After a couple weeks hiatus for a business trip to Oz, the project is progressing nicely again. All the big stuff is off the frame
now. The axles and springs are still there (for now--I need to replace
the springs, so those parts will come off soon), but the only other
things still there are the brake master cylinder and lines, and the
clutch and brake pedal arms.
Also two engine mounts and one transmission mount. Those mounts (and the one other transmission mount that came off with the tranny) are in lousy shape and will have to be replaced. 64 years old and made of rubber--they're not doing that badly, considering! But someone at Willys Overland was thinking ahead to how long these Jeeps would last: they installed a cable that ties the engine/tranny back to the transmission cross member on the frame. The only purpose of this thing is to prevent the engine/fan from hitting the radiator in a sudden stop. And that could only happen if the motor mounts were in really bad condition (like when they're 60+ years old).
Next step (after removing those last items) is cleaning the frame with a wire brush (powered version, mounted on an angle grinder) to prep it for painting. I want this thing to last another 64 years!
I'll be shooting a bunch of pictures in the next day or two.
Also two engine mounts and one transmission mount. Those mounts (and the one other transmission mount that came off with the tranny) are in lousy shape and will have to be replaced. 64 years old and made of rubber--they're not doing that badly, considering! But someone at Willys Overland was thinking ahead to how long these Jeeps would last: they installed a cable that ties the engine/tranny back to the transmission cross member on the frame. The only purpose of this thing is to prevent the engine/fan from hitting the radiator in a sudden stop. And that could only happen if the motor mounts were in really bad condition (like when they're 60+ years old).
Next step (after removing those last items) is cleaning the frame with a wire brush (powered version, mounted on an angle grinder) to prep it for painting. I want this thing to last another 64 years!
I'll be shooting a bunch of pictures in the next day or two.
2 comments:
Hah, I'd noticed that cable on the tranny - wondered about it, but never figured it out. Thought it had to do something with grounding, but that didn't make any sense.
That's the purpose that someone on the CJ3A forum gave, anyway. Makes sense to me, and I can't see any other reason for the cable.
Maybe someone at WO had concerns about the flexibility of the motor mounts... Or heck, maybe it was something some government hack insisted on when they were making the military version, and it got left in for the CJs. Regardless of why they put it in (considering the mounts really should be strong enough to prevent the fan from hitting the rad in a stop), I can't think of anything else it actually does.
Post a Comment