1952 M38a1 Build: Not For The Purists

What's the tire pressure?

 

I'm watching your fuel progress. Very soon (this weekend) I'll be installing brand new fuel lines from tank to fuel pump. My situation is similar in that I need to adapt from the flexible line to my civvy fuel pump

 

I got the Omix-Ada lines from Kaiser Willys. I think the easiest way would be to get a WIX 33032 universal inline filter. That one uses 5/16" hoses. Then just push the flare sleeves back and clamp the hose onto the hardlines. That's what I might eventually do but I'm in the "get it done, vs get it right" mode. I do have the intank filter as well as the one on the pump though. I had to put a 90* bend in the line that goes out of the pump. Worked out just right though. The other end at the carb is another matter but I'm not too worried at this point. The hardline is on the wrong side of the carb. I have a YF that I haven't even tried but the YS works fine I think.

 

Never really checked. LOL! I should really do that. I just forgot to.

 

Oh, I see that Kaiser Willys gives you a choice between import and US made. Didn't know that (I don't buy much from them). I have the kit ($150.00) from DeBella Jeep Parts out of LI NY on the way; https://www.debellajeepparts.com/M38A1 FUEL LINE KIT.jpg I pay a bit more in some cases dealing with DeBella but I go back with him into the mid 90's when he was working out of his garage. Good guy who picks up his phone. I think many guys here would make their own but it's a time thing for me.

I'll have the same setup as you with the in tank and in fuel pump filters as described. I'm running a YS-950 but the YF-938 is also a fine piece of equipment IMHO. They're so reliable, forgiving and easy to maintain.

 

Kaiser Willys is also a family run business. I've talked to the owner on a few occasions. I've even got emails on Sundays. In any case, I don't blame them. It was my fault. I know Omix-Ada has mixed reviews on their vintage parts. I took a chance. I didn't want to spend more on something that I might have to modify anyway. If I was staying all original, I'm sure the project would have moved along a lot faster or at least been easier. I've got to order parts then figure out how they're going to connect together but I knew what I was getting into.

 

Was able to finally get the timing adjusted properly. Turns out there were two adjustments on the distributor. (Omix-Ada Solid State) I was adjusting the mount which had limited movement. According to my timing light it was anywhere from 20-30* retarded (yes). It would start up fine but as it got going and shifted into 2nd it would fall flat on its face. You can see it happen in the other video around 0:28. Got the timing to 5* BTDC and it seems to like that. It doesn't want to stall now when shifting into 2nd. What's the advantage of going to 10-12*? I see people refering to this article from 2015. Also, what's the idle speed supposed to be? I've seen 600 RPM but with the set screw backed out all the way, I'm only seeing 700-800. I don't think I have any vacuum leaks.

I also think I'm pretty close to needing tires. I've got an awful oscillation at 30 mph and it turned into a Death Wobble with the steering wheel pulling. I can't tell if the tires are shimming or bouncing up and down. The tires are +60 years old though. I want to run 700x16's but the pickings are pretty slim. Should I bite the bullet and get Firestone NDTs or take a chance on some 10-12 ply Deestone's? I'd prefer to run some non-NDT treads if I can but it's not a deal breaker either. Should I reuse the tubes? I'd like to be able to break down the tires myself so I'm wondering if the 10-12 ply is too stiff as well.

 

So, here's an update. Lots of waiting on parts but they're slowly making their way here. I went with the 650-16 STA Super Traxions! So, here's the reasoning. I want to be able to drive the Jeep through 3 seasons, maybe all 4 and we get a lot of rain for a few of those months. NDT's can be a little sketchy because of the tread design. I was thinking about going with Deestone 700-16 D503/D506 but they seem to have stopped making the 8 and 10 ply tires. They only have the 12 and 14 ply available which is way too much tire. 10s are already E's and 12's are F's. I have a friend who bought the 12 ply F rated Deestones recently and he doesn't like them. I really wanted a civi truck tire tread so the only real choice was STA. STA's Super Traxions are 650s but they're tall. You can see how tall their are next to the worn out 700-16s. They list them as 30.2". 700s are usually 30.5" so I'm not really losing much height if any. What I am gaining is a civi truck tread that sorta looks like an Interco Super Swamper and a C Load rating. So they're only 6 ply. I also think I got screwed by Deestone. Don't ever try to email them. I'm pretty sure they sold my information since I started getting spam from Thailand which is where Deestone is from. They never replied to my internal email using their website. On and STA's are made in the US! Ended up buying them from SimpleTires and got a good deal. Tires arrived in less than 5 days so I'm super happy about that.

The other problem I've had is that some of my wheels are wavy. I asked around and a shop could straighten them for $140 per tire. I ended up buying new repop wheels that are DOT for $179. I did also get new tubed for the tires even though I could run them tubeless. I figured I might as well get them and learn to mount the tires myself. I've used a manual tire mounting rack and a more modern air tire mounting rack but this is the first time I'll be doing it with just the spoons and no rack. Redeyegarage made it look pretty easy to do. Luckily the tires are pretty small. Oh and the paint is KW 2430. I don't really care if it's exact since there's at least 2 coats of different OD green under the red oxide but I figured I'd try it out. Stuff ain't cheap in spray cans. One can did all of the fronts and a base layer on all of the backs.

 

Isn't that you "selling your information."

 

There's big difference. In one instance, I exchanged my information for a discount with the agreement that they won't sell my information. In the other, I got nothing but additional spam.

