My M38A1 Time Lapse

I had started a build thread years ago but failed to deliver. I'd been asked about my build so thought I would do a synopsis.

Craigslist buy I started with. Body had very little rust, LOTS of bondo and a completed trashed rear ring and pinion set. Someone had lipped the cover and lost all the fluid. It had gotten so hot, all of the teeth peeled off the pinion leaving it smooth!

Jeep went from Army to Civil Defense where it was painted Orange. Looks like was hit hard in right rear corner but straightened very well. At least in terms of being square. Jeep was a full 1/2" narrower in the back than my Warrior full wrap corner protector.

Here is what I started with. I thought I had more and better pics, but can't find them. They may be on film! Gotta' love the water pipe roll bar....

PHP:

 

After I got all the paint and bondo stripped off I decided best way to smooth out rear of the jeep was to go with the Warrior full wrap for the rear. Jeep was already missing the stiffener that has footman loops on it across back panel, so that helped with the decision.

But because of the wreck, jeep was 1/2" narrower than wrap! I cut the wrap along the body seams in the rear with my circular saw then TIG'd it back together. Did this twice which took 1/2" of material out of the wrap but kept the sides parallel.

I KNOW I had more pics of this but can't find them. First shot shows the receiver I put under the pintle, and others show the wrap after it was painted. Notice the stainless button head screws before the final paint coat.

 

I replaced the rear crossmember as well because a PO had welded 2" angle to it to make a "bumper" that stuck out past the spare and the gas can.

 

Moving on to the front. I hoped to use the early A1 fenders, but they were beat up pretty good. I cut them and thought that it looked like crap, so repro fenders were ordered. Not near as nice as the OEM fenders, but not as bad as I feared based on others experience! I then put together a winch mount that was easily un-doable if a 100% restoration was ever in the jeep's future.

 

Jeep had been converted to 12 volts already so I trashed the OEM harness that was in bad shape and re-wired with an EZ wire harness. Found a deal on some AutoMeter Industrial gauges on closeout. Not really worried about road speed, so speedo became a tach. Ditched the multi-function switch and used some WWII switches in the opening. Many thanks to my friend Mark who helped with the wiring.

 

Got all of the lights installed and wired up. I made my own "blackout guards" for the driving lights to keep the OEM look as much as possible. Re-purposed the NATO slave opening for a battery disconnect, and was about ready to start driving!

 

Took jeep out to farm for shakedown run. Still had no windshield glass and wasn't sure how well motor was going to run.

 

Used a Vietnam era truck rifle rack kit to have a way to carry a gun in the jeep. This works well and only needed 3 holes drilled as I repurposed one of the floor cover bolts into the bottom mount. Drove the jeep some more and was really enjoying it. But it needed more gear for the 35's and with only 3" lift they rubbed some.

 

Very cool! Great looking Jeep! What is the large cover on the pass side cowl for? I just realized that I have the same thing on my 58 CJ5 but it has been filled in and bondo'd over. I only noticed it after looking up under the dash the other day and not seen it on very many Jeeps.

 

Next addition was a summer top, and to drive it some more! Some point I added the antenna mount as well.

 

I now had enough miles on the jeep to realize the 35's were just too much. I needed more lift, a T98, more motor, or all of the above for the big Tires. I had bought a 140 hp Mercruiser to swap in along with an SM 465, but the F head was in such good shape that project is on indefinite hold. Decided I would drop down to 33 10.5 on 8" rims from the 35 12.5 on 10" rims. Doesn't QUITE have the same Tonka Toy look it had, but it was much more driveable, and not near as messy in the mud! And I could hang the spare off the back.

 

Been driving the jeep quite a bit the last couple of years. Added a bottle opener under the antenna mount. Here are some creative shots of it in "action" if you will HDR photos courtesy of my friend Mark.

 

Very nice job, i like the fender mounted lights, and good work on making the guards.

 

And at least for now, here's one last shot. Another HDR from Mark, this one with my MB included. This is a pretty amazing shot that looks almost like a painting!

 

That is the battery box where the A1 had (2) 12 volt batteries to give the M series 24 volts. I was going to mount my Optima in there, but it was too big to fit in the opening! And of course I didn't test it before i made the tray...

 

Thanks! The goal was to keep the OEM look without having to buy the expensive guards and light housings. I used the military ones on my MB with KC 5" lenses in the housings. These are harbor freight cheapies painted OD green. But total cost was less than $50!

 

That shot with your a1 and MB is amazing!

Nice jeeps!

 

Great pics! I really like the look of the 35's.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks for the compliments everyone. I LOVED the Tonka look with the 35's. It just threw mud like crazy since they stuck out past the fenders, required me to use low range almost all the time, and rubbed when loaded down with jeepers.