A bit about myself - I'm in my early 30's and residing in a suburb Chicago, and last year I acquired a 1956 M38A1 from Texas and had it shipped across the country. That is Penny in the picture, by the way.
I was originally enamored by the older military jeeps as a kid, when I watched my neighbor rebuild one from the ground up, then drive around town with his golden retriever in the back. The thought of having that experience myself was always imprinted, so I bought this one without knowing much of anything about condition, originality, pricing, difference in models, etc...
I went off of looks, and what seemed to accommodate to my general purpose. But now that I've owned the vehicle for a little over a year, I was hoping for some general feedback. I've found myself dumping more and more money into the vehicle, hoping to restore bits of it, and I am becoming a bit consumed and admittedly obsessed. I'm not interested in doing a frame off restoration, or rather I don't have the know-how, but perhaps that is what would satiate my cravings.
When Googling '1956 M38A1', this particular vehicle pops up more than a few times, so I'm sure some of you have seen it in past ads.
If you wouldn't mind sharing your opinion, it'd be so very much appreciated.
Is it worth sinking a bunch of time into, and honing new skills (welding, mechanical work, fabrication, etc)? Do I consider restoring the body, though keeping its mechanical guts? What could I do cosmetically to at least get it closer to its original aesthetics, and looking a bit more maintained? The last sentence being the most important to me.
As far as I can tell, it's a ~1962 Ford 260 V8 and it was converted to a 12V. The body itself has 4 layers of paint in most spots - Original OD, Yellow, Red, then the newest iteration of the its OD that has some patina, scrapes, scratches, and the usual.
The gas pedal is off place, due to where the throttle cable feeds. The brake pedal isn't original, and the master cylinder isn't located where it should be to even install an original pedal. The gas tank doesn't have the 'feeder cup' on the side of the body, and I can't put one in either, because someone re-welded the pour spout where the cap screws into. These are all things that bother me.
The exhaust is off of a Ford (like the engine), and I wanted to consider putting an 'original' muffler / exhaust on, leading to the rear of the vehicle. Someone also placed fiberglass on the driver and passenger side floorboards. I'm assuming to help protect against some heat from the muffler, that rests right underneath the passenger side. It doesn't look like the metal has decayed at all, so it wouldn't be for that.
The radiator is original, and has been spot welded to ward off leaks... But, it leaks... A lot. It does surprisingly do a well enough job at keeping the engine cool, even in the Chicago summers.
My thoughts are, fix the items I'm most concerned about, clean up the engine (do I do a complete tear down and repaint / clean it as I go?), repaint the interior, fix the exhaust to feed out the back as it should, then remove the fiber glass?
Do I look into having it professionally restored?
Again, I'm just fishing for opinions and general feedback. I love this vehicle, and don't regret the purchase one iota, but being extremely anally retentive, I tend to obsess on the imperfections.
Thank you!
. Continue this piece meal as you have the time. Nothing needs to be done to disable the Jeep for months. Divide it into weekend projects. The floors will probably be the biggest challenge, but they don't have to be done today. The Jeep isn't a bad looking jeep, do these projects while you enjoy it, none of them are expensive. Bottom line, keep that smile on your face!