My Spinning Genny

No, I did not get fat, lazy and give up on this project.  I just got fat.  The holidays did sideline me, though, from continuing with the big, loud and dirty projects.  I had to resort to smaller "workbench" jobs where I could quickly escape to the garage for a few minutes of peaceful solitude.  Then, when the family wised up and realized I was gone much too long for just "taking the garbage out," I could come back in to be social without needing a shower.

This is a sideline project that I started back in August and FINALLY finished it.  It seriously should not have lasted this long.  I got hung up on a pair of impossible screws.  More on that later.  Here's how it all went down:

I bought a REALLY, REALLY bad "jeep" two years ago for $150.00.  It was a hodge-podge of M38, CJ2A, and GPW parts...and it was basically disassembled and rotted away.  When I cleaned out the tub, beneath decades of pine straw and leaves, I found a WWII generator.  Nice.  I can use that!  I will most likely use it on the next jeep, since it is 6 volts and the current jeep will most likely be 12 volts.

I couldn't find a picture of the generator before I disassembled it.  I thought I had taken one, but I guess I didn't.  Sometimes I get really excited to jump into a project and I forget to take pictures along the way.  Maybe if I hit it big time, I will hire a photographer to follow me around.  Or not. 

The outside casing (which is steel and about .5 to .75 inches thick) resembled the moon's landscape with pot marks from rust all over the bottom.  My best guess is because it sat for so long in the pine straw being subjected to the weather. 

I managed to loosen the smaller screws and get the end caps and pulley disassembled with only a few bad words spoken.

This is the armature pulled from the casing.

This is the backside of the end cap that is holding the armature.  The pulley slides onto this part of the shaft.

Yes, this a a VERY BLURRY close-up of the armature...what you can't see is the really cool Autolite and 9/42 (September/1942) date stamp!  I saw it and it was cool!

Backside of the pulley cleaned and freshly primed.

This is the inside of the front end cap that holds the two brushes that rest against a spinning armature.

With the bulk of the generator disassembled, I could now easily look inside of the casing.  The major work was yet to come!  There are two field coils screwed into the side of the casing that the armature spins between.  In a good generator, these field coils (which are copper wires wrapped about a hundred or so times in a specific shape) are tightly wrapped with an insulating cloth tape.  Approximately half of the cloth tape had disintegrated on these coils.  Not good...and that is a technical term.

Just good ol' fashioned nastiness. 
This is a good look at the two field coils and the shattered remains of the cloth tape wrappings. 

Same old nastiness, just a view from the opposite end.  You can see all of the exposed copper wires on the bottom.
Not good.

I did a bunch of research and was a bit intimidated about the next step.  Evidently, people try not to have to remove the field coils.  If they become unwound, evidently you become S.O.L.  However, I was intrigued and if I wanted this generator to function, I really didn't have a choice, so I pressed onward.  There are two massive screws that hold the plates that hold the coils to the inside of the casing.  And these two screws are almost impossible to remove.  They are installed very tightly and then combine 65+ years of being in place and they just won't move...kind of like a stubborn donkey.  If the screws are damaged, replacement screws are few and far between.  From what I can tell, modern replacement screws are not available.  This is a one shot Charlie escapade.

Well, it was these two screws that sidelined me for a few months!  I soaked them in penetrating oil for days on end.  I broke several tools trying what I thought were clever methods to remove them.  I even tried wedging  the casing and a screwdriver socket wrench in a 10 ton press.  This and all kinds of other ridiculous methods got me absolutely NOWHERE!  I succumbed to defeat.  I boxed up the generator and went to a professional repairman.   He called me the following day and said it would cost approximately $450 to repair it and he couldn't guarantee it to work.  I asked if he could loosen the two screws and then send me back on my way.  I think he felt sorry for me because it was a "no charge" five minute job...that would most likely prove to be a futile waste of my time.

When I picked up the generator, I asked him how he loosened the screws.  He went old school...he beat on the sides of the casing with a BIG hammer and then beat on the screws themselves with a smaller hammer.  He did this several times.  Then he used a hammer with a punch to loosen the screws.  Huh.  Who knew?

