Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:33 am Post subject: So, should I change the tyres?
Hi guys,
I have just bought a 1943 Willys Jeep. The previous owner bought this car from Army storage in 1984. It has 7300 miles on the clock.
When he bought it, he changed the tyres. When I inspected the car, I made a remark that the tyres are nearly 30 years old.
He did not lift an eyebrow, but said no, he bought the tires in 1982!
The spare tyre is a Warrior something, dating back to 1956! That tyre will stay right where it is.
I have not picked up the car yet, and I need to drive it some 350 miles to get it home.
Should I trust the tyres or not?
The bigger question is can you trust the COMPLETE jeep to make it home 350 miles. The smart move is haul it home on a flat trailer with all four wheels off the ground and wait till you can drive it around your own neighborhood to discover any failing items or systems. Towing the jeep wheels on the ground is also a bad answer. been there & done that. 30 year old tires are in all likelyhood unsafe at highway speeds. Especially if the jeep was not stored inside. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Of the 7 tires on my MB are from the mid 1980s, 2 from the mid 1990s and the spare is a 2004.
They all look fine and have plenty of rubber on them... with no checking or cracks. I'm going to run them until something shows signs of a problem.
Now, tires that have not been used like on a rack or mounted to a vehicle up on jacks I would worry about. I bought a 1979 car literally from an old lady whose husband had died a few months after the car was bought. She stored it from then until I bought it in 1985. I blew three of the tires before the brain kicked in and told me even though the tires looked good the belts were separating from the rubber.
As for your case, I agree with Wes, trail it home as you may have tire issues, drive train issues... well you get the idea. _________________ 1944 MB-NAVY-
MZ-1
The owner is sure the jeep will do the trip without issues. It is in really good condition as far as I can tell. Stored dry and cold, and only driven about 2000 miles since 1984. I test drove it, it shifts nicely, brakes without pulling in any direction, steering is nice and tight, lights all work. The tyres look good, no sign of cracks or separation.
The only issues I have found: The brake light does not work, and I'm not even sure it has one? It idles nicely, but has a regular "pop" sound from the exhaust. Ignition, maybe? No sign of rough running when driven. It has the original ignition system, by the way.
This is a link to the ad where I found it. It's in Norwegian, and the ad is for a Land Rover but has a few pictures of the jeep.
If you are not experienced in maintenance and repair of these military 24 volt systems and their odd lighting systems then you won't know until you start your trip if the owner's statement is reliable and your evaluation of the jeep's operating condition is accurate. The risk is yours entirely. We can only offer our advice based on many years of experience transporting these type vehicles. The stock 24 volt lighting system rear lights are very inadequate for modern highway driving especially in moderate to heavy traffic. They only offer one small cat eye red lens for a civilian highway tail light and stop light display. The stock system has no turn signals. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
It has turn signals, and I was planning a daylight drive and with two extra LED bicycle rear lights mounted on the jerry can handle.
24 volts? Does the light system use 24 volts and the rest of the car 6 volt?
The drive will be on secondary roads with less traffic.
I still have some time to decide, the car will be picked up in August since I'm off on holiday tomorrow.
Edit: I got the conversion wrong, it's about 140 miles, not 350.
My bad. We are a 1951 to 68 Willys M Jeeps web site and I failed to notice your jeep is a 1943. If it is stock then all is 6 volt. The stock rear light lenses are still inadequate for highways and moderate to heavy traffic. I will assume you have turn signals then it would have been the norm to add larger red lenses to both rear light assemblies. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Sorry, didn't know this site was for those modern jeeps, I hope you don't mind if my motherjeep and I hang around a bit?
The turn signals and the head lamps are the only lights on this jeep that you can actually see. The rear light is there, but you have to look very close to see it. Not to mention the black out lights, they only show when it is really dark.
The car is insured, so if it breaks down, I can call the nearest AAA.
Thank you for your info, I really appreciate it! :thumbs up:
If memory serves me right, at the back they have put two round, red turn signal light near the edges. They look exactly like the cat eyes that are on the left and right side at the aft end of the car.
I can't post any pictures yet, as I'm in transit in Frankfurt right now, heading for Malaysia via Dubai.
I can tell you one thing though, I'm absolutely thrilled about this car. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
Can't wait to pick it up, and it is really nice to have something to look forward to when my holiday ends.
Picked up the jeep today! Had a nice trip in fairly good weather, and this was a nice way to get a good test drive and find out if there are any issues.
As for the tyres, no worries there. No signs of any problems.
So what did I discover?
The engine is running very smooth. When I open the hood and listen, there is only a faint ticking sound. But the exhaust has more a more or less regular popping sound. Warm or cold, same thing. I was aware of this when I bought it, but not sure what it is. Ignition? Valves?
