The "20" at the start of the USA registration number signifies that the
vehicle is a:
"Truck, reconnaissance, all sizes (incl. carryall etc.) and buses." (ref.
Bart Vanderveen)
Used throughout WWII and on into early 1950s.
The next six digits are simply the rest of the number assigned to the
vehicle. By the time the M38s were built, the number sequence was around
209XXXXX. No special significance to the 9 or if it was an 8 as the third
digit as far as I know.
My 1944 Willys MB is 20737814 (I found this number painted on the front
bumper).
Colin Macgregor Stevens
MVPA Member 954 (since 1977)
Editor: "Maple Leaf Up!" newsletter
of Western Command Military Vehicle Historical Society
(Established 1977)
British Columbia, CANADA
Owner of:
1944 Willys MB jeep (ex-Norway)
1942 BSA airborne bicycles (2)
http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net
colin@pacdat.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "lou" <lou@frontier.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] M-38 Numbers, what do they mean
>
> In reverse order
>
> C: The hood number is the army registration number, like a license plate
> number. These were assigned, and painted on, at the factory in Toledo,
Ohio
> and stayed with the vehicle as long as it stayed in the army. The first
> three digits mean something I believe (but I don't know what!). At any
rate
> most M38's are 208 or 209, but there are some 203 and perhaps 206 (sorry
> been awhile since I last thought about this. Harold West knows more about
> this (see below).
>
> You can see a photograph of the first five production M-38's, on the
parking
> lot of the factory in Toledo, in the Dec 14th, 1950 issue of Life
magazine.
> Five is all that had been delivered by about Dec 4th even though they
> supposedly went into production in Sept.
>
> No one, so far as I know, has ever found a list equating these numbers to
> where the jeeps were assigned initially, so they are essentially useless
in
> figuring out what unit your jeep served. If you can discover which unit
> your jeep was in then I suppose it might be possible to find the vehicle
> maintainence records for that unit and discover what was done with your
jeep
> while it was with that unit.
>
> The alpha numeric unit designations were painted on the front and rear
> bumpers (& bumperettes). Slow careful sanding can sometimes bring them
> back. All I could find on mine was the number 1 and the letter A,
> frustrating!
>
> B: The M-38 was Willys model M(military)C(the third model) and production
> unit serial numbers began with MC10001 in Sept (or so) 1950. The MA and
MB
> models were produced during WWII. Serial numbers were assigned
sequentially
> (and there is a rough but not exact corrospondence between the
registration
> number and the serial number) and it seems as though engine serial numbers
> were assigned separately. So even if you have the original engine don't
> expect it to have the same serial number. The engine serial is on the top
> of the block just above the water pump and, if it is an original M-38
> engine, will begin with the letters MC then a 5 digit number.
>
> A: I believe this number is the government contract number, others more
> knowledgeable may wish to chime in.
>
> Harold West hwest@gfc.state.ga would like to have your numbers. He
collects
> them and has been helpful to many trying to fill in their blanks. He
often
> visits the M-38 tech help section at www.g503.com as do a lot of others
> interested in the M-38.
>
> A careful going over may reveal other clues as to the history of your
jeep.
> On mine I found a tag indicating a rebuild in dec 54 at the Pueblo
Ordnance
> Depot. My jeep was delivered in 6-51 and I'm guessing it was assigned to
> the 11th Armored Cav Regt which was activated at Camp Carson just up the
> road from Pueblo in late April 51. They probably beat it up in training
and
> left it to be rebuilt when they decamped and headed east in 1954. I have
> some more research to do! The rebuild tag has 190 ORD on it and I would
> love to find a reference to a 190th Ordnance Co (there was a 189th Ord Co
> that served in Korea).
>
> Lou
> M38, MC24832, 20892858, del 6-51 and (soon) a 51 M100
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <PirschEng4@aol.com>
> To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 3:47 PM
> Subject: [MV] M-38 Numbers, what do they mean
>
>
> > I am restoring a 1951 M-38 and am finding numbers on the hood and dash
> > plaques. I am looking for information as to what they mean.
> >
> > A. Under the "1/4 ton 4x4 M-38" on the dash plaque is a stamped Number
> > "G2740-8358318" It is above the ordnance stock # line. What does it
mean?
> >
> > B. MFG. Ser. No. MC35670. Do the individual numbers each mean
something
> > like in a VIN. Number?
> >
> > C. On the hood sides, in the original paint, were the number 20902890.
> I
> > believe the Jeep started its life in NH
> > if that is of any help. They don't seem to match any other numbers I
> find.
> > Are they a unit number or what?
> >
> > DEL DATE 9-51
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Peter
> >
> >
> > ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> > To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> > To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to
<mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> > To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
> >
>
>
> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 05 2001 - 07:13:51 PST