willysmjeeps.com

Is this a bubba or a military mod?

Looks like rust through. May have run a tool in the hole to open it. Believe that is old Mother Nature.

It's not rust. I will post a better picture in a little while.

Originally I only seen the 4 holes but there are actually 5. My first thought was license plate. But I'm not sure. Here is another picture just to let you guys see better. Is there any reason not to weld these holes up before paint?

Weld them up. Use a flapper type sanding disk to blend it all back down smooth.

Jeff,

There are no known military service bulletins, letters, TB's or MWO's for those holes. Willys Kaiser wheels from the factory did not have those holes. The best assumption is that a post military owner needed to fasten something to that wheel for some reason. I would not loose any sleep over it. As already mentioned just weld them closed.

Thanks guys

Just thought it was interesting that the tire that came off of this wheel was dated 1953 and appeared to have been on there since it was new of course there isnt any way of knowing

If it’s only one wheel then likely the spare and yes a license plate!

Even if the dated tires was on that wheel at the Willys factory the wheel inside that tire did not leave Willys with those holes drilled in it. Someone in the near past needed to mount something on that wheel and drilled those hole!

How often do we see 1953 dated tires on M38 or M38A1 wheels? Quite often to be honest. Many spares never saw the ground in the military. We see dozens of original military tires on military wheels for sale each year.

I just thought it was neat that it had a 1953 dated tire on the wheel. I knew it didnt have anything to do with the holes in the wheel. Just thought it was neat. I haven't see a lot of tires that old that would still hold air. Like you said I'm sure there are plenty around.

(I have one hanging on my spare in the M37 and 5 of them on my M38 that all still hold air and have very little cracking of the surface skin.