As Tony said, I'd *really* try and keep the original body. It is as much a
part of the vehicle as the chassis is. The extra effort and cost in fixing
it rather than putting on a repro means you won't ever have to think or tell
people "yeah, it's original, BUT...". I think you'd gain more respect from
other jeep owners, too. Besides, what's a jeep with a perfectly straight
body? How I wish I could send my jeep back in time to get a few authentic
bullet holes in it, or (slight) battle damage :)
GPW hat channeling is much simpler than MB channeling. If we can get it
here in Oz, then anyone in the US should have it even easier. A sheet metal
place could fold some up for you. The floor, and most other parts of a jeep
body is just flat steel. The most difficult part to replicate is the cowling,
with those compound curves. I had to put in a new rear panel into my '44 GPW,
but since I was replacing a rotted homemade one I felt better about it!
My opinion - stick with the genuine body. If you ever sell the jeep, it ought
to be worth more. At the big WW2 jeep parts auction held here last weekend,
a '43 GPW with practically no floor at all but just oozing original parts
all over went for about $1000 more than another one with a good body and
chassis.
Steve.
steven@phaedra.apana.org.au