Hawkshadow's '52 M38CDN

[Hawkshadow]

Great idea for a Forum! I have been running a progress thread on my project on canadiangunnutz.com, and will transfer all of the progress up to this point over here. I will also add the date originally posted for a rough idea of timeline. It's certainly interesting re-reading all of the posts since the beginning and seeing the steep learning curve! I look forward to the advice of some true fellow Jeep Nuts!

<9 April 2012>
She's a 1952 M38CDN built by Ford. Been sitting for around 3 years outside since last running. So far as I can tell, still in full military configuration with all military parts.

I haven't attempted to turn her over yet, as I want to go over everything and make sure it's all good to go first. The oil shows no signs of water, the engine can be hand-turned and all appears good at this point in time. Right now the tranny is stuck in a gear (not sure which one), and doesn't want to disengage. The clutch works so she'll roll no problem. I'm hoping that rocking a bit may free her up, or it needs tranny fluid, but I'm definitely concerned about this. The tub is in rough shape and it is going to be a debate between patching or sourcing a new one.

She's my first and I'm admittedly quite excited. I know that there are several guys on here who have the experience, and I welcome any and all help, advice, stories, shared experiences or the like!

[Hawkshadow]

<10 April 2012>

It's been quite a productive couple of days. I'll start from the beginning.

After cleaning out all of the leaves, dirt and such I started to get a better idea about the condition of my tub. It's certainly not great, but not horrible either.



A keen eye kudo goes to the member who noticed that she's sitting on a slight angle. I didn't mention it before, but one of the other tasks is going to be fixing my left rear leaf spring. At some point in time the Rebound Clip (I believe is the name) appears to have broken, and the bottom section of leafs twisted out to the side, bending the U shackle as well. I'll try to get some good pictures later.

Next came the removal of the driver's seat and the fuel tank to pour out the tank's contents. When I tried to open the drain cock on the bottom of the tank I found that it no longer existed! Where the drain should have been I found only a sealed nipple. This leads me to believe that the tank has been re-lined in some sort of fashion at some point in time. Anyway, I removed the tank and poured out the brown substance that may have once been gasoline. Once the tank was removed I was able to see the full extent of tub damage that laid underneath:



After the fuel tank was emptied, I moved on to the coolant system. I removed the hose at the bottom of the radiator and let it drain. After the coolant drained (and was collected) I flushed the rad with water. It began as a dirty brown but soon ran clear. Next I opened the coolant drain cock on the right side of the engine and let it drain. Once again I flushed with water, and this time all that came out was clear.

Next came an engine de-greasing. I also removed the driver's side fender to facilitate better access. After a whole can of de-greaser she's starting to clean up nicely! Some of the data plates and stamped wording are seeing daylight for the first time in years! Once again, I will try and get some pictures.

Today I also determined that the gear she's stuck in is reverse. We tried rocking her to get it to release with no luck. I'm not sure if there's anything I'll be able to do about this without complete transmission dis assembly... Any ideas? Am also concerned about the transfer. The shifts between ranges are very loose and are nowhere near "definite."

That's all for now, thanks for following along!
_________________
Jordan

M38 CDN
52-30718

[Hawkshadow]

<12 April 2012>

Today I have the new pictures as promised. Warning: they show her in a state of undress. Avert your eyes if you're too young for jeep nudity.

Got her rolled out and removed the fenders, grill, hood, and windshield. Looking at the grill sitting on the side I realized that there's no better branding than a jeep grill.

Got a better look at the individual parts after cleaning. There are actually words and the odd nameplate under that crud!



Here is a quick shot that I grabbed towards the dash with the gas tank sitting in place. I have the original data plates, but they've been tucked away for safe keeping until later:D


Next is a shot of the rear as I hadn't included any pictures of that angle yet. Of note is the original style pintle hitch. Those aftermarket princess auto tail lights will be going...


The final picture for the day is of the rear driver's side leaf spring. I am hoping that all I'll need to do here is replace the U bolts and rebound clips as the leafs appear to be alright. <Edit 12 Jan 2013, completely new springs have been purchased...>


Hope you enjoyed the update!

[Hawkshadow]

<20 April 2012>

It's been another productive day of skinned knuckles and progress as the strip down continues. Special thanks go out to Artyman for all of his help today!

The tailgate and soft-top bow were the first to go, and then we moved on to disconnecting all ties between the tub and frame.

It takes quite a while meticulously disconnecting the connections behind the dash running through the fire wall, and ensuring that everything is labelled.


Wire by wire, the harness is disconnected, labelled, and removed.


Once the electrical bonds were freed, the next parts removed were:
- air filter (bolted to the body)
- parking brake (cable disconnected from brake on drive line, and handle on dash)
- clutch, brake, and gas pedals
- choke cable
- hand throttle cable

The fuel tank was removed and stored, and all bolts holding the tub to the frame were... encouraged to relinquish their posts.



