Wanted: M38A1 CDN canvas

chris vickery · #1 03-08-12, 19:40

I am looking for the following items;

-rear side curtain LH side (driver)
-door with frame RH side (pass)

Must be NOS Canadian issue only thanks.

maple_leaf_eh · #2 04-08-12, 05:08

I have a set of 1953 doors (maybe minus the door handles) and a spare, but not good condition curtain.

(edit) I just reread your post. The canvas is very likely to be weak after all these years. The plastic never was very good, and 40yrs of oxydizing won't have improved its transparency. If you have the hard parts, the canvas really should be changed.

chris vickery · #3 04-08-12, 13:19

I have picked up a real minty top, one door and one side curtain. Hoping to complete the set with NOS mint items only thanks.
I understand that i can get reproduction but nothing beats the real deal espcially in mint condition.
What happened to all the surplus canvas for the A1s when they became surplus????

rob love · #4 04-08-12, 16:52

That surplus canvas left 25 years ago and is for the most part long gone. I recall a whole deuce load of jeep canvas being sent back to base supply for disposal. It would likely have been released as either bulk canvas salvage, or else tossed into the garbage.

Brand new doors were not that common. The old doors had to be condemned first, and we had a base textile workshop that would merely re-skin the old ones.

Even the NOS canvas that did get sold off is very subject to deterioration from it's storage conditions. I unfolded a brand new deuce tarp about a month back that turned out to be rotten in several places and beyond use.

chris vickery · #5 04-08-12, 20:26

Thanks Rob, I guess i am a holdout for the NOS stuff.
It is odd that finding NOS M-series canvas seems to be difficult yet NOS WW2stuff seems to pop up even now and then in useable condition...
The top and door skin / curtain I have is definately useable as the day it was made. Just need to find the matching pieces.....

rob love · #6 05-08-12, 02:21

In WW2 things were procured as if there was a war going on. Lots of extra for sinkage, spoilage, pilferage. Even our initial purchases in the 50s had a substantial amount of spares, to the point that we were still getting 1950s marked parts as spares for the jeeps and dueces right into the 80s. But when it came to the 70s, the Trudeau are had kicked in, and the supply system was more of a push pull system, with annual usage forecasts etc. Parts were no longer procured to last for a 20 year cycle, but rather the supply system was run more like a business. As a result, we did not end up with the same quantities of surplus as in WW2 or even Korea for that matter.

Frank v R · #7 05-08-12, 13:19

Hey Chris, make sure you go for the doors with the folding frames , DND had replacements made that did not fold and were poorly made , they were not large enough,(the canvas), Colleen's jeep has a NOS top kit complete , top bows, top , doors , side curtains, this was a complete kit in the package ex DND, in all the years I have not seen side curtains that would match up with the top (fasteners fitting), you will need to play with that, Beware of NOS canvas , shrinkage and rot , I do not buy NOS canvas for that reason for the business, inspect it and fit it before you drop money for it , hope this helps,
Frank

chris vickery · #8 05-08-12, 16:13

Thanks Frank, BTW check your PMs box.
The door that I have is a folding one with canvas in place.

Casey B · #9 18-08-12, 09:27

Chris being close to Minnisota, Mona from New Life Canvas does a remarkable job and the shipping to you or to border would be very little she is on line at newlifecanvas all one word maybe google canvas suppliers. She makes all the tops from original patterns and has good materials and it smells like the original as well.
Just a suggestion...good luck. PS she recently went on a NOS pick and it was all rotten and not worth the time.