There's a Wheeler Dealers episode where Edd China takes care of a WWII Jeep.
I love that show
I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
11–20 of 68 posts
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#12Is it truly a 2026 car though, if it does not come with an ungodly amount of attention beep nagware that cannot be permanently disabled?
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#13The important point is "from as much ebay parts as possible" because I suspect there are still "jeep in a crate" boxes where all you have to do is remove the Cosmolene (this is undoubtedly not all you have to do btw)
There's a long running treasure hunt for some still-crated Spitfires that were supposedly shipped to Burma at the exact end of the war and then buried when no longer required. The amount of equipment left over from WW2 was staggering.
This is one of those perennial aviation legends[0] that are still alive, like Amelia Earhart's wreck. Always another rich guy funding a search with promising results.
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#14I wish he shared what it cost him overall. I can already see from some of the numbers and some guesswork that it must not be a flattering sum, but I still want to see it!
Howdy! This is Matt from The Autopian. I talked to David about this and we'll have it for you soon. We've been doing the math and it's kinda hilarious. Obviously, we were proving a point with this video but it's not... the most efficient way to do this.
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#15I wish he shared what it cost him overall. I can already see from some of the numbers and some guesswork that it must not be a flattering sum, but I still want to see it!
Howdy! This is Matt from The Autopian. I talked to David about this and we'll have it for you soon. We've been doing the math and it's kinda hilarious. Obviously, we were proving a point with this video but it's not... the most efficient way to do this.
Another big point of curiosity for me is registration--it clearly doesn't have a CA number plate, but there was a big red "3" on a laminated card in the spare.. what is that?
How do you go about titling and registering a brand new body + frame?
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a long running treasure hunt for some still-crated Spitfires that were supposedly shipped to Burma at the exact end of the war and then buried when no longer required. The amount of equipment left over from WW2 was staggering.
This is one of those perennial aviation legends[0] that are still alive, like Amelia Earhart's wreck. Always another rich guy funding a search with promising results. [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20957162
My late great uncle was in the RAF during WW2 and was at the liberation of Belson.
I remember him saying that the RAF buried Spitfire engines, so it's definitely a real practice.
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#17The important point is "from as much ebay parts as possible" because I suspect there are still "jeep in a crate" boxes where all you have to do is remove the Cosmolene (this is undoubtedly not all you have to do btw)
You can build a Citroën 2CV from scratch with entirely new parts - almost - because someone somewhere makes what you need. About the only mechanical component you can't buy is the gearbox "bucket", presumably because nobody ever breaks those. You can actually get various gearbox upgrades for them which is worth it if you daily one, because the mainshaft nut can slacken off and get you jammed in gear.
> get you jammed in gear
Terrifying prospect. What are your options in that situation? Would turning off the ignition have any effect?
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can build a Citroën 2CV from scratch with entirely new parts - almost - because someone somewhere makes what you need. About the only mechanical component you can't buy is the gearbox "bucket", presumably because nobody ever breaks those. You can actually get various gearbox upgrades for them which is worth it if you daily one, because the mainshaft nut can slacken off and get you jammed in gear.
> get you jammed in gear Terrifying prospect. What are your options in that situation? Would turning off the ignition have any effect?
Just stomp the clutch and shut it off
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Howdy! This is Matt from The Autopian. I talked to David about this and we'll have it for you soon. We've been doing the math and it's kinda hilarious. Obviously, we were proving a point with this video but it's not... the most efficient way to do this.
Another big point of curiosity for me is registration--it clearly doesn't have a CA number plate, but there was a big red "3" on a laminated card in the spare.. what is that? How do you go about titling and registering a brand new body + frame?
That was also a fun story! I had to do the insurance for it and CA is actually surprisingly a great state for this kind of stuff.
Re: I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of those perennial aviation legends[0] that are still alive, like Amelia Earhart's wreck. Always another rich guy funding a search with promising results. [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20957162
My late great uncle was in the RAF during WW2 and was at the liberation of Belson. I remember him saying that the RAF buried Spitfire engines, so it's definitely a real practice.
The terms of the lend lease agreement meant that Britain only had to pay for the equipment it kept after the war. So in some cases they were pushing aircraft of the deck of carriers into the sea so they didn’t have to pay for them.