'52 M38

[Moose]

Feb 15, 2015 14:18:25 GMT -5 binthere said:

Yeah, looks good. I see you have the pintle hook, but do you have the elusive "LUNETTE"??

Ohhhhhhh.....you really had to go there, eh?

The jeep looks sweet Ryan!  I Bet you are kind of giddy about the oil line snafu.  Perfect excuse to get rid of the Orange dial!

i think you are missing a lug nut.  The inspector General told me to tell you.

[zooke581]

Man does that jeep look good in the snow. Nice work. Glad you got it out and working.

[Ryan_M]

Feb 15, 2015 16:56:06 GMT -5 Moose said:

i think you are missing a lug nut.  The inspector General told me to tell you.

The missing lug nut is intentional. It is my reminder that the other lug nuts are NOT torqued to spec. During these rebuilds the wheels often need to come off several times for various reasons - usually with no driving in between. No sense torquing them perfectly every time but if I don't leave an obvious reminder for myself I'll forget to do it before really driving it. I'll either leave one backed WAY out or remove it altogether.

And...sigh....no lunette. I want one BAD for my MB-T trailer.

As for the winter scene Haines - you can have it! I've had my share. Last night's forecast predicted another 15-25" but the storm blew out to sea at the last minute leaving us with only a couple inches.

[Deleted]

M38's always look cool! If I didn't have two already, I'd get one. Oil

[Ryan_M]

A little more progress.

Jerry can holder and spare tire bracket installed. Bubba tail lights carried over from "old" M38 and installed here. I am keeping my modified brake light switch too.





Horn is now functional, hood blocks, windshield strap, and both headlight brackets are in place. I am awaiting the windshield seal but I couldn't resist setting the frame in place just to see what it looks like.



And I realized today the real reason I bought a welder was not to fix the tub and similar mundane tasks. It was so I could buy this:



And turn this:



Into this:


So I can have this:

[Deleted]

So, you get pissed at your Jeep, pull the pin, and walk away. Jeep repair kit! Oil

[Ryan_M]

Feb 20, 2015 8:46:55 GMT -5 @oilleaker1 said:

So, you get pissed at your Jeep, pull the pin, and walk away. Jeep repair kit! Oil

It does tie in nicely with my absolute favorite chapter of the gov't issued M38 Maintenance Manual: "SHIPMENT OF MATERIEL AND DESTRUCTION TO PREVENT ENEMY USE". The manual goes through roughly 330 pages to maintain the vehicle and then a page and a half to destroy it, including various alternative methods and estimated elapsed times for doing so. If any of those pesky Land Rover enthusiasts get too close at a car show I am pulling the pin and running.

[surveypunk]

Reminds me of a 1964 dated flak jacket I've got. In the pocket is a manual for its use. On the last page it says, in essence, "If your shit gets scattered, fill out the form below and send up the chain of command. A compilation of this data will provide the manufacturer of this equipment with input on how to improve this product".

Gotta love gubermint!

JB

[Deleted]

Extreme care must be used upon engaugement of overdrive on this Jeep. If you happen to pull the pin and drop it, or let go of the spoon, stop the vehicle immediately, and run like Hell! Or-----------you'll get a bang out of using this overdrive. Used only once! Oil

[Ryan_M]

A little more progress this week:

Windshield installed. Grill welting installed and hood squared up. 4 reflectors added. Spare tire mounted and installed. Jerry can strapped down, albeit incorrectly (How is it supposed to go anyways??). Crudely upholstered (by PO) back seat loosely set in place (really cool how it folds up....).

It's 5°F. Might as well go for a ride before work.

[Deleted]

There was two types of straps for the gas can. Two piece with rivits attaching the strap to the holder. or one long strap with no rivits. The long one actually goes under the carrier through the loop slots , up through the tailgate slot, and back. Oil

[Ryan_M]

Feb 26, 2015 7:54:13 GMT -5 @oilleaker1 said:

There was two types of straps for the gas can. Two piece with rivits attaching the strap to the holder. or one long strap with no rivits. The long one actually goes under the carrier through the loop slots , up through the tailgate slot, and back. Oil

I have one long strap and I can't figure out the right way to buckle it. I'll have to post a couple more pics later on.

[Deleted]

You go down with the leading tongue through the front loop of the carrier, under the carrier, up the back side, through the back loop , up to the upper loop on the tailgate top, through the gas can handles and back to the buckle. Go through the upper with the teeth, pull up and lock the teeth, then store the excess through the buckle lower loop. Got it? Oil

[Deleted]

Don't forget your collapseable water bag. When you are coming down fron the gas can handles, you go through the bottom X's and buckle up. Very stylish and cool looking. Oil

[Ryan_M]

Feb 26, 2015 18:21:34 GMT -5 @oilleaker1 said:

You go down with the leading tongue through the front loop of the carrier, under the carrier, up the back side, through the back loop , up to the upper loop on the tailgate top, through the gas can handles and back to the buckle. Go through the upper with the teeth, pull up and lock the teeth, then store the excess through the buckle lower loop. Got it? Oil

Got it, but when I route the strap that way it come out like this:



Nowhere to go with the excess with the buckle pulled tight. Maybe I should just use that old bungee cord that used to hold the battery in place ?

