142: Jonathan Franks’ 1942 Ford GPW
As you can tell it has some modern modifications: Ramsey 9500 Winch, Off road lights, Super Swamper 31” LTB tires, Disc Brakes, Headers, and a Weber 2 barrel carburetor. It now keeps up with traffic and stops better than most modern vehicles. The flat head 134 engine has been bored 20 thousandths over and the original rear axle has a Power Loc locker in it now. I still have all of the original parts in case I ever decide to make it all original again. The GPW has been in the family since my Dad drove it home from WWII.
The GPW with the B-17 was over the weekend, the Memphis Belle flew into the Burlington Airport about 20 minutes from where I live so I drove down to the airport and they allowed me to pull up next to the B-17 plane and take some pictures.
The last picture is of my son Jared wheeling at Uwarrie where there are a bunch of trails.
– Jonathan Franks
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Nice to see another jeep being built for more than just sunny parade days! I have followed a similar path with mine, disc brakes, detroit locker, bigger tyres and a roll cage. We’ve squeezed a hurricane under the standard hood of mine one too for a little more horsepower! Good plan to keep all your original parts just in case too.
http://willysm38build.blogspot.co.nz/
Nice to see another jeep being built for more than just sunny parade days! I have followed a similar path with mine, disc brakes, detroit locker, bigger tyres and a roll cage. We’ve squeezed a hurricane under the standard hood of mine one too for a little more horsepower! Good plan to keep all your original parts just in case too.
http://willysm38build.blogspot.co.nz/
great looking jeep, did you run into any problems installing a 2 barrel carb/
great looking jeep, did you run into any problems installing a 2 barrel carb/
Marcus: This is all well and good, but the more you modify from the oringinal the more it devalues in money and history. The jeep certainly look’s good and it was his choice, but anuother little bit of history is lost and we need more of it right now.
Marcus: This is all well and good, but the more you modify from the oringinal the more it devalues in money and history. The jeep certainly look’s good and it was his choice, but anuother little bit of history is lost and we need more of it right now.
Great looking Jeep! I have a 1955 model M38A1.
Your Jeep looks right at home with that B17 Bomber. I used to work with a guy that was as navigaotor on a B17. He had many flights from England to Germany! Made it thru the war all in one piece.
Good Lund
Bill
Lovewland, Colorado.
Great looking Jeep! I have a 1955 model M38A1.
Your Jeep looks right at home with that B17 Bomber. I used to work with a guy that was as navigaotor on a B17. He had many flights from England to Germany! Made it thru the war all in one piece.
Good Lund
Bill
Lovewland, Colorado.
That is a great looking jeep! I was going to make mine all original but I think I am going to have to follow suit. I have a few questions if you have a minute.
1) Was there any other engine modifications you had to make for this guy, did the headers and carburetor just bolt right on? I would love to see a pic of the engine and specifically of this area if you had one.
2) I can tell there are some modifications to the suspension but you didn’t mention anything about this. What did you do down there?
3) what is the tire size on those guys, and did you have to reinforce the tire carrier?
Again, beautiful jeep.
That is a great looking jeep! I was going to make mine all original but I think I am going to have to follow suit. I have a few questions if you have a minute.
1) Was there any other engine modifications you had to make for this guy, did the headers and carburetor just bolt right on? I would love to see a pic of the engine and specifically of this area if you had one.
2) I can tell there are some modifications to the suspension but you didn’t mention anything about this. What did you do down there?
3) what is the tire size on those guys, and did you have to reinforce the tire carrier?
Again, beautiful jeep.
Frank: I can appreciate where you are coming from but I don’t see anything lost. Jonathan’s modifications are all bolt on changes and are easily removed and as he says he has all the original parts to put back on to restore it to standard (retaining its financial and historical value). I love the fact that his Jeep will actually be out there doing some miles instead of parked in a shed.
I have been taught huge amounts from a good friend with an original MB that currently has Dana 44 diffs, disc brakes, roll cage, hurricane motor and better seats etc. The improvements have allowed the owner to do trips around 2 weeks long around the trails in New Zealand reliably, comfortably and most important, safely. As with Jonathan’s Jeep all original parts (including fire extinguisher!) were kept so the Jeep can be put back to factory specification if/when the owner decides to.
As for my Jeep, check out the blog, it was made from parts we gathered from about the place and has no historical value. It does however have huge sentimental value – I walked into a shed with no metal work or welding skills and drove out 2 years with a bunch of new skills and a bunch of new Jeeping buddies . To me, that’s a big part of owning a Jeep.
