Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

1952 - 1968, M38A1, M170, questions, discussions, regarding anything related to the M38a1 series.
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John E
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Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sat May 05, 2018 3:13 pm

I have a ‘53 M38A1 that has blue as the base color, peeking through the OD paint job. My takeaway, of course, is that it’s originally a USAF jeep. That said, would you do a USAF restoration or OD green Army/USMC? Going to make it a chaplain’s or radio jeep regardless.

No right answers, of course...just throw out your opinions with confidence! It’s one of those few situations on the internet where somebody WANTS unsubstantiated opinions :)

Thanks!
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Joe Gopan
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat May 05, 2018 4:01 pm

What does the "Responsible Agency" Data Plate on the lower right side of the dash say? "Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Ordnance
Every M-38 and M-38A1 has a "Responsible Agency" Data Plate.
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John E
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sat May 05, 2018 4:18 pm

It says, “Ordnance Department”
Last edited by John E on Sat May 05, 2018 4:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John E
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sat May 05, 2018 4:39 pm

Does that give any indication of where it might have started?
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JMZ421
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by JMZ421 » Sat May 05, 2018 4:57 pm

If you have original data plates and patent plate, I would restore in back to US Army and paint it the factory color.
John

John E
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sat May 05, 2018 5:10 pm

I love going original...but the base layer appears to be blue. Could it have been a USAF jeep with “Ordnance Department” being the original recipient?

Thanks!
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by JMZ421 » Sat May 05, 2018 5:27 pm

Can you go out and look in the glove compartment and see what color it is. This would be a good place to look if the factory color is still there. I heard all M38's left Willys olive drab and that blue was applied at a later date John

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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by Joe Gopan » Sat May 05, 2018 6:27 pm

John E wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 4:18 pm
It says, “Ordnance Department”
________________________________________________________________________________________
It was first issued to the Army. There is a history of Jeeps being transferred among the branches. I drove a USAF Blue M-38A1 that was bailed to the Boeing and the Foster Wheeler Corp. during final missile installation phase of BOMARC missiles at the local USAF Base.

A good place to look is under the headlight light rims in the sockets and under the transmission cover. You can remove a bow socket from the side of the body and look for OD.
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John E
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sun May 06, 2018 7:18 am

Thanks! It’s OD, then blue, then OD. Appears that the blue was done a long time ago, but the original color is OD...that said, some areas are red primer as the base, then what looks like black, then blue.
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun May 06, 2018 7:41 am

It left the factory in 2430 OD, and you will see traces of Black Chassis Enamel under the other paint on the Chassis.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
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John E
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by John E » Sun May 06, 2018 7:59 am

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.
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Re: Opinions wanted! USAF or Army restoration?

Post by chesty » Thu May 17, 2018 1:53 pm

I saw a jeep in Viet Nam I think was USMC attached to a helo group that the Chaplains drove with a sign that said "Flyers Friars"!!
SGT USMC 1967
1952 M38A1
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