A picture of the transmission and transfer case mounted in the frame. I was very fortunate with the transmission and only had to put a small parts kit in it to bring it back from the dead. The transfer case was a different story. I had to replace the main houing, the front bearing housing and the idler gear intermediate shaft.
When restoring an old vehicle the very first thing you should do is read as many books and publications as you can get you hands on. Some of the books that I read and used were All American Wonder vol. I and II, TM-10-1513 (Maintenance Manual Willys Truck), TM 9-803 (War Department Technical Manual for the 1/4 ton Truck), The Standard Catalog of US Military Vehicles and ORD 9 SNL G03 MB/GPW parts book.
Another great way to find information is through the internet. I have compiled a list of very good sites that will help with the restoration of a WWII jeep. See LINK PAGE. If you are just starting your jeep restoration you should find someone that has WWII jeep restoration experience and pick their brain. A restoration can be done without the help of others but it is very difficult and I found that sharing the experiences of the work made it very easy and quite enjoyable.
What should you do first?
The first thing you should do, after reading every book you can get your hands on, is insure that you have a spacious area in which to work. As you disassemble your jeep you will find that when it is together it doesn't take up a great deal of space but when it is apart a two car garage is barely enough room. Make sure to take lots of pictures and catalog them as you go through the disassembly. This is what I did not do enough of! When you are removing parts work one area at a time. For instance, Start with the removal of the body. While you're removing the body don't disassemble the engine and pull the rear axle. Stick with the body and only that which must be removed to get to the body. Catalog each and every part that you remove it. This includes the nuts and bolts. I used coffee cans and labled them. One of the hardest things is putting all this back together and having to fish for what nut and bolt goes where. Take little bits at a time and work through them until finished with the disassembly. Did I mention to take a lot of pictures?
Cleaning and sorting.
Take a coffee can of nuts and bolts and clean the bolts. For some of the bolts you can use a wire wheel on a bench grinder but you should be very careful not to damage the thread areas, and in the case of Ford, the script "F" marks on the head of the bolt. Willys bolt heads have an A, AA, AAA and EC or are blank. Once you have cleaned all the nuts and bolts sort them by size and length. This will make the assembly much easier.
Small parts like brackets, switches, cables and such can be sand blasted or wire wheeled and repaired as needed. Once repaired, the parts should be primed with at least two coats of red oxcide primer and for some parts finished off with OD paint. These parts can be stored on shelves or in boxes for assembly later.
