The inner windshield that originally came with this jeep is in REALLY sad shape. Perhaps one day I will tackle its repairs, but not today. Instead, I am using another inner windshield to complete this project. This one is fairly easy...it just needs a solid cleaning and removal of all of the "goo" that was used to hold the long gone glass panes in place.
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| Here is the replacement inner windshield before its day at the spa. |
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| One of the broken screws that need to removed. |
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From this distance, it really doesn't look too bad.
It looks so much worse in person. |
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| Lots of gooey caulk that needs to be scraped. |
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| Another view of the channel. |
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| The corner is just a bit askew. |
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| Let the cleaning commence! |
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I drilled the broken bolt out, but I carved it just a bit too wide
so that I am unable to re-thread it to hold the original "replacement" bolt. |
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| A cleaner channel! |
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| Primed... |
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| Painted... |
The other inner windshield frame (that was in too bad of shape to repair right now) had two panes of glass still intact. Although they aren't original, I thought that I would use them for the interim period. All was going well until I was removing the LAST corner of the bracket and like a dumkopf, I used the ABSOLUTE wrong spot for leverage...the corner of the window. CRACK goes the glass. However, the pane still held its shape and I was able to remove it without it disintegrating. I used some glass glue in a vain attempt to stabilize it. I figure for now, it will be reused and just add more of that "character" that seems to be defining this jeep!
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The edges are taped. Instead of using the official rubber window tape,
I am using fabric tape (3 strips deep) to secure it inside the channels.
This is not the infamous cracked glass. |
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| Both panes taped and waiting for the upper channel bar to be bolted in place. |
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| All systems go! And if you are wondering, the cracked corner now sits in the lower passenger side. |
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| I used a razor blade to carve the excess tape away from the edges in order to give it a cleaner look. |
My other simple project I did was to make a Jerry (or is it Gerry?) can strap for less that $2.00. Actually, it was closer to a buck fifty. No, it isn't 100% factory correct, but it could be stretched to period correct if pressed. I used an old M1 Garand canvas shoulder strap that I bought locally for $1.00. I measured it against the straps on my GPW to get the correct lengths. After cutting and threading them through their respective holes, I used four split rivets on each piece to secure the strap against itself. I have an old buckle that I could have used, but that would have meant doing some sewing and I just didn't feel like going the distance on this one. Instead, I just used the buckle that was already attached to the sling. The hardest part of this project was poking the awl through the canvass...and it wasn't that difficult to do!
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The straps are attached.
Pictured inside the Jerry Can holder is a rolled up M1 sling and a set of the split rivets that were used. |
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| Although not correct, the canvas strap is VERY weathered! (i.e. character!) |
The other item of note is that I finally got around to wiring the back end of the jeep and installing the tail lights. It wasn't so monumental that I thought it deserved any pictures. Sorry.
I have finally ordered a gallon of paint, so the next big chart topping order will be to give it another coat or two and make it (basically) all one color. That will be fun to see! I'll let you know when it happens.
