• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

What have you done to your JEEP today

JEB

JEB

Active member
129
140
43
Location
Colbert, WA
Nice work!
Good to someone making prigress.

A QUESTION FOR M38A1 FANS...

On the Jeep immediately abive...look at the inboard (near grille) edge of the front bumper, Looks rough and uneven.
Mine is like that too. My restorer says it is a factory unit.
Almost Looks like it was cut free hand with an acetylene torch.

I can't imagine how that edge could get damaged.
So, are they all like that?

PS. My vehicle is getting final paint.
Photos of finished vehicle soon.
 
C

Canadianz

Member
34
74
18
Location
Ontario, Canada
JEB said:
Nice work!
Good to someone making prigress.

A QUESTION FOR M38A1 FANS...

On the Jeep immediately abive...look at the inboard (near grille) edge of the front bumper, Looks rough and uneven.
Mine is like that too. My restorer says it is a factory unit.
Almost Looks like it was cut free hand with an acetylene torch.

I can't imagine how that edge could get damaged.
So, are they all like that?

PS. My vehicle is getting final paint.
Photos of finished vehicle soon.
Click to expand...
Usually that unevenness is caused from people hooking chains on the front bumper to pull things, or to tow the Jeep out of muck etc instead of using the provided loops on the front.
if I’m understanding your question right.
 
DeetFreek

DeetFreek

Well-known member
219
351
63
Location
New Sharon IA
JEB said:
Nice work!
Good to someone making prigress.

A QUESTION FOR M38A1 FANS...

On the Jeep immediately abive...look at the inboard (near grille) edge of the front bumper, Looks rough and uneven.
Mine is like that too. My restorer says it is a factory unit.
Almost Looks like it was cut free hand with an acetylene torch.

I can't imagine how that edge could get damaged.
So, are they all like that?

PS. My vehicle is getting final paint.
Photos of finished vehicle soon.
Click to expand...
First off, thanks! Secondly, my guess is going to lean towards its wrinkled because of being pulled from the center. As you can see by my picture, it's no longer straight, or even close lol! 20230330_183125.jpg
It's not really rough or cut bad, it's wrinkled from the bowing is all. It does have chew marks on the inner edge like a chain was wrapped around it multiple times and then used to pull or jerk something at some point in its life.

Last, can't wait to see your finished product!
 
JEB

JEB

Active member
129
140
43
Location
Colbert, WA
Canadianz and DF...
Yes, you understood my question.
Your reply makes sense, thought why anyone wouldn't use the tow hooks is beyond me.
Charlie, my old Jeep restorer friend said most of the work on a Jeep is undoing someone else's "work", so I can believe it.
 
DeetFreek

DeetFreek

Well-known member
219
351
63
Location
New Sharon IA
JEB said:
Canadianz and DF...
Yes, you understood my question.
Your reply makes sense, thought why anyone wouldn't use the tow hooks is beyond me.
Charlie, my old Jeep restorer friend said most of the work on a Jeep is undoing someone else's "work", so I can believe it.
Click to expand...
If the hooks had been taken off before civvy life, not much of a choice there.

And the part about undoing someone else's work....no truer words have been spoke! 🤣 This was what I dealt with! I don't recall if I've posted this pic before, but I couldn't believe how thick it was! They'd made an entire new contour line out of filler. Passenger front corner, almost ¼" thick. I kept a chunk and it sits in the map box so I can show people what I had to deal with.

Screenshot_20230327_142740_Gallery.jpg
 
JEB

JEB

Active member
129
140
43
Location
Colbert, WA
THE END IS NEAR...
No, I'm not a news network or politician trying to scare you into believing whatever they are selling...

Instead, some good news, after18 months, there is light at the end of the restoration tunnel for my USAF marked 1955 M38A1.
See previous posts and photos 542 + 544, 610 + 611.

Well, then mechanical work went well, but to get the body looking as good as I wanted, I had to farm out the final bodywork and paint to a specislist.
Lesson learned: if you paint something gloss, the body needs to be very straight or any issues will be visible. Flat paint hides a multitude of sins.

So now, it's time to do some cleanup (the body guy left overspray and lots of rubbing compound debris), paint touch up and taking care of final details: installing vintage military style (or racing) seatbelts, jerry can strap, glovebox-batterybox-toolbox seals, hood welting, starter pedal pad, and underhood decals.

So, once that is done, external decals procured from Delta Team.
The restorer has taken it out on two long test drives, it is functioning well and no leaks aside from an overfilled steering box.
Photos once it is done. Promise.
 
Last edited:
DeetFreek

DeetFreek

Well-known member
219
351
63
Location
New Sharon IA
I'm condensing again lol. The MVPA convention is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm within an hour, so I'm going one way or the other. That being said, I decided maybe now was a good time to finally get some color laid down on the '53. A couple weeks ago I started the process of tearing everything off and cleaning/prepping everything, again. I'm not going to post all those pics, I'm going straight to the end of it all. I have a couple more things to stencil on, but I'm ordering those. Everything on there I've hand cut in oilboard and sprayed. So now, for the most part, it's finished if that's actually possible.