As she sits, the tub is ready to come off. The only thing keeping it on is the steering wheel.

[Hawkshadow]

<27 April 2012>

It's been a momentous day! The body is off and we're down to the frame. As always, there are several pictures to placate the viewing hunger

The day started with removing the steering wheel. Next we removed as many of the bolted floor pan sections as possible so that the body could come off. We lifted the tub off and got a close look at just how rough of a shape it's in..




Giving it the once over revealed the full extent of the rust damage, large swaths of bondo, and several assorted riveted patches, I have arrived at the conclusion that a new tub is in order.

With the tub off, we get our first good look at the frame condition. It appears to be in remarkably good shape despite the condition of the tub.





Progress has been swift. I set the goal of having the body off by her 60th birthday, which if I read the data plate right is in only a couple of days! :dancingbanana:


Stay tuned as the tear down continues!
_________________
Jordan

M38 CDN
52-30718

[Hawkshadow]

<30 April 2012>

Quite a day! Found the answer to the big transmission question mark, and worked it out.

To refresh: the transmission was stuck in reverse and wouldn't budge.

Started by removing the 6 bolts holding the shifter to the transmission.


It lifted right off and revealed the innards.

Instead of being filled with transmission fluid, it was filled with water! Luckily after I drained the fluid and gave it a good spray down with Krown, the damage doesn't appear too bad (well, not as bad as it could have been!)

Looking at the top half I found the cause of my issues.

While I'm not familiar with transmission terminology I'll try to explain. When the water seeped in, rust formed on the shaft that the shifter physically moves. It built up at the end near the housing and kept the shaft from moving the way it normally would.


I took it inside and thoroughly cleaned away as much as possible. Slowly the action freed up. I next used the milsurp method of boiling hot water cleaning, along with some good de-greasing soap. I found that dish soap works well generally, and powdered laundry soap is best for stubborn grease. Before you judge it, compare the finished product:

Not too shabby if I do say so myself:). I dried and oiled the whole shebang and took it back out to the jeep. They were re-mated back together with no difficulty at all, and she shifts through all gears with no problem at all.

It will still need to be completely disassembled and cleaned, but that's a big load off of my mind!

[Hawkshadow]

<11 May 2012>

I started the day by taking off the cover on the back of the transfer case. Everything looks good, and the fluid in the bottom is correct gear oil (unlike the transmission was...).

However, looking at the picture I just noticed the marks on the one tooth at about 1130..

Next I attempted to remove the distributor. The top came off no problem, but after following the instructions in the pam the unit itself still wouldn't remove from the block. It says that after removing the mounting bolts on the back, turn the unit slightly and pull it towards the right side of the vehicle (pull it off). With effort it will turn slightly side to side, but does not want to lift off... Experience?


The regulator came off, and looks great inside with no signs of wear. The previous owner claimed to have had it rebuilt within the last 10 years.




The carburetor was next. It came off with no issues, and looks good inside. It looks like there is water sitting in the intake manifold... It will be coming off very shortly.



Here is a side picture of the engine with the parts removed. I also removed the generator, belts, and oil filter.

_________________
Jordan

M38 CDN
52-30718

[Hawkshadow]

<15 May 2012>

Well it was mothers day so of course I spent the day working on the jeep before making her dinner

Out came the tools and we prepared to strip as many pieces off as possible!


First came the starter. The teeth look in good shape.


Next came the rad with only minor protest from the support struts.


The distributor finally gave in after some loosening taps from the rubber mallet. In this picture you can see the fly wheel through the port for the starter, as well as the port for the distributor.


With pretty well everything stripped off of the right side of the engine, it was time to move back to the left to address that manifold. One of the studs snapped, and another nut was rusted right to the stud and it unscrewed from the block. I'm not too worried as I plan on having them all replaced when the engine is re-done. The worst snap came when the bolt screwing into the bottom of the exhaust manifold snapped... That's going to take some work and pondering...

BUT! here is the manifold starting to give way:


Manifold face:


Where the manifold mounts to the block:


As you can see there is a side access plate. This is a unique feature of these old motors. Behind the plate are your valves and tappets. I removed the plate, and they appear in good condition.


Here is my collection of parts removed recently (minus the generator. No reason for that beast to be lifted above the lower shelf!)


We're rapidly approaching engine-removal time! :dancingbanana:

[Hawkshadow]

<28 May 2012>


The fan and water pump came off.


The water pump looks in good shape and should clean up nicely


Next came the thermostat housing. One of the bolts was rusted partially through and twisted right apart with little warning..


I believe that the thermostat should pop right out, but I didn't force it at the time.


