One of the unusual features of this is a tag indicating is was worked on in Japan at an Ordinance rebuild shop.
“This vehicle was found behind a warehouse in February 2010. The owner claimed it had not run over 4 years. I could only find two identification tags on the entire vehicle. One tag located on the engine stated it was rebuilt by the “Japan Ordinance Command”. The other tag was a vin tag from a 1953 M38A1. Based on the body and engine type I am confident it is not an M38A1. I did a title search and obtained a clear title for the vehicle. I do not know the actual year of the vehicle
Mechanical: After rebuilding the carb and fuel pump, I was able to get the jeep started. It ran pretty rough and I determined one of the valves were stuck. Instead of just replacing the bad valve, I decided to tear down the entire engine and send it to a machine shop. The shop ground the rod journals .10 over and mains .20 over. The cylinders were fine so I just put new rings in it. Overall the engine has new bearings, rings, and a few of the valves replaced. The engine has been reinstalled, but there are still several parts that need to be reinstalled. Overall the cost of the rebuild and parts were approximately $800.00. The vehicle still has the stock transmission, transfer case, and axles.
Based on past experience trying to stop an old Willys, I decided to purchase a whole new disk brake and dual master cylinder system. Overall, I spent $600.00 on these parts which include: brake calipers, brake pads, rotors, dual master cylinder, caliper mounting bracket, assorted bolts and hoses. I have not installed or modified the braking system since purchasing the new parts I also purchased a new rebuild kit for the steering box for about $150.00.
Misc: The tub and body parts were covered in a black bed liner when I first purchased the vehicle. I striped most of the bed liner off of the exterior with a wire bell. There is a small rust hole under the drivers side seat that has been patched with steel. The jeep has bias ply stock sized tires with good tread, plus a spare. The jeep comes with some old CJ lowback bucket seats. I also have two gas tanks for the vehicle. One is the military version that I used a restoration kit on to remove the rust and seal it. I also have a new gas cap for the military tank. The second tank is from what I think is a civilian CJ3A.
Reason for selling vehicle: I finally came to the conclusion that my progress on this project over the past two plus years has not been very promising. As much I as I love the idea of restoring a historic military vehicle, I do not have the time or resources to finish it correctly.”
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