New to me and Dad M38A1

I don't have any stock wheels. we're looking at a set of these


http://www.debellajeepparts.com/16%20INCH%20RIM%20A%202.jpg

since they look to be the correct style of wheel. for now, we'll throw on some used 16" tires just to push it around, since the dry-rotted ones on there won't hold air more than a day. eventually we'll probably go NDCCs on it.

Yeah the price of what some of the bigger vendors want is crazy gold priced. I had 10 used rims shipped from WA State down here - but the price of the rims were only $10 a pop making it worth it because I got a shipping price break as well. Then just blasted them up and primer & paint.

If your shoving it around the garage get a set of them Northern Equipment wheel dollies with the 4 wheels on them - stick the chassis with the brake drums on and lower it onto these. They get like $75 for a set of two.

sweet. thanks for the idea. I'm going to keep looking for used ones, but if I can get 5, I'll be good. if we weren't going correct-ish on this one, I'd just get some simple-looking alloys and call it good.

I know I've got a few questions pending already on the previous page, but can anyone tell me the difference between this:




and this:




see how the brackets ("ears") on the first one point backwards, and they point to opposite ends on the other engine? why is that?

AHHH - hard to tell the specific area your questioning - the ears are for the motor mounts on the frame to mount area - am I missing something.

Did you check with John up at Midwest Military to see if he has used rims ?

here ya go. I highlighted the ears. the ears on each motor are oriented differently, and I'm trying to figure out why - is it a military vs civilian thing, or is it differences in years of the engine?
here and here haven't checked with John... I'll send him an email now.

Its only a guess - but I would say year of mfg.

Mounting plate depends on the application of the engine. L head is is the same way.

wilfreeman said:

Mounting plate depends on the application of the engine. L head is is the same way.

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Ditto that. I had a '46 CJ2A that somebody used a front plate from a M38 on the L-head...they had to cobble together an adapter of sorts for the frame-side mounts to get it to work. It was always my understanding the civilian "ears" always pointed toward the rear of the engine while the military plate had the driver's side ear toward the front of the engine. I could be wrong though; it's been a while...

-WRM

sounds logical. the guy we got these jeeps and parts from only messed with Willys or early Kaiser jeeps, and rarely if ever the civilian versions. the only reason he had the CJ5 that he gave us was because it was his first jeep ever, so it got stored when the motor started smoking really bad (so he says). everything else he says he messed with was M38s and A1s. I point all this out because I'll need to pull the timing cover to see if it's a gear-gear motor or a timing chain motor, am I correct? if I find that the rear-facing ears belong to a chain motor, there's my answer. if it's a gear-gear motor, then it may be the original motor to our CJ after all. I found a you-tube video where a guy explains the difference between engine plates, and according to him, the rear-facing ears belong to an earlier engine from like a 2 or 3A, not a CJ5. and everything I've seen regarding M38A1s, plus from what you guys have told me, indicates that the opposite-facing ears belongs to the M38A1.

in other news, according to my Dad's research on G503, he has a USMC jeep, serial number MD 78857.

helomedic1171 said:

in other news, according to my Dad's research on G503, he has a USMC jeep, serial number MD 78857.

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Nice!

-WRM

helomedic1171 said:

will do. we're heading up there Sunday to get everything. gonna be a rough one - 6 hours up, 6 hours back, a couple hours on the ground in between.... I'm gonna be beat by the time we get back.

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helomedic1171 said:

I'll be honest, I was looking at a Jeep project, and had no idea I'd be doing one of these. I pictured a CJ7 that needed some love (and probably a tub) but never an M38. here she is:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/willys-m38a...WlYLNtXeCq42fk5OhHk8A%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

negotiating with the seller for other parts and delivery. I think Dad and I did well on what we're paying for the jeep, what do you guys think? I figure for less than $300, we did ok. We're getting a running driveline for $500, and then we need seats, steering column, driveshafts, and lots of random stuff. Bring on the fun, right?

so any tips or pointers out there for the new Jeep guy?

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Helomedic1171,
Congrats on the score! You may want to join the Military Vehicle Preservation Association if not a member already. They have a lot of venders dealing in jeeps and parts. If it is allowed by the moderators, I can pm a couple of ads from this magazine for parts information
with phone numbers and websites.

I'll look into that. there are a lot of questions pertaining to what goes where and to which vehicle. so far, all we know is that it's a USMC jeep. so far, wading through willysmjeeps and g503 has been exhausting with the amount of info available, and then sifting out what's relevant and what's not.

You are right about the bellhousings - the one with the solid inspection plate and clutch cable hole fitting are for the M38a1. The reasoning for this is to keep it water tight for fording.

The transfer case with the drum on it is most likely a CJ part - the M38a1 drum is solid with a dished shape on the output yoke side. The other transfer definitely has an 'a1 speedometer gear housing. If you notice the pin with the flattened ends on it, that is the mounting pin for the parking brake shoes. If I am not mistaken, you should be able to switch out the speedometer housings and bolt her up - parts should interchange.

Be careful about the wheels - even the new production ones. CJ and military are close, and if you want everything correct, there are differences between early and late 'a1 wheels also. There is a lot of info on this subject at willysmjeeps. I actually have a mix of early/late and 1 cj on my 'a1 - only a select few will ever notice though!

thanks for the heads up. and that's great news about the trannies. I'm going to try and keep the military stuff together, so I'll switch bellhousings on the CJ tranny/transfer, and then set that aside. now I need to look for a set of sticks and the hardware, and the parking drum assembly for the M38A1, as well as a new piece of that housing for the M38A1 transfer case so the ear isn't busted off.

If you need some pictures of the military engine, trans, or transfer case let me know. I've got all mine rebuilt but haven't got a chance to paint and install them yet so pictures would be easy.

That would be awesome if you would do that.

Al Harvey said:

If you need some pictures of the military engine, trans, or transfer case let me know. I've got all mine rebuilt but haven't got a chance to paint and install them yet so pictures would be easy.

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not only would that be awesome, but it would be extremely helpful since I have to replace some transfer case parts. plus, any photos of the motor would be great, since we're missing various items off those as well.

Here are some pictures of when I first got it before I started to tear it apart.

Here are some after the rebuilds but without the accessories. Been wrapped up in a 48 ford and my 7.3 lately.

these will be invaluable when I have to put all this stuff together. plus, it shows me what we're missing. thanks Al!!