It's not the prettiest, definitely not the smoothest, and I don't care. I went for the weekend motor pool thrash, and that's what I ended up with.
20230604_184106.jpg20230604_184209.jpg20230604_184156.jpg
20230604_184059.jpg

I had to do this lol, I'll see how many people catch it.20230604_173234.jpg
 

Attachments

Gastrap

Gastrap

Active member
328
158
43
Location
Central Iowa
DeetFreek said:
I'm condensing again lol. The MVPA convention is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm within an hour, so I'm going one way or the other. That being said, I decided maybe now was a good time to finally get some color laid down on the '53. A couple weeks ago I started the process of tearing everything off and cleaning/prepping everything, again. I'm not going to post all those pics, I'm going straight to the end of it all. I have a couple more things to stencil on, but I'm ordering those. Everything on there I've hand cut in oilboard and sprayed. So now, for the most part, it's finished if that's actually possible.

It's not the prettiest, definitely not the smoothest, and I don't care. I went for the weekend motor pool thrash, and that's what I ended up with.


I had to do this lol, I'll see how many people catch it.
Click to expand...
Looks great! I was planning on spraying my '52 green this summer, but I decided to call my existing paint "faded strata blue" , and numbered it as an Air Force truck for now. I don't think I'll bother taking the incomplete Jeep or my Humvee to the MVPA convention, but I'll be there.

 
Another Ahab

Another Ahab

Well-known member
17,999
4,556
113
Location
Alexandria, VA
Gastrap said:
Looks great! I was planning on spraying my '52 green this summer, but I decided to call my existing paint "faded strata blue" , and numbered it as an Air Force truck for now. I don't think I'll bother taking the incomplete Jeep or my Humvee to the MVPA convention, but I'll be there.

Click to expand...
That's the key, Gastrap; just showing up!

Good luck there, Brother.
 
JEB

JEB

Active member
129
140
43
Location
Colbert, WA
It's Done!!!

After about a year and a half my USAF marked M38A1 is finished after restoration by Dave Arnold in Spokane.

I have mentioned it in posts 542, 544, 610, 611 and 648.
To recao, started out with a very straight body with recently overhauled engine. Only rust was in fuel tank well which was replaced.
See complete list of work done in post 611.

Finished in PPG Strata Blue with Delta Team decals.
I have delayed posting it hete, I have been waiting to get some beauty shots, but for a couple of reasons, those have been delayed, so here it is.

I'm very proud of the aircraft-style seatbelts which probably would have been the only seat belts available to a motor pool in period.
I also have a Air Force control tower signal lights decal (on a removable magnet) on the dashboard.
And you can see the very '50s "Flight line flag".

I have put about 100 miles on it and drive it every weekend. I have never had a collector vehicle receive as many things uo, positive comments, even a few "thanks for your service"...I was in for 20 years.

It is marked as belonging to my dad's unit when it was built... 62nd Troop Carrier Wing, part of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) at Larson AFB, (Moses Lake ), Washington circa 1955-57.
My Jeep is MD 82551, built in March of 1955.
I was born in Feb. 1955.
There was no history with the Jeep, so I was okay in putting it in those markings. I did it to remember three great guys...

So, let's say this is in honor of my dad, a AF pilot and 27 year veteran. Flew B-17s in Italy and in the '50's, the C-124. He later got into aircraft maintenance and commanded maintenance squadrons.

Growing up on another base, we a neighbor had a surplus A1 circa 1965. He let me drive it on the back roads. I was ten, first vehicle I ever drove. He was soon sent to Vietnam where he won the Silver Star for flying unarmed reconnaissance flight over North Vietnam in RF-101s...a real hero. He later was a wing commander for a F-111 wing.
So there is some memories here of Del (I always called him colonel as a kid).

Finally, it is also in honor of Charlie, the best old Jeep guy in Abilene Texas when I moved there in 1997 for my final AF assignment. He was a retired AF loadmaster for C-130s, he had been everywhere. His pride and joy was a rare yellow "Super Jeep". He is even seen driving it in a popular Jeep book. When I was assigned to the base, I decided I needed a Jeep of my own, and when I asked the local dealer who could help me, they told me about Charlie. Long story short, I bought a 1977 CJ-5 from a B-1 pilot and Charlie restored it for me. V-8, 3-speed. Levis interior. Used it as a daily driver for seven years. Only sold it when I retired and moved. A neighbor of his had seen it and loved it, it was on the market for about 15 minutes and I sold it for what I had in it.

So, an Air Force Jeep for dad, Del the colonel and Jeep fan Charlie.
Hope you enjoy it.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
110,879members
165,310threads
2,326,171posts
1,955online users
Top