M38A1 CDN3 106mm recoilless rifle Garage find

[army brat]

Hi
New to the forum and military vehicle ownership.
Was an army brat for 16 years and always wanted a Military jeep.
My father was in Transport, Artilary and with the Field Engineers so I was always around military vehicles and lots of Jeeps.
I was selling a boat I had recently and was contacted by a person who asked me if I would consider trading for an "Old Army Jeep that has been stored for nearly 20 years" I bit, and within a week I had a 71 M38A1 CDN3 in very solid shape with 11000 original miles showing. Now the M38 had been sitting but has been mucked with a bit, roll cage added (Going to get cut off) also has been painted Red at one time but was told it was used as a tug on an Airforce base but who knows (Or mule as my Dad called it) and other little bits missing.........not bad though.
I thought I had gotten just a plane old Military Jeep but it had a few peculiarities.
The first thing I noticed right off was that it had no tailgate at all back end was wide open. I had done my research and knew that the M38's had a solid tailgate.
After looking at the windshield I could see where there had been a piece welded into the top just right of center.
The last thing was how high it sat it in the backend, I though maybe there was a lift kit or something on it at 1st but saw nothing but a set of helper springs in the back.
After contacting a collector close to me (Thanks Gordon) he agreed to come up and have a look at the Jeep and he deemed it a 106 carrier.

Now I am told that this is a rare bird.......kind of scares me a bit considering I just wanted a Military Jeep I could run around in and maybe run through some mud with my girls.

What do I do? Change the windshield throw on a tailgate and call it good? Or is that like drawing a mustache on the Pope? Maybe I need to trade it for an M38a1 of the garden variety.

Thanks for your input in advance

P.S Is there anyone who can help me get the history on it from the DND?
It came from Chatham so I am guessing that it could have been in London with the RCR's

[NORTH-SHORE(CANADA)]

Hi,
Do you have a pic of the jeep

[Paul Singleton]

Nice find! Too bad you didn't have the gun. Those jeeps certainly look intimidating!

The picture is from this site,

http://www.reno4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22675

Paul

[rob love]

A small number of these were sold here in Manitoba. The windshield was not popular as it let the cold air in when driving in the fall/winter. It was common for guys to replace the windshield with a standard one and re-weld in the missing portion onto the back of the body. There were actually about a dozen windshields and the cut out back plates laying out in the local mil salvage yard.

The recoiless rifle jeeps were usually low mileage trucks. About the only real problem I saw with them when they were being sold was that most had their original engines (somewhat tired) whereas the normal M38A1s with around 35,000 miles usually had new replacement engines.

There is a collector on this site who has the recoiless rifle for his Jeep. Not something you would want to take offroading, but certainly makes for a nice display.

[servicepub (RIP)]

I have a 482 page PDF document from DND with 'some' information. Each line in this document covers a single vehicle. Not all CFR are represented, only those that remain in the DND system.
Insofar as the 106mm recoilless rifle is concerned, here is what the list includes.

[servicepub (RIP)]

What's a thread without photos?

42-36 M38A1CCDN3 Jeep with M40A1 106mm Recoiless Rifle. Courtesy Ed Storey


Courtesy CF Image Library


Courtesy CF Image Library


42-8 M38A1CCDN3 Jeep with M40A2 106mm Recoiless Rifle - rear right oblique view Government Conference Cent. Courtesy Ed Storey