Greetings, It is a pleasure to be a "newbie" on this forum. I purchased a 1952 M38A1 last week (MD22963) knowing full well that it had a civilian engine. Which web sites have engine serial number data bases? My civilian engine has the following number: R4J468554B Thank you in advance! Mike
Hello Mike! I find G503.com, CJ2A page and CJ3A&B page to be very good sources of information. The thing to remember especially on the early trucks and flat fenders, poor record keeping and parts swapping between model years definitely occurred at the Willys Toledo Assembly Plant during war time and lean financial times. There are still a few old timer's left that remember those days!
https://g503.com/
https://www.thecj2apage.com/
https://www.cj3apage.com/
Thank you for suggesting the three web sites however they are dedicated to flat fenders. I purchased a 1952 M38A1 jeep last week. I have a civilian engine R4J468554B and need to find an online data base that would identify the engine. Any further suggestions? Thank You! Mike
Mike, The Willys F4-134 was introduced in 1950. It was in civilian Jeeps, CJ-3B, CJ-5, and CJ-6 models. It was also used in the Willys 473 and 475 pickups, wagons, and sedan deliveries. If you have a civilian F134, the g503 forum and the CJ3B page are going to be a good place to start. Your 52' M38A1 is very similar to a CJ3B.
The casting numbers on the side of the block do not tell much, because of the lack of reliable record keeping from the factory. Military, industrial, civilian, truck, wagon, FC, and Jeepsters all used the blocks coming down the line. The key to determine what engine is correct for a civilian or military is the stamped serial number behind the water pump, in front of the head. The down side to that is that if the block had been decked, the serial number was ground off. Often times the serial number wasn't restamped. These are the joys of dealing with vintage Willys. Sometimes you just can't narrow down exactly what you have in front of you. Block paint, and copper vent lines running around the block indicate a military block due to fording kits, but not all military engines were equipped. Drop some photos, and we can put our collective minds together to see what you have.