New M38A1 on board

Foxmike · Post by **Foxmike** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:40 pm

Hello everyone,
Just acquired a 1952 M38A1. It's an older restoration, but a driver. I need to do a few things before it goes on the road again. The front and rear differentials are leaking as well as the transfer case. E-Brake needs some work, and the flexible fuel line going to the fuel pump needs to be replaced.
The motor burns some oil, so a rebuild is in the future.

The past few days I've been driving it short trips around the neighborhood. Today at the stop sign, the engine started to sputter and died at idle. Started right back up but continues to do the same thing. Seems like a fuel issue. Any ideas?

Any other things besides the obvious I should be checking/replacing on this driver? This is my first jeep and I haven't been working on cars all that long. This seems like another good learning project.

Thanks!

Here's a link to a picture.
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk31 ... AG0856.jpg

TomM · Post by **TomM** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:06 pm

Foxmike,
Welcome to the forum. Thats a good looking jeep and congrats on the new acquisition.

When you say "getting it on the road again" are you saying that it was off the road for some time?
Without much to go on - just going by your thought that it is lacking fuel, what shape is the fuel system?
Look inside your tank. Is it clean or are there signs that it had been sitting and fuel had turned cruddy? Have there been any recent rebuilds of the fuel pump, carb and replacement of rubber fuel hoses? Todays fuels have no shelf life, go bad quickly and let water precipitate to the bottom of your fuel tank quickly. The methanol also attacks older rubber parts so rebuild of the fuel pump and carb with modern rubber components designed for todays fuels may be good preventive maintenance.

Tom

Foxmike · Post by **Foxmike** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:45 pm

Tom,
The guy I bought it from really just used it for parades and short drives. From the looks of things, not much has been done since the original restoration. There is a tag on the jeep that said the motor was rebuilt in the 70s. So my best guess is that is when the majority of the work was done. The previous owner did rebuild the carb and put a new gas tank in. The rubber fuel line under the hood that goes from the shutoff valve to the fuel pump is in pretty bad shape, so who knows what thats done down the line.

skyjeep50 · Post by **skyjeep50** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:51 pm

Good looking M38A1! You'll have many happy hours touring around in it. But first to get it running well. These vehicles are not hard to work on or very complicated overall but there are some things to watch for. The first stop for you is the "Downloads" section of this website - there you will find most of the manuals that pertain to your jeep. Troubleshooting, parts diagrams and lists, repair methods, etc. Start to get familar with the mechanical systems before attempting a repair - you'll save a bunch of time and frustration. You can also do a "Search" of this website for other post concerning specific problems. Good luck and have fun!

Foxmike · Post by **Foxmike** » Wed May 16, 2012 8:59 pm

Thanks for the info. I've been reading a lot in the TMs. Love the step by step instructions and pictures! Uploaded some pictures of the engine tag, the tub data plate, and the brass data plate on the dash.

http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk31 ... hoto/Jeep/

Post by **wesk** » Wed May 16, 2012 10:11 pm

Good looking jeep. I see by the disparity between the dash serial plate serial number and the patent plate serial number the tub was a replacement or the dash data plate set was a replacement.

The engine rebuild tag is a rare one. FMC the Food Machinery Company built the amphibious tracked landing assault craft the LVT series during WWII. Odd serial number and must be a serial derived by FMC in lieu of the original Willys serial for the engine.

Foxmike · Post by **Foxmike** » Mon May 21, 2012 8:59 pm

Wes,
Yep, saw the difference between the dash and patent number. Nuts! Looked at the engine serial and it looks like RMD 122774

Post by **wesk** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:24 pm

RMDXXXXXX is a Willys built spare factory replacement engine. These factory spare engines were included in the military contracts for new jeeps. They were held in depot stocks by the military and were often exchanged through the supply system for the old used engines which were then overhauled by a depot and put on the shelf along with the brand new factory replacement spares.

Foxmike · Post by **Foxmike** » Sun May 27, 2012 8:36 pm

Replaced the rubber fuel line going from the shutoff to the fuel pump and that seems to have fixed the problem I was having. The old fuel hose was in bad shape and I'm thinking it was letting air in. Also changed the gaskets/fluid in the front and rear differentials as well as the transfer case and transmission.
Still more work to do, but in the meantime I can still have some fun.

wilfreeman · Post by **wilfreeman** » Wed May 30, 2012 6:58 pm

Nice! Easy fix too. Congrats on your new addiction!