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Every since I bought my 1953 M38A1 about a year ago it has had the hood number 55343, but today when I was working on it I noticed something on the data plates on the passenger side.

It shows my M38A1 as Stock Number: 2758-8358319 MFR Model Number: 55343 MFR Part Number: 657323

Now which one of these would be my Hood Number, does anyone know or have an idea where to look to find out?

Hi Chris. I'm sorry to say that the actual hood number is not found on the data plates. By using the two stamped numbers: your serial number (which apparently is 55343) and the date-of-delivery, you can use one of the databases available online to try to pin down a possible range of numbers. Wes will probably be along here with the info from his great database, so I'll give you what I found on the one at m38a1.com.

serial number 54776 = hood number 20989423
serial number 56084 = hood number 20990417

There isn't a perfect direct relationship between serial number and hood number, so you have to estimate a number using known ones that bracket your serial number.

A previous owner has taken the liberty to use the jeep's serial number as the hood number. They are not related. The Army registration number is the hood number and will not match any numbers on your dash plates. The Army registration number was used to ID the jeep throughout it's military career. The only time the serial number would come into play is when researching part numbers for replacement and when it was used on the paperwork to surplus it out.

Old dog has given you the only currently known method of interpolating approximately what your hood number may have been. Please use a little judgement here when selecting a hood number. The data bases we depend on to help get answers like these depend on accurate data being fed to them. If we get a lot of hood numbers that are made up or interpolated and then used by an owner who doesn't make it clear they are not the jeeps original hood numbers which were unknown it skewers up the data base. My suggestion is to determine the first 3 or 4 digits your hood should have been but finish it with your serial number. This way future researchers will recognize it as a made up hood number and not an original.