Shovel under hood

[Mike P]

Howdy,
I like the way the M38A1 shovel is mounted under the hood and have looked for ways do do something similar to my 3A. I have a stock L134 with the early top mounted radiator support rod. The shovel I have is 37" total length with a D handle but it is not a military shovel.

The best position I can find is between the air cleaner crossover tube and the thermostat housing. However, this means modifying the radiator rod and the breather hose on the crossover tube. Even with mounting it under the hood, when closed, the clearances will be very tight

Has this been done before? Is there a particular shovel that fits better? I'd like to not use a small compact shovel if possible.

[Mike P]

Looks like the trick was to have the right shaped shovel, see photo for a side by side comparison. The neck of the head needs to be flatter so the back of the shaft can mount closer to the hood. This gives much more clearance from the engine components. I won't have to modify the breather hose and the radiator support rod will only need a minor tweak. I'll use M38A1 style hood mounts to secure the shovel.

[aboyandhisdog]

Easy fix...ya gotta like that!  Please show the finished project when you get it done.  I've not seen a shovel under the hood before.

[Mike P]

This was fairly straight forward after getting the right shaped shovel. I fabbed the two brackets from sheet metal and made a new radiator top support from 5/16" solid rod. A little bit of paint and we're done!

[RICKG]

Nice and clean-I like it! These flatty hood hinges are notoriously weak-good that you have the extra hood latches
to the rear. Rattle much?

[Mike P]

Thanks Rick. I haven't driven it yet but I expect there will be a rattle or two that will need attention. My ongoing goals for this Jeep are 1) ensuring reliability, 2) fixing rattles, 3) fixing oil leaks. The first two are much easier than the third!

[Mike P]

I'm working on the next project and had a reason to pull the passenger fender. While it was off, I got a close up look at the shovel clearance over the air cleaner. It's a good 1.5 inches above it and the shovel blade back edge clears the air cleaner mount by the same if not more, even though in the pic it looks closer. Thought I'd post this pic as it is not an angle you see everyday!

Rick - no rattles (yet) when driving but you know jeeps: the next rattle will always be one coming.