This 1942 Willys MB is a precious part of our family heirloom and is based in India. This Willys took part in the Burmese War in 1943 and later was part of the Rajastan Frontier Border Security Force operating in the treacherous desert for much of the time. Hence the sand color and the cylindrical bumper was probably added during this time to reduce resistance in knee deep sand driving. When we got the Willys in 2011, it had a deteriorating and weak engine due to worn out pistons/bores/gaskets/seals… Work done: All Pistons changed, rebored engine blocks using sleeves to reduce bore size. Crankshaft replacement. This work smoothed the engine considerably. What was quite remarkable was the quality of the body which showed no signs of rust or damage, maybe because the Jeep spent a lot of time in a dry desert with zero humidity.
Also lowered the gear box and did serious work to the gear box including replacing two gears as well as a copper bearing. Also changed the main shaft. This was intended to eliminate gear-box stab, which is a stab felt when decelerating suddenly. Apart from what is said here, this was a major work that involved complete overhauling of the gear box. This included change finger, clutch fork, release bearing etc. The transmission was improved significantly. Brake drums were refinished and replaced, the brake fluid container as well as completely replaced and refilled all the brake lines. This work provided the much needed stern brakes. Replaced leaky crankcase which was leaking no matter how you fixed it. Replaced rear housing pinion seal replacement as well as fixed the leak in rear by doing lathe work on rear housing flange. Also did rear connector gear replacement and yoke and teeth replacement. Fitted new wipers since old ones were not working. Added retro style fog lights to help with night driving through forest roads in South India.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Bino Jos
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Looking for, Willys Jeep Parts, Willys Jeep replacement parts, Willys Jeep body parts and much more for your 1941-1971 Willys vehicle, you have come to the right place!
what engine/trans do you have? the shifters are different, is that a change? or origional, origional had 2 levers for transfer case, and shift lever was different, and notice the electric fans on the radiator. very nice jeep, thanks
Loved the story. Jeeps have integrity, like the owners who rebuild them. Perseverance, patience and lots of love make the best of man and machine.
I like this, may I send you a private message, not to buy. But some other details.
what a good jeep
This is the best Willys story to-date! Excellent!!
HELLO I HAVE A SET WILLYS AS OF SAS HERE ARE MY PICTURES. I hope you like
A 1942 MB with RIGHT-HAND drive and “Willys” stamped into the windshield?? Never saw one before!
MY MOMS BROTHER WOULD REMEMBER BURMA ..
HE WAS THERE IN WW2 AND WORKED IN THE MOTOR POOL ,,
I AM SURE HE WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH WORKING ON JEEPS ..
WHAT WAS IRONIC WAS HIS DAD WAS BORN IN BLIESKASTLE GERMANY
IN 1885 AND CAME TO USA IN 1895 . THERE IS A POSSIBILITY HE WAS
SHOOTING AT RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS OF HIS DAD RIGHT ???
What a lovely story. Jeep and Jeep people are unique. Chrysler never understood Jeep, they seemed to view it as an 8 to 12 year vehicle like a pass car. Jeep is a 45 year vehicle or even much longer.
It is exciting to read about “finds” and restorations and this one is well recieved.
Good luck with all your projects.
A PINK jeep?!