Military Vehicles, January 1997,: Re: M38A1

Re: M38A1

chrispho@wave.park.wy.us
Tue, 28 Jan 1997 12:20:51 -0600

>My M38A1 has an 69 Chev 327, This engine is new ovhl and purrs. I
>would like to retain it, But with the orignal running gear( T90 & Dana
>18 axles ect), I would have to replace everything behind it every few
>thousand miles. Has anyone ever built an M38A1 drive train from a chev
>blazer or S10, Or anything I can use with this motor. Any info will
>help.
> Bill

Hi Bill
Just thought I put in my 2 cents worth. It doesn't seem to me that
with a 327 the running gear from a S10 would hold up much better than the
original. As far as I know the S10 never came out with its own V8 and do
they have independant front suspension (not sure). The Blazer would be
wider by enough to make it awkward but parts would be easy to find the same
as full size Chevy pickups. The newer Fords which are closer to the M38A1
in width are out of the question because they do have IFS and the
transmissions have a problem holding up with their smaller engines anyway.
Seem to me the most reasonable choices would be to update to newer Jeep
running gear or to a 77 and earlier Ford Bronco parts. Either way used a
V8 so they should hold up but both would need to be adapted to the 327.
Hope this is some help.
Todd Hall