TAKPAK
Member
- 47
- 6
- 8
- Location
- Hillsboro, OR
Well, I'm at it again. Never mind that I have one project (1953 M-43), just acquired another. Picked up a nice little 1952 M-38 last week. Serial number is 54139, delivery date of 2/52. It came from the Oregon coast, but is pretty much rust free. Body is pretty sound. Has the canvas top, and the arctic hard top with it was well. Both old and in need of some work, but still basically intact. Story is that it originally came from the Mt. Hebo air base, outside of Tillamook OR. The jeep has been converted to 6 volt. It has also had an engine swap to a good reconditioned L134 engine, the original being seized up. Transmission and transfer case were "gone through" and checked over. The paint job is old, and will need "freshening". I got all the technical and support manuals with it (four of them) as well as the lubrication chart. Tires are "civilian" and will be changed. Really, the only drawback is some minor body work, and to replace the horrible electrical wiring job someone did. I DO plan to convert it all back to 24 volt. I'm going to do a body off restoration on it, so I can clean up the frame and the underside of the body. Get all the nooks and crannies, so to speak. I did get it to start up, after sitting for almost a year. The carburetor is going to need a rebuild, but not unexpected. I did get to talk to the guy who did most of the recent mechanical work on it, and got some good information from him. I want to research the jeep's history. Unfortunately, it's been repainted sometime in the past, so any numbers it may have had are gone. Any thoughts?
One odd thing; the previous owner may have been planning to overhaul the other engine before getting the recon one. Also included was about 1/2 of a complete engine rebuild set, including 4 brand new pistons, a complete gasket set. new water pump, new oil pump, and a bunch of other miscellaneous engine parts. I think I got a really good deal, I hope. Any input will be appreciated. It's been over 50 years since I last restored my first jeep with my dad, a 1942 GPW. Still remember the good times I had with that.
One odd thing; the previous owner may have been planning to overhaul the other engine before getting the recon one. Also included was about 1/2 of a complete engine rebuild set, including 4 brand new pistons, a complete gasket set. new water pump, new oil pump, and a bunch of other miscellaneous engine parts. I think I got a really good deal, I hope. Any input will be appreciated. It's been over 50 years since I last restored my first jeep with my dad, a 1942 GPW. Still remember the good times I had with that.