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I wasn’t ready to drill any holes just yet, so using the seat back hinge point. That’s also why I called it a ”retention” belt as it won’t be strong enough as a true seatbelt mount point.
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What have you done to your JEEP today
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Test drove the M38 and must have done an ok job on the brake adjustment. The pedal felt good and no pulling to either side during a stop. Hub temps stayed quite cool according to the laser temp gauge thingy. Couldn’t pass up on a photo op with a newer generation truck. It was also great weather for riding around in an open cockpit.
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Found out that Saturday SEC football, M38 maintenance, and a lil Buffalo Trace go good together. My sweet and thoughtful wife set us up.
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Officially started a full restoration by stripping off ancillary items to allow tub removal. This is gonna take a few months.
Found white paint underneath components. Any idea what organization/department/branch would’ve painted their M38’s white? Second pic shows an indication of the original green paint too. The third pic shows evidence of some red primer and I’m assuming that was not original.
Found white paint underneath components. Any idea what organization/department/branch would’ve painted their M38’s white? Second pic shows an indication of the original green paint too. The third pic shows evidence of some red primer and I’m assuming that was not original.
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A Fire Dept. had mine, there is plenty of red paint everywhere.
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DeetFreek
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Also could have been Civil Defense. If you happen to uncover some blue, that'd be an almost sure case of CD use.
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Red zinc oxide primer was used on all the military vehicles. All of them also started out OD green. If a unit was in a branch with a different color scheme, the green would get painted over (like strata blue jeeps used by the Air Force). Not sure about white, but I think others above have addressed that.
JEB
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My GUESS is white means a past Civil Defense assignment.
I'm not sure if U.S. Army vehicles were painted for UN work. Often times, the UN peacekeepers were from countries like Canada or Sweden, not the U.S. (for political..to look more "independent" .) Now if it were a Canadian M38A1, that could be a real possibility.
Also, it could be from a post Federal government ownership...given to a county or city. Police, sheriff...I've even seen white fire trucks.
Blue would probably mean Air Force or later Civil Air Patrol use. My guess is the CAP possibly utilized more Jeeps than the active duty Air Force ever did, getting them from Army or National Guard (as well as Air Force) surplus.
I'm not sure if U.S. Army vehicles were painted for UN work. Often times, the UN peacekeepers were from countries like Canada or Sweden, not the U.S. (for political..to look more "independent" .) Now if it were a Canadian M38A1, that could be a real possibility.
Also, it could be from a post Federal government ownership...given to a county or city. Police, sheriff...I've even seen white fire trucks.
Blue would probably mean Air Force or later Civil Air Patrol use. My guess is the CAP possibly utilized more Jeeps than the active duty Air Force ever did, getting them from Army or National Guard (as well as Air Force) surplus.
DeetFreek
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Now let's throw yellow and white in to the CD mix! I've got these on another thread in here somewhere. This is a '55 I got to do some work on last year. Really wanted to keep this one once I heard the intended plan for it. 
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Made some progress over the last few weeks on disassembly of the M38. Successfully pulled both the tub and engine. After restoring the chassis, my plan is to learn a new skill set and do the body repairs myself. The engine, however, will be sent off for rebuild by others more qualified than me.
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Are you going to have (or already have?) a thread for this restoration on the M38?
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Documenting the restoration sounds good. But it’s like sitting down to eat fried catfish. Before you know it, the meal is over and there’s only the coleslaw left. I will try to post pics and notes the best I can.
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The M38 is now broken down into major components. Lead based paint is a major concern of mine. I want to do all of the part restorations myself but don't want lead dust from sanding or sandblasting around the house for years to come. So, I decided to test a gel paint remover that would provide a suitable means of containment. Jasco Paint Remover was carried at my local big box store and seemed to be the best suited.
I tried a test section on the rear bumper and adjacent frame sections. The first coat was able to remove over 75% +/- of the old paint layer(s) and primer. Remembering to shake the can and then applying a thick coat are the two most important points. The bumper received the thickest coat and the bubbled paint was easily removed with a metal putty spreader after the prescribed 15 mins. The gel will also be suitable once I start working on the diffs, transmission, and transfer cases. This process seems to be the best option for allowing a safe removal and disposal. The mess involved can be limited by working in sections over a period of several days.
What I believe to be the original OD 2430 paint can be seen on the vertical face of the bumper.
