Flash Force 255 Bunker: April 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The 1955 M606 Jeep Gift

Last Friday, April 26th, was just an extra work day for me - until I returned home. Normally, its two 12 hour days a week - but this week, I was given an extra work day for a total of 3 days this week. I have part time job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a driver. We take the dirty cars from the terminal parking lot and drive them to the cleaning bay. Then bring the clean vehicles back to the terminal parking lot. While I live in Lubbock, Texas: my job is down in Midland, Texas, at the Midland International Airport (MAF).

The Lubbock crew (as we call our shelves) were late in getting away from Midland and we arrived back in Lubbock about 15-20 minutes after 8pm. After stopping at a Chicken Express for a late supper, I finally arrived home just at dusk.

My friend Ricky Taylor must have seen the lights of my pickup truck driving up to my place. I got a phone call and a few minutes later, he was there with his grandson Zander. Tonight's mission was to make a quick trip to the AutoZone to get some items for his latest purchase - a 1943 Willys Jeep!

For the past 14-15 months now, Ricky and I have been on a Jeep restoration quest - and all by chance too I might add! Anyway, on the ride back into town, Ricky and Zander told me that the M606 Jeep was now going to be mine to have!

The M606 is also known as the "high hood" or "high top hood" of the Jeep line. The M606 was mostly used my the Military Police or Shore Patrol when it was in US military service. I have seen pictures of the M606 being used by the South Vietnamese troops in the Vietnam War. In civilian use, it was known as the CJ-3B.

What does one say when given a Jeep??? "Thanks for a great Father's Day, Birthday, and Christmas present all in one guys!"

Now comes the hard part... coming up with the bucks to keep restoring it. The hood is covered with bondo and I would perfer to get rid of all that bondo or get a new hood from New/Old Stock(NOS). But a new hood would run about $400.00. Brake system DID work and now it does not. Lighting system needs work on as well. I do have the windshield, but it needs to be painted OD Green before being installed back onto the Jeep.

Photos with this post are mine except for what is referred to in the Ref section below.

UPDATE (June 6, 2013): The following added photos were taken on the evening of June 5, 2013, at Ricky's Auto Repair.

The past few weeks, I had redone the hood - grinding off all the old bondo that was craked all over it. I took all that off and did the same thing to both front fenders. The right fender was ok after removing the bondo, but the left one was still in pretty bad shape; so it had to get new bondo added back onto that one fender.

Then the hood and fenders were repainted OD Green. Then last night, we finally sprayed on the white hood star and two smaller stars on the rear fenders. We also managed to get the "U.S.A." sprayed on each side of the hood as well as the "TP-25" above each wheel well. "TP-25" means Tire Pressure - 25 (psi).

Unable to do any more stuff to it since this night Lubbock and the surrounding counties took a massive wind and thunderstorm event. I was hoping that we could get this jeep ready for the Silent Wings Museum D-Day Observance - but it just was not meant to be.

As for the M606 itself, a spare tire carrier needs to be built. I also want to get some OD Green pup tent halves and use the cloth from them to make some seat covers for the driver and passenger seats.

___
Ref.
1. M606. Wikipedia.org. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_MB ).
2. M606 Jeep images (from Google Search) ( https://www.google.com/search?q=m606+jeep&biw=1280&bih=675&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8mJ9Ud3vIqWC2gXPsIHIBQ&ved=0CEgQsAQ ).
3. A restored M606. "Davis64rear" ( http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/Photos/Owners/1964/Davis64/Davis64Rear.jpg ).
4. Shore Patrol jeep ( http://www.autozin.com/published/files/listing_photo_13409262103105487940.jpg ).