willysmjeeps.com

Hi, I am new to this site and Jeeps. I am going to pickup up my "new to me" M38A1 this week/weekend. Once I get it home, I will have to work on it to be offroad ready. From the seller, he states it runs, shifts good, u-joints good, axles good, motor starts and runs with no smoke/knock, clutch doesn't slip, etc. It does need brake work. I am mechanically inclined, restored and maintain plenty of 1940s/1950 tractors. So here are my questions.....
1, Brakes: what kind of fluid, and do you bleed those like normal vehicle brakes, certain things to look for
2, Motor oil: type and weight
3, Assuming air cleaner is a oil bath, do you use same oil that is put into the motor
4, Motor oil filter: what kind and sources,
5, Axles, Transfer case, transmission: what type of oil
6, Can someone offer recomendations for a top, (wife requirement), I just need a top that will offer some shade and sun protection.
7, Leafsprings: the seller said it has cracks front leaf springs. I have been told the military springs are to heavy and make it like riding a covered wagon. If this is true what other options can I explore to make it ride a little easire
I appreciate the responses.....oh yeah....it's a 1953. My purpose of this machine is for light farming,gardening, four wheeling, hunting. I don't plan on abusing this machine, nor do I plan on heavy modifications besides it has been converted to 12 VDC. I bought this Jeep for use as a four wheeler or a "Ranger" thingy. It is a lot cheaper and will have more fun. Sorry for the long post and thanks for the help

Congrats on your new M38A1! Others may offer more opinions but I'll start things off.
Get some manuals - they have all the stats, facts, part numbers, lube specifications, repair and maintenance procedures, tools, etc., etc. Try Military Media @ www.military-media.com They have a selection of manuals on CD.
1. Regular Dot 3 brake fluid, they bleed the same way. Remember, you have just one brake circuit.
2. Any good grade of oil will work OK, the manual specs a single grade viscosity but I use a multi-grade.
3. Yes
4. Depends on what you have on your engine, my M38A1 has a canister style that has a replaceable element. I believe it is also used on a Mercedes. Check your engine - you may be able to get a part number off the filter that is installed.
5. Regular gear oil, I use 80-90 wt. Use a good grade of bearing grease for the bearings and knuckles.
6. Do you want military? If the Jeep has military hardware it might be easier to install a military canvas top. There are a number of makers - Webee Webbing, Beachwood Canvas - they are on the web. Aftermarket tops are also available from a number of sources but they won't look original.
7. My A1 rides like a dream, the springs are heavy but I take it easy. If you have some cracks a spring shop may be able to repair or you may need to find some OEM replacements. Others may know the answer to this question, I don't know if CJ5 springs will work.
You can also search through posts on this and other websites and pick up more information. Good luck.

Canvas/Vinyl Tops

The only cheap top is a Bikini top and that does little for rain or snow. Figure $30 to $50 + a roll bar to support it.

The replacement military style canvas tops are available from three sources and when shopping keep in mind that you also need the 3 brackets on each side, the top bows and the front door opening rod work and door frames. If you don';t have these you must add their cost to your total for the military top. Figure $700 to $1000 depending on what you need in parts.
http://www.odcloth.com/products.html
http://www.beachwoodcanvas.com/newindex.asp
http://www.newlifecanvas.com/
.
The top bows and rods are the same for both the M38 and the M38A1.


Here's the A1 with the top only (no side curtains or doors)

The civilian tops are available virtually everywhere but the style offerings are slim for the M38A1 and early CJ5's which use the same top and it comes with bows and front retainer strip. Figure $700 to $800
http://www.bestop.com/index.php?s=6


Here's my A1 back in 1988 with a civvy Bestop on it.



Springs

The very early (i believe 1955 thru 56) CJ5's had the reversed spring shackles just like the A1 and their springs will work. If I were you I would opt for an aftermarket set with a 1" or 1.5" lift and aftermarket shocks for the tasks you plan for the jeep.

Oil Filter and Oil

The A1 came with one of two different oil filters.

The early Cuno which is a very odd unit that uses permanent metal plates and sweeper arms and you rotate the sweeper arms each day you use the jeep and clean the unit out every 6,000 or 6 Mos.

Then later A1's used the standard military junior partial flow filter with a replacement canister element in it. Fram C21 or C21P.

I prefer to stay with the straight weights at least during the warm months. Multi's are ok but I am convinced they sacrifice good lubriction to some degree so they can keep the oil thin when cool. These older engine were built with looser clearances then the modern engines and like the heavier oil to fill the gap. Mosern engines are built to much tighter clearances and have much better temperature control then the older engines. You use the same oil in the air cleaner.

Brakes

Every used pre 1971 jeep comes with worn out brakes. Notice I did not say poor brakes. The stock brakes are more than adequate for this vehicle under normal designed use when they are installed correctly and maintained properly. I prefer to stay with DOT 3/4 and flush every 2 years. These brakes differ a bit from more modern units. They are not the free floated servo type and have the fixed anchor rotating cams for adjustment. As mentioned above they are a single cylinder system. Herm the Overdrive Guy sells a kit for the dual reservoir master cylinder that retains the master cylinder in it's original location under the floor.

As mentioned above Buy the Manuals and read them.