willysmjeeps.com

Got the engine running on my 1955 M38A1, and ran a quart of Marvel Mystery oil through it without the neighbors calling the fire dept. Now I need info on attaching the arctic top. It's aluminum with plywood doors. It is just sitting on the Jeep and I need to find out what type of hardware attached it. Does anyone have any info from the arctic top manual? Has anyone restored one of these and remade the doors? I will soon post pics if I can get off work while its still light.

Thanks,

Dave

hey Dave,
I just picked up an m38a1 arctic top from Mr. Bishop (an honorable G-man!!!!) here in NY. it is the all Aluminum construction with panels and channel construction. No doors

I know a gentlemen in Seattle who had a website(No longer) up with detail pics of the top while in restoration and completion. He furnished his own brackets that mounted on the inside return along the body. kind of like a latch "bolt" . 2 points on either side and 2 points on the rear, of which secured the top square to the body. He then mfg a 2"X4" plate that bolted on the outside of the body, about 5 inches from either door opening rearward. This apparently secured any lateral play and bounce.

I'll try to get more info from him on that and other ? you might have towards resto, should you brave this route. Though, if your top solid, I'd just use it until it warms up next spring.

I am looking for info on the actual doors and possibly attain a salvage in order to make a template towards a refined aluminum door that would marry to the top. I'm entertaining the idea of making a door set out of some scrap aluminum honeycomb panels$$$$

I admit, I thought I got a really good deal for mine, until I started pulling it apart. Man, them some odd stuff growing in those channels.
Their is a design flaw with the channels not being sealed and non existent drainage throughout.

might I ask, should you have the time, I require some details of the doors to start fab-ing. May I obtain some detail pics and measurements from you? Please pm me .....thanks and good luck

BTW, I've never encountered a specific manual for this top. I've searched for months now. I'm convinced one does not exist for this Aluminum (Multi-paneled) constructed arctic top for the M38A1
I've only seen manuals related to the solid paneled- aluminum " M-38" top that Mr. Wes K has available on his site.

I be the guy and I live in South Dakota now (for the past 6 years). I reposted the information at http://www.engineering.sdstate.edu/~jonesal/jeep.html, the link for the arctic top is at the bottom. Each and every piece of the top was disassembled, repaired, painted and reassembled. The pics are an example of stock plywood doors. I have also researched the history of the top/vehicle and will be posting that at a later date (see below).

The door mounts in the pics are stock, the roof mount to windscreen is stock. The stock mounts for the top to tub were all j hooks the went through a loop on the top and hooked under the tub rail. There were two on each side of the top, but I can't recall if there were two on the rear of the top (I would have to look at my top). My top mounts to tub sides are hybridized. I used the stock j hook mounts at the rear of the sides and manufactured an offset loop where the top mounts interferred with my ROPS (nonstock) as shown in the pics. I did indeed manufacture small plates for the outside to prevent lateral movement of the top as it is horrible with the stock mounts. These plates used the stock holes for the canvas top and did not require drilling. I used rubber seals between the top and tub close to the stock section and used small rubbers under the plates to prevent chaffing. The top is now incredibly water and wind tight and I consider it functional.

The stock wood doors are very intricate, but durable, see the pics. If one had a complete stock door as a template, a reproduction could be manufactured to fool most, but the windows would be the most difficult to duplicate. That being said, I have seen windows on the other 40s and 50s "things" that were very close to these stock ones and could be used as a substitute not having a stock one to use. All the hardware on my doors have been painted OD since the pics were taken in 2000.

Note I had to manufacture duplicate brackets for the roof to side mounts as mine were missing. A nice fellow emailed me pics of his top and I am convinced they were reproduced faithfully to stock. I have since seen two other tops with the same brackets. I also reproduced the rain gutters over the doors as mine had been mutilated through the years. Again, reproduced using a stock templete.

The only original military documentation I have seen for the A1 top is for the transplant kit to move a M38 top to an A1. The main piece of the kit that is interesting is the replacement brace for the top to windscreen mount (from a vertical windscreen [M38] to a angled windscreen[M38A1]). I believe the kit contained replacement door hinges and top to tub mounts as well but cannot recall.

On another note, I am building a web site for arctic top owners and hope to post that in the first half of 2009. I am still doing research for it and need to travel to WI and DC to visit a couple of libraries that may have military documentation that I am looking for. If anyone has documentation or pictures they are willing to share, email me at jonesal@myuw.net and I will eventually post it. Information on the web site will be free, of course. As you know, there is little information out there right now, so gathering it at one place is intended to help both the beginner and advanced restorer. I will be posting many more pics of my arctic top restoration when I finish the web site.

I know my top is not 100% stock, but could easily be put pack that way in an afternoon; I made the changes to suit my needs. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks,
Allen