M38A1 Restoration Project

Start your project thread here for advice and for others to follow along with your project. This is a long term thread.

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wilfreeman
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Post by wilfreeman »

Now thats a find!
Matt
1953 M38a1
1964 USMC M38a1
'51 USMC M100 trailer, '54 M100 trailer, '90 M101a1 trailer
Http://wilfreeman.wordpress.com (M38a1 build blog)
http://m38a1usmc.wordpress.com (USMC M38a1 rebuild blog)
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whydahdvr
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Post by whydahdvr »

Fantastic! Getting 2 carbs and 3 fuel pumps out of that is worth the trip alone. I've been thinking about having a back-up carb and most places want a core in order to restore a carb.
Great find!
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

whydahdvr wrote:Fantastic! Getting 2 carbs and 3 fuel pumps out of that is worth the trip alone. I've been thinking about having a back-up carb and most places want a core in order to restore a carb.
Great find!
Well, I will say that one of the carbs isn't complete. Although I should be able to make a solid good working carb out of the two. I'm not sure about the fuel pumps. They look complete. Since this is my first resto though, I'm no sure what they "should" look like. They all basically look like the new one in the box though so I'm assuming they are complete.
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53a1
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Post by 53a1 »

Buy a parts stash, sell some and keep some. Love it when I find deals like that.

If you want to sell one of the BO fender lights let me know. I'm also looking for a BO rear light.
'53 M38A1 X2
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BullRun
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Post by BullRun »

There is a guy down your way in Hampton. Saw him driving a freshly painted M38A1 in white outside NASA/Langley AFB. Maybe you have seen him. First M38A1 I ever saw just being driven down the road for fun. Never forgot that.
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

BullRun wrote:There is a guy down your way in Hampton. Saw him driving a freshly painted M38A1 in white outside NASA/Langley AFB. Maybe you have seen him. First M38A1 I ever saw just being driven down the road for fun. Never forgot that.
I've seen a nice 38a1 on craigslist for a while. He wants $8,500 for it. It looks nice. Maybe it was his or the new buyers? I remember I saw something like that in Hampton by the old Collesium Mall whenI was around 9. The guy was driving an old WWII Jeep and I thought it was the coolest thing.
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

Engine block may have a possible crack... Arg. Or it's a casting flaw. Hard to tell. I had a few friends look at it and they recommended a machine shop check it out.... Oh well.
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

Ok. After a lot of hard work and getting through all the USMC Tar on the bottome, the tub came off! It's getting exciting as my back up frame is pretty much stripped and ready to be my primary frame since Bubba chopped mine up. Pics will soon follow. Getting ready for sand blasting. It's going a lot better than expected at this point :D
Dave
52 M38A1
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army_inc
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Update on Resto.

Post by army_inc »

Ok. So I got the '54 frame. I've literally cleaned everything off of the frame and am in the process of tearing off the old brackets (rear spring shackle and Shock). It's primed and now I'm just waiting on parts to finish the rear axle. Things are looking up now that I'm rebuilding her.
Dave
52 M38A1
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

Ok so it's been a while since I've commented on my thread. With my three kids, wife, change of job from the Army to the Air Force, I really haven't had a lot of time to work on the jeep. I made the decision to send it off to get it restored... I like working on it, just don't have the time to do it. It is being restored by Jim Lurba (apparently a Former MVPA Judge). I told him I was looking for a Motor Pool restoration, not a Museum Quality resto so we will see what happens. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.
Dave
52 M38A1
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

I finally got some pictures back from Jim. I'm waiting on the body to arrive and it'll start looking like a jeep soon enough! Here's a link to what's been done.
http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules. ... _album.php
Dave
52 M38A1
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RICKG
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Post by RICKG »

Coming back together nicely Dave!!
keep 'em rollin'
RICKG MC 51986 DOD 01-52, '50 CJ3a
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

Got some more pictures of the jeep. I had to get rid of the old body because it was just too far gone and Bubba really did a number to it... I hate Bubba. Now after all of that, my wallet hates me and my wife isn't too happy with me either.... at least my jeep is starting to look like a jeep again.
http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules. ... _album.php
Dave
52 M38A1
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wesk
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Post by wesk »

The body looks good. The tub and front clip are a lot easier to paint before installation. Is there a reason you mounted them first?
Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100

Mjeeps photo album: http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules. ... _album.php
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army_inc
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Post by army_inc »

The underside and inside engine area of the jeep is already painted. So all that needs painting now is the exterior that you can see. Does that answer your question Wesk? I'm assuming I interpreted it correctly.
Dave
52 M38A1
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