Moving forward slightly, we removed the front bumper, and the wood that was inside.



This allowed for good pictures of the two small cuts in the frame. Still trying to figure out why they were done....
Left

Right


I am quickly approaching the end of small tasks before the engine comes out.

[Hawkshadow]

<6 June 2012>

I got the head off to get a quick look inside.


Next I will clean out the crud and get a good look at the cylinder walls. From what I could see, things looked good.


Underside of the head. Again, I will be cleaning it up next time to get a closer look but things look good so far.

[Hawkshadow]

<12 June 2012>

Here is the update on the back bumper work. Apologies for the lack of initial pictures, as I said before I forgot my camera the first day.

The story: I could tell that the back bumper was in rough shape initially, but once I took the bumperettes off and I took a closer look the truth came out. Looking closely 3 different people's handiwork could be seen. At some point I'm guessing that someone backed in to something and decided to replace the "wings" at the ends. Instead of removing the whole bumper they cut it at the body, and welded on new wings. Not too hard to work with except they welded the bumper to the frame and while welding they welded over some of the rivets holding the bumper on.



The next thing that was done (I assume), was when the bumper was wearing thin, someone fitted and inserted additional backing sheet metal in to the bumper. Over the years this held the moisture against the bumper and both sides slowly rotted away..



So, I made the decision to replace the bumper. Out came the cut-off wheel and the air chisel (best tool for the job!) and I went to work. Wow this was a $&% of a lot more work than it initially seemed! Progress was slow and steady, piece by piece, until the bumper was done.



Then I had the leftover rivets in the frame to deal with. Some popped out no problem with the moil point on the air chisel, while others were a pain in the nuggets...


The really stubborn ones (especially the welded ones) had to be ground right flush to the frame before they came out.


After much racket and sweat expended the last one gave way.


So, bumper off, ready for the new one! I am also planning the rest of the required frame work. The MB and M38A1 both came stock with a MG Pintle mount plate on the frame while the M38 didn't. I've been looking around at different add-on brackets and such, but does anyone know how the provisions were made in-service?

[Hawkshadow]

<25 June 2012>

While I work through planning and quotes I have kept working on cleaning up some of my smaller parts. As I didn't want to sand blast my water pump and risk getting media in the bearing, I tried an interesting method that I heard about recently - Apple Cider Vinegar!

Day 0:





I placed it in a basin, impeller down, and filled the basin until just below the window leading to the bearing.

Schmutz started floating off immediately!

After 24 hours I checked in on the progress. The vinegar was now completely black and the metal was notably cleaner:


The results were decent, but I figured that I could simply leave it for longer and the results would continue.

So on day 5 I checked it again. By now the vinegar was pitch black, had a thick scum on top, and was fizzing and bubbling away. The results were very impressive!





So after seeing how well it worked on the one side, i flipped it over to do the pulley. This is how it looked after about a week. Keep in mind that I started with clean apple cider vinegar




I pulled it out, gave it a brush and quick wash in hot water, oiled to keep from rusting:



Not too shabby, cheaper and more "environmentally friendly" than CLR

Trying to decide on the best course of action to get it cleaned to be painted before re-installation.

[Hawkshadow]

<20 July 2012>

Engine removed and on the stand.

Setting up the hoist


And out she comes



Removing the clutch assembly and fly wheel to mount the engine on the stand.
The clutch is a little worn, but not to the point of doing damage to the fly wheel.





A look inside the bell housing. Not sure what the purpose is of the string... but then again it isn't the first time I've seen a military vehicle held together with para chord!


The engine on the stand:

[Hawkshadow]

<5 Sept 2012>

Almost finally at the bottom:

Pulled the transmission off the frame.


Then I turned to the steering, removing as much of it in one piece as possible.




Next it was on to brake lines. This proved to be quite a task as I had to be as gentle as possible to preserve as much of the shape as I could.


Brake lines laid out and labelled:
Font:

Rear:


Finally it was time to remove the axles. The long nuts at the end of the U bolts were rusted positively solid so I had to cut the U bolts.


I'm having a little bit of trouble with seized spring shackes. Tomorrow I am going to try drilling out the seized nipples and scraping out the old grease so that I can get penetrating oil right inside.

This is how it stands now. Frame on the ground!

[Hawkshadow]

<9 Dec 2012>

The first day of physical rebuild has arrived! :cheers: The frame is now mostly blasted and primed.

How we began with limited reclaiming.



And then realized just how fast you can blow through a 50lb bag of sand... Final method:



The sun set and it was too dark to finish the frame so we moved indoors to prime what had been completed.


Frame's original serial number uncovered. There is supposed to be a 5 next to the 2 ('52) which you can see faintly.


As she sits right now. The rear section still has to be completed, along with the underside.