M38 Dash

swat · Post by **swat** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:21 pm

My M38 Jeep, serial number MC 56226 has a 4 inch hole in the dash between the fold down instrument panel and the glove box. It is very precisely formed, and appears to be an original feature. It is located where the dash data plate usually is. I have seen photos of other M38 dashes that have the same hole in them. What is this for?

Zane · Post by **Zane** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:29 pm

for the heater hose to connect to the defroster box

swat · Post by **swat** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:23 pm

Thanks Zane, Do all M38 Jeeps have the provision for the heater hose?

DJ · Post by DJ » Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:10 pm

No, the early ones don't .

DJ

Zane · Post by **Zane** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:35 am

DJ's right, the early m38's didnt have the pre punched hole as they had all the data plates mounted seperately on the dash and didnt use the mounting plate.

Post by **wesk** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:53 pm

But! The Army added heater kits to most of the M38's at some point in their career so most of the early ones have had the 4" hole carved into them in the field. The heater kits say in their instructions that if you have the early then remove the plates and mount them on the defroster duct and cut the hole. When the kits came off the early jeeps the common practice would be to mount the early data plates to the late data plate mounting sheet and cover the cut hole with them.

The serial cutoff for early no hole late hole was MC34151 about Sept. 1951.

Zane · Post by **Zane** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:04 pm

Im not sure if id say most, this probably depends on deployment area, ive got 6 m38's and only 2 had the heaters installed as north carolina usually has pretty mild winters, except this year, i just got done shoveling 12 inches of global warming off my steps.

Zane · Post by **Zane** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:06 pm

Ive seen more air force m38's with hardtops and heaters than other branches also not that means anything.

Post by **wesk** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:14 pm

I have seen evidence of heater kits (both gas fired and hot water) in just about every army M38/M38A1 jeep I have have ever seen since I started looking at them back in 1970. The USAF maybe accounted for 20 percent of the M series Willys sold to the military. The US Army and USMC were by a mile the largest users of these jeeps and the USMC units were the least likely to have any evidence of a heater installation.

DJ · Post by DJ » Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:36 pm

I've got one without the hole,one with and a tub with the hole.

DJ

Zane · Post by **Zane** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:35 pm

Wisconsin is colder than north carolina, most of the jeeps around here were surplused thru fort bragg, fort jackson or camp lejuene, thats what i meant by deployment area. The majority around here both m38 and a1's never had the heater kits installed.

Post by **wesk** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:44 pm

You would be surprised just which ones did and didn't. Unlike WWII the post WWII period found the military units retaining their equipment during unit assignment changes. The jeep surplussed in NC could well have been to Korea, Europe, Ft Ord, Ft Riley and a few other places. Take note of how many M38's and A1's we find here in the US surplussed out from US bases with Japan and European Military Depot facility rebuild plates on their engines and bodies. These vehicles were assigned to units, not bases.

Bill_F · Post by **Bill_F** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:21 am

What is the things you should be looking for to see if a heater was installed? I have only had one m38 that had evidence of a gas heater on it, 4 holes drilled in the cowl. Even my current USAF m38 that had a hard top has not sign of a heater being installed.

whydahdvr · Post by **whydahdvr** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:39 am

Wes, et al,
On your last comment here regarding vehicles shipped back to the US after service overseas: We are going through the same process today here in Iraq. Some vehicles will be sold for pennies on the dollar to the Iraqi Security Forces. Some will be shipped to Kuwait for storage at the US bases there - likely to come here to Iraq, Afghanistan, or Iran if need be. Other's are being identified for reconditioning back in the States for possible re-shipment to Afghanistan. However, I doubt we'll have the big MRAPs used here in Iraq in very many training posts in the US. They're too big, too expensive, too under-powered, and too specialized to be used many other places. I expect that more of the smaller ones being developed for Afghanistan today will be returned to the US as more practical elsewhere.
Just some current event comments for reference 50 years down the road from now like those who rolled in our jeeps 50 years ago.
-Josh

Post by **wesk** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:36 am

Bill,
Just download the heater TB's and look at what went where. It's easy to figure out. The dash and cowl holes are quite often welded shut for cosmetic reasons after the heater is removed. I would place a lot of emphasis on them. The hot water kit leaves some tell tale signs at the passenger tool box that are not easy to hide.