Joined: Apr 25, 2024 Posts: 29 Location: Eastern WA State
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2024 10:09 am Post subject: Hodakaguy M38 Misc Thread
Thought I'd start a thread to document maint and our exploits with our M38.
A flat fender jeep has been on my father and I's bucket list for years, we've talked about picking one up many many times over the years but for what ever reason have played with other toys and never made it happen. Recently we were discussing this idea yet again and decided to start looking for one. We wanted to find an M38 version, the last of the flat fender jeeps and still had the famous Go Devil Engine. The M38 has the WWII look of the classic flat fender jeep with a lot of great improvements over it's earlier siblings.
With the decision made we posted a Want Ad and started watching all the usual listing spots for a M38. Soon a gentleman contacted me saying he has a M38 that he would sell, a phone call filled in the details. His father Lloyd had restored the M38 and when he passed on his son had inherited the jeep and was looking to clear up space in his garage for his other cars. The Jeep hasn't been driven in quite a few years, being hauled on a trailer to shows and parked in the garage since restoration. After studying the pics and talking to the owner on the phone we decided to hook up the trailer to the Tacoma and head out to see it in person....from our home town in WA state all the way back to Michigan!
Here are just a few of the 40 plus photo's the seller sent me and our first glimpse of the Jeep. Equipped with some nice accessories.
My father and I have went on a lot of long road trips to snag vehicles over the years, but this one was our longest yet. We traveled the 2250 miles in 2.5 days. The Jeep was exactly what the seller said it was and came with some nice bonuses, a replica Browning M2 & M1919 with Tripod, pintle mount and pedestal. With the deal done we loaded the Jeep on the trailer and headed back west!
We debated on pulling the top off the Jeep for the trip home and folding the windshield down for less wind resistance..... But we were concerned that if we hit rain we didn't want the radio and interior getting soaked with road grime so we decided to try towing with the top on and see how it goes. The top is very tight/secure and tows great, no flapping etc. (We kept an eye on it and it did great all the way home with zero signs of wear. We will probably pick up a small enclosed trailer for future towing).
The first of many fuel stops on the way home.
We didn't stop at many places except for fuel...but we did swing in to check out the worlds largest fireworks store. It was Huge!
We made it to Blue Earth Minnesota on Monday afternoon and got a hotel for the night. Up until now we've had clear blue skies but the forecast was showing a major change coming that night. They were warning of extreme thunder storms along with heavy rain, hail and possible tornadoes the following day! The storm system would stretch all the way across South Dakota on Tuesday but would be sunny and clear again on Wed. We decided to hang out at the hotel on Tuesday and let the weather pass, the jeep was secured from the weather and it would give us a little rest from sitting in the truck.
Tuesday and rain. The Jeep came with a fitted waterproof cover, we installed the fitted cover then a tarp over that. We lashed it all down tight with ropes to keep it from flapping/wearing anything, the setup worked great keeping the Jeep nice and dry in the storms heavy rain. We lucked out and didn't get any hail. I'm really glad we didn't push further west as the storm was more severe in SD.
Checking out the replica M2 at the Hotel.
Wed and back on the road. Clouds in the sky but the rain is gone, the extra days wait was a good call!
The last hotel stop of the trip in Montana.
We're being followed!
Safely back at home in WA.
Playing in the neighborhood a bit. I'm going to go through and change all the fluids before we go out driving it any further.
A few misc pics of the radio unit. This unit is set up to transmit on Artillery frequencies. The unit powers up but I have no idea what I'm doing with it LOL. I'll study some manuals on it when I get a chance.
Removed the doors and sides.
Data plates.
Dash
The 40 has a new stable mate.
Now to go through and make sure everything is in good condition then go play with it.
Maintenance posts in the near future.
Hodakaguy.
Last edited by HodakaguyTom on Sat May 04, 2024 8:20 am; edited 9 times in total
Great looking M38. Glad you got her home OK and finally managed to get you in as member on our web site! _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Joined: Nov 28, 2019 Posts: 382 Location: Yorktown Virginia
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 6:33 am Post subject:
beautiful. _________________ April
i have a build thread on Youtube. just type in CoastieReid in the search.
MC 66792 5/52
Hood # 20942580
L134 # MC 91518
Joined: Oct 02, 2014 Posts: 2005 Location: South Carolina, Dorchester County
Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:42 pm Post subject:
Very nice!
More photos please!
And welcome to the best M38 knowledge forum on the planet!
What year is it?
Hood registration number (if original) seems to indicate later model year, maybe 1952?
Do you have original matching serial numbers on the dash and and patent plates?
What serial number?
Couldn't help but notice that your Choke and Throttle cable knobs on the dash are reversed.
Choke should be on the bottom. Easy fix.
Maybe optical illusion, but the photo of your engine seems to show the fording valve on the cross-over tube in the closed (fording) position?
Good luck! _________________ Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51
“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari
Joined: Apr 25, 2024 Posts: 29 Location: Eastern WA State
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 7:02 am Post subject:
RonD2 wrote:
Very nice!
