Haze gray and underway.. Sorry that just kinda pops into my head..
1963 M38a1 Navy "sort of" restoration
- Thread starter Royal-a1
- Start date
Ooh! I like that. I think the rig just found its name. This site is awsome.
compostwerks
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Your son's work and your money (well spent I may add). I spy some very original details like the correct shocks, tie rod end seals and springs, fuel shutoff and battery tray drain hose. The 12 volt trim and Carter YF setup will serve you well. I personally find that setup extremely reliable.
I'm a Grateful Dead fan. If it were me, I'd name it 'Touch of Grey' after Jerry Garcia.....Pete
I'm a Grateful Dead fan. If it were me, I'd name it 'Touch of Grey' after Jerry Garcia.....Pete
Unfortunately the front springs are not original but a hodge podge of at least 2 different springs. Also missing the military wrap. Shocks were blown. I've sourced an original carb. But I did rebuild the distributor. And the starter. More on that later. Here's a pic of the tub ready to go to the sand blaster.
I like thy Navy M38A1's, especially Seabee Jeeps.
Looks like a great project.
Dave
Looks like a great project.
Dave
We weren't sure where we were going with this build at first. After a little research and assessing what we had. And Considering the rarity of Navy Jeeps we decided to "restore " it. Financial restraints required working with the 12 volt starting and ignition system. 24 volt stuff is crazy expensive. Also we didn't want a museum piece. A driver was the ultimate goal. So body work isn't perfect but it is solid. But it should feel like driving a '63 m38a1.
Tub delivered to the high-school body shop and rotted out hat channels
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compostwerks
Sponsor
Oh, that's a great auto shop project!! I didn't realize this was the case. Amazing that the gas tank well is intact.....Usually shot.
Getting it going on 12V is a good option. Keeping it to where you can go back to 24V later and collect parts a little at a time is a pretty good plan.
A 24V correct resto is expensive. Drive it, and enjoy it. Later, you might be able to put it back to original military condition of you want to.
Dave
A 24V correct resto is expensive. Drive it, and enjoy it. Later, you might be able to put it back to original military condition of you want to.
Dave
You just can't see it. It was shot. He replaced it. Money. His labor.
For sure making it return-able to 24 volt. Fortunately I do not mind wiring. I do a lot of industrial automation/motion control stuff for work. It has a single 12 volt battery for starter,ignition and charging. Then a 12 to 24 volt converter to run the guages and lights. So it still looks and feels original from the drivers seat. It's a custom harness made from an m35 harness. Still uses all the original military connections so someone could swap in an original harness without too much trouble.
Was looking at using an M35 harness on an old project. Better way to do it, cheaper than an M38A1 wiring harness. Sounds like a good plan.
Dave
Dave
With the body blasted and dropped off at the school shop for my son to work on. we focused our attention to the frame and axles next. There was enough rust and gunk on the frame so we fully stripped it down.
There was also the issue with the rear crossmember. Both ends were hacked off and it was pretty bent up. So we removed that too in preparation for the sand blasting.
There was also the issue with the rear crossmember. Both ends were hacked off and it was pretty bent up. So we removed that too in preparation for the sand blasting.
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Looks good! I can see the welders in the corner are chomping at the bit to get started on that frame and body.
Dave
Dave
I forgot to take pictures of the hot riveting of the new rear crossmember. We bought the new crossmember from one of the we'll known military vehicle suppliers. The crossmember itself looked great except the holes were not the correct diameter and the rivets they supplied were too small in diameter by a long ways. When I called about the rivets being incorrect they said that they could do nothing because those were what they got from the supplier of the crossmember. So I had to get out the machinery hand book, figure out the correct size and order those separately. Here's a couple pics of the new crossmember after the frame was primed.
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Not an easy job. Looks really good.
Dave
Dave
Found a pic from my son's phone of fresh hot rivets. They weren't perfect. But neither were the factory ones. After this we carefully inspected the entire frame for cracks. Found a few around the front frame horns. Drilled the roots of the cracks then they were torch welded with slow pre heat and slow cooling so as not to harden the surrounding material.
Nice Work.
Dave
Dave
Thanks. It has been a lot of fun doing this with my son. Now with the frame done. We moved onto the axles. Full dissassmbly with all new bearings and seals. While this navy m38a1 had the same tar undercoating as the marine versions. Sadly it did not have the limited slip rear end. But it did come new with a PTO winch. But Sadly that was removed long ago. Only vestiges were the original data plate and the winch mount brackets on the frame horns. I would love to restore an original pto winch but the prices are insane! Plan is to install an electric winch(painted Grey) with an original style fairlead.
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