1944 MB Jeep - My Dad and Grandpa built this jeep back in 1970 and at that time it was rusted out the frontier tool holders were gone and no Engine, so they went from the front of the doors all the way around with 1/8\" plate then installed a Chevy 283 in the engine bay, the rest of the drive train stayed original untill 1985 when I started driving it and destroyed the tranny, so it got a chevy truck trans, then it sat from 1987 till 1995 while I was in the army, and I had purchased the frame, engine and running gear out of a 1970 Bronco........now 10\" out of the middle of the frame 14\" off of the front and two or so from the back, lots of welding fabricating and parts hunting and a paint job...................here you go!!! Willys 44MAG
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Our car was built in 1962 by french army contructor Hotchkiss. It is a command jeep with sahara configuration (extreme temperatures). You can see the expansion bottle in the front of the radiator. They were built under Willys specifications. The model is an MB (Hotchkiss M201). We have done extensive work and rebuilt on the car with the original 1942 Willys MB manual and every bit and piece is as it shoud be.
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I bought this 1944 MB from my brother in law who had bought it at the Maine Owl\'s Head auction August 2010. It actually looks presentable, but on close inspection, the body is held together with a bit of Bondo here and metal plates there with a wooden front floor. It came to me with some mechanical work performed, but the four wheel drive got stuck, I couldn\'t keep it running so took it to a nearby restoration mechanic I know who re-wired it, changed the electrical system to 12 volts, added new dials, front parking lights, rear parking lights and we welded a KW rear panel as replacement for that cobbled together tailgate you see in the rearview picture. We thought we could save the body, but once we pulled it off the chassis, we decided DO NOT RESUSCITATE, and I ate the work. We ordered a complete body from Mike at KW, will send back the front floor plate I previously ordered for 100% credit and clean up the chassis, weld on new front rails for a proper size bumper and now for the big question on paint--I want a dark blue body, black bumpers and jerry can holder (the spare will be mounted on the back like all army jeeps which this was). Tire rims will be cream colored. You\'ll note the front grill and lights are not army so they\'ve been replaced, but I like it this way since I want the jeep (nicknamed Rocky) to look more suited for farm work. Can you help me with paint color selection? I know that dark blue and cream aren\'t the authentic color scheme for the years 1944-45, since the original color was OD (under at least four coats of hand brushed paint), but still have this color scheme in mind, most likely because the first cj3 I ever saw in the 1950s was that dark blue I would like Rocky to be. Plus I registered as a blue jeep after the six months to create a clear title. Massachusetts is very strict on having a clear title to register a vehicle, antique or not. In Rocky\'s case, we finally showed the bill of sale and got the Owl\'s Head Museum people to stand up and show the bill of sale for us to guarantee Rocky wasn\'t stolen. <br> Jim Hamilton <br> Cohasset, MA
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