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I am relatively new to this forum, so this is my first post. Last year I acquired a 1951 M38 out of Northern Montana.
I just purchased a 1951 M38 that I drove 14hrs round trip to pick up. She runs and drives but needs some TLC.
Aside from the custom bumpers, seats and the fuel tank being moved to the passenger side she looked pretty good. After getting to know my M38 a little better and noting that she was running a little on the lean side, I decide to address the issue. Whomever worked on it last used RTV for the intake/exhaust manifold gaskets. Needless to say there was a bit of a vacuum leak.
I purchased new manifold gaskets and brass nuts and when I was torquing the last manifold nut, the manifold stud snapped off. Upon further inspection I noticed that one of the transfer case mounting bolts was AWOL which subsequently compelled to tear the old girl down to the frame. I intended to do it eventually, just not so soon. I decided to pull the oil pan to clean out any sediment etc. and found metal shavings, which lead me to pull one of the main bearing caps. After inspection of the main bearing, which had some gouges in it, I decided to rebuild the engine. Right now the block is in getting new valve seats installed.

More pics...

More pics, sorry they not in order.

Good Afternoon Too Many Irons:

Congratulations on your acquisitions. Where about's in Northern Idaho are you from? I am a U of I alum.

I have an M-38 and really like the vehicle. You are certainly smart to take it down to the frame and bring it back that way. It may be a pain now but it always worked out better to do the total tear down. When I didn't it always seemed to nickle and dime me with a never ending stream of problems.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regards,

Walter

Not a bad beginning for an M38 project at all. Just how far do you plan on going with original M38 parts?

WillysWally wrote: Tue Feb 03, 2026 3:24 pm Good Afternoon Too Many Irons:

Congratulations on your acquisitions. Where about's in Northern Idaho are you from? I am a U of I alum.

I have an M-38 and really like the vehicle. You are certainly smart to take it down to the frame and bring it back that way. It may be a pain now but it always worked out better to do the total tear down. When I didn't it always seemed to nickle and dime me with a never ending stream of problems.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Regards,

Walter

Thank you! I am in Priest River.
I will make a point to provide updates.

wesk wrote: Tue Feb 03, 2026 3:25 pm Not a bad beginning for an M38 project at all. Just how far do you plan on going with original M38 parts?

Thank you. I want to keep it as close to stock as possible, aside from a 12V electrical system and more modern tires of similar size to the 700-16s. It will be my daily driver during the warmer months of the year.
I used to own a 44 MB that I bought in 89 and drove it all over the Sierras with my kids, then sold it in 94 and bought back in 2004. Ended up getting into the G742 series trucks, so I sold the MB (still miss it to this day).
Now I have grandkids that I would like to take on mountain adventures; like prospecting, gold panning etc and my Polaris ATV can only carry (2) people, so I thought it would be better to get a Willys flat-fender, preferably an M series and fix it up than to buy a side by side. I have always loved the Willys L134 engine and you cannot beat the package it comes in.
Here is a pic of my M35A2C I bought from the Government and owned for 10 years.