It is hard to start when it is warm. I had to push start it once after refuelling. If I use the hand crank, it starts quite easily. The engine is turning very slowly when I use the floor starter, and I keep running out of juice from the battery. So, battery, starter, ground, bigger dimension cables, who knows. But a new battery seems like a logical way to start.
Brake light is u/s. Not the bulb, so a new switch is a good guess.
Fuel gauge is jumping/flicking. Ground issue?
Speedo is not working so I will order a new cable.
Oil pressure when driving is in the area of 30-45 psi(?). OK?
Nor sure about the temp gauge. From 140 up to nearly 200F seems to be quite a big spread. I did top up the water, but could only fill about half a litre (half quart).
A few drops of oil on the ground after the trip.
There is one more issue. The jeep is listing/tilting to the left. The owner could not explain this, only said he had been driving it alone the whole time (weight on one side only). I can't see any issues with the shocks, springs, frame, etc, but I will get some "experts" to check it out for me. It kind of feels different when I drive and turn to the right (the tilting sort of feels worse), than when I turn to the left.
The engine is running very smooth. When I open the hood and listen, there is only a faint ticking sound. But the exhaust has more a more or less regular popping sound. Warm or cold, same thing. I was aware of this when I bought it, but not sure what it is. Ignition? Valves?
The popping is common and no cause for worry.
It is hard to start when it is warm. I had to push start it once after refuelling. If I use the hand crank, it starts quite easily. The engine is turning very slowly when I use the floor starter, and I keep running out of juice from the battery. So, battery, starter, ground, bigger dimension cables, who knows. But a new battery seems like a logical way to start.
If the jeep is stock 6 volt then a slow turn is a bit normal. If starter is tired and dragging the turn becomes very slow and the load reduces power available to the distributor thus reducing spark intensity. The stock MZ-4113 starter is easy to rebuild and parts are available. To trouble shoot this issue start first with checking for good grounds. The ground strap at the right front engine mount, the starter bolted tightly to the bell housing and all ground/electrical connections clean and tight. Do a voltage drop check across the start switch on the firewall. It's internal contacts burn from use and eventually create a lot of resistance. And as a last resot pull the starter and have it bench check for general condition and operation including a no load rpm check and a full stall test.
Brake light is u/s. Not the bulb, so a new switch is a good guess.
Check lamp socket ground, lamp housing ground first. Fresh restorations use too much paint and then make no effort to remove the excess where bare metal to metal contact is important for electrical equipment.
Fuel gauge is jumping/flicking. Ground issue?
Grounds are always the first check with electrical gauge units and senders. Remember the gauge itself requires a goof ground to the dash. With the power on does the gauge jump around with no motion? Or does the gauge get jumpy when you rock the jeep to disturb the fuel level?
Speedo is not working so I will order a new cable.
Always check the speedo and drive/driven gear before ordering parts. A small nail and a battery drill rotating the nail backwards with the tip of the nail inserted in the drive fitting of the speedo will tell you right off if the speedo is working. Then grasp the exposed end of the speedo cable and gently try to rotatae it either way. If it doesn't want to turn you can assume it is not broken and the driven gear is ok. Then slide the inner cable out of the sheath and inspect it. If it hasn't mushroomed out anywhere along it's length and is the same uniform diameter and has the same unifor flex it's entire length then it's good to go.
Oil pressure when driving is in the area of 30-45 psi(?). OK?
30-45 driving and at least 10 at idle when hot is fine.
Nor sure about the temp gauge. From 140 up to nearly 200F seems to be quite a big spread. I did top up the water, but could only fill about half a litre (half quart).
The WWII jeep should run a temp of about 160-185 and the cap pressure should be 4.5 PSI.
A few drops of oil on the ground after the trip.
There is one more issue. The jeep is listing/tilting to the left. The owner could not explain this, only said he had been driving it alone the whole time (weight on one side only). I can't see any issues with the shocks, springs, frame, etc, but I will get some "experts" to check it out for me. It kind of feels different when I drive and turn to the right (the tilting sort of feels worse), than when I turn to the left.
A left tilt was a very common issue. The engine is offset to the left. The driver sits alone on the left and the gas tank is on the left. So it stands to reason that the jeep will tilt slightly left even with brand new springs since both front and rear have no difference when discussing their left and right sets. It would have been nice if the Factory had used different rated springs left vs right to account for the weight bias but they did not. If your right springs have tired more than the left with age then swap them left to right. If you have a brand new set then the only way to rid yourself of the left lean is to shim the high side down by placing shim stock between the U bolt plate and the bottom leaf of each right spring.
No recent restoration on this jeep, last major work was done in 1984. Tub off, blasted and painted, and an overhauled engine installed.
That could very well explain the inch or so lower left side.
OK, the popping is normal, but what is causing it? _________________ 1943 Willys
The popping is usually the result ofvalve timing at very low rpms. Sometimes it can be aggravated by a wee bit rich carb. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
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