When I removed the field coils, I had to be very careful and make sure I could remember EXACTLY which way was up when I reinstalled.  No turning back now.  I picked up some friction tape from Lowes and off to the races I went.

I removed the field coils and half of the tape was already gone.  Before removing the rest, I taped three of the already exposed sides.  Then, as I removed the old cloth tape, I would place a piece of tape on the remaining sides for support.  Yes, it was done this way originally, too.

The right field coil it done.  At the top, in the middle, you can see the one little wire that keeps the two coils connected.  I somehow managed not to break this wire.  Fun fact:  I did this delicate procedure at the kitchen table while Sarah's grandmother ate her lunch.  Sorry for the disgusting company, Nette!

I wrapped both coils and became VERY ALARMED.  It went way too smoothly.  I had to have done something wrong.  But I couldn't figure out what it was.

Once the coils were wrapped and looking really good, I went outside to finish cleaning the casing...inside and out...and give it a good looking paint job.

Now, everything was done and ready for assembly.   Hopefully, I could recall how it all went back together.  I was praying that my notes still made sense to me.

The other scary part of the reassembly was fitting the newly wrapped field coils back inside the casing.  I had read that it was very difficult and also very imperative to get them screwed TIGHTLY in order to give the armature room enough to spin and not rub the coils.  Again, I did it and it was relatively easy to do...which made me very nervous and suspicious of some wrong doings.  The armature was spinning like a top!

Assembled and ready for the bench test.

Again, I got too involved to stop and take any pictures.  Where the heck is that photographer?

With it all together, it was time to bench test it!  I hooked it up to my battery charger and...lights, camera, action...and nothing happened.  Shittake mushrooms.  I researched, again, the proper method to attach all of the battery charger's wires.  Still no action.  If I had done everything right, the pulley should "motor" or start spinning.

So then I opened the generator back up and began inspecting my handy work.  I was poking and prodding everything with my multimeter checking for continuity where it was needed and correct grounds elsewhere.  It seemed correct.  I then broke out the army technical manuals...TM 10-1015...and ran 4 out of the 5 assorted tests to check for any problems.  Everything checked out in order.  The one test I was unable to run was to check for a short within the armature itself.  For this, I needed a "growler" which I didn't have and it was too expensive to buy for this old generator.

So I reassembled it for the umpteenth time and stared at it for awhile.  I reattached the wires from the battery charger in a different configuration.  The positive lead to the armature terminal, the negative lead to a ground point on the rear end cap and a jumper wire between the armature terminal and field terminal...and then the darn pulley began to spin with a really good speed!  Granted, I don't have the equipment to test it's output, but damn, I got it to motor!  Case closed.  This thing is working in my book...and I didn't spend the $450 to fix it!  Just my own cheap labor, paint I already owned, $10.00 for two bearings and $1.50 in friction tape to wrap the coils.  I'm not counting any of the tools I broke trying to remove the field coil screws!

Bench test:  its motoring!  The pulley is spinning.  I wish my camera wasn't so nice, otherwise you'd have seen a blurred looking pulley.  In the end, I had assembled it correctly, but was incorrectly attaching the battery charger wires to test it.  Here, I finally figured out the correct set-up. 

Tune in later to check out what I am doing with my rear end...of the jeep frame!

I Was Framed!

I started this weekend with a very simple, vague goal:  to begin cleaning up the frame.  I wasn't sure how far I would get into this endeavor and I didn't want to set any kind of expectations for progress.  Generally speaking with this restoration, my mind will set a target and grossly misjudge the time it takes to accomplish it. 

In order to maximize the cleanup of the frame AND still maintain the ease of mobility for movement, I decided (for the moment) to keep it on the axles so I could push it back into the garage when I was done "playing" each day.  However, before starting the cleanup, I needed to remove a few more accessories.  Earlier this week I ousted the engine.  On Thursday, I removed the transmission/transfer case and the crossmember they sit atop of.  Early Saturday morning I removed the steering wheel column, the master cylinder, followed by the clutch and brake pedals.  The latter proved to be the most stubborn. 