Happy Jeeping.
Marcus
Frank: I can appreciate where you are coming from but I don’t see anything lost. Jonathan’s modifications are all bolt on changes and are easily removed and as he says he has all the original parts to put back on to restore it to standard (retaining its financial and historical value). I love the fact that his Jeep will actually be out there doing some miles instead of parked in a shed.
I have been taught huge amounts from a good friend with an original MB that currently has Dana 44 diffs, disc brakes, roll cage, hurricane motor and better seats etc. The improvements have allowed the owner to do trips around 2 weeks long around the trails in New Zealand reliably, comfortably and most important, safely. As with Jonathan’s Jeep all original parts (including fire extinguisher!) were kept so the Jeep can be put back to factory specification if/when the owner decides to.
As for my Jeep, check out the blog, it was made from parts we gathered from about the place and has no historical value. It does however have huge sentimental value – I walked into a shed with no metal work or welding skills and drove out 2 years with a bunch of new skills and a bunch of new Jeeping buddies . To me, that’s a big part of owning a Jeep.
Happy Jeeping.
Marcus
now that is a jeep
now that is a jeep
That is a cool Willys. I have a 1948 CJ2A that I was toying with ideas like this but was unsure but now my mind is made up. I would like to get the information that David requested also if you don’t mind.
That is a cool Willys. I have a 1948 CJ2A that I was toying with ideas like this but was unsure but now my mind is made up. I would like to get the information that David requested also if you don’t mind.
Nice job on this military Jeep..!! I did something similar on a ’46 Willy’s CJ-2A which I currently drive almost daily…. power disc brakes, power steering and an overdrive on the original running gear. But my solution to the underpowered engine was a swap to a 4.3 V-6 Chevy, which made it easy to get parts and adapters for, 23 years ago. If I ever do another “Flat fender” it’ll be like yours. Modifying the original I-4 engine and using the military version instead of using the “CJ” version…Civilian Jeep..!! You do good work my friend… enjoy it.!!
Nice job on this military Jeep..!! I did something similar on a ’46 Willy’s CJ-2A which I currently drive almost daily…. power disc brakes, power steering and an overdrive on the original running gear. But my solution to the underpowered engine was a swap to a 4.3 V-6 Chevy, which made it easy to get parts and adapters for, 23 years ago. If I ever do another “Flat fender” it’ll be like yours. Modifying the original I-4 engine and using the military version instead of using the “CJ” version…Civilian Jeep..!! You do good work my friend… enjoy it.!!
Perfect jeep! I have a ’42 GPW myself which is in pieces right now. I have always planned on doing a tasteful, but not 100% original re-build. I like what you have done with yours. If you’re willing, I would love to contact you with some questions. If you have the time to shoot me an email at nayrlloyd@gmail.com, I would greatly appreciate it!
Perfect jeep! I have a ’42 GPW myself which is in pieces right now. I have always planned on doing a tasteful, but not 100% original re-build. I like what you have done with yours. If you’re willing, I would love to contact you with some questions. If you have the time to shoot me an email at nayrlloyd@gmail.com, I would greatly appreciate it!
hello from Germany, well done Jonathan!!
realy cool style your Jeep. i am the owner of a 1944 MB, which came to Germany during WW2, and all my life i was a fan of the old willys, in original and modifite style.
only 3 weeks ago, i installed a weber-carb too (DGV32/36), to get Little more tourque+performance. i was testing many different jets, but how sad, i found no power, and much more sad is, here in Germany it`s not possible to find help to kalibrate the weber carb right to my L134 engine.
is it possible to get some help from you to find the right upgrade to the weber-carb?
would be great to hear from you. you can contakt me under: Ingo.masermann@t-online.de
best wishes from Friedrichshafen in south Germany, where the “Zeppelin”aircraft was Born.
Keep on jeeping, Ingo masermann
hello from Germany, well done Jonathan!!
realy cool style your Jeep. i am the owner of a 1944 MB, which came to Germany during WW2, and all my life i was a fan of the old willys, in original and modifite style.
only 3 weeks ago, i installed a weber-carb too (DGV32/36), to get Little more tourque+performance. i was testing many different jets, but how sad, i found no power, and much more sad is, here in Germany it`s not possible to find help to kalibrate the weber carb right to my L134 engine.
is it possible to get some help from you to find the right upgrade to the weber-carb?
would be great to hear from you. you can contakt me under: Ingo.masermann@t-online.de
best wishes from Friedrichshafen in south Germany, where the “Zeppelin”aircraft was Born.
Keep on jeeping, Ingo masermann