Whats the worst "bubba mod" you have come across?

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:42 pm

Probably running a little weird without any backpressure!

Halfbob · Post by **Halfbob** » Sat May 05, 2018 6:57 pm

M38 20890612 had MB handles bolted all around the body, Stainless steel metal pop riveted on one side and galvanized steel pop rivet on the other,
Frame was rusted in two and patches welded over rusted areas to keep it together sadly after removing all parts that were salvageable I had to put her out of her misery an scrap the remains.
I have posted some photos in my gallery of her before her final reward.
Almost forgot the heater coil in between the driver and passenger seat plumed to the engine wit garden hose.

LTDan · Post by **LTDan** » Tue May 08, 2018 8:46 am

Here is a doozie of a bubba mod.
Bubba decided that he did not want to just listen to the sound of the engine or the wind, Bubba needed some sweet tunes. But where to put the raido? "I dont need no stinkin gauges and I have an old tag laying around."

And here are the results

Halfbob · Post by **Halfbob** » Tue May 08, 2018 11:50 am

If you need another panel I have several!

m3a1 · Post by **m3a1** » Tue May 08, 2018 8:29 pm

Does welding a bell housing back together count? I have one of those.

CapnDan · Post by **CapnDan** » Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:59 pm

You guys shouldn't be so hard on Bubba...
I was nicknamed Bubba as a kid and still called that by close family.

My worst mode was a steel plate welded over the slave cable recess.

RonD2 · Post by **RonD2** » Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:33 pm

Hey Danny,
I've heard it said that Bubba is one of the main reasons why a lot of jeeps survived the decades to get some love today. There are folks totally restoring what I used to think was junk. Not any more. I'm glad to see the miracles they do.

I try not to be too hard on Bubba --- a man's got to do what a man's got to do, but I also enjoy a good laugh and a WTF? once in a while.......

I see no reason why a skilled man who happens to be called Bubba can't have a good reputation --- so far as old jeeps are concerned anyway.

Good luck!

Galen · Post by **Galen** » Tue Nov 24, 2020 8:52 am

I have a friend that restores mostly WWII jeeps, but recently received a rare M38C to restore. Crazy thing is, the entire external side of the tub has sheet metal brazed onto the original sheet metal! He's had to take a grinder to knock down the braze joint & peel off the added sheet metal to find mostly pristine original tub with only light surface rust. We can't figure out why someone would go to all that trouble, when they could have simply painted the jeep!

Interesting thing is how rare the M38C is - windshield is original & has the cutout for the recoilless rifle barrel, & the rear has the additional cast iron spring sockets on the axles, and the bed of the tub has the drilled holes for the ammo carrier rack. Seems these landed in Canada, & most of the information he's getting is from a fellow up there.

Anyone here know much about them?

whydahdvr · Post by **whydahdvr** » Tue Nov 24, 2020 12:17 pm

Maybe that additional exterior sheet metal was intended to protect the underlying body metal from rust and Winter damage. Would it have added any structural strength or affect any radar or other early type of ECW signature?

ih8pepl · Post by **ih8pepl** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:56 pm

I guess I should consider myself lucky, the worst ive been dealing with is an entire "Restored" Jeep worth of home made patch jobs and welding done by Stevie Wonder... the only thing worse than his welds is his use of bodyfiller and a paint gun.

JeepDrivingRay · Post by **JeepDrivingRay** » Tue May 17, 2022 9:37 pm

I've seen a lot of Bubba mods.
my brother and i bought a jeep tub from a guy , we looked at it at night didn't really look all that close because it started drizzling rain...turns out what we ended up with was probably 5 lbs or fiberglass resin with one piece of fiberglass tar poured over that and slightly smoothed then they laid bed liner over that covering major rust that was just the top side of the tub, 2x4 timber frame work underneath the tub and enough sheet metal screws to start a hardware store probably forgetting some other things that were not right
Moral of the story never buy something you don't look at very good and never buy something at night .

Naugha · Post by **Naugha** » Sun May 22, 2022 5:39 pm

Here is a M38 I saw in a Central Fl. junkyard that never had a Bubba.... or maybe had a bad Bubba. Sad to look at.

My Texas M38 came with a wooden dash board.

Here is a Bubba creation that I may use.

And here is the 1/4" plate Bubba added to the jeep. No holes for a winch .... I think this was a Bubba solution for 'death wobble' because of the added stabilizer arm and the total lack of front end service. Was tempted to keep it, but nah.

maeserik · Post by **maeserik** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:35 am

I saw this jeep last week in the Netherlands, museum 'Het Loo'
I think the jeep is from the Dutch army.
chassis : cj2a ?
body : kind of M38
windscreen : cj3a ?

Or is it a pre nekaf, made in the Netherlands or a special order ?

gr Erik

JeepDrivingRay · Post by **JeepDrivingRay** » Tue Jun 28, 2022 5:38 pm

When you think you have saw it all and see half this ...

Investig8 · Post by **Investig8** » Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:43 am

After reading this entire thread of bubba's work, I must say that I am one lucky man. I purchased my M-38 from a man who disassembled it, including the engine and left the pistons, head, etc. sitting in the elements for several years. The only "real" bubba features I have found so far were a broken motor mount taped back together with electrical tape and two small "straps" screwed onto the rear fender of the tub to cover tears in the metal. All in all, easy fixes! Yes, compared to the gentlemen represented here, I am indeed a lucky man!
Dennis

willysmjeeps.com

Whats the worst "bubba mod" you have come across?

What kind of jeep is this ?