After removing the pedals and steering column, this is what I was left with!



Subject's profile.  The kids liked playing with the steering wheel.  They said it was like steering a pirate's ship.  I wouldn't know.



Subject's rear.  The massive pieces of steel along the bottom edge of the picture were added by Bubba and will eventually be removed...and this is a chore I am not much looking forward to doing.



Subect's other side.  Couldn't really find a good one.



The next step was to push the chassis outside since my neighbors REALLY enjoy looking at my little slice of redneck splendor and do some dirty work.  A lot of dried up mud fell off of the chassis and onto my garage floor with all of the banging and such that I did when removing the clutch pedal and tube.  When I got the chassis outside, I was amazed at how much more dirt and grease and sticks and crud were still stuck to the frame...especially wedged along the interior areas of it!  I grabbed my largest screwdriver, a hammer and a scraper and just went to town trying to removing all of the BIG stuff first.  I guess I had to clean before I could clean...kind of like cleaning your house before the professional cleaners arrive to clean.



Just an artistic shot of the dirt I knocked off with a scraper.



Again, more of the same dirt.



For some reason, I became quite infatuated with the dirt at this point.

 

And now I have swept the dirt up into a nice, tidy pile.  4.5 full dustpans later, it was in the garbage can.



After scraping the big pieces off, I pulled the garden house out and washed it down.  It was late in the afternoon at this point so it seemed like a good stopping point.



Post rinse down.



Shocking:  post scraping big chunks of dirt and rinsing it off with water.  And it STILL looks like this??!



Sunday the family had some shopping plans so I sandwiched the shopping trip between two down and dirty clean-up sessions.  Me, the frame and that old noisy, but effective grinder with the wire brush:  its "go" time.  Despite my previous days efforts to knock the dirt off, once the wire brush spinning at 3000 rpm's touched the metal, I ended up looking (and feeling) like Pigpen in the Snoopy cartoon.  It took awhile to cover it all, but I did all that I could with the axles and leaf springs still attached.  Eventually, I'll pop those guys off and get those last hard to reach spots, but for now it is 90% clean!  What I couldn't reach with grinder, I used a combination of wire brushes and screwdrivers.  Afterwards, I sprayed it with a heavy dose of this rust inhibitor/incapsilator chemical and then wiped it all down.

Mostly clean...and solid!



A good contrast between clean-up areas and not clean is the battery tray above the front, right tire in this picture. Ii did not clean the topside of the battery tray.  Why I forgot to clean it?  Who knows!



The front.  I did not forget the front bumper.  It is a postwar hunk of crap and will be removed...eventually.



And now you can tell that it is dirt free!



Now that I have had quite an up close and personal time with the frame, I can honestly say that it is VERY solid.  The only area that I found that needs to have some work done to it (besides the incorrect front and rear bumpers) is the area that was once cracked and then hastily welded back together behind the driver's side rear shock absorber.  This was not a surprise, either, since I knew about it prior to buying!  The pleasant surprise is the fact that the is the ONLY area that needs to be corrected!



The large lumpy area to the right of the shock absorber is the crack and weld job.



The rear axle is sitting at a slight angle and is pointing it ever so tenderly to the right.  I am not sure if it is out of alignment because of the crack in the frame and the placement of the rear incorrect crossmember OR if the axle just is not squarely attached to the leaf spring.  Perhaps it is a combination of all of the above.  This picture (poorly) shows the alignment issue.



PHASE TWO: Finding the Frame- Pt. One

I received the magical phone call today from Sarah saying that she had Jack and needed to run a few afternoon errands.  I had Nora napping so the ONLY logical thing to do was go out into the motorpool and do something messy.  With the tub (mostly) done and stashed away in the corner of the garage, I needed to find something new to work on.  And there she was, like Ms. America strolling down the catwalk in her swimsuit, the engine practically jumped off of the chassis.  Well, it would have jumped off if it weren't for a couple strategically placed bolts and an oddly positioned "Bubba-add-on" chain connecting the engine to the underside of one of the engine mounts.  Either Bubba was afraid of someone stealing his engine, or the chain acted like a heavy duty grounding strap.

