My Jeep is a 1955 M38A1. It was purchased from a small farm just north of Montgomery, Alabama. I travelled up from Miami with my Son and Father, with a borrowed trailer to pick up the Jeep. Great weekend! It needed a lot of TLC, but the body and parts looked to be in good shape and still had 95% of the military service parts. It was definitely an Air Force Base Jeep. Under 5 layers of paint there was a bright yellow and a blue layer. It had probably been a flight line jeep.
I decided to restore it to the 60’s era Military Air Police for my Father who served at Homestead Air Force Base in Miami during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was with the canine unit on the base. The 19th Combat Defence Squadron, his unit number is on the Jeep. The color of the Jeep and lettering match the era of the Cold War trucks used at the base and so I used a modified Strata Blue. It has a little more kick to the color, and looks great in photos. Still working on the engine, transmission, and undercarriage. But good enough to run around the neighborhood and pull up to Starbucks. It has been on display and in a parade, so kids and families are enjoying the Jeep as well. That makes it all worth the effort.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Tim Slawson
If you would like to share your Willys Jeep Story please send us a line. We ‘d love to meet your Jeep.
Like Us. Facebook
Looking for, Willys Jeep Parts, Willys Jeep replacement parts, Willys Jeep body parts and much more for your 1941-1971 Willys vehicle, you have come to the right place!
Your USAF restored jeep looks great. I am retired USAF and have a 1948 CJ2A that i was thinking of restoring as a USAF jeep. I decided to keep it green with just USA on it in case i wanted to sell it someday. No marine, army, navy or cosst guard veteran would buy a USAF jeep. It sure looks great though!!!
Is it possible that you could share what “modified” strata blue is,?
Thanks Ramiro
For the kind words. ??
Thanks Paul for the nice compliments. Most of the Air police used dodge trucks, Rancheros, and sedans. But I used the color, striping, and lettering scheme. But with the jeep. The numbers on the jeep match one of the security vehicles I saw on an old Cuban missile crisis video from the base.
Tim
Nice restoration ! I served at Homestead for my F-4 advanced school before going overseas. I do remember those going around the flightline keeping an eye out, however I do not recall any of them ever looking that good !
I have been lucky to see up close the progress and amount of work that has gone into this restoration and it’s a labor of love and devotion. I’m so happy be just a little part of something this cool. And having served in the Air Force I can certainly appreciate It.
Ramiro V. Alvarez
The jeep needed a lot of bondo work and steel replacement. But it was generally overall in good shape. The body shop kept trying to make it so perfect and I wanted to show a little bit more age. Since it was an Air Force jeep originally, It made sense to go in that direction. And the fact that my dad was also Air Force police.
Thanks for the compliment. I bought the jeep with those rims. I like the way they look so I did not change them out. Since I was not restoring to original specs I decided to keep them. Someone on a base must of cross used them I’m assuming. They look really cool with the jeep body. The steering is ok for what I use it for. But the actual steering is horrible. But that is commen on these jeeps. You can see in the old movies the actors had the same problem because to look cool they kept moving the loose steering and they were still going straight.
Beautiful. I doubt it looked this good when she rolled off the assembly line! Quick question for you. How does it steer with what appears to be 151 wheels on it? I have a 1952 M38A1 that I bought and it has these wheels on it and they hit the frame. I assume the guy I bought it from put them on it so that it could be moved around his shop. Looks like it’s a family affair with her restoration! What a great way to build memories! Thanks for sharing this
and once again,fine job! Dave in New London,Ohio
You did a great job restoring your jeep to its original Air Force configuration. I have a 1954 M-38 A1 that came out of Ft. Gordon, GA. The good thing about these southern based jeeps is, they weren’t expose to toxic salt and road chemicals like those in northern states. My frame and body was essentially rust free. I marked my jeep with my jeep with 2/508th Infantry, 82d Airborne Division, where I served as a LT in 1969.