A few question about my first jeep

Okay here we go...
Last week I bought a 1957 willys cj5, the other day, I was stripping it down to do a new paint job and I noticed that the base coat of paint was OD green. There were three layers of paint on it, blue, white, red primer and the base was OD. Were there m38A1's that were orriginally made for military use and then converted to civillian use? The only badge on it is the serial number on the firewall, but it used to have a plate behind the passenger seat that is not there anymore. Any insight would be great.
This is my first jeep and my first post, I'm sure there will be many more to come.

~Thanks for any insight
Kurt

 

Hi there. Welcome from KS!

Can't answer you're question directly, but pics pics sure would help out your cause here. Especially some of the dash, grille, and any data plates.

 

Post some pics, and we can tell you if it's ex-military. There's a few dead giveaways...on the outside--M38A1s don't have a tailgate, have a cutout for an APU on the right side near the fender, functional battery box in the cowl, recessed headlights...inside, they'll have a full gauge set, 3 lever light switch (or a big oval hole for one), 24V electrical, blackout lights, etc. Once you know what to look for they're pretty easy to spot. Seems like every Jeep ends up with an OD green paint job at some time in it's life (guilty... ). Most likely someone just gave a coat to look like an army Jeep. But, post some pics and we can tell you for sure.

Welcome aboard! I've got a '55 CJ5 I'm working on .

 

I'll get those pics up as soon as I can. I know that the whole wireing system has been replaced so it's all 12 volt now. The dash has also been replaced, so the guages are not the same. other than that it's all original-for now. either way, for the pice i got a good deal for a running 50 year old jeep.

 

The tag behind the passenger side seat would probably make it a M38A1. Only they had that. The gauges were in a removable panel and it had glove boxes both sides or am I thinking M38 on the boxes? The cowl cover should have some hold down clips. The grill may also be hinged at the bottom, Bill

 

These pics in the Photo Archive show most of the differences in the M38A1's

http://www.earlycj5.com/gallery2/v/picBank/album_015/album/

Jim

 

Yes, many M38A1s were painted other colors in the civilian world.

They were surplused to other government agencies first, and I believe other countries also. Fire departments, Search and Rescue, Highway Departments, etc. painted them in their own colors.

Next they were gradually liberated to civilians, who also painted them. And don't forget the wannabees who painted CJ5s ("Civilian Jeep") in military OD.

Mine was Civilian Air Patrol blue, our Fire Department had a white one.

If you sand very very gently you may be able to discover the military markings and hood numbers.

Enjoy.

Pete

 

When i lived in Sacramento the jeeps that guys got from the Airforce base's there were Orange.

 

Hello from NJ.

 

Hey Kurt. I have a 57 M38A1. They're beastly looking vehicles. The glove box is too the left of the steering wheel, but since your dash was replaced, look for a patched up hole for a filler neck next to the passenger seat. I assume if you wanted to, you could take out the tool box and put a second gas tank under the passenger seat. PeteL, thats a great idea trying to sand down to the markings on the hood.

 

My 75 has OD green in alot of places that normally don't get painted. Looks original. Iv'e wondered what the deal was but I don't think the millitary used that year CJ.

 

Yeah I was looking at the pics of the m38a1's on here, I have the filler neck on the side by the pasenger seat. There once was a hole on the right fender that has a plug. The grill is not a flip down grill, nor does it have recessed headlights. I will get pics up as soon as possible though...