I tried a test section on the rear bumper and adjacent frame sections. The first coat was able to remove over 75% +/- of the old paint layer(s) and primer. Remembering to shake the can and then applying a thick coat are the two most important points. The bumper received the thickest coat and the bubbled paint was easily removed with a metal putty spreader after the prescribed 15 mins. The gel will also be suitable once I start working on the diffs, transmission, and transfer cases. This process seems to be the best option for allowing a safe removal and disposal. The mess involved can be limited by working in sections over a period of several days.
What I believe to be the original OD 2430 paint can be seen on the vertical face of the bumper.
DeetFreek
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If you can get your hands on a decent power washer, those can strip paint as well. Granted, that old single stage paint can be more stubborn than today's thinner paints.
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Pressed out the old leaf spring bushings on the M38. Fairly easy process including using a bolt/washer extension.
Maverick1701
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I have a few days of work crammed into one post here.
Day 1:
Video idling w/the new plugs: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VgonXwM1AL8
Since the military plugs are getting wildly expensive, I wanted to test some of those spark plug adapters that allow the use of modern (and SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive) NGK spark plugs.
I got them installed and no spark at first...of course, right? After some digging, I discovered the little nub that opens/closes my points was worn so low it couldn't do its job. I installed a new set of points and everything runs well.
I also used an existing hole made by the firefighters and installed an extra ram mount I had lying around (so my phone wouldn't bounce around inside the glove box).
Then I used an old canteen pouch attached to the grab bar as my new water bottle holder. It holds either two water bottles or one bottle and two clementines perfectly.
I also installed a 1941 plaque from a much newer Jeep. I originally bought it when I first bought my jeep out of the farmer's field (back in 2013-ish) and told myself I would put it on when it was driveable. Better late than never, right?
After all that I took it out for a 2hr drive w/the new plugs. It worked well. Zero issues.
Day 2:
Today’s project started trying to find a way to install some larger batteries in the engine bay (for more CCAs). Then I decided to use some metal and brackets I had laying around to move my current batteries into the engine bay.
This would allow me to use the current cowl area for storage and let me actually secure my batteries…..I haven’t had my batteries secured inside the cowl battery box (super safe, I know). Also, it would be a fun project just to see if I could do it with the stuff I had on hand.
This is what I came up with. Three supports: one in the fan shroud, one chunky L bracket attached to the fender, and another chunky L bracket attached to the alternator adjustment arm. It’s in there pretty solid (I can rock the entire jeep just from pushing on the base). The base is a random equipment mount out of a HMMWV
Now I just need to buy either some all-thread or some of those J hooks to attach the top hold-down piece and I’ll be done.
I should probably clean up some wiring, too.....the dual battery monitor wiring looks a bit messy (but it does all work)
Day 1:
Video idling w/the new plugs: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VgonXwM1AL8
Since the military plugs are getting wildly expensive, I wanted to test some of those spark plug adapters that allow the use of modern (and SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive) NGK spark plugs.
I got them installed and no spark at first...of course, right? After some digging, I discovered the little nub that opens/closes my points was worn so low it couldn't do its job. I installed a new set of points and everything runs well.
I also used an existing hole made by the firefighters and installed an extra ram mount I had lying around (so my phone wouldn't bounce around inside the glove box).
Then I used an old canteen pouch attached to the grab bar as my new water bottle holder. It holds either two water bottles or one bottle and two clementines perfectly.
I also installed a 1941 plaque from a much newer Jeep. I originally bought it when I first bought my jeep out of the farmer's field (back in 2013-ish) and told myself I would put it on when it was driveable. Better late than never, right?
After all that I took it out for a 2hr drive w/the new plugs. It worked well. Zero issues.
Day 2:
Today’s project started trying to find a way to install some larger batteries in the engine bay (for more CCAs). Then I decided to use some metal and brackets I had laying around to move my current batteries into the engine bay.
This would allow me to use the current cowl area for storage and let me actually secure my batteries…..I haven’t had my batteries secured inside the cowl battery box (super safe, I know). Also, it would be a fun project just to see if I could do it with the stuff I had on hand.
This is what I came up with. Three supports: one in the fan shroud, one chunky L bracket attached to the fender, and another chunky L bracket attached to the alternator adjustment arm. It’s in there pretty solid (I can rock the entire jeep just from pushing on the base). The base is a random equipment mount out of a HMMWV
Now I just need to buy either some all-thread or some of those J hooks to attach the top hold-down piece and I’ll be done.
I should probably clean up some wiring, too.....the dual battery monitor wiring looks a bit messy (but it does all work)