M38a1cdn

[Scott Bentley]

In my case I went/going with the following for the 3 Color Cam Pattern:

503-322 "Field/Pea Green" = Tempo 34094 "383" Green

503-321 "Flat Olive Drab" = Gillespie 34087 "Khaki" Olive Drab

512-301 "Flat Black" = Tremclad Flat Black (in Spray Bombs)

I also used Gillespie 24087 Semi-Gloss Olive Drab for my Engine Compartment etc, as this was the original base coat that the M38A1 and M151A2 were delivered with. My M38A1 CDN2 was still Semi-Gloss OD in the Interior and the Engine Compartment, with the 3 Color Cam Pattern painted over the Semi-Gloss OD on the Exterior surfaces.

All 3 of the M151A2s that i've had were base coated over the Semi-Gloss Olive Drab with either the 503-322 Field Green or 503-321 Flat OD inside and out, and then had the Black and the other Green/OD added to make the Cam Pattern. Only the Engine Compartments were still Semi-Gloss OD. One was sprayed with Red Primer over the Semi-Gloss OD prior to the Cam being added. The other two were brushed right over the Semi-Gloss OD... (horrible).

Paint is a major source of frustration when dealing with the 3 Color Cam Pattern. It gets beat around on here quite often. In my case, I gave up looking for the holy grail of perfection and went with the 90% solution. I have collected literally hundreds of color photos of the pattern, have a parking lot full of vehicles at work that still have it, as well as have a can of each of the original paints. The problem is as stated in other posts was the manufacturers subtle differences, condition of the paint itself (old, frozen at some point etc), how it was applied (brushed, rolled, sprayed, cut with gasoline, thinner, varsol) and how the vehicle was stored.

There was clearly two (slightly different) versions of the 503-322 Field Green floating around at some point. It seems out east it was more "Pea Green" than out west where it was a bit darker Green, closer to the Flat OD. In my case, the 383 Green was darned close to the "East Pea Green" 503-322 Field Green, so I went with it. Honestly, in the right light, you'd be splitting hairs to tell the difference. Again, that is the Tempo version of 383. With Gillespie, Sherwin Williams or PPG it could very well turn out different.

EDIT: Picture added. I like this one as its the only photo I have that really captures the "true color" of the 383 Green. Thee rest of the pics I have don't look right with artificial light. If you look really hard at the scrap MUTT on the right, there is some original 503-322 Field Green showing on the Inner-Fender above the rear Wheel. Its a long shot, but believe me when I say its damn close:


One of these days when its slow at work, i'm going to take a few recently procured vehicles (LUVW, MSVS, Milcot, LAV III and a Refurbished Bison) and park them all side by side and take a photo. Although they are all "CARC Green", none of them are exactly the same. If we can't get it right now, I sleep well knowing that it was imperfect back then as well

Thats my Nickle on Paint

[chris vickery]

Rob, I noticed that your jeep has rectangular mirror heads, are these milspec?
My jeep as purchased also has them, I figured they were aftermarket add ons as I know the original round ones have limited viz....

[rob love]

All we got were rectangular mirrors in the 80s. I guess it was an upgrade in the military over the small round ones. Most of the ones I remembered getting were in Chrysler marked boxes. The problem with these was that there was only a rubber outer that held the mirror glass onto the metal back. The glass would fall out if the jeep was run through light bush, or even hitting a decent pothole. We used to glue the glass to the metal with contact cement. I am pretty sure we helped Chrysler on to it's first bankruptcy, because without the glue we would have gone through a lot more mirrors.

There was a mod towards the latter life of the jeeps (both the M38A1s and the M151A2s) to relocate the mirrors to the front fenders, with a second mirror arm added for stability. We would add a third arm to this to make it more stable, especially on the M151A2s, otherwise the mirror shook so bad on idle you couldn't see out of it. As well, both fleets of vehicle's fenders were prone to cracking with only the pair of arms. Most collectors relocate them back to the windshield hinges where they were originally. We can get away with this because most collectors do not drive theirs daily with the tarp and doors, which led to the visibility problem.

[302Trooper]

Rob, My jeep has the license plate mounting holes in the same location as the Manitoba jeep high on the grill. The CFP camo shows the plate on the bumper. CV 32 does not show any plates in the photos nor does the CDN 2 users manual.Which is the proper location? I have seen a few different ideas. My jerry can brackets both have a poorly welded bracket for the rear plate. Any ideas. I have attached a photo from Pet showing the base museum jeep.

Dave

[rob love]

The front license plate should be on the right bumper, as shown in your photo. It was an excersize in futility trying to keep them there, especially on the recce jeeps which constantly went through the bush. The movement to the upper location on the grille was unofficial, but routinely done. Wile it would restrict airflow somewhat, I have never noticed a problem with it even on the hottest days. Best thing is the plate is not subject to damage there.

The original front bracket hung down, with the plate then mounted upwards.

The rear plate bracket was supposed to be under the back edge of the jerry can bracket. There was a modification (C30-100-000CF006) which made a slight change to it so it would not interfere with the gas can strap. The plate was reasonably protected in that location, although would be damaged when push starting. When the bracket got damages, usually it would just be omitted and the plate mounted directly onto the bracket with the bolts pointing out.

When you refer to the CFP camo, are you referring to the cam instructions I posted above? Note that the jeep they use is a M38, so things are a bit different. The M151A2 had the license plate inthis location as well, but it was moved when the wire cutter was installed.

[chris vickery]

Rob, my front bumper has a slot in it on the RH side (front). Does this jive with whats correct for the plate?

[Scott Bentley]

Originally Posted by chris vickery

Rob, my front bumper has a slot in it on the RH side (front). Does this jive with whats correct for the plate?

Don't take this as verbatim, but that sounds like a civvy replacement. Mind you not uncommon to see civvy fenders etc on those things while they were still in service.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by chris vickery

Rob, my front bumper has a slot in it on the RH side (front). Does this jive with whats correct for the plate?

I would agree with Scotty on that one. If you like at my jeep (it's a Cdn3) you will see the 2 holes on the right side which would have held the license plate bracket. That is the original bumper. The slots were usually on CJs.

During the big refurb program on the Jeeps, they were using civilian pattern fenders with the recess for the front marker lights. There just weren't repros being made at that time. So it's possible that a civilian bumper was acquired, but I recall mil quip (I believe it was automobiles rene gagnon back then) was making parts like this for the military.

Gas tanks were another thing that was impossible to buy NOS back then. Canada would have a couple hundred at a time made. They were never a perfect fit, but we were one of the last armys in the world using the M38A1s, so parts sourcing was difficult and costly. Colog had quit carrying Willys parts by then.