Since none of the GPW fanatics have answered yet, here goes.
Script on Willys MB went to late summer of '42. Was there on early July
jeeps, and gone by end-Aug. Probably similar with Fords. I have owned s Feb
42 script MB and a stamped grill Jul 42 MB, a Apr 43 GPW and I now own a 44
MB.
Date is stamped MONTH-DAY-YEAR in 1942 jeeps. e.g. 7-2-42 = July 2, 1942.
Off the top of my head, here are the sort of things a script Willys MB (and
therefore likely a script GPW) should NOT, repeat NOT, have:
1. Jerrican carrier
2. Blackout drive light on left fender.
3. Safety rings for pintle hook.
4. Trailer plug
5. Vacuum wipers
6. Rotary light switch
7. Rifle rack brackets on windshield.
8. Vent tube to oil filler tube from cross-over tube for air-cleaner.
9. Lube chart holder under hood.
Some of the things above were retrofitted by the military or rebuild depots
in later years.
Look for "F" stamped on front bumper (near crank hole), on pintle hook
(RAISED cast script "F" on one side, near top I think), centre fill gas tank
with matching seat, "F" stamped in middle of back of each seat, F cast on
top of engine, GPW on lower part of engine block on side. Look for Ford
etched into windshield glass and a year - bottom right corner as I recall.
Look for "F" head bolts for bow brackets, tiny "F" on lip of horn at open
end.
Look for radio filter on firewall NOT on side under passenger seat.
Look for MATCHING serial numbers on data data plate and on frame. On Ford
GPW the number -- (star) GPW number (star) -- is stamped into the top of the
left frame rail below the fule pump. Same number (on a GPW) should be
stamped on the right front corner of the engine block on a pad behind the
oil filter (dumb place but there it is! ) On a Ford GPW you should have
THREE macthing serial numbers - data , frame and engine. If they do not
match, consider carefully, and use this as a bargaining chip if you are
still interested. Argument to use is that if it is not the original engine,
it never will be ...
Look for Ford frame - upside down "U" channel for front cross member of
frame under radiator. Some ford GPW were apparently built on Willys type
frames with round front cross-member but these should NOT have a Willys MB
tag ("MB######") on the left inside of the front of the frame. Look for
rectangular tool box lock button indentations on each side. Look for two
extra Ford holes in front bumper and in rear frame cross-member (one near
each end)
Good luck.
Please pass on serial number/date/any original markings such as USA number
to add to my data base. colin@pacdat.net
Thanks
Colin Macgregor Stevens
MVPA Member 954 (since 1977)
& member B Coy 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion (Living History)
Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada
E-mail: colin@pacdat.net
Personal web site: http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net
1944 Willys MB
1942 BSA airborne bicycles (2)
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