M38 MC35305 Restoration

strathdaigeil · Post by **strathdaigeil** » Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:12 pm

4x4M38 wrote:You can try and recover the hood numbers if that green is still on the hood.

They will be yellow instead of white.

I did find yellow paint on the hood. I will get the sandblaster out and go lightly across it. It would be nice to get the original number.

Just ordered a can of 5 different paints to figure out which is closer to original. I will use the spares to repaint the lawnmower.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:13 pm

'Course you may have a replacement CJ hood. I don't see a cutout on the
right side. Maybe it has a plate attached, and maybe Bubba filled it with
16 gauge and pounds of Bondo.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:17 pm

Do not use anything except very light sandpaper!

The numbers are usually very thin. It is very easy to wipe them out
without ever getting a good look at them.

strathdaigeil · Post by **strathdaigeil** » Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:24 am

4x4M38 wrote:'Course you may have a replacement CJ hood. I don't see a cutout on the
right side. Maybe it has a plate attached, and maybe Bubba filled it with
16 gauge and pounds of Bondo.

There is no cutout and never was on this hood. One of the corrugated metal supports near the base rusted through at some point so it has lost some rigidity. I thought about buying a replacement. I hear though that the replacements are not nearly as solid as the originals.

strathdaigeil · Post by **strathdaigeil** » Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:25 am

4x4M38 wrote:Do not use anything except very light sandpaper!

The numbers are usually very thin. It is very easy to wipe them out
without ever getting a good look at them.

That will take weeks. There are 6 layers of paint over the green. The good thing is that there is practically zero rust on the tub or frame because of the sloppy and thick layers of multiple colors of paint.

Saberr · Post by **Saberr** » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:49 pm

24052 marine corps forest green. That looked like a semi gloss. Can buy from rapco. If you want to test spray, krylon camo deep forest green is almost an exact match, its flat though. But MCFG from rapco. If your feeling slightly adventurous and are very careful, you can also use an electric hand sander to get to hood numbers. Once again like prev poster, once get most way through, go back to manual hand sanding.

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Fri Nov 25, 2016 4:24 pm

And Rapco sells spray cans of all colors. A good way to test!

strathdaigeil · Post by **strathdaigeil** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:45 am

The RMC engine should be done with rebuild this week. The shop has only 1/8" stamps for the serial number.

Does anyone know the correct size for the engine serial numbers?

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:54 am

Did they deck it and remove the original number?

If not, what you show in the photo looks good. It wasn't very deep.

I would not restamp unless the number is gone.

Post by **wesk** » Mon Mar 06, 2017 11:59 am

You should be aware the original Willys/Kaiser engine serials were machine stamped during the block's machining process and the numbers were stamped as a complete set. So you will be hard pressed to come up with a proper size and script matching individual stamp set of both letters and numbers. Any competent automotive machinist should be able to come up with a close in size set of letter and numeral punches but they will be hard pressed to make them match the original script and perfectly even layout.