I've got to say something here in regards to repro bodies.
I may make some purists sick but here goes anyway.
I purchased a jeep sight unseen for next to nothing and had it shipped in a
load of tropical foliage plants from South Florida to British Columbia
Canada.
When it rolled off of the truck, it was a very rusted out DJ with a Chevy
V8.
The truth of the matter is that there is now a 1952 jeep back on the road
and turning heads instead of rusting in a South Florida swamp.
I Reply:
I have a woods buggy with an original 3A frame and driveline and repro
body, fenders, tailgate and windshield frame. A very pleasing and
original *looking* Jeep. Everyone who sees it likes it.
But that's not the point. We're not talking about your daily driver or my
woods runner here. This started out as a discussion of using or not using
an inaccurate replacement body in a high end restoration of a somewhat rare
MV.
I agree that rusted out DJs with small blocks Chevys should use repro
bodies.
Then Herb wrote:
> Please tack my $0.02 on to what Kerry wrote.
> I've wanted a WWII jeep for over 30 years. I finally got a 50 year old
> jeep on my 50th birthday two years ago, and at the rate I am proceeding
I'll be
> 55+ when I first drive it. Clearly, much of the fun is in the
restoration;
> but as I recall, most of the fun is in driving it! A repro body could
have cut at
> least two years off this project. I am too far down this road right now,
but I
> sometimes wonder if I took the wrong path? Kerry did a good job of
> expressing my feelings.
>
> Herb & Bubbles
This makes no sense to me. Are you saying that the original body is
keeping you from enjoying your Jeep? That after you delayed for 30 years,
the original body is now, somehow, responsible for delaying your enjoyment
of your Jeep for an additional 2 years? How so?
Is the repro body free? I think not. Think you won't have to spend money
on *it* when you get it? Think again.
If it's going to take you 5 years to "restore' your Jeep and 2 years of the
5 is the body, then the rest is taking you three years. So take your
original body
and the $2000 (or more) you would have spent on a repro body to a tin
knocker and have him fix the damn thing. Tell him he has 3 years to do it
because
you're gonna take that long with the rest of the Jeep. (Over the course of
the 3 years you can, probably, invest the $2000 and make back a couple of
hundred dollars.)
When it's done put in on the frame. Viola!, ...an accurate, WW2 Jeep done!
..... within the 3 year period you felt was reasonable and a much better,
more valuable piece for the same or less money.
You don't want to bring the body to someone? No sense of accomplishment
or satisfaction in that? What sense of accomplishment were you gonna get
from buying the repro body?
Regards,
JP
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.