Yesterday I attended a Jeep Wedding

[MPicciotto]

Actually I was intimately involved. You could call me a Groomsman...

For five years now my friend Mike has been restoring a WW2 Jeep. Yesterday he and another friend (Donnie) brought the chassis with rebuilt engine and transmission back from the mechanics shop and we fitted the body tub to it. Instead of the typical method of fitting the tub THEN attaching everything that goes on the tub, Mike did the opposite since he had the tub in his garage waiting for months. Hence the crane instead of just picking it up. Twofootdrive was in attendance and intimately involved as well. Below are a couple of pics of the process.

Well that was easier then we thought!

And what's a wedding without cake??

Running the engine, she passed the nickle test!

We made sure to put a wine glass under the drivers front wheel and roll her forward shouting Mazel Tov!! My wife brought a very nice card and threw rice. Then she and Mike's wife made a great dinner of corn-on-the-cob, crabcakes and those yummy tomato and mozzarella snacks.

Matt

 

[Sgt Brown]

Donnie P. was there and no one got hurt? Amazing!lol

Tom

 

[EmergencyIan]

What a beautiful site! The Jeep.

- Ian

 

[StraightEight]

Congratulations! It looks great. And the crane technique has some historical precedent...

Assembling jeeps for the front in a field in Le Cambe, France, in Normandy, 1944.

 

[dhermann1]

Very cool! And many happy returns of the day!
A friend of mine sold Jeeps right after the war. He has all sorts of cool pics of insane things they did with them to show their versatility.

 

[MPicciotto]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Straighteight I especially like those pictures! Very cool to see. I hope to do some more work this weekend on Mike's Jeep. Run the fuel lines, bleed the brakes, install the seats. Should have her running around in about a month now. Then it's off on my quest to find a trailer for it.

Matt

 

[koop]

Nice jeep, makes light work lifting the body with a crane

 

[Phantomfixer]

Great jeep. I have been hearing about this one for a few years from Mike. Glad to see it come together. When/what show does he hope to debut it at?
John Z

 

[Bruce Wayne]

It looks like you guys had fun but I pray that you replaced the two-piece axle shafts.

 

[MPicciotto]

It looks like you guys had fun but I pray that you replaced the two-piece axle shafts.

I don't think he did. The Jeep is entirely stock with the only modification being a pin-up shifter knob.

As for the debut show... Geneseo is the target show. That will also require a trailer though. Mike has no plans on flat towing it and 350 miles would be a heckuva drive in a Jeep. We'd better start north tomorrow!

Matt

 

[Phantomfixer]

Matt,

what is the young lasses name from NY. the gal who formed the paper dolls? doesn't she have a duece and a half?

 

[csmiller]

Geneseo

I don't think he did. The Jeep is entirely stock with the only modification being a pin-up shifter knob.

As for the debut show... Geneseo is the target show. That will also require a trailer though. Mike has no plans on flat towing it and 350 miles would be a heckuva drive in a Jeep. We'd better start north tomorrow!

Matt

My wife and I are planning on attending the airshow at Geneseo that weekend. Maybe we will see you there. I'd love to see the jeep. Looks like an excellent restoration. I'd offer a trailer if I owned one.

Craig

 

[MikeBravo]

Brilliant!

My dream car is a vintage Jeep

Gotta love a vehicle running with a "Go Devil" engine

 

[MPicciotto]

I don't know the name of the gal who drives a Duece and a half but I'd sure like to meet her! Looks like the Jeep won't be going to Geneseo this year. Still lots to do and we haven't had the time to work on it. It's coming along nicely though. Do look us up at Geneseo though, we will be the AAF unit.

Matt

 

[csmiller]

Geneseo

I don't know the name of the gal who drives a Duece and a half but I'd sure like to meet her! Looks like the Jeep won't be going to Geneseo this year. Still lots to do and we haven't had the time to work on it. It's coming along nicely though. Do look us up at Geneseo though, we will be the AAF unit.

Matt

Hi Matt,

Looking forward to meeting a fellow FL'er. Not sure which day (Saturday or Sunday) we will attend. Mostly depends on the weather.

Craig

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

Mazeltov!

Great pics and story...glad we're not the only nutters who do things like this!

Kate

 

[MPicciotto]

Well the Jeep had the driveshafts installed and other myriad details over the last few months. A couple of months ago it was driveable but I hadn't made it over to go for a ride. Until yesterday that it is. Not only did I get to ride shotgun, but after a trip around the neighborhood I got to take the wheel!!

Matt

 

[Phantomfixer]

Awe come on Matt more pics ......please Will it make it to Reading this year?

 

[DeaconKC]

Outstanding! Congrats to all involved!

 

[MPicciotto]

Another update. It's been just over a year since the wedding and lo and behold. A little baby trailer has come home:

It's a Bantam T-3C from late 45 or early 46. Bantam had been making trailers for the military and then switched to civilian production. The earliest civilian trailers were nearly identical to the military. This trailer is from just after they had used up the remaining military components and had gone to the civilian style. Sharp viewers may pick up on the differences. After some discussion we've decided not to bastardize it by trying to make it something it's not. Instead it will be restored as a civilian trailer but have NDT tires, a lunette ring (bolt on change) and OD paint so as to match the Jeep. That will be sufficient for our military reenacting yet at the same time not devalue the vehicle by modifying it.

Matt