NASA M38a1

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RichJohnson
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NASA M38a1

Post by RichJohnson »

I got some requests for photos of the NASA Jeep I rescued. It has a little rust on it but not too bad. It saw up in the mountains locally for several years. It was on Edwards AFB and used to haul pilots to their jets on the ramp.
It had a rotary beacon on the roof which is gone, and a step on the rear that is also missing, likely taken off by the volunteer fire department that had it for a short time.

It must have been on Edwards for a long time past the parts availability for M38a1s and they kept it going because its had a lot of body work done to it, a civilian engine, but still 24v starter and generator, a hybrid 12v inverted system, some real bubba things, and aircraft switches and things. Also, they removed nearly all the military M38a1 stuff from the jeep like lift rings, bumperettes, top bow parts, light switch, lights, battery trays, dash panel etc etc. And really unique, its filled with aircraft bolts and nuts all over. Why use a 10C piece of hardware when a $7 bolt will do just fine.



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Last edited by RichJohnson on Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Those who enjoy freedom must endeavor to preserve it"

KI6EZA
1954 M38A1 (first civilain owner)
1965 M37B1 Commo shelter truck
MBT
GRC-122 TTY rig
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4x4M38
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Post by 4x4M38 »

Too frigging cool Man!

Fix that thing up and take it to the shows.
People won’t stop talking about it!

Looks like Strata Blue under the rear step mounts.

Are all those zoomy bolts safety wired?
🤣
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RichJohnson
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Post by RichJohnson »

No the bolts arent wired. Slightly pointless on a airbase jeep but would be a little useful on a dirt jeep i guess lol.
"Those who enjoy freedom must endeavor to preserve it"

KI6EZA
1954 M38A1 (first civilain owner)
1965 M37B1 Commo shelter truck
MBT
GRC-122 TTY rig
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4x4M38
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Post by 4x4M38 »

Oh, I agree!

But one does wonder how far well trained techies would go..

Lol!


You know, if you are bored and have time on your hands, you’d blow somebody’s mind if they found a few wired ones....
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Post by RonD2 »

A vintage photo or two of it (or one like it) on the flight-line would be awesome too!

The decal with "Foale" and "Expedition 8" seems to refer to an astronaut on a late 1990's International Space Station mission.

Google "NASA Archive Photos".
Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51

“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
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RichJohnson
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Post by RichJohnson »

Image number 1 on google actuall shows a M170:

Image

It even has the exact same diamond plate steel on the front in front of the grill on top of the frame which I removed and left behind to tow it. Maybe I should get it back....

I just cannot get the imbedded photo thing to work. It took me forever to get mine in and posted.

I got it posted. Any photos you try to link to a post here must be public photo files. If a membership is needed to view them then they cannot be posted here. Simple check you can do is try to download a photo to your PC. If you can download it then it can usually be added to a post here. I was only able to access the photo in question by using the inspection function of my Chrome Browser to breakdown the composition of the page and then going to the "Source" drop down box I was able to find a public copy of that photo.
"Those who enjoy freedom must endeavor to preserve it"

KI6EZA
1954 M38A1 (first civilain owner)
1965 M37B1 Commo shelter truck
MBT
GRC-122 TTY rig
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4x4M38
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Post by 4x4M38 »

Great photo!

Love the blue stripe!

What’s in the aux power hole?
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Post by RonD2 »

Is that a M170?
Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51

“The only good sports car that America ever made was the Jeep."
--- Enzo Ferrari

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cobra5
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Post by cobra5 »

4x4M38 wrote: What’s in the aux power hole?
That can be used for jumping ground service equipment. I don't think it can be used for applying power to an aircraft because of the voltage requirements and the load that it would put on the jeeps electrical system. I have an USAF aircraft tug that I got from the forest service and it had those type adapters on it. They used it for jumping their vehicles.
1951 M37 WOW, 1953 M37 WOW, 1954 M37 WOW, 1953 M38-A1, 1954 M38-A1, 1964 M151-A1, 1967 M151-A1, 1968 M151-A1, 1978 M151-A2, 1989 M35A2C, 1965 M416, 1966 M416, 1967 M416
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keats
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Post by keats »

it is a modified M170
Gary Keating
1949 C3A, 1952 M38,
1954 M170, 1957 Cj3B
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keats
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Post by keats »

there two different jeeps? a M38A1 and a M170 in the thread
Gary Keating
1949 C3A, 1952 M38,
1954 M170, 1957 Cj3B
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wesk
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Post by wesk »

That plug is a 3 pin Aircraft 12/28 volt DC plug. About 75% of general aviation aircraft use that type plug. The 2 large pins are + & - while the smaller pin is a trigger pin for external power relays on some aircraft. Even the USAF aircraft had some with that receptacle for the 28 VDC systems. The Old MD-3's (flightline DC/AC power carts ahd both this pin type cord and the 6 pin AC cord.The next most popular type is the single center pin Piper and Beechcraft.
Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100

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4x4M38
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Post by 4x4M38 »

Thanks Wes.

Yep, I was just looking at the extended side and wondering the same thing!
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