of the welds ground today (not a bad thing back is killing me)

On the search for what to do about a hood One of my options has disappeared. There was a complete 3A Body for sale local I was thinking about buying and seeing if the Hood and Windshield were better then mine. Then reselling the rest when I unload all my excess parts at the end of this. But I took to long and its gone. Also RFJP is out of 2A hoods and didn't sound like they would have any more for a while. I still have Richard Darr at Washougal Classic Jeeps with 2-3 Used hoods to look at. If I can find any time to get up there.

Worked about 57 hours last week over 6 days with an additional 6 hours of unpaid travel time in a crummy and 6 hours of commute time. So little time for a 1.5 hour one way road trip except on a Sunday and I hate to ask a guy that.

ROFLMAO if I could get away to come get it that alone would make the trip worth while. BUT we/I have about 6-7 weeks left of the construction season to pad up the savings account and squirrel away as much Willys money as possible.

As this is the first year EVER in the Wahlster Household with no rent or mortgage payment to deal with. The winter budget will be very easy to deal with. But I'm no idiot with 3-4 months of no work we still prepare as best we can.

So its off to work trying to get as many hours as possible right up until the man on the phone that runs my life during construction season stops calling.

Not a lot done this weekend. Had some family stuff to do Saturday. I worked till Noon then raced to meet a guy to buy a beater 1938 Winchester model 94 with a 16.5" cut down barrel No collector valve anymore so perfect to become Chugs "truck gun" Then we went to one of those Escape Rooms that my wife organized for my birthday everyone had fun.

Sunday I did more grinding and welding and a lot of Pounding and some clamping and bending on my Tailgate and I think it is close enough to get some Epoxy primer on so I can see any more work it needs before I PC-7 up some dents and smooth a few of my new welds.

Still haven't solved my hood problem.

Ahead a full week of working up in Santiam Pass hauling Cinders the good news on that is it will put another 100-200 in the Willys account.

This coming weekend I have to try to attach the front sheet metal and see what I have to do on the fenders to get it all to fit correctly.

How are you planning on carrying your new Winchester in or on your Jeep? I also have a Winchester 1894 30-30 Short (baby carbine) as a sidekick for my 2a but haven't mounted it yet. Like my 2a I built the carbine up also from a gutted frame with a broken missing rear tang. My main concern is someone with sticky fingers.

Jim

Thanks, One of the ideas I had was the cable for security also

   Jim

Hmmm... what could you stash behind the dash?

BIG DECISION MADE TODAY

I will be refinishing my Original Hood. The cost of securing a New Willys Stamped hood is just more then I am willing to pay. Especially since it will certainly require some work to make it ready for Primer.

I have checked out some Used hoods and the amount of work required to get them ready exceeds what my Hood would require.

I have decided that while the "Idea" of having my Dads art work saved hanging on the wall of my shop to collect dust and end up buried behind what ever is some what appealing I'm just don't have that kind of shop to worry about Wall art.

I can create a professional grade photo of the art work myself even print it out life size myself and frame it myself and hang it on the wall to collect dust.

SO Tomorrow I am going to strip down the hood and get the last piece of my sheet metal ready for the steps required to get it painted.

Its all a Moot Point now The hood save for a some detail work on the underside is bare metal. As I knew it would taking off the paint and putty shows the hood needs a couple hours of hammer and dolly work and then as before some putty. Nothing was more then 1/8" thick and I am sure with a little patience I can get that down to 1/16th. The front wire is broken at the center joint. Dad strapped it over with a piece of 16ga and some rivets. I'm going to go up to a piece of 1/8" x 1" to lay right behind the Edge Roll and then Plug weld it in place. Along with welding the rod and about 1" of the center joint.

He placed a pair of 14 ga 3/4" angle iron strips along each side of the Center Joint flanges and pop riveted them to the flanges and then One rivet on each end I'm going to Redo this adding more Rivets to the Center Flange and then Plug welding the bracing along its length. I think with my LONG reach Vise grips I can get almost the whole way. I'll use Pop Rivets to hold the pieces together if they don't reach and then drill them out and plug weld the holes back in.

The Hood along the front edge of the Hat channel bracing in the back is pretty lumpy So that will require a bunch of Hammer and Dolly time. It has also come unwelded along the rear flange of the Hat channel so Dad fixed this with a Pop Rivet every couple inches. I'll be removing all of them and Welding it proper.

I know a few of you will think I should have kept the hood as is. But really it just didn't make sense.

A New Hood was going to cost $549 for an Import and $647.50 for a Classic Enterprises Made in the USA.

A Used hood in the same condition as my Hood would have cost $200.00 Taken the same or more time to get Prepped for Primer and Paint.

If I looked around I maybe could have found a better condition used hood but not local so then I would have had Shipping on top of the cost.

this way I'm using the Original (to Dads Jeep away) Hood (which I think came from some where else as it has yellow paint as one of the layers like the Tail gate but not the original Tub). I can redo the Art work using the stencil I made.

And sometime when I have time I can print out a nice 8 x 20 print of the Art Work and frame it to hang in my Office. Something the hood could have never done.


 

Well, it is what it is.  It's just going to be annoying to see all the hoods that will suddenly become available, many for free.  You know it will happen.