A few decades ago, I bought this old military Jeep from a college somewhere in Tennessee. The plan was to restore it when I retired. I disassembled, sandblasted and primed it to preserve what was there. It was then stored away for my leasurely days of retirement.

The folks at the college said it was running and being used until one day, it just quit and would not restart. It was just sitting there and they were willing to sell it to me. I never saw it running but took their word that the problem was engine related. The odometer says 15,924 miles. I have no idea how accurate that is but it sounds right.

The folks at California Car Company in Roswell looked at it and commented on how good of shape it is for being 70 years old. Frame is good, no cracks, no bending - none of the problems that they frequently see. The restoration is achievable and it is a pretty simple vehicle to work on. They told me that I could make a lot of money on it by "parting it out" - i.e. selling it piece by piece, but I would rather sell for less, to someone who will restore it.

Read more about the Willys M38 here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_M38

and...

A Brief History of Military Vehicles

Link Submitted by Kerri Warwick, a student studying World War 1 & World War II.

I was so pleased there are students putting in the effort to learn our history because, as Winston Churchill said, "Those who fail to learn from history are condemed to repeat it."

https://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/a_brief_history_of_military_vehicles.html

Well done Kerri, you deserve an "A" for your research!

and...

About Willys Jeeps

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/about_willys_jeep_vehicles_history_specs

And...

Lastly, a student at The Center of Norrhern York's Knowledge Association

found a great link with the history of military jeeps, trucks, tanks and other vehicles that is worth sharing. You can thank Alex at https://cnyk.org via Harry Rizzo. Here is the link specifically for the M38 but the site is rich with other information. Enjoy!:

https://www.jeep.com/history/1950s.html#m38

Again, Thank YOU Alex and thank your Dad for his service!

Hard to read but it says the serial number is 4351 and it was delivered in November 1951

Well, I am still not retired and, unfortunately, my energy and physical capabilities have given meaning to the old saying of "My mind is writing checks that my body cannot cash." So..., reluctantly, I have to sell the Jeep to someone who will appreciate and restore it to its full potential.