JEEP PARTS CROSS REFERENCE TO NSN NUMBERS

[bluewatersailor]

I am shopping for a wiring harness (light switch to tail lights) for my 1953 M38A1. Since I live in Italy, I would expect to find one cheaper, overall, here in Europe. My Ord 9 SNL G-758 parts manual (Thanks, Mjeeps, for the download) gives me ORD Part No. 8329662; ORD Grp G758-613.1 8329662; & WO 806410. One of my suppliers responds to my inquiry that he has a 8333282 with a NSN of 2590 00 080 9260.
My ORD manual tells me that his first ref. no. (8333282) is for a harness for a M170 which would be a bit long, but probably easily cinched up or shortened. Because of language difficulties and/or remote warehousing, I am still awaiting a reply as to what type of connectors (Douglas or Packard) his harness has. This is an important point for me as I don't want to change all the packards to Douglas to match my jeep. Apparently lots of suppliers over here use the NSN system. Because of language difficulties from country to country, I would like to be able to request my parts by citing a NSN number. My question here is: Is there a way to check-out/cross-reference the NSN number to ORD numbers? Would the NSN number it also give the additional data regarding, for example, the connectors used?

[wesk]

The FSN (Federal Stock Number) system started replacing the Ordnance Stock Number system in the early 50's. The NSN (National Stock Number) (also called Nato Stock Number) system came in during the 70's.

The purpose of having the vehicle part number system and then the three stock number systems is simple once it is explained.

The manufacturer's part number is assigned by the manufacturer (Willys or Kaiser in this case).

As the military began to standardize the procurement system they needed to force manufacturers to organize their parts and group them with similar parts from other manufacturers. Then taking it another step the military then forced the manufacturers to build common parts to a common specification called a MilSpec. This was often referred to as the military's "Off the shelf" system. This is how we end up with so many common M series parts like oil pressure gauges or generators.

The civilian manufacturer's part numbers could not be grouped in any common numerical order with other manufacturer's part numbers so the military went with it's FSN system which ID's a federal stock class (FSC) which is the first four numbers then the next three numbers narrowed down the eguipment used on and finally the last four were just final identifier numbers. When the NSN came into use the extra two digits represent the country where the part was manufactured. -00- and -01- are the US.

Where to find these FSN's and NSN's? Well the later TM's where the -20P and the -34P parts catalogs have primarily FSN's and NSN's with an occasional reference to Ordnance or manufacturers part numbers when there is some clarity needed.

For example your 1955 ORD 9 SNL G-758 Parts Catalog for the M38A1/M170 has a few FSN's. It has three different organized numerical indexes at the back which include a FSN index and a Ord Stk # index. However there are not any cross references there. The harness you need is there and shows three numbers: Ordnance part number 8329662, Willys part number 806410 and Ordnance stock number G758-8329662. The federal stock number column is empty.

The newer M38A1 part catalogs are the TM 9-2320-208-20P which replaces the old ORD7 SNL G-758 Organizational parts catalog and the TM 9-2320-208-34P which replaces the ORD 8 and 9. If someone has their copy of TM 9-2320-208-34P handy they can probably give you the correct FSN for that harness.

To convert the FSN to a NSN you just add -XX- to the FSN XXXX-XXX-XXXX to make the NSN XXXX-XX-XXX-XXXX.

There are supply manuals that cross reference the Ord # vs FSN vs NSN but they are very large and not a lot of them are around any more.

[bluewatersailor]

Wes, Thank you for the explanation. It looks like I should invest in at least the TM 9-2320-208-34P manual (I've located one for $35.00 - seems steep). A question still remains regarding the connectors - Douglas vs Packard. If the part number remains the same over time, how can one tell, without a visual inspection of the part, which connectors have been used? I assume that the date of manufacture of the part may play a role. Again, thanks for all the support. Dave

[wesk]

Dave,

Generally the part number covered part will remain true to the manufacturer's blue prints and will change only when the manufacturer makes a change to their blue prints.

The FSN or NSN or ORD Stk# covered part will vary depending on the vendor that supplied the part. These stock numbered parts will often include substitute parts from other then the original manufacturer.

During my 22 years in the military when I wanted a part that was an original fit I ordered through supply adding the statement "No Subs" to my part request.

If you get a harness with the Willys PN 806410 on it it will have Douglas connectors.