So I removed the four bolts between the transmission and the clutch housing and then the two engine mount bolts.  I rigged up the hoist and grossly misjudged the length of the strap I needed to lift the engine off of the chassis.  My math told me a twenty foot strap would give me enough strap left over to hang over the engine once rigged up.  Well, I had my left-over strap and then some!  I might go find a fifteen footer or two eight footer's for next time.  Anyhow, unlike a space shuttle launch, once I got going, I wasn't going to stop.  Don't worry, Sarah, I remembered my credo "Safety First."



3...2...1...BLAST OFF.  I had to slightly lift and then push the engine forward to disconnect the transmission from the clutch.

 

The engine is completely separated from the transmission.

No, it is not falling.  But it is clearing the front bumper and will soon be on its way back to planet garage floor.

Once I had the engine airborne, I backed the chassis from underneath the engine.  I really didn't want to push the hoist around the garage with a dangling engine three feet above the garage floor.  I was very anxious to get it back on the ground s..l..o..w..l..y.


Successful landing.



With a successful landing, I then pushed the engine aside so it wasn't sitting in the smack dab in the middle of the bay.  I cleaned up my small mess and then pushed the chassis back inside.  With still some time to kill, I started eyeballing that transmission.  I loosened all of the bolts around the universal joints that connect the drive-shafts to the axles.  I ended up completely removing the front drive shaft.  The rear one's time will come later this week.  Also in store will be the steering shaft and clutch/brake pedals.  I am practically drooling over the frame right now:  I really want to get my grinder on that sucker.  Don't worry, I'm not drooling, though.  I do not want to make any extra surface rust.



The current state:  engine on the floor up front, forward driveshaft (between transmission and front axle) disconnected.



"Now this is not the end."

"It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning". - Sir Winston Churchill

Although that is definitely not my quote, it eloquently sums up my thoughts at this moment.  Me being me, I can justify its use in the fact that my first major project of the first WWII jeep restoration is nearly finished.  All of the major body work is is now completed.  The remaining items on my jeep tub punch list are as follows:  weld brackets on front gussets that secure tub to chassis, install the rear drain cap for the sump tank, drill out half a dozen various broken bolts, and possibly repair the area that Bubba cut out for the (post war) T90 transmission to fit in the transmission hump.  And out of all of that, the latter would be the most time consuming project to tackle.  The others will be good for a rainy day!

Let's recap-



The four tabs along the upper edge (In reality it is the bottom when right side up.  Got that?) of the rear panel have been straigtened out and put in their places.  I have not drilled the hole in the repaired bracket on the far right side.  I have a sneaky suspicion that when the time comes to mount the tub to the body, there will be some good ol' fashioned adjusting to make the four tabs line up squarely to the rear frame crossmember.  Such is life when you are rolling with a rear panel that was once a bubbafied tailgate.  But hey, IT IS ALL ORIGINAL! 




Hat channels installed, welds ground down and primed.  I thought I'd give it some color by painting the underside like its a battleship. The camoflaged garden gnome in the rear is pulling guard duty.



With the bottom completed, it was time to play "flip the flapjack" and put this tub right side up!   The next few pictures will come at you fast...try to keep the pace.  I recruited help for this fun:  the guarding garden gnome named Jack was in charge of strategically placing the jacks in the four corners, Sarah was to photograph the endeavor, and Nora was to bark out orders in a beastly fashion.  Me?  I was the muscle.



Step 1:  Pick up tub, remove jack (the stand) and place wheels to catch the tub when I drop it.




Step 4:  The Balancing Act.  "Look Ma, no hands!"  All jack stands removed and the tub was tipped onto its side and then spun.




Step 6:  Garden Gnome in action.  I learned that I do not give specific enough instructions when holding something heavy.




