M 38 canvas color

heut · Post by **heut** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:26 am

Can someone tell me the correct color for the M 38 canvas on the seats? I have seen both olive drab and tan. Does it need to match the top?

Thanks in advance! Great site!

Heut

evanso1975 · Post by **evanso1975** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:01 am

Not certain about the seats, but this is one of a pair of original side curtains I picked up a few weeks ago:

These were still in original unopened packaging, and they look pretty green to me. My own logic (twisted as it is) suggests that the seat canvas would most likely be made to match the curtains. Canvas does fade.

This was the remnants of an original seat base in my M38:

The colour before I took the canvas off is what you can see at the bottom of the photo (pale), whereas the underside of the canvas is seen at the right side of the photo (a deeper green).

As to which is "correct", you'd probably need to find some photos or documentation from the Willys factory. In any event, it's your jeep. If you can get a set of tan canvas covers much cheaper than green ones, then I'd go for them. And put the $$$ you save towards more jeep parts.

Wbr,
Owen.

whydahdvr · Post by **whydahdvr** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:27 am

Not sure about the canvas used on our M38's and M38A1's but I do know that during WWII there were different shades of OD, often even between pants and shirt. That was the result of slight differences in the dye batches used on canvas that were all within acceptable color ranges, especially as most dyes back then were organic dyes.
Add to that the fading factor and I would say that you'll be fine with whatever you get. There's no reason to suspect anything different between 1945 and 1950, especially with a large surplus of WWII material available.
But Wes and Ryan can certainly provide greater detail on that.

Post by **wesk** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:08 am

They were never meant to be a perfect match for the top.

Tan is a WWII thing. Olive drab green is the correct canvas and will still seem to come in a variety of shades depending on manufacturer, life on the shelf and type dye used.

Unless you are doing a factory class resto just about any shade will work. The 22 years I spent in the service we quit ordering seat covers from the factory in the 60's. They were fabricated locally at the base fab shop using whatever material was in best supply.

whydahdvr · Post by **whydahdvr** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:06 pm

Wes, so true. Even today our ACU's and FRACU's fade differently, ending up looking different colors.

heut · Post by **heut** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:33 pm

Thanks for the great info. I appreciate the responses.

Cheers

Heut.

M 38 canvas color

M 38 canvas color

M38 Canvas color