M38A1 paint data

pickly · Post by **pickly** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:07 pm

I'm trying to find info on what paint color to fix up my M38A1 with. Is there a document that lists the paint colors for the body, interior and engine, etc?

I'm cleaning out the fuel tank and want to paint it but not sure what color.

Thanks!

Post by **wesk** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 11:14 pm

There is not an absolute complete list in one location yet. Also many changes occurred between unit #1 in Jul 1952 and the last A1 in 1968. Many vendors that supplied the Willys/Kaiser factory varied their finishings as well. M38A1's left Willys in OD2430 until about mid to late 1954. The Navy gray, Marine Forest Greens and USAF blues didn't start coming out of Willys until about late 1953/ mid 54.

M38A1 painting data.

The following I gleaned from many sources and web forum posts.

1-Body 2430 OD.

2-Radiator guard 2430OD

3- Radiator Semi Gloss Black

4-Upper grill support rods possibly early 2430 OD and later and many NOS are black.

5-Basic engines 2430 OD.

6-Valve cover black/

7-Side valve cover and pan were 2430 OD.

8-Oil filter housing & brackets black,

9-Air cleaner housing & brackets black.

10-Air cleaner pre-filter 2430 OD.

11-Starter, generator, generator brackets & regulator black.

pickly · Post by **pickly** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:00 am

Thank you very much for the info!

wilfreeman · Post by **wilfreeman** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:23 pm

Hey Wes,

Not to hijack this post - it fits in here - but what font was used on the 'A1 in '54 for markings? My wife has a vinyl cutting machine, so of course you know what I was thinking! Also, did they use vinyl stickers or stencils/paint in '54?

Thanks - Matt

STXM38A1 · Post by **STXM38A1** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:47 pm

Hey Wes:

Were the M38A1 tansmission and XFER Case factory painted 2430 OD or semi-gloss black?

Thanks,
Warren

Post by **wesk** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:53 pm

Stencils and paint using the font in AR850-5 using any block style that is similar in appearance to those illustrated in AR850-5 Fig 22 & 23:

Post by **wesk** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:54 pm

Tranny & transfer were OD 2430

miljeep · Post by **miljeep** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:27 am

In 1954 it would be stencils and decals

Post by **wesk** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:06 am

Hood numbers were stencil and paint in 54. The only decals were those used on the engine, accessories and instrument cluster. We are talking hood numbers from the factory. The military used both methods in the field.

wilfreeman · Post by **wilfreeman** » Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:07 pm

Thanks for the info Guys! Is/was there a common font used in the '50's? I did a lot of searching for a font that sort of matched the one you posted Wes, but if I found a few letters that were close, the numbers were pretty far off. My wife is a school teacher - she said she would keep looking. One site I went to had 42 pages of MILITARY (so called) fonts. My wife said her machine could do everything except the 20" star in either vinyl or stencil (paper or vinyl). That can be her way of contributing to 'OUR' Jeep.

Thanks again Guys - Matt

Post by **wesk** » Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:07 pm

Matt,

As the manuals state, "Use any letter style that is similar to their illustrations". The most common reference I hear is "Sans Seriff" and primarily Arial.

http://www.codestyle.org/css/font-famil ... erif.shtml

This is a good image to give you an idea of how the Army vs the Willys applied letters and numbers varied. This is a less than 2 year old M38 in Korea and you can clearly see the difference between the hood markings, the bumper markings and the windshield markings.

Here's Willys factory hood numbers as fresh as they get.