Interlude:  The Beastly Boss is not happy with our progress.




Step 8ish:  Three out of four ain't bad, right?




Step 9:  Four for four.  Way to go Guarding Garden Gnome!

With all four corners secured, I thought I'd place the crew in the tub for a publicity shot.  Jack looked at me skeptically and said, "Will it hold us?"  I'm sure he was refering to the fact that it was elevated by the jack stands, but how could I not take it as a personal attack against my welding and panel replacement skills?  Reluctantly, they allowed me to place them inside.  Jack, very gingerly, walked to the rear and took the picture.



The not so confident gang.  However, I don't think Nora had a clue.



With the tub right side up, I was then able to quickly weld the reverse side of the small areas that I replaced from the underside.  With a few minor adjustments to my technique, the welding went a bit smoother and faster!  I was able to grind down the scars and prime the interior today. 



BEFORE:  All of the shiny, ugly areas need some help with the welder.



AFTER:  Welded, cleaned up and then primed.  I even detailed it before priming!  Well, actually I just vacuumed it.

I now need to rearrange the garage and find a spot to store this gorgeous thing of beauty for the interim.  Below are two gratuitous parting shots.  If you are really into this, flip back to September's posts to see what it looked like in the beginning.  Ouch.



Front and center.




In the rear with the gear.

 

Rounding the Bend(s)!

My goal today was to get all of the hat channel segments, along with their internal support structures, installed.  Then, if time permitted, I would do the bonus feature of a basic square floor piece installed next to the sump tank.  Last night, I closed down the motorpool after getting all of the hat channel pieces fabricated.  Although they are not perfect, I finally figured out a pretty good routine on how to make all of the bends.  Their imperfections fit beautifully into the landscape of romantic dents and dings that roll throughout its body.  For all those who wonder, I do talk like this to my wife.  She hates it so much that she encourages me to go back into the garage to work more on the jeep.  And that, my friends, is the secret to guilt-free hobby fun time!

For the hat channel filler, I opted for the block of PVC-like material.  It was the perfect width (almost) so I just had to cut some of the height down.  That was step one this morning.  It cut like butter.  I then took the blocks of PVC to the bench grinder and rounded out the corners to make it a tighter fit.  The one piece for the front passenger side needed to have its circumfrance buffed down slightly in order to fit into the outer tip of the original hat channel.  Easy enough.  My major concern was that the PVC would melt due to the heat from the welder.  In the end, if they did melt, I never saw the globby goo seep out, so I am thinking they held their shape...for the most part.



The lighter color at the tip of the point is where I had to grind down the sides.

Before installing all of the hat channels, I went ahead and cut out the area of my hopeful bonus feature.  Once removed, I then cut the new piece and used the magnet to set it in place.   My hopes were that once the welding began I could just work my way around the jeep...and not have ALL of my tools in the driveway.  Despite what all may think, I do prefer to work in an orderly environment and not surrounded by complete chaos.  I get all the chaos needed hanging out with my kids.  At least I can control my jeep building environment!



The four zones of occupation:  front right and left corners and rear right and left corners. 
The ready to be installed pieces are sitting next to their respective zones.

With everything cut and seeming to be ready, I plopped ALL pieces into their respective homes for a last minute test fit.   Everything seemed to be alright (which made me suspicious of myself). There was pretty much nothing else to do except for the official install.  "Cowboy up!"



In place and ready to weld.

I began welding and got all three of the hat channels installed.  Unfortunately, I ran out of flux wire when I was about 2/3's of the way through on the square floor patch so I was not able to finish the job. Upon completion of the second cowl step area, I finally cracked the code and figured out the correct settings on the welder as well as a decent technique to make a cleaner weld.  So, I'll help you read between the lines:  the cowl step hat channels look like a monkey's butt, and the rear pieces don't look too bad.  Well, such is life when you are impatient and insist on learning while you go.

