Windshield Frame Repair

Eades · Post by **Eades** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:07 pm

My windshield frame has seem better days but I believe it is salvageable. I took off the horrendously rusted rope channels which I will weld in new ones. But the question I have is whether someone make a replacement sheetmetal corner brace (second pic). Mine are beyond repair. I am sure they are easy enough to fab but my shop is limited. I also need the small soft top rod brackets from the upper corners. They were cut off. Thanks for all the great information.

Post by **wesk** » Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:07 pm

I would look real hard for a better one. That one will eat up 8 to 10 hours labor plus parts and paint. The cheapest I see on ebay are $235 "Buy it now" + 145 shipping from Indiana. They have two on that auction.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-1952-M38- ... SwIixalu0D

Eades · Post by **Eades** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 6:35 am

That certainly is an option to buy a reproduction. Although what I've read MD Juan may not be the way I want to go. My goal is to keep as much of the original Jeep as possible. And in that case finding the repair parts or a used windshield is a focus.

Jeff_Lee · Post by **Jeff_Lee** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 8:33 am

You're right, that one is pretty rough. - especially if your shop is limited,

My M38 jeep had an MB windshield on it when I bought mine. I traded that for a new tailgate and some other parts I needed. Then I just persistently looked for an original M38 windshield that was usable.
I trolled the online sites and found one for a couple of hundred bucks that was very usable after sandblast.
If you're not in a huge hurry, I'm confident you could find one in a month or two. Be sure to look at Craigslist and OfferUp to try to find something locally to save the freight cost. And put a WTB ad on this forum.
Happy Hunting,
Jeff

RICKG · Post by **RICKG** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:25 am

Yep it's rough but honestly I've seen worse. If you decide to cruise the F/S adds don't limit your search, a clean 3A frame is an easy mod.

mdainsd · Post by **mdainsd** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 10:24 am

Stay away from the junk reproductions. Been there done that. The opening for the glass isn't close to an original, had to have new glass cut. I ditched that crap as soon as I could, which is when I found a decent one online. You will find one too.

RonD2 · Post by **RonD2** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:46 am

Came across this one on another forum...$100 in New Jersey.......thought I'd pass it along. Good luck!

https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=289775

rgmutchler · Post by **rgmutchler** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 12:10 pm

I don't know what your budget is but you might check with Bret Mullins. He bought a bunch of stuff from Calvin Ismael's estate and I think at one time Calvin had some NOS windshield frames. If you do decide to check with Mullins and he doesn't have them Calvin's brother, Mark, still has some stuff.

dayboy42 · Post by **dayboy42** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 3:35 pm

I see a ton of M38 & CJ3A windshields on craigslist constantly. Typically not too expensive and some have intact glass. I would hold off on yours and perhaps work on something else while you wait.

Best Regards ~ Matt

Eades · Post by **Eades** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:27 am

Thanks for the info. I do want to stay away from reproduction stuff as much as possible. I have no definite timeframe to finish this restoration. I will keep my eye out for Craigslist and the like too.

Jeff_Lee · Post by **Jeff_Lee** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:10 am

I just came in from the shop... I've spent 2 hours "fitting" a NOS fuel tank pickup flange to the reproduction tank (MD Juan, I think).

The 12 attachment screw pattern is not to spec, so I have had to enlarge 4 of the screw holes in the pickup to compensate for the bad pattern. I've put and took it 7 or 8 times to find the pattern that minimizes the butchering of my nice (expensive) fuel pickup.

The screw pattern on the tank is clocked about 7 degrees out, so the fuel line out tube needed to be bent to compensate. And it's an instant tip off that the tank is not original.

Oh, and did I mention the threads tapped in the opening are METRIC!!?? One more trip to the hardware store for metric machine screws....

Rick, all this said to emphasize that OEM is always better than imported reproductions. Find a usable original windshield frame and save some grief.
Jeff

PS: They have "fixed" a couple of the problems outlined in WESK's photo gallery analysis of the MD Juan M38 tank (if this is actually an MDJ tank - who can tell?). But they left behind a couple of whoppers that shows such a lack of attention to detail. Usable M38 tanks are hard to find and repair - but if I had to do again, I would probably try harder to find one than go the route I did with this repop.

Eades · Post by **Eades** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:55 pm

Thanks Jeff Lee, I appreciate the feedback.