Willys Jeep Update...

 

March into April has seen a lot of lovely high pressure weather with clear blue skies and while we have been making the most of the conditions and doing a lot of cycling when were both off work though it has been real cold at nights and a lot of frosts, and so  a lot of road salt still going on roads which is not ideal for any car never mind something old, So I have been busy with the Jeep inside and swapped out a few more parts to add to the look I want, The French Blackout light and windscreen adjusting knobs were swapped for reproduction American items along with hand operated windscreen wipers and a rear view mirror  that all bolted straight on and the sand coloured canvas bucket I bought at the recent trade stalls at the open day at Military Museum Scotland was fitted after a few coats of Olive Drab...

The Powerspark pointless ignition I have not managed to get to work, and the return period has now expired and with my electrician friend Al we could not get to the bottom of why it will not fire up, Al checked the timing with a timing light and it seems timed correctly...

Bit disappointed about this, but the company does have a help number so we should give them a call - need to do it when Al is round as he may make sense of things when to me its all a bit complicated...

Good friends Dave G and Fiona stopped by for a couple hours while down cycling here and Dave saw the Jeep for first time so firing it up we had to go a quick spin around town and 23 pics in black and white courtesy of Dave, it was freezing though! so happy to just have short drive to give the Jeep a run...

Then another afternoon I was out a short drive around town, while dry, again it was freezing!, though it was again a grey day so I took my pics in black and white. it was a real grey cold day,  but as always good to drive the Jeep again...

Warmer weather should have been on the way as Easter approached when things usually start to warm up. however over the easter weekend I was just out locally around town as despite high pressure weather and dry with clear skies as it was still cold!

While the screen was up for a drive across  to NOrth Berwick town it was down for here around town, I love driving the Jeep like this!

I’m real pleased how the Jeep now looks with some small inexpensive parts bought this month instead of money going on petrol... 

And lastly week a used metal steering wheel from a UK Jeep dealer for £38 posted was bought, it must have been on a civilian Jeep (CJ) as white plastic grip with chromed spokes but chrome was mostly flaked off with age so I hard sanded the wheel, then red oxide sprayed several coats over a few evenings,  then it got the Olive Drab treatment, should look good once it gets that used look...

Fitting it was not to hard, I removed the old plastic coated wheel with a 3 prong puller, one of a set of 3 I bought a while ago...

Removing the lock nut then the horn button from the lock nut I reinstalled the nut living a few mm from tight to protect the internal horn buttonthen pulled the wheel up stopping to loosen the nut further until the wheel could be pulled of by hand...

A coin protected the inside horn button from the point on the extractor bolt...

A big socket tapped down and seated the metal wheel...

On and looking better!...

We got out the following evening around town a run with friend Chris who popped round with his Jeep...

Sadly as has been the last 2 days here the Sea Haar drifted in as we drove to the other end of town and parked up at Seafield Bridge, surrounded by the incoming high tide...

Good to get out a wee spin together and catch up with Chris, I made some films driving down to the harbour, with G holding the Go Pro, we then drove along to the Bridge in Belhaven Bay...

Here are 3 short films around town

Hopefully we will get some warmer weather soon for some fun days out further afield!

Next month will be an engine service with oil and filters changed, gearbox/transfer and axle oil levels checked, and grease points -steering and driveshafts etc then be ready for summer…

More soon...

Wee cycle east out of town...

 With my second Surly Pugsley 2.0 built and rolling 29+ I went a cycle east out of town a short ride to stretch the legs, G was working day shift so after some time in the Man cave it was good to get a wee cycle in...

Always a pleasure to visit the Dunbear and have the place to yourself,

Got a load of pictures of the newly built bike...

As you will see the build is everything that was on the first build of the other Pugsley 2.0 bike!

I followed the cycle path down to Dunglass bridges beside the A1 on the county border with Berwickshire to go have a look again at a WW2 artefact still visible today...

Rewind to June 1940, The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been evacuated off France at Dunkirk and things did not look good for the future of the UK as we knew it, We were on our knees with most military equipment wrecked and abandonded on the beach at Dunkirk, shipping being sunk at an alarming rate by U boats in the Atlantic we were an island and very much now on our own...

The likely hood of An invasion by an Army that had swept through Europe in 6 weeks was very real indeed...

Remaining Army which was now also made up of French and Polish troops that escaped were put to work helping building coastal defences that would try to slow any landings, And your always seeing many of these defences still visible today on our beach cycling rides, along with Anti tank traps and blocks , machine gun pill boxes, barbed wire, landmines etc...

The home guard were tasked with preparing to try slow any landing that made it ashore by blowing up railway and road bridges on major routes, it was believed The wide East Lothian beaches were a prime landing area in German plans for forces to then move to capture Lieth docks in Edinburgh, then with the Royal Navy taken care of by U Boats the door would have been open for occupation of Scotland...

The bridge beside the present A1 bridge over the Dean was in June 1940 along with everywhere else prepped for demolition...

Take a walk underneath and you can see the sandbag walls still there where the explosives would have been placed, the sand has kind of turned more into a hard fine gravel in over 80 years...

Returning home I followed the John Muir Way (JMW) coastal trail towards Torness and reflected on just how close things were in 1940 to changing forever. It puts into real content just how amazing people were back then in their resilience and resourcefulness and helping each other during dark times.  That summer of 1940 must have felt like an eternity as a handful of RAF fighter planes and young pilots fought and for many died and were horrifically burned and scarred for life battling for Air superiority, and Londoners then endured the Blitz bombing but did not give in, but got stronger, as did the RAF... 

Were an amazing country with an amazing history though most folk nowadays don't give a moments thought as they walk past war memorials.

Most of the Men and Woman that survived WW2 are now no longer with us but they will always be remembered...

Humans are still having wars when you see Ukraine today, I guess  humans are destined to destroy the planet and each other, were definitely having a good go at it...

Anyhows best make the most of life and enjoy your hobbies and interests with your loved ones and friends...

ha ha how is this picture we often post done?

Watch the film to see!...

Song is `Being Around You` by Joey Fehrenbach

More soon...