Willys Hotchkiss M201 Jeep update... Busy month on eBay and lots of cheap upgrades!...

The Jeep ownership and tinkering continues...

Between the snow flurries a couple of weeks ago I have added some more items to the Jeep, 

first off were a couple of fire extinguishers to either side - better safe then sorry, these were only £11 each on ebay and sprayed up with Olive drab green to match looked good, this holder was already on the Jeep and fitted one of the extinguishers,

 

There is supposed to be a Chemical Decontamination kit on the passenger side but then a Hotchkiss fire extinguisher bracket turned up on eBay so I bought it for under £30 posted....

But on arrival I soon realised it was in fact a decontamination kit holder as matched the pictures in a Hotchkiss history book I have and the holes on my Jeep line up with it...

And I should have did my research better before maybe ordering it as it is clearly shown in the brilliant Hotchkiss Jeep history book I have...

Not to worry as I will keep it as part of the original jeeps spec - and hey I may need it when there is an Apocalypse!,  so I ordered another extinguisher with it's own bracket and sadly it is a different shape to the other two but does have a gauge on it so can keep an eye on it for needing replaced...

I soon had the holder mounted with just one hole to drill and it and the extinguisher soon got the Olive drab green spray paint treatment...

Some canvas D loop belts arrived (£6 on eBay) and fitted these under the passenger seat having dulled down the chrome loops with some more green spray...

The £20 scissor jack I bought sits neat into the canvas Highlander bag I bought (another £6 on eBay)...

Cutting two holes in it allowed the cross brace for wheel nuts to be used - the rear wheel has different size wheel nuts and the cross brace tool allows easier and stronger secure tightening/loosening, I have had this Draper tool since my first car (Vauxhall Nova) and it has been in my garage for nearly £20 years, it too got the green paint treatment and now has a new new life finally!...

With the two belts as straps the bag is now secure and held up off the Jeep floor...

Some velcro wrap like what is used on our Bike packing bags but wider at 50mm was a fiver (eBay again) and ideal to hold the centre roof frame bar to the secured rear bar which I mounted my Go Pro camera mount to...

And on the subject of the camera mount I made - like I have for all my cycling camera mounts a quick release to allow quick swap/take on/off with out having to unscrew things using the usual method - here is how I do it;

Take a plain flat Go Pro mount - pattern ones are cheap (on eBay) and they don't have the sticky mount pad already installed underneath so better for doing this, 

Drill a 5mm hole on either side not too close to the centre rail on the mount so you can then countersink it for a counter sunk bolt to sit flush... you will also need a long 90 Go Pro mount and a countersunk 5mm bolt...

Take your time doing this and drill a wee bit at a time and keep trying the bolt until it sits snug...

like so...

Then fit a 5mm hex head into a 90 degree mount...

Then just tighten up - you prob will not need to use a spanner in there to hold the nut as the plastic will grip it...

And job done, the countersunk bolt will need to be flush to allow the camera mount to slide on and off easily, a good tip if the mount is a bit slack, as some aftermarket mount are is to give it a few coats with clear PlasiKote spray paint and (dries quickly) it will make it a tighter fit...

And its ready to use and allow quick swaps between up here and on the Jeep either with a Magnet mount or mono pod by a passenger when your driving giving more interesting shots...

I took the Jeep to the shops for the weekly supplies run, and a quick loop around the outskirts of town after getting fuel, I tried it out using the older Go Pro HERO 4 Session camera on the mount, here are some stills from the film showing the better view her into and over the Jeep showing more of the view...

Editing the film though shows the 4 Session camera not having image stabilisation suffered from the Jeep vibrations, so I will keep the old camera for future `suicide` shots under the Jeep - just in case!,

Wee film,

Song is `Forever` by Phontaine,

Since then I flipped the camera mount so it is clear of the roof canopy if I want/need to put the cover on...

Went for the weekly visit to check up on mum so took the Jeep and enjoyed a lovely drive around the coast...

Stills from the film again show an ideal camera view...

Driving the Jeep is so much fun!, I though before I bought it it would look better to sit and look at than to drive being so old and the speeds, and the fact that a previous M38 Jeep I had a drive of had awful steering with loads of play and poor brakes, but my Jeep has no play at all in the steering and does not wander at all on the road, the rebuilt brass bushed steering and brake pedals make everything feel tight along with the brakes pulling it up straight, 

For scooting about I`m having more fun than previous motorbikes at half the speed and despite the apparent lack of any vehicle safety from no legal requirement for seat belts or safety helmet it's possibly the last form of legal hooligan motoring available!,  and it makes load of folk smile and wave, and that's nice to see folk happy at something this now...

Once all the lockdown eases you can also take your friends out, and so far being able to work on everything my self it is very very rewarding to own and drive, a bit like you when you ride your own bikes are that you built the wheels yourself for and built it up from a bare frame set...

I deft have never had so much fun before at 40 - 45 mph!

I will just run the Jeep with roof frame like this now mostly - the roof bars ready to put up the roof tarp in under a minute if needed and when down also giving a good high camera angle,  the best of both worlds...

The Go Pro HERO 8 Black has bolt in motion sensor so gives a lot better picture quality then the older HERO 4 Session camera I used on the previous drive, Only the wind noise is an issue - which can be sorted with foam over the microphones, there is stuff online folk have done so will look into this soon...

Wee film, Song is `Lung Shadows` by The The,

I also added a couple of water bottle holders to the dash board, using Blackburn mountain bike bottle cages and 6mm nuts and bolts...yep you guessed it via eBay...

And yep, once again these too got the Drab olive green spray paint!....

So a load of small cheap upgrades and extras done on the Jeep this week....

More updates on the Jeep soon!