the 1953 m38a1

...and her accompanying sister, the later acquired 1964 cj5 that i drove for a few summers. the m38a1 came from a contact that i made who so loved the dj that he offered to buy her from many a time, though of course, i declined his offers. so once again, my dad helped me drag her home and i had another old iron project in the fire. this was all in the days before the internet but i managed to find about a half dozen sources for the pricey waterproof 24 volt parts. willys motors, soon to be kaiser at this point, over-engineered everything about the m38a1 for the army...special plugs and wires, points and condenser in their own sealed case, a huge 24 volt generator and a double large battery box in the cowl.
i could hardly afford anything and sadly never got her running for an extended period of time. i bought a set of plugs and regapped the points and got her to turn over. but that was it. the gas feed line from the tank was rusted through, so that was a big part of her not running. she was also lacking a front driveshaft, but had all her data plates on the dash and a set of solid seat frames (rear seat too!) and toolbox, even. i really miss this jeep, but i know where she still is locally where i grew up. i had to sell her to a friend of the family's and then he sold her again. i can still dream of re-acquiring her one day!