1953 m38a1 cfr

[chris vickery]

Wanting to know if anyone has any info that may help me out.
I went to look at a '53 M38A1 this evening. It has a frame number of 53-33136. I was wondering if anyone knows where this falls into production or if it even falls into Canadian purchase? The reason that I ask is that the jeep has the typical '53 style data plate that indicates a build date of 3/53 yet identifies Toledo as the mfg. As I understand it, Canadian jeeps in '53 were procured from Ford Windsor. Did we use or receive any from the USA prior to adopting them and having them built at home? I know that the data tag does not necessarily always match the frame as it might have been swapped out.
I tend to think that maybe this was a US built jeep, it was in civilian hands prior to 1978. When did our first 53s go to surplus?
The other item which confuses me is that the jeep came from London, ON in 1978 which is interesting in itself due to the geography in that CFB London and Base Workshop and Stores were located there. I know a lot of stuff was surplussed from London.
So as it is, some clues indicate a USA lineage while other evidence suggest Canadian???