|
1952
Willy’s M38 A1 Military
Jeep
THIS CAR HAS BEEN SOLD
Well, I’m the first one to admit that it
doesn’t look like too much at the moment but this one is the
“real deal”. An authentic, Korean War era Jeep from an Arizona
Air Force base.
I was told that this is what the Air
Force calls a flight line Jeep where it’s painted a highly
visible bright yellow to be as noticeable as possible on the
runway. Later, it was purchased by the town of Williams
Arizona thus the color of “fleet” white. The yellow underneath
is visible in a number of spots on this Jeep. The fact that
this is from Arizona is obviously a tremendous plus. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen this little rust on an old un-restored
Jeep like this and I’ve seen a ton of them.
This particular M38 A1 still has the
military 24- volt electrical system. How often do you see
that? Believe me, not too often! This is important too, as
many knowledgeable restorers will tell you that these Jeeps
will always be the most valuable. At recent military show I
noticed that checking for the 24-volt stuff was the first
thing the judges were looking for.
There are numerous correct and important
parts that are included with the vehicle. They include the
following…
• 5 of the correct 16” military
wheels.
• A pair of military tail
lights.
• Proper spare tire carrier.
• 24
–volt coil, distributor, cap and rotor.
• Correct pair
of battery hold-down clamp frames.
• 100% correct
military braided metal spark plug wires.
• Correct
pair of windshield hold-down clamps.
I believe that there are a few more parts
too but that’s all that I can remember at the moment. One nice
thing about these old jeeps is that the parts availability is
great and there are a lot of nice guys out there who are
helpful to other enthusiasts.
Of course I’m aware that the hardtop is
not correct military issue. However, it is a wonderful Koenig
top with roll-up windows. Most collectors believe that this is
the highest quality accessory hardtop money can buy for these
old Jeeps and I agree with them. If you decided you didn’t
want it, just sell it. My guess is that it could possibly
return you quite a bit of money that you could use to purchase
other items to complete your restoration.
You probably noticed that the windshield
isn’t split and it’s supposed to be. The frame is correct but
the city of Williams just put a solid piece of glass in it.
This will be easily rectified by cutting the glass and
installing the proper divider strip.
The Jeep starts, runs and drives pretty
good but it hasn’t been restored. The transmission appears to
be pretty good too and hasn’t (as of yet) jumped out of second
gear for me like so many of them do. Did you happen to notice
the photos showing all of the original military markings under
the hood or the one showing the original I.D. plates on the
dashboard?
If you’re thinking about purchasing it,
restoring it and then possibly selling it, I'd
guess that this particular Jeep would be worth
something in the neighborhood of fifteen grand when restored,
maybe more? Naturally, it all depends on how good a job
you do and the market conditions at the time. I’ve seen
military M38 A1’s sell in the low to mid twenties on occasion
but that is a rare occurrence.
I purchased it as a fun restoration
project for myself about a year ago but I have too many of
those fun projects at the moment so it’s up for sale. I’ve got
over six grand invested in it at this time.
I’m thinking that if I can sell it for $5,950 I’ll let her
go.
There is no doubt that these old,
authentic military Jeeps are getting harder and harder to find
and they’re definitely increasing in value. Finding an Air
Force flight line Jeep from the (almost) no rust State of
Arizona is like finding a needle in a hay stack.
I have many extra
photos of this jeep, including the extra parts mentioned
above. If you wish to see more, please let me know and I
will email them to you.
I should mention too that I happen to
have another old Jeep. That one is World War 11 vintage built
in 1944. It is also an excellent restoration candidate. More
work has been done on this one and it’s had a lot of parts
purchased for it and / or restored. Some high dollar stuff too
like new floorboards with hat channels, a complete new windshield
frame, etc. It’s apart but on a rolling chassis. The parts
have been primed in epoxy. I was told the engine has been
re-built. I haven’t even thought about possibly selling this
one until this very moment. Maybe I would, maybe not? Now, to
make things really confusing, if you just happened to have a fully
usable, at least somewhat restored WW11 Jeep, especially a
slat grill, I might be interested in trading you both of my
projects plus some difference to get into something that’s
done and ready to go.
Please call Larry @ 480-483-2555 in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
|
