First Project and new member

[cju777]

Wes invited me over from the G503 forum, been surfing around and thanks for providing all the great info. I hope to have some to offer down the line. Reposting this over from the "g"

Just ordered this Jeep from John at Midwest and should have it soon to start work on. Date of delivery, 3/55. Serial number 82542.

Just wondering your thoughts on starting off a frame off restore on this. Thanks! Looking forward to my first project and getting my hands dirty.







Body looks good, only major areas of rust I know of are by the passanger footwell and the battery box

Engine is complete and original I believe? Carb included when I get it
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Chris Ustler
1955 M38A1 (MD82542)

B/4-10 CAV, 4 ID

[OKCM38CDN]

Congrats on the new jeep...

My suggestions are go out and buy a couple of boxes of ziplock baggies freezer type in all sizes (2 gallon, quart and sandwich)... a box of sharpie pens and some blank 3X5 cards... all of this can be found at Sam's if you are a member, BTW get the Ziplock bags not a cheaper alternative, you want these to hold up for years ... that is how long it could take to do your restoration...

Next if you don't have one a digital camera, you will need to take photos of everything, before and after... Don't know how many times I took a part off and forgot how it went back on properly... the big thing is document everything... I would recommend a container of CD ROM disks and store your photos there in addition to the computer in the event of a crash... you will always have the pictures...

As you do your tear down put the parts for an assembly in a bag, tag it and set it aside in a box or something... now you know where all the parts are for that assembly...

I even put the nuts, bolts and wahers in the bag... especially the broken ones; now when it comes time to reassemble I know what parts and bolts go with what... and what hardware I need to get from the local ACE store; they carry hardware that can be used to replace most used on these jeeps without having to buy boxes of 100, I can go in and purchase one nut, bolt or washer as neeed...

Next order the CD rom from Military Media, this covers all the jeeps from the MB to the 151. I say this as it is a PDF file and using Adobe reader you can access it on your computer and print out pages to take to the garage and if they get damaged you can print a new copy. I love the ability to go into the SNL (parts manual) and search for a part number... saves lots of time trying to read the book although I did that also...

If you do not have it; develop PATIENCE... it takes time to restore one of these to even motor pool ready... I did mine on $140 a month and a little help from bonuses and tax returns... took me 4 years but was well worth the time... I did such a good job the wife let me get another one to do, this time I am doing a '51 Willys Wagon 2WD... enjoying that one also...

I said all this not knowing your experience level, I do not mean to imply you are not knowledgeable, but you did ask for advice... These are the things I learned as a newbie to the hobby and in tearing my M-38CDN down to the frame...

Enjoy and have fun that is what it is all about...