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Have a Willys M38A1. Factory ID is MD22082. How do I determine the serial number and date of manufacture?

The factory ID and serial number are one and the same. You can download a copy of the M38A1 serial number database here:
http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules. ... oad&cid=35

It's the one at the top of the list. Based on that info, MD-22082 should be either September or October 1952. Maybe another member has a jeep between those number ranges can narrow yours down to the exact month. Note that the M38 & M38A1 delivery dates were month & year, and didn't identify the exact day.

My main data base makes it Sep 52.

Thank you for your responses. So MD22082 is the number I should paint on the hood?(twice)

Hood numbers are registration numbers and during the period these jeeps were in service that number was not related to the jeep's serial number.

Your MD22082 if it was originally procured by the US Army and used by the US Army or the USAF would have had a hood registration number in the range: 2096XXXX. The hobby standard is to not dream a hood number up but to fabricate or contrive a hood number combining the range it should be in with the jeep's serial so as not to skewer the future data bases that are developed by researchers.

So in your case a Hobby acceptable fabricated hood number would be:
20922082 or 20962082.

The Navy and Marines used a different hood numbering system.
Marines would have been in the range 19XXXX
Navy along the lines 94-XXXXX

Excellent. Thank you very much.