'52 M38

[Ryan_M]

Do either of your engines have the rebuild tag on them, like this one?

Neither of my two M38 motors have a tag. Is the guy advertising it as a "freshly rebuilt motor"? 

[Ryan_M]

Fender repair time!

I tried filling these tender spots but they were just too far gone. All I did was chase holes around. I know better than to waste too much time doing that now!





So I cut out the cancer and made a patch.



And set it in place. Those little clamps are great. Was it Randy that turned me on to those?



Then stitch 'er up.



Then grind it smooth.



I should have made the patch just a hair longer and then cut it flush with the existing fender as it comes up a bit short. I still need to add another backing patch on the inside so I can compensate there and then touch it up.

[1955CJ-5]

Oh, I see you have some of those welding spacer-clamp things...

Wish I had some when I was doing mine....

That welding comes in handy, don't it?

[1955CJ-5]

Is the guy advertising it as a "freshly rebuilt motor"?

No, but it "ran when parked"     (ten years ago)

[athawk11]

Ryan,
Your welds look terrific.  I don't know that I would worry about that lower edge.  It's pretty much hidden by the step anyway. 

Tim

[garage gnome]

Glad the nut plate worked for you Ryan!

[Ryan_M]

This is where stuff really gets dicey. Since I feel the tub is too tender for yet another rounding of sand blasting I hit it with some Permatex rust converter. A friend has overhauled several vehicles and raves about the stuff. Online reviews are a little less favorable. We'll find out soon enough.



I started filling in all my welding blemishes with Bondo and paste. I didn't get very far before I decided I really didn't like it. I ground most of it off and proceeded with the tub "as-is". The blemishes and imperfections will be on display for all to see. I figure if the paint is going to fall off I"m OK seeing bare metal but not chunks of Bondo. This is a thrasher Jeep. I want it highly functional but still rough around the edges.

This is before I chased the fresh bondo away with my trusty flapper wheel:



Then I got distracted to go deal with way more snow than I hoped to see today



Now for the first round of primer. I ran dry so I'll have to pick up some more tomorrow. If I paint a vehicle "for real" next time I will be sending it out. Trying to pull this off in my cramped garage with my extreme lack of patience is just never going to produce a quality result. Again, I'm OK with that for this project.

[1955CJ-5]

They look pretty good when you get them all one color, kinda like all the parts belong together...

I was going to try lead instead of filler...glad I didn't now. I did use some All-Metal filler which is really hard to work with but looks like metal if scratched...

If you paint it flat OD the imperfections won't show all that much..it'll just look authentic...

The tool box looks fine in there....nothing like a little "persuading" to get them to fit!

We haven't seen that much snow here in the last 5 years put together....

[Bill]

Very nice Ryan!  I like that you are not trying to make it look perfect.

[1955CJ-5]

So I have a question....

The fuel line on the M-38 feeds from the top of the tank...is that right?

How is it routed from there? Just to get it out of the tub...

I'm guessing that hole in the floor is for the tank drain?

That local M-38 is still available for 6K....but it has a 2a/3a tank...I'm just wondering how many holes he had to cut to make that 2a/3a tank work....

Ya know, that M-38 of yours is going to look great....

[Ryan_M]

The M38 fuel line does connect to the top of the tank. There is a pick-up/filter that is located inside the tank. From there the line goes down around the back side of the fuel tank and out through a small hole in the floor riser (thanks for reminding me as I need to drill this hole this now...I've been putting it off and now that it's time to do it I had forgotten...).

Once through the floor riser it bends around and runs pretty much the same as a 3A. There are a couple extra brackets and clips required to keep all this junk in place. Here are a few pics from the maintenance manual that may make some sense of my rambling.







You can see there are fittings for the vent lines too if you want to go crazy and rig all that stuff up. I am not including any of that on mine. I'll just need to make sure I find a bridge before trying to cross any rivers�

[Oilleaker1]

You shouldn't have told me your plans. I'm going to deduct 10 points now at the show for no tank vent.  How's the snow by the way? John

[Ryan_M]

You shouldn't have told me your plans. I'm going to deduct 10 points now at the show for no tank vent.� How's the snow by the way? John

I won't have any points left by the time you get to the fording system anyways - I'm not worried.

And the snow, well it sucks. Come and get it. You can have all you want for free 

[1955CJ-5]

find a bridge before trying to cross any rivers

If you are so deep in the river that you need the vents I'd guess the party would be just about over anyway...

Thanks for the diagrams. I had no idea it was so complex....I have been told that if you hope to fully restore a M-38 plan on about twice the cost of a CJ....

[Ryan_M]

.I have been told that if you hope to fully restore a M-38 plan on about twice the cost of a CJ....

I guess it all depends on what's there and what isn't. The 24V parts and the fording trinkets are the bigger money items. Aside from that I don't see too much of a difference in cost but as we all know a lot of little things can really add up. Air cleaner, tool brackets, YS carb, lifting shackles, etc will set you back if you have to go buy them all. That's why I'm keeping mine 12V with a lot of 3A stuff....I'll save a bunch of money and nobody but us forum geeks will be able to tell the difference anyways