1954 M38A1 Serial Number Help

Daddio · Post by **Daddio** » Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:52 pm

Hello,

I'm a new member here and own a '54 M38A1 that was "originally" restored in the mid 1980's with my late father. The jeep is in great condition overall, but its in need of minor mechanical and cosmetic fixes. I'll be undertaking this with my sons and I'm looking forward to leveraging the expertise on this forum as i begin work over the next several weeks. So, thanks in advance for your assistance, lol.

Can anyone provide information regarding the history of this jeep based on the serial number MD 74008?

Any all all help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

Post by **wesk** » Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:56 pm

Hello Scott,

Unfortunately the military trashed all the wheeled vehicle records shortly after they are declared surplus and leave the military. Unless your jeep was famous for some reason, like Gen Patton's WWII jeep there will be no records or history to find. The only clues to your jeep's history will be found in any records that were in the jeep when you acquired it, any photos you can find of your jeep inservice (same hood number as yours if your hood numbers are in fact original to your jeep), or from unit ID's and codes found under it's many layers of paint.

MD 74008 would have been a Jul 1954 unit and should have had a hood number in the 2AXXXX range if it was US Army.

Daddio · Post by **Daddio** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:22 pm

Hi Wes,

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. The July 1954 date you mention corresponds with the date on the dash data plates so that's good to hear. When we acquired the jeep, it was being used as a farm vehicle and had been converted to 12v. We replaced the hood that came with it as someone had welded the fording port shut, so I'll have no luck uncovering any original numbers there. On the upside, he had kept all of the 24v components so it was relatively easy to return it to the original configurations. He also threw in an arctic hard top and the two wooden doors. I have no idea if the top and doors were originally associated with this jeep or not.

Thanks again,
Scott

Post by **wesk** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:05 pm

The m38A1's left Willys only with the soft top provisions. The complete soft top was installed in the field using kits. The Arctic Top was also a field install only.

Daddio · Post by **Daddio** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 5:10 pm

I didn't know that about the arctic tops, thanks Wes.