willysmjeeps.com

short story a few years ago i made the worst trade in my life

i ended up with 1952 m38a1 that previous owners hacked

and were clueless in mechanics ( none of the 5 brakes worked but i digress

what i would like to know is what i have 100% sure its a military vehicle

the odd things is red it has a rear seat and a 24v electric cooling fan

getting ready complete and sell or trade have zero use for it except a hobby

some knowledgeable help???

Hello Jack,

Welcome to our web site. Had you read the first post on the Projects page Called an Announcement:

This forum is for those working on their jeep projects to post updates and photos of their progress and obtain suggestions/advice. Try to post the bulk of your technical questions on the main Technical board. It is there that the most people can benefit from the knowledge gained.

The purpose of this forum is to help others in their project progress. Either by encouragement or advice on how to proceed.

Try to post chronologically from beginning to end and if using the website photo gallery try to keep photo file size down to 250 kb.

Keep in mind that this forum is for you to post your progress on your project. Try to keep requests for answers to technical issues, requests for parts and other announcements on the appropriate boards.

It helps us a lot when you provided photos of what you are asking about. I have owned these military jeeps since the 1970's. I cannot determine an answer to your question based on what you have written.

just looking for someone familiar with this year jeep

why red could be fire? maybe

were these jeep normally equipped with electric fan

and rear seat

not sure how a pic would help but can do

and thanks

If anyone knows these jeeps best and your looking for correct expert answers you've found the right guy and that would be "Wes" if he states something I wouldn't question it, he is like an encyclopedia when it comes to these things if he says post a picture then post a picture haha and many others on this forum know these jeeps very very well.

These jeeps did not come with electric fans and Im not quite old enough to be 100% but I don't think that came about till probably the 60s or 70s so no its is not correct for your jeep.

Some of these jeeps I believe got sold off to the fire or forestry departments so yes that is why yours is probably red but do some sanding or looking under parts and you'll find some green. Mine was also purchased red and was converted over for the local fire department.

Yes they came with a rear seat except for the Recoilless Rifle model.

as Wes stated to best answer your questions as to what you may have and how much it has been modified pictures are going to get you the best answer as over the years these jeeps got parts swapped out a lot and modified.

Spending a little time doing some Google searches of M38A1 images and looking through the photo gallery on this forum under members albums then under Wes Knettle will give you a wealth of some really good info on these jeeps and should give you some idea of what your jeep has going on with it and what shouldn't be going on with it. I was a newbe and still feel like it sometimes. I was in the same boat as you when I bought mine and didn't know or realize how much was missing that should have been factory until I started combing through pictures and reading up everything I could and doing Google searches on questions I had.
The toughest question for everyone at the beginning is what you plan on doing with the jeep and how much time and money your willing to spend and then go from there and yes at times you'll feel like your drowning

thanks that was a world of info.