It's obvious. I really have a problem....

[1955CJ-5]

I may be wrong but I think MB's had an under-seat fuel filler....so the side filler may be an add-on...

But the sunken tank looks right.....

And it looks like it may have that helper/overload spring on the left front....

[Ryan_M]

The tank is definitely of the Bubba installed civvie style. Yes, it would have originally had one that filled from under the driver's seat not out the side like our 3A's. The tub "well" is still there which is what you see peeking out from the bottom.

Spring hangers and springs have been molested by someone who apparently wanted to start modding this thing for mud or rock crawling. Luckily they ran out of acetylene before they got too far.

The front bumper has been completely chopped off and replaced with something much more "heavy duty". Ugh.

[athawk11]

Well? Is it home yet?

No doubt, there is enough there to say it's an MB.  The mods are interesting in that they seem to follow the rules of a 2A/3A.  ie; the fuel filler neck, spare tire mount, and so on.  It's almost like he had a 2A or 3A to follow while making these mods to this MB.  It's just odd to see Mods to turn an MB into a CJ, and not the other way around. 

Tim

 

[Ryan_M]

I've been working on acquiring this collection of books and manuals for over a year now. Persistence has finally paid off. It was all I could do to fit them in the M38 and then drive home without it all blowing out but I made it. I did have a cloud of decades old dust billowing out behind me the whole way though.�

I had to leave for work so I haven't had a chance to really go through them all yet. Here's a quick peek:





See anything good? I do....!

[Ryan_M]

I've spent the past couple hours sorting through some of this stuff and breathing in a lot of dust. Here's a few more things I thought were pretty cool:

There are ton's of '50's era military manuals in great shape. The WWII manuals are scarce and pretty beat up but still fascinating.



A-HA! I was hoping one of these would be in here-


And who doesn't want to know how to operate a flame thrower?




Pretty cutting edge stuff here back in the day..RESTRICTED! -



...and apparently I'm compromising national security by transmitting its contents -


Random Jeep and Jeep-related books...and a Mopar Muncie catalog for good measure:


Still lots more to sift thru.....

[1955CJ-5]

What a haul....

What's the one with a drawing of a tank?

Your M-38 sure looks good...

[Ryan_M]

What a haul....

What's the one with a drawing of a tank?

Your M-38 sure looks good...

Tank book is:
SNL G-207 ORDNANCE SUPPLY CATALOG -  TANK, MEDIUM, M4A1
76 MM GUN, WET  - Dated 30 December 1943

And the M38 gets better with each mile. It is so much fun to bomb around in. Thanks for commenting on it.

[BMIC]

Nice haul Ryan, you could be the richest man on E-Bay.....

I expect an E12-7R1 Mechanized Flame Thrower mounted on your M-38 would get you through the 5 pm traffic in downtown Bangor pretty smoothly.

[Ryan_M]

Got a call on the Willys hotline - a non-running 3B two hours from home. Seller was not able to send pics but I've never had a 3B in any condition so I was intrigued and the price sounded right.  I loaded up the newly refurbished trailer and headed out. I don't like venturing that far from home completely blind and was second guessing myself for even going after what was probably a completely rotted Jeep with an F-head that is virtually worthless to me.

I met the owner in town and followed him out to the woods (yes, sketchy). Supposedly the thing was parked in this spot in '89 and covered with a couple tarps, which I gently peeled off. The windshield was folded down and glass broken. It is possibly seeing the full light of day for the first time in a couple decades:







Pretty rough. Bummer.

Ooh! This is a welcome surpise. Thats's a SUPERSONIC head on a 2A(?) motor. Bubba, I'm actually pleased with your efforts for once.



Luckily I brought my compressor and a come-a-long. I convinced the tires to hold air long enough to inch the thing onto my trailer (safety police look away...).



Got it home for a closer look and there are some good useable parts here so it was a worthwhile trip.







Oh yeah...this was parked next to the 3B and is also available. Time to do some research on values for a '73 VW Bus.

[Jeff_M]

Don't sell the Supersonic head.� Slap it right onto the 3A.� I need a little extra oomph getting up the hills.� :-)  And as far as the VW goes, '73 was the first year that everything had big bumpers.  They're as ugly on a VW bus as they were on everything else.  Nice top, though.  Looks like a Guppy.  http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/guppy/

[johnrb3b]

Monetary value of '73 non-Westfalia camper - doubtful
Coolness factor - excellent.
It looks really good.
Any interior shots? Need to see what "kitchen" it has - if any.
If it's really cheap, grab it. Old VWs are fun fun fun. And cheap to work on. JC Whitney for parts woohoo.

Notice the glass appears good. Curtains still in place. Front mount spare tire. Why is the radio antenna always broken off? Rust appears minimal.

How much does he want for it?

Did some digging. Here's a high-top on The Samba for $3k.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1800284
Says it's Westfalia but I don't think they made a high-top that far back. I may be wrong.
I think the '70s high-tops were US or Canadian made.

[BMIC]

Hate to turn this page into a VW thing but I was talking to Ryan about the VW this morning.
 John B did VW have a "stick automatic" transmission available in a 73 bus or Westfella model?

[johnrb3b]

Yes. I think they called it the E-Stick (memory is shaky).
Movement of the shift stick would actuate a hydraulic clutch control. Friend of mine had one in a Beetle and it worked great for him.

So I went to Wiki to see if my memory was even close.
It was vacuum operated not hydraulic.
VW Automatic Stickshift
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostick

[Jeff_M]

From about '71 onward these buses had what was known as the "pancake" motor, which was also used in the Porsche 914.  Very expensive to obtain parts for these engines.  Prior to '71 they had the beetle engine which is still cheap to get parts for.  And, er, that 3B has an interesting engine for one that was supposed to be OHV (There, I brought it back to Jeeps). 

[Ryan_M]

Got a tip at the local cruise-in tonight of a "flat fender Jeep in the weeds behind an abandoned house". I had planned on waiting until morning to investigate but after judging the height of the sun after leaving the cruise-in I figured I could put the hammer down and make it before dark. I'm glad I put the OD in the M38.



Directions were fairly cryptic but I managed to find it. As described, here is a flat fender Jeep in the weeds behind an abandoned house. Can you see it???



How about now?



Nearly broke my ankle when I tripped over a combat rim before I even got to the Willys...




Rough..























Too bad...upgraded to one of those "modern" T-90's!






I've already started trying to track down the owners. As decrepit as it is it's still an MB (Edit: GPW salad) and I feel strongly that it should come home with me.