The last two major areas to address on the tub (besides grinding down all of the weld scars) is to install the correct drain cap on the rear of the gas tank sump and then deciding what to do about the transmission hump.  The transmission hump was modified to fit the T90 (post WWII) transmission.  I have yet to decide if I am going to use the T90 or return it to original with a T84.  Any thoughts?  If I knew I was going to keep this jeep, I'd go with the T84, but since I am leaning towards selling this jeep, I am sitting on the fence.

Regardless, the finish line for this tub is almost in sight!  I say that now, but once I complete all of the big stuff, I am sure I will end up spending another entire afternoon policing up all of the other smaller, loose ends.  Who am I kidding?  It will be more like two extra days shoring up the loose tub ends!

Back in the Saddle Again...after a 2 week hiatus.

So much time has passed since my last update.  Rest assured, I have not completely sluffed off and lost interest in this endeavor.  First off, I was offered an invitation to attend a military timeline at Patriot's Point with a great group of guys that do an awesome First Infantry Division WWII impression.   Shhh, I don't think they noticed my jeep's 4th ID bumper markings!  Next, I was fortunate enough to be invited to Jacksonville, FL to attend a few worthwhile events WITH the good jeep.  The week began at TPC Sawgrass and their annual fundraising golf tournament Birdies for the Brave.  The jeep was a showpiece by the front door of the clubhouse on Sunday and Monday.  The tournament raises funds for several different charities and the most noteworthy one (in my humble opinion) is the Wounded Warrior Program.  Later in the week, the jeep returned to the CSX headquarters for their Military Appreciation Day.  They also had a small honoring for Warren Manegan...my inspiration for restoring GPW 261722 (aka the Good Jeep).  Warren attended the event with me two years ago and was a guest speaker prior to us riding together in the 2009 Veteran's Day Parade, as well as our sequel ride in the 2010 parade.



The "Good Jeep" displayed in front of CSX headquarters Nov. 2011.  Beside it is a photograph of
Warren in the jeep from 2009.  It was taken immediately after I presented him with his overseas hat
 with regimental insignia. Thank you to Bill Bergeron for the picture of Warren.

The following Day, Friday the 11th, I participated in the Veteran's Day parade in Jacksonville.  This was the first jeep ride through downtown Jacksonville where Warren did not sit beside me.  I kept him in my heart, but it wasn't the same.

When I got home, it was hard getting back into the jeep project.  Somehow, I managed to get going again.  I finished up the rear end of the body.  All that is left is to grind down the weld marks and to weld in one of the tabs that secures the body to the tub.  I am going to wait, though, to test fit it with the rear crossmember. 

Yesterday, I moved up to the front passenger side to replace one of the hat channels that travels beneath the passenger chair and then do the floor/hat channel repair in the front corner.



My test fit for the cardboard template hat channel.  Not too shabby!

The above piece proved to become a colossal pain in my arse to bend.  I am officially declaring my minature brake press for metal bending a bonifide PIECE OF DOOKIE.  Yes, it's name has been reduced to POD.  I struggled and struggled to figure out a suitable method to make all four bends.  the first one was easy, but the other three became quite difficult.  I am quickly exhausting all of my creative juices to produce these suckers.  I suppose I should be embracing the challenge of limited resources in the garage!  Nonetheless, I accomplished the feat and it only took me two or three hours yesterday.

Today, I knocked out the floor/hat channel section in the front corner.  It proved to be a three part process.  First part (after cutting the crap out) was to repair the bottom section of side panel brace.  After that, I needed to fabricate the floor with a small bend and last would be the section of hat channel for support.



The magnet is holding the bottom section of the side panel brace in place prior to welding.

Both hat channels are just sitting in place waiting for the mad man with his torch.

I purposely did not weld the hat channels down and finish the job.  The originals contained wood pieces inside for strength, hence the fact that the channels need to be replaced due to the fact that wood attracts moisture.  I have yet to decide if I am going to leave my replacements empty, fill them with wood or fill it with some sort of vinyl blocks that I found at Lowes.  I am currently leaning towards the latter option...and the only one that will ever know is the next poor, dumb bastard that restores this tub in 60+ years!