More photos please!
And welcome to the best M38 knowledge forum on the planet!
What year is it?
Hood registration number (if original) seems to indicate later model year, maybe 1952?
Do you have original matching serial numbers on the dash and and patent plates?
What serial number?
Couldn't help but notice that your Choke and Throttle cable knobs on the dash are reversed.
Choke should be on the bottom. Easy fix.
Maybe optical illusion, but the photo of your engine seems to show the fording valve on the cross-over tube in the closed (fording) position?
Good luck!
Hi Ron. This Jeep was basically stripped of its military parts when the gent started with the restoration so I have no idea where he got the hood numbers from...very possible he just picked something. The numbers match on both tags (MC 56188) and says 10 July 1950. It has the later style lift hooks on the front bumper though.
Nice catch on the throttle and choke, like you said that will be an easy swap. You have a good eye, the fording valves were in the closed position but I opened them when we got the rig home.
I have a few maint parts we will be installing soon (new master cylinder etc), looking forward to taking it for a drive soon.
I'll be posting more pics soon. Thanks for the reply.
Joined: Oct 02, 2014 Posts: 2005 Location: South Carolina, Dorchester County
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:49 am Post subject:
Hi Tom,
Do you have a copy of the M38 Reference Guide book?
M38 production started in September 1950.
Your serial number lines up with a February-March 1952 delivery date.
How familiar are you with the M38?
I'm guessing you have a set of the Army manuals?
The M38 has more than a few idiosyncrasies (ex: be careful what gear oil you put in the transmission).
Good luck! _________________ Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51
“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari
Joined: Apr 25, 2024 Posts: 29 Location: Eastern WA State
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:12 pm Post subject:
RonD2 wrote:
Hi Tom,
Do you have a copy of the M38 Reference Guide book?
M38 production started in September 1950.
Your serial number lines up with a February-March 1952 delivery date.
How familiar are you with the M38?
I'm guessing you have a set of the Army manuals?
The M38 has more than a few idiosyncrasies (ex: be careful what gear oil you put in the transmission).
Good luck!
Just received a copy of the book last night in the mail, haven't had a chance to go through it yet. Looks like an awesome book!
I'm familiar with the GL4 vs GL5 oils and yellow metals, thanks for the warning. The Jeep came with one army maint manual. I'm reading and learning all I can about it now, I'm very mechanically inclined and have owned quite a few vintage rigs, but this is our first flat fender so lots of new idiosyncrasies to learn.
The 1952 date lines up with the newer lifting eyes on the front, data tag says 10-Jul- 1950 but who knows when it was stamped...a lot of mods and changes over the years before it was restored I'm sure.
Looking forward to learning and hopefully helping others as we go.
Can't read the serial and DOD on the dash plate photo. What are they? does the serial on the brand new dash serial plate match the serial number on the brand new patent plate behind the pass. seat? Do those two numbers match the title's serial. The DOD is suppose to be Month/Year only on the front dash serial plate. The early M38 frame also differs from the late M38 frame with the size of the whole in the inboard side between the bumper and the grill. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Joined: Apr 25, 2024 Posts: 29 Location: Eastern WA State
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:40 pm Post subject:
wesk wrote:
Can't read the serial and DOD on the dash plate photo. What are they? does the serial on the brand new dash serial plate match the serial number on the brand new patent plate behind the pass. seat? Do those two numbers match the title's serial. The DOD is suppose to be Month/Year only on the front dash serial plate. The early M38 frame also differs from the late M38 frame with the size of the whole in the inboard side between the bumper and the grill.
Thanks Wes. The DOD is definatly stamped incorrectly, both tags & title all match. MC56188.
Joined: Oct 02, 2014 Posts: 2005 Location: South Carolina, Dorchester County
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:04 pm Post subject:
Could be mistaken, but your plates look like reproductions to me?
By any chance did the previous owner keep or give you the original plates?
I bought mine with both plates missing --- the actual serial number forever lost.
DMV inspected it and issued me a standard modern 17-character VIN and title as a 1951 M38.
I left my reproduction plates blank.
I used the last 5 digits of the VIN for my hood registration number (20932721) so there'd be no mistaking it as a contrived number. _________________ Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51
“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari
Joined: Apr 25, 2024 Posts: 29 Location: Eastern WA State
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:25 pm Post subject:
RonD2 wrote:
Could be mistaken, but your plates look like reproductions to me?
By any chance did the previous owner keep or give you the original plates?
I bought mine with both plates missing --- the actual serial number forever lost.
DMV inspected it and issued me a standard modern 17-character VIN and title as a 1951 M38.
I left my reproduction plates blank.
I used the last 5 digits of the VIN for my hood registration number (20932721) so there'd be no mistaking it as a contrived number.
Interesting. I'll have to look through all the spares and see what's in there. All a great learning process. Unfortunatly the gent that restored it passed away so a lot of the details may be lost to history now.
All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Next
Page 1 of 5
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
