Shackel reversal

[Haymaker]

I am curious about why the M38A1 has the shackels reversed. You can buy kits to reverse shackels. They say it’s better, so if it is why don't they do it on all Jeeps?

[gmwillys]

On a M38A1, the shackles are similar to the previous models, but there is a bracket that goes the open side together. The reasoning was that it made the shackle less likely to loose its shape through abuse. The A1 was the first military specked Jeep for air drops, so there is a few extra items that were not Spencer on earlier models. To answer your question, yes it is a good upgrade for older models. The through bolts are a bit longer to accept the thickness of the stiffner.