'52 M38

[1955CJ-5]

Remember that a length of copper pipe flattened on one end works great for backing holes and wide gaps when you weld....it will help keep the burn-through to a minimum....

That's good to know. I used my grinder to widen a small crack in the rear bumper and then spent the next 15 minutes chasing burn holes around trying to fill it. I finally managed to get it but perhaps that copper trick would have minimized some clowning around.

The thing about welding on an old jeep is that you are never faced with the same circumstance twice.......one time it's thin rusty metal, then its nice new metal then it's who knows what......

If you were making the same half dozen welds over and over all day you would get good at it pretty fast..!

My friend used to be a welder for Bestop...his job was to weld a bracket together....he said after a while he would just set it up and close his eyes and weld it...no need for a hood!

[SteveW]

The copper is really successful method and get a couple of different sizes and lengths. Flatten out and bend it to fit.

[Ryan_M]

Frame cleaned and minor repairs made. I straightened a few of the significant dents in the bumpers and welded a couple cracks. The small dents and bent safety chain eyelets were left alone....they add character.

POR-15 time!



I used Chassis Saver on my 3A and people either seem to love or hate POR so I wanted to try it myself. I did not prep the frame with the recommended POR cleaner so if it falls off next week I still can't necessarily blame it on the product. I brushed it on this time instead of spraying it like I did on the 3A. Brushing sure is a lot cleaner but it's tougher (if not impossible) to get all the little cracks and crevices.

After a quick shot of el-cheapo primer (let the howling begin!) over the tacky POR, I let it sit for a few days. It took me nearly that long to hang all this freakin' plastic.

The paintery:


And the painter:


And the paint:


This color was derived from a paint shop scan of an NOS M-38 grille. It looks way off but I think I like it anyways. I'll be able to compare it better once the frame dries.

Meanwhile, the desecration of the other M38 continues. This is the first time I've seen her topless. She was a little shy at first but quickly overcame her inhibitions.�

[1955CJ-5]

You look a little crazed in the paint mask photo....

Are you sure that Stephen King doesn't live next door?

[JeepFever]

.
Nice work

Another "down and dirty" build . . I will be keeping a eye on the thread for ideas.   

[Ryan_M]

After a couple very frustrating days destroying sheet metal with my new welder I needed to tinker with some other part of the project.

Here's the engine, trans, and TC as plucked as a single unit. With an M38 you were originally able to pull the radiator as part of this ensemble but mine is missing the clips that secure the radiator to the motor so it came out separately. Note the benefit of the removable shift lever that allows this extraction without having to remove the entire shift tower.

I was a little apprehensive hanging the whole shooting match by a single 60yr old lift hook but it didn't seem to mind a bit.

[Ryan_M]

The disassembly of M38 #1 is officially complete. The bare frame is now actually sitting on top of the old tub outside in the snow. Here's a parting shot of the tub headed out the door.�



When I envisioned this project the initial plan was to simply drop the drive shafts, unbolt the springs from the old frame, and roll the wheels, axles, and springs as a unit over to the new frame and bolt everything back up. Simple stuff....I estimated the time required to roughly that of consuming a cup of coffee.

I didn't take long before the curse of "well, you are already THIS far...." took hold.

Might as well go through all the axles and harvest the best parts from each one



Both axles from M38 #2 contained more water than gear oil. Yuck. The rear axle from M38 #1 has proven itself over the summer as a good axle but upon close inspection I noticed a couple things. One of the ring gear bolts was completely gone (and nowhere to be found inside the housing) and the lock-strap was twisted and hanging freely. Many of the other carrier bolts were loose enough I could turn them by hand. Not good. I tightened them all and secured them with the lock-strap tabs.



Next, I pulled the axles and found the tubes full of dirt. Gritty chunky dirt. Only one way to really clean those tubes - gotta remove the differential.



With the diff out I found that the bearings looked good but the races had a couple bad spots. At the very least I'll replace the races although I know I should get new bearings while I'm at it. The pinion seal was junk too so I have a good shopping list prepared for Black Friday...

I found these critters tonight while consolidating axles. They are little spring loaded check valves for the bearing grease to escape from but by design they do not let water in. M38 #1 had them but they were so rusted they were unidentifiable. M38 #2 had a nice working set that were migrated over.

3A's just have a small open hole in that spot where grease can get out but anything else can seep in. Neat little gadgets.



I'm pushing the spring loaded plunger up here with pliers

[Jeff_M]

Those little vents are interesting.  It's notable to me how many differences there are between the 3A and M38.  It's a relatively small example of how flexible the military can be in their spec'ing process when cost is no object.  Back then they must have had some clever engineers on board to come up with that vent idea, along with the removeable tranny cover, removeable shift lever, etc.  Or perhaps Willys made the suggestions...who knows.  Stuff to ponder. 

Are you planning on migrating the hardtop to the new tub, or will this one also be topless?

[Ryan_M]

Are you planning on migrating the hardtop to the new tub, or will this one also be topless

The plan is to leave it topless....but nothing else ever seems to go as planned so anything is possible.

[Bob W]

Those little vents are interesting.� It's notable to me how many differences there are between the 3A and M38.� It's a relatively small example of how flexible the military can be in their spec'ing process when cost is no object.� Back then they must have had some clever engineers on board to come up with that vent idea, along with the removeable tranny cover, removeable shift lever, etc.� Or perhaps Willys made the suggestions...who knows.� Stuff to ponder.

When the M-38 was being designed the military had a long list of desired features after studying the shortcomings of the WWII jeeps. There was a constant back and forth between the Army and Willys trying to get all the features at a reasonable price. Some features did not make it into production because the cost was too great and many other features were eliminated during production because of the cost.

[1955CJ-5]

Well Ryan, no one can accuse you of standing around and wondering what to do next....

I like your "can do" attitude!

Randy

[aboyandhisdog]

Ryan, sorry I'm late to follow this thread and was wondering what's with the vertical windshield frame?  I'm guessing it doesn't fold and it looks to be about 90 degrees.  Been looking for an explanation but didn't see it - hope I'm not dredging up a topic that has been brought up a bunch already.
Thanks.

[Ryan_M]

what's with the vertical windshield frame?

The vertical windshield frame is part of the Arctic Top, or "CAB CLOSURE - HARD TOP". If you flip back to the first post in this thread you'll see pics of the top installed. Even with the top removed, the windshield does not fold down.

Not sure why they couldn't agree on a top that utilized the original windshield. They obviously weren't thinking ahead to the one-man hobbyist who would like to be able to take the top on and off by himself without spending an entire afternoon doing so.

[Ryan_M]

I spent the entire day yesterday and much of this morning grinding and cleaning parts. Disgustingly dirty work. Differentials are buttoned back up and now it's paint day. I just replaced the king pin bearings and knuckle seals last year so I opted not to take them off again. A little bit lazy on my part but it really didn't seem worth the effort. Most of the brake backing plates on M38 #2 were better than the ones on M38 #1 so I am swapping them out.

Every other Jeep project I've done has pretty much consisted of rattle can paint jobs which are easy as you can do as small of a job as you want. Now that I'm using "real" paint I'm trying to prep as much as I can all at once. The air sprayer sure is nice to use but it's a pain to clean up and I don't want to do it any more than I have to.

The wife was a little annoyed when she found these parts hanging in the living room coat closet right after I washed them this morning. She was even more annoyed when she realized the "parts hangers" are former clothes hangers that I robbed from her closet.

[athawk11]

Impressive work, and great progress.  You are a man on a mission.  You're also making me feel like a slacker. 

Tim