 

Decided to mount the tires by hand. What a PITA that was. I haven't mounted tires by hand in some 30 years. I hope my old Auto Shop teacher is proud. I made sure to mount them from the back so the face looks nice. The backsides are a bit scratched. Mostly just the green paint. The gray paint held up better. I let the wheels bake in the sun for two days, too! I haven't had the time to drive it to see if all of the death wobble is gone. The old tires were square and would start throwing the Jeep around at 30 mph. Also replace all of the lug nuts I could. So three of the axles are RH and the driver front is LH but they're all 3/4" instead of being a mix of 3/4" and 13/16". I don't know why anyone would leave one axle LH thread. Probably though they'd get around to it and didn't.

 

I never had luck with installing tires by hand. I applaud you for doing that job.
My wife's grandfather did it all the time and was good at it. I took some old tires off the rims and that just about killed me. Tore up the beads of the old tires getting them off and doing the garden tractor tires was enough for me. Sometimes I think the smaller tires might be harder to do. That Jeep is looking good.

Dave

 

Thanks! I think what helped was that these tires were new. Problem was that by the time I was getting good, I was done. I'm undecided if I'mgoing to try to break down the +60yo tires or not. I'm surprised that the tubes still hold air. I kinda want the tubes for spares. Now that it's on some decent tires I'm also wondering if I want to replace the springs. Maybe go 2.5" but that might look funny with the 650s? I still need to replace the water pump though. The plan is stil to get it running and driving then once it's reliable, then do mods if any. Warn OD. Maybe rebuild the original trans to T90c spec. and do 3:1 in the transfer case. Or get a T98? New shocks and springs...

 

I would not go through the effort or expense of a t90c or t98 swap. Transfercase gears would be the best return on time and investment with a 4cyl but you would want to use a 225 d18 case.

 

Got to get a set of those STA's when I finish the 64 CJ.
They look correct and aggressive.

Dave

 

I'm kinda torn. I love low gears. I rockcrawl. I've driven undergeared Jeeps and they just get beat up. Though the difference here is that the Jeep is light. Not sure if I'd want to change out for a 4 speed though. Gearing would be better than a T90C with 3.15s but I'm wondering if it's too low. My other Jeep has a 90:1 crawl. I've got an empty T90 case and a complete replacement internals. Would be a good time to do the conversion. Cost would be about the same as a T98 though. Not sure how much I want to change the Jeep but it might be doing the Rubicon Trail in the near future.

They sure look great. I wish they were 700's though. I think they're about as tall as the old Goodyear 700 NDCC's and are wider. I may eventually go up to 750s but I kinda want to keep the Jeep somewhat stock. I'm a little worried about denting the gas tank though as it hangs below the body. Some lift and rocker guards would help but then I'm wondering if the 650s would look too small. I like the low CG.

 

I wish we were closer Jeff. We could compare performance between STA's and my NDT's. Agreed that you're setup will perform better on wet/slippery roads. We have rocks here, but not like yours. Mud is a reality for us in the Granite State and my personal feeling is that more narrow tires have the ability to sink through the mud down to where there's some traction. I opted for square shoulders (7X16) which I've owned before, but never brand new and certainly not a matched set. Very cool that we're more or less doing the same project with identical running gears at the same time on opposite coasts. Cheers

 

JeeplJeff,
I like seeing the red dot on your tires aligned with the valve stem. Details!
Also, a few weeks back, you swapped a civilian style distributor in. That waterproof military distributor is super high quality and they seem to never wear out. Hang on to it for the future. For what its worth, you can simply swap the 24v coil out for the same configuration 12v coil. I did this many years ago on an old A1 I had at the time. I don’t know a current source for the 12v version, but that is an option. The wiring and many of the original military components are of superior quality to the civilian parts, let alone the garbage aftermarket pieces. Consider keeping some of the parts you have removed, even small stuff like the metal vacuum lines.
Even your parts vehicle is way better than the A1 I have. I’m jealous of your west coast Jeep supply and quality!
-Donny

 

From what I read the 700-16 NDTs are 30.5" while the Super Traxions are 30.2". I figured I wouldn't notice the .3" difference. I just wish tires were cheaper. And as much as NDCC's are correct, I like the NDT's more. I almost gave up and went with some modern 215/85R16s though. Vintage tire shopping is so frustrating as there aren't very many choices. I try to stay away from mud. I love rocks though. I hope to get the Jeep ready to do the Rubicon in a few years maybe. Would be cool to do EJS some day in Moab.

Hahah! Yeah, I made sure to line up the dots. I'm probably not going to bother to balance them anymore than that.
I've read that there was a 12v coil I could drop in but I didn't look into it. The ignition was cobbled together by the original owner so it was better to just start over. They had regular spark plug wires jammed into the top of the distributor. I have two complete sets of accessories. I've kept all of the small parts off the Jeep though. But I'd rather see someone who's doing a restoration use the parts than have them sit in a pile of parts in my shed.

I think the donor Jeep recently sold. It only has 19K on the odometer but from the outside it looked beat. I was shocked how clean the inside of the bellhousing was though. After driving my A1, I believe that there was only 19K on the drivetrain. Here's the old FB Marketplace link to it. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/951547613046997/

 

Somewhere in my past research, I read that the government policy on M38A1 and similar was to "surplus" them after about 20,000 miles.

They often were distributed to other agncies that used them only infrequently, such as rural fire departments. Many that I've seen have less than 30,000 miles on the odometer.