M38A1 any common problems or concerns?

[rob love]

If it is just hat channels, they are available through midwest military and others. You can even make short patches on the bench vise. Usually the floor will rust out as well in the same pattern of the hat channels, they are rust magnets.

Sheet metal like the fenders or the hood are only a couple hundred $$, so don't sweat damage on them.

Regarding the steering, expect to be doing the once over on things like the bellcrank, the center link, and the kingpin bearings. Luckily, all of them are reasonably priced.

If the vehicle has been sitting a long time, expect to be doing the brake cylinders all around. Again, reasonably priced, especially if you have a way of bringing them up from the USA.

If the fuel has been sitting a long time, expect to be cleaning the tank out, and also the pump/carb.

If starting a engine that has been sitting 20 years, you should oil the cylinders, and if possible, get some oil pressure into the lube system before starting it. On some engines you can prime the lube system by driving the pump with a drill and screwdriver shaft through the distributor hole (I recently did this with a deuce that had been sitting for 27 years) Unfortunately the jeep pump has the gear to the cam, so you will have to find another way of pressurizing the system, like a pump onto the oil gallery of the block.

Twenty years of sitting does not necessarily mean the rings are stuck, especially if the engine was well worn. If the carb was open, it increases the chance of problems, but if the engine turns over by hand, then very possibly the rings will be fine.