M38 Jeep Restoration

it looks like the engine needs nothing more than rings bearings , gaskets and a valve job ...... you might be even able to get away with just lapping the valves .
the chambers look the same colour so i wouldn't even bother with magafluxing , and most of the time the casting on these old engines is rough enough that they are difficult to magnaflux anyway .

when i rebuilt the 265 in my m37 i literally had to beat the pistons out of the block with a block of wood and a 20 pound hammer .

i spent a day wire wheeling the pistons and prying off the old rings and recutting the ring lands , then just honed out the cylinders . everything was close to the loose end of the max tolerances .( as well as getting fresh bearings and gaskets )

a trick the hot rodders of the day did to the old flat head chrylsers was to block off the oil squirt holes on the rods , and add full grrove main bearings . the idea was to keep from deflating the oil cushion on the rods , to keep from wiping out the rod bearings , and eventually throwing a rod when run at high speed ( think 5 thousand rpm ) the full grove bearings would then provide enough oil splash off to lube the cam shaft .

i can say it works very well . the reason i did this was to be able to run the motor at higher rpm to do highway speed , without changing the axle gearing ..... a couple times i even got it up to 75 mph ....

i only mention this because it may be of some use in the smaller jeep engines too .

i also use a msd 6 ignition , using the points to as a trigger . it makes starting much much easier and the engine ran smoother , cleaner and i was able to lean out the carb to use less fuel .
 
Thanks for the advice burnt_servo. I will have to talk with my engine guy when he gets around to my motor. The engine hadnt run for several years and was stored outside, that's why I wanted to get it fluxed to be sure.

I'm now planning on paying the little bit extra and installing an overdrive. A guy called "herm the overdrive guy" in the states has a couple of different ones. Both a 25% and a 30% (% indicates increase in top end)
 
I've got a 1970 CJ5 along with my M38 & M38A1.
The CJ5 has the old after market Warn overdrive. Bolts up to the transfer case & has its own separate shift lever.
You can use it in every gear including reverse if you wanted to ;)
But it is nice on the highway , you can cruise at 60 mph without over revving the eng
 
Buy from Herm. Well respect and a fellow hunter. He knows his stuff. I slapped a warn overdrive on my 60 CJ6 many moons ago. But with all the new fangled gearchanges available for the dana 20 or 300 I may be regearing the 6 for better hiway manners. 5.38s are great in the bush but getting there and listening to those gears in the spicer 18 whinning away not so much fun.
 
I am slowly stockpiling parts for the rebuild so that we can get to re-assembly as quick as possible. Here are a couple of pictures of my axle rebuild kits which I ordered up from Kaiserwillys.com down in the states. The parts are all new and are a mix of production, mostly coming from Canada, the US, and Japan, with a few from China.

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I will be heading up in the next week or so to pick up my re-built engine, and the new body assembly at Willys Acres. I have also replaced the exhaust manifold as, in addition to that snapped bolt, the heat riser was seized which caused cracks in the manifold.

My plan going forward at this point is a 30% overdrive, 11" drum brake upgrade, dual master cylinder, tranny and T-case rebuild kits from "Hermtheoverdriveguy" in the states. I have also initiated dialogue with a transmission shop here in Toronto about transmission work. I'm not afraid of doing things my self, but there are some areas like a transmission where it's worth the cost comparison of professional work and a warranty. The current quote is ~$400 if I provide the parts, + sandblasting. Some members who posted earlier offered assistance with transmission, I would appreciate the advice!!
 
Engine is still being finished, but the new body kit is in! I went for the complete body kit offered by Willys Acres, built by MD Juan (the only game in town for repro bodies) in The Philippines.
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This kit looks very nice, and is extremely complete - much more than expected. There is still going to be some fitting and mounting required, but I'm very happy with it out of the box.
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Moved on to the rear axle for disassembly.
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Internals look to be in great shape.
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Attempting to remove the drive shaft yoke from the pinion has proved to be a large problem. It should just lift off once the nut and washer are removed, but it's holding fast against the pinion. It is currently being soaked with penetrating oil.
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On to the front axle.
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A previous RCEME rebuild tag from 1965.
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From the outside in:
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I don't have any pictures, but the front axles are Bendix style (ball-type universal joint). The joint on one came out intact and was holding, but the other is a little looser and isn't holding all of the balls. I will get a better look at the problem when they are cleaned up a little bit.
 
I used the same body kit for mine. That was 15 years ago and it's still in great condition. Only thing was there were some mounting holes that were missing so keep your old body panels as a reference.
 
I have gotten my engine back from the shop, and they returned it "in the white" (sandblasted, unprimed). The block has obviously started surface rusting, and I'm sure the rest won't be far behind. As such, I want to get it at least primed asap.

I will begin the next part by saying that I am not a paint person and often find myself more frustrated than anything else when it comes to paint... (The latest example being rust appearing through the primer on my recently blasted and primed frame...)

The engine came out of the jeep a battleship gray, and I would like to go with that colour again as opposed to the olive. From what I have found so far, none of the spray can high-temp engine paints come in that same colour.

Has anyone else crossed this bridge, and what route did you end up taking?

Engine now:
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Engine before:
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Thanks in advance!
 
Paint. And the "correct" colour have to be the biggest problem to get "right". The fact of the matter is there really is no correct colour and as long as the colour is close enough and not to outlandish you will be fine. Colours change over time, paint a surface, spill oil on it it changes, leave it out in the sun, it fades, even the pressure used to shoot the paint on the surface effects the colour. If you ever get a chance and lok at a row of mil vehicles in a compound no two will be the same colours. As for your fifty year old motor being a certain shade of grey, how many oldtimers from back then will pick you up on that one. I have had a few jeeps over the years and live by the saying "if it looks right it is right".
 
You're absolutely right. There are MLs in the lot right now that look like everything from forest to aqua!

From what I'm finding, some guys aren't even shooting high temp onto these motors, just standard paint. I'm wondering now if I should go with a high temp or rust primer for the base considering the oxidation of the block.
 
Following this post with keen interest (might take the plunge and buy this year... been 'window shopping' for 4 months !!) Great info and pics..thanks for sharing.
 
Hawkshadow said:
You're absolutely right. There are MLs in the lot right now that look like everything from forest to aqua!

From what I'm finding, some guys aren't even shooting high temp onto these motors, just standard paint. I'm wondering now if I should go with a high temp or rust primer for the base considering the oxidation of the block.
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try some epoxy primer better the "rust" primer it is all we used i the auto body shop(my dad owned a auto body shop ive known how to paint since i was 8 years old) its a 2 part paimer with a hardener and the paint it self it comes in rattle cans and as normal cans for spray guns

as for engine paint i too have seen normal auto body paint used on engines idk how well it held up though
 
I think that heat temp paint on a motor for a jeep is overkill. Even on the hottest of days my MB seldom goes over 180 if your engine is getting so hot the paint is failing then you really have bigger issues going on under the hood then what shade of grey to paint it. Adding to my first reply its your motor so if you feel it needs primer (I do not even know if a M38 engine was primed back then) or a certain shade, thats all the owners call. Another point is if you take it to a show 99.9% of the time the hoods going to be down anyways, and if some expert starts picking you up on the colour, politly ask where his M38 is or better yet have a photo album showing your work, where you started and where it is now. So recap its all your call (as your the one paying the way) as to primer, shade of grey, etc, and "if it looks right it is right". Nice work todate on your car BTW.
 
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