Can you restore a 1953 Willys Jeep M38A1 ?

Virginia’s Hartwood Volunteer Fire Dept came to us with a simple request.   “Can you make our jeep run again and pass safety inspection?”  YES… yes we can.

One of a kind 1953 Willy’s M38A1 Fire Truck!

The OCD Offroad Team was approached by Hartwood Virginia Volunteer Fire Dept to restore their Willys Jeep M38A1 Fire Truck.   It had been stored for over 5 years in a shed and its condition was completely unknown.

Step 1. Get it Running!

We started with the basics.  Step one was to get the battery and electrical working, and our some gas into the carb and see if we could get it to fire.   Sadly no dice! The carb leaked from everywhere, the fuel pump was seized, the gas tank was full of varnish. all the fuel lines were dry rotted, the poor thing was a mess.

Step 2. Fuel Systems

We yanked the fuel tank, all the lines, the pump and the carb out and started putting everything back together.

First we replaced the tank.  Why?  It was the wrong one to begin with, and it was full of rust and varnish.  So the little Jeep got a new tank, a new sender, and all new fuel lines. Then we pulled and rebuilt the carburetor.  Next we replaced the seized fuel pump.  Then we connected the dots and replaced all the fuel lines & filters.

Step 3. Electrical & Ignition

This end wasn’t in as bad a shape as the fuel, but it still needed a LOT of help.  We put in a new battery, new power cables, and repaired the corroded grounds.  Next we checked the coil, that was actually A-ok. So we cleaned up all the contacts and reset the points and gave it a test…   and she fired right up.

A quick set for the ignition timing and we moved along to the rest.

Step 3. Steering Suspension & Brakes

Pretty much everything was either worn out, damaged, or repaired wrong.   First up we rebuilt the bell crank, then tightened up the rest of the steering, adjusted the hubs, greased and serviced literally everything else. Next we repaired and tightened the shackles, and replaced one of the leaf spring centering pins that had sheared.  Finally we gave it a fresh and proper alignment.

Then onto the brakes.   We literally had to yank and replace EVERYTHING.  A prior shop had repaired it incorrectly sadly.  Then it sat with water in the lines.  So it got brand new everything from the master cylinder to the brake shoes.

Step 4. Odd’s & Ends

We also addressed a lot of little items like new seatbelts.  Basically everything needed to make it safe to operate again.

After all that?  The little guy ran and drove AMAZING.  It passed VA safety and is back off to the Fire Dept to be used in parades, and hopefully fight a few fires again!

Enjoy a few photos of this amazing project!  (And of course give us a call if your Jeep needs the restored, or you just want it get it running again.