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Willys Jeep: Operation Porkchop

In Jeep by J Michel Metz1 Comment

You ever see those makeover shows where a team of highly capable people come and work on a project that turn out to be real before-and-after showstoppers? Shows like Overhaulin’, and such. This past weekend, I had my own version of the “A-Team” show up and put Porkchop into working order. And it was jaw-dropping – not to mention humbling …

Willys Jeep: Porkchop Suspension and Trailer (pictorial)

In Jeep by J Michel Metz1 Comment

I’ve been falling behind in my reports of progress. The good news is that instead of writing about working on the Jeeps, I’ve actually been working on the Jeeps. Here is a pictorial of some of the progress that I’ve made most recently (given the lack of updates, some additional progress may be visible in the photos). Less commentary, more pictures!

Willys Jeep: Porkchop’s Clutch Arm Problem

In Jeep by J Michel Metz6 Comments

This is a quick and dirty post to describe a particular problem that I’m having. Part of what I have to do when replacing the master cylinder (that is, converting it to a dual master cylinder (MC) from the original single reservoir, making it safer) on the M38A1 (affectionately named Porkchop) is disassemble the pedal assembly bracket and modify it …

Willys Jeep: Calm Before The Storm

In Jeep by J Michel Metz4 Comments

It all started so well this morning. A beautiful day, sunny and cool. I had finally gotten the right tools (after my third trip to Home Depot and another one to Sears) to fix the problems that I couldn’t get to last week. I started off working on Honey Badger, trying my hand at my first-ever tap in order to …

Willys Jeep: Ballad of Porkchop’s Brakes

In Jeep by J Michel Metz12 Comments

Not surprisingly, Porkchop needs new brakes. All of them. Front brakes, rear brakes, parking brake, brake lines, master cylinder, everything. So, I went ahead and bought everything I needed for a complete rip-and-replacement of all the brake parts I need. With that, I got ready to get to work.

Willys Jeep: Porkchop’s Brakes

In Jeep by J Michel Metz3 Comments

After bringing Porkchop home last Monday (you know, the name has grown on me, it just… fits) today was the first day that I was able to really get in and around it to find out what “the sitch” is, and I’m happy to report that the situation is pretty much what I thought it was. In other words, unlike …

Porkchop, The New Willys Jeep, and the Great Samaritan

In Jeep by J Michel Metz6 Comments

The Monday of Memorial Day weekend, we went up to Sacramento to look at a 1952 Willys Jeep – a M38A1 “field extended ambulance prototype.” A friend of mine, Dave Alexander pinged me on Saturday to let me know that his father had a Jeep that he (sadly) needed to sell. The timing was better than you normally expect. Anyone who …