[Deleted]

Before you recycle the bungee, perhaps we should vote on an official pole? If Bob is unavailable, we could possibly use a poll.

BTW, I was once guilty of using a bungee cord on my battery. Is there anyone here besides the purist Haines that has not done this?

Your paint job looks sweet...especially contrasting with the snow.

[Deleted]

That buckle of yours is not the same as mine. Some Chinese guy must have picked it out of a bin and put it on. Wierd. Oil

[zooke581]

That is a weird buckle like Sir Oiley said. Nothing like mine. I have both Ron Fitzpatricks one and Walcks one. The Walcks one is crap but still not like that one. Ron's got the best one and proper thickness and color. Jeep is looking good.

[zooke581]

I see the problem. The sewed the strap bottom strap to the wrong part of the buckle.

[Ryan_M]

Well that might explain why it was only $9.99 for a 10' strap. I can make it work until I stumble across a better solution.

[Deleted]

He also doesn't have the sliding teeth in the buckle. I've found the black nylon straps are the worst. Do not buy them. The thick OD cotton ones are the best. Midwest military has good ones too. They also made a rivit on type which basically is slipped through the carrier and is rivited back to itself in the fabric. Those nylon ones not only cut easy, they slip all the time. Oil

[Ryan_M]

Since I'm going to try and register this M38 as a regular passenger vehicle (as opposed to an "Antique") it'll need to pass a state inspection. I don't need to bring the vehicle to today's standards but if it was stock equipment when the vehicle was new it needs to be there. No seat belts? No problem...an M38 never had them. No wiper? Problem. I need to have one of those.

I've driven a topless flat fender a considerable distance in a rain storm. I can tell you that a wiper makes little difference. I spent more time wiping the inside of the windshield with my sleeve than the wiper did working on the outside of it. Oddly, the rest of me stayed surprisingly dry so long as I kept moving.

Anyways, a wiper will be all but useless to me except to pass the inspection. I really miss the days when as long as you left a 30-pack on the garage counter you where leaving with a valid inspection sticker. The condition of the vehicle was irrelevant. I don't have one of those guys anymore.

So today's task was rigging up a wiper. I tried using a spare Trico SF 616 vacuum I had laying around but couldn't get it to work - nor do I want to spend the money to repair or replace it.

Next up was one of those generic "universal" electric wiper motors. They are complete crap but for now it is operable. Here's how it went.

I wired a 10A fuse to the "ACC" terminal of the key switch. I used a bullet connector here so I can easily disconnect in the event I have to remove the windshield.



I snaked some rubber hose through the firewall and fished the positive wire through it and then through the hole in the side of the tub. Next, feed the positive wire through a length of steel brake line tubing. If you wait until after you bend the line it will be much more difficult (if not impossible) to feed your wire through it.



Next, bend the steel line to the proper shape. I used an original bent vacuum line to help get me started on the overall shape and then just jammed it into place. A new roll of masking tape makes a good tool for bending the line in nice even arcs. It can be removed for paint once it's all bent to shape. As you can see I still need to paint some of the hardware here too.





I filed the sharp edges off the end of the steel line and slid a length of heat shrink over the end of the wire and into the tube for added protection against any chaffing. I got a little carried away grinding ground points around where the motor contacts the windshield frame. I'll touch that up with paint later.



Then I slid a piece of rubber hose over the end, added a connector and attached the wire to the motor.



So now inside and out the electric wire is concealed by a set-up similar to what you would see with any vacuum wiper.





I have no hope that this wiper motor will even survive a rainstorm but as long as I can keep it dry until inspection time it should do the trick. I'm going to leave the passenger side alone. Worst case I'll install a hand wiper over there. At least I'd know that one will always work.

[Haines Garage]

That is some nice work Ryan.
I was going to do a double hand operated on mine.
You have me thinking I had better check out what the law requires before I do.

[Ryan_M]

Mar 8, 2015 14:38:29 GMT -5 Haines Garage said:

I was going to do a double hand operated on mine.

I thought about going that route too but the whole inspection process is going to be tedious. I'm hoping I may gain points by actually having upgraded to a "newer safer" electric wiper. It reality, it doesn't work for shit and is a permanent obstruction in my line of sight that wasn't there before.

I could register as an antique (like I did with my 3A) and not worry about any of this stuff but by using it as a "daily driver" which I intend to do for the summer I skirt all kinds of other legal issues. Friggin' government.

[Deleted]

HG...SC doesn't give a crap. They've never visually inspected any of my vehicles. I have both antique and regular plates (WC, GPW and sold MB). Detard had his reviewed to get his title, but I don't recall any issues with his wipers.