I need help and info on this M38??

dogbosser14 · Post by **dogbosser14** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:58 pm

Well i posted on here a while back bought a cj2a. Well i found a better canadate for me to restore. I already am enlisted and i leave september 4th for bootcamp for marines...

So please help I dont kno the year and the guy doesnt either. It is a M38 willys jeep

here is what they guy told me on the phone

drivers side is a little rough and passenger side is in good solid condition.
motor ran when parked but that was about five years ago.
The guy i baught it fron used it to plow his driveway, so there is a plow mount bracket that goes with it.

and there is one more that wont upload...

Is this worth 600$?

He doesnt know if engine is free or stuck... hasnt tried to start it etc etc etc

Can someone give me information on this M38?

Thanks, =]
Robert Powell

djalohr · Post by **djalohr** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:27 pm

not a m38

dogbosser14 · Post by **dogbosser14** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:34 pm

djalohr wrote:not a m38

Are you sure? how can you tell?

wilfreeman · Post by **wilfreeman** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:53 pm

An M38 is a flatfender. Yours is either an M38a1 or a CJ (can't really tell with those pics). If it is an 'a1, it will have a round indentation on the passengers side cowl in front of the door opening and a compartment with a lid on the cowl in front of the windshield. Also it isn't going to have a tailgate in stock form, but was a popular modification. There are other ways to tell also - do a google search for m38a1 pics or look through the pics on this website. If the body is in good shape and mechanicals are all there, it is worth $600 - maybe worth restoring also.

Matt

skyjeep50 · Post by **skyjeep50** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:09 pm

Not a M38, maybe the seller was trying to tell you it is a M38A1. But I don't think it is a M38A1 either. Your pics are rather small but the grill looks to be civilian and I don't see the auxilliary power plug indentation on the passenger side. Are the gauges in a detatchable instument panel? One quick way to tell a military jeep. The M38 is a "flat fender" jeep and has a tailgate, the M38A1 is the first "round fender" military jeep, had a solid rear panel and was the basis for the civilian CJ5 jeep. If your jeep has not run in a while and had been used as a plow jeep, it may have quit running for a very good reason - be carefull of condition!
Here's pics of my 1951 M38 and M38A1 1953 for comparison.

wilfreeman · Post by **wilfreeman** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:23 pm

NICE!

Post by **wesk** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:08 pm

It is not an M38. The grill and windshield are CJ5. To be sure on the tub and frame we need to see the dash and tailgate area and the crossmember behind the driver's seat.

This is the M38A1 frame and can be discerned from the CJ5 frame by that square machinegun support plate on the crossmember behind the driver's seat.

This is an M38A1 dash. The CJ5 dash has a small round instrument cluster in the middle and the glove box is on the passenger side of the dash.

This is an M38A1 Grill. Note the recessed headlights and the small marker lamps set in behind the grill hole opening.

skyjeep50 · Post by **skyjeep50** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:14 pm

You can also tell the above is a M38A1 by the friggin cannon - a give away every time!

12Bravo · Post by **12Bravo** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:34 pm

The jeep in the first post looks like a CJ5. It definitely has a civilian CJ grill on it. If the glove box is on the left side (between steering wheel and door) then it is a M38A1 and if the glove box is on the passenger side it is a CJ5. Either way, $600 isn't bad for a M38A1 or a CJ5 if the tub isn't all rusted out.