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I'm looking for a spec in the parts book for the "bolt to nowhere" that runs through the bottom of the cowl support/floor/hat channel near the side step.
Questions:
* Do those of you with original floors have that bolt installed? It was in the '46CJ and I assume carried over into the M38. An NOS floor has provision for it.
* Anyone have a spec on the nut/bolt/washer combination? I have not yet been able to clearly ID from the parts book what should be installed.

Tom, a picture is worth a thousand words here!!!



Are you talking about the two bolt holes just outboard of the circled indents?

Wes,
Yes correct. The two holes in the hat channel adjacent to the step above/outboard of the circled indents.

Did the M38 leave the factory with bolts installed in those holes similar to the CJ?
Was there a corresponding hole drilled in the cowl support?

Or had the earlier CJ2A practice of installing a bolt in that spot been abandoned/changed to a plug (or?) during the M38 manufacture?

Looking at prototype #7 photos from an Army Motors article there appears to be something visible in the passenger compartment photo of the drivers side cowl support/floor. But the photo is grainy.

Page 300 of the M38 ORD 9 lists the following:

7697518 PLUG, cowl pillar to front floor pan (ru), 2 ea

That suggests to me that there was a rubber plug fitted on the floor side of the hole. Can't see anything listed for the hat channel side though.

thanks
I'll look into the rubber plugs.

I would guess they were a factory handling or positioning hole and had no purpose in the final assembly of the tub to frame.

There was a gent from another forum that was certain you had to have a bolt there. I gave up on the discussion. There is no gain in having a bolt there. I can think of no other reason other than it was used in the jig to line stuff up as already stated.

Brett,

We can let the parts book do the talking and back it up with observed survivor data.
Owen has identified the part in Ord9.
A few comments or pictures from those that have unrestored examples will be full confirmation. Possibly that was done on this forum already but I missed it.

The CJ2A and CJ3A parts book is set up differntly but identifies a "step to floor pan" bolt, nut washer, lockwasher. My '46 CJ2A still has those intact and the bolt shows at least 1/4" of excess thread so the handling theory is plausible.
Regardless of the functional use those holes came filled differently from CJ to M38.

Tom

Good info.
In the CJ, the bolt probably just serves the same purpose as the rubber plug in the M38. I forgot to mention the holes at the front end of the hat channels when I posted, but I assume they were for jig purposes also. No bolts thru them either, they just stare at a rubber isolator sandwiched between it and the frame.

My orig tub has the plug installed both sides.
(Never mind the dirt, she's a driver )


The plug is illustrated in Ryan's M-38 reference guide pg 161.
Plug, cowl pillar to floor pan.
G740-7697518 WO-674268
With a reference to ORD-9 pg 300 as Owen posted above.

CJ-2As and early CJ-3As had bolts in those holes with a hex nut and a stamped jam nut on the bottom side. Later CJ-3As used the rubber plug like M-38s.

My 1951 M38's unrestored tub has the original rubber plugs under many, many layers of paint.