G503.com Message Forums

by **Ben Dover** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:12 am

Has everyone done the fix to anchor the front passenger seat to the floorboard? A hardware store variety door bolt was used. Messy mod. The M-38a1 had this mod also, but the factory installed a retainer spring WO 684184 on late production Jeeps.

by **Cuz** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:13 am

This info has been stored on our Post WWII M series Willys/Kaiser jeep specific web sites for several years.

Reposted photo. Plenty more on our http://www.willysmjeeps.com web site and forums.

by **Ben Dover** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:00 am

I have seen both brazing and arc welding since the 50s, not a very pretty mod at all. Many Jeeps did not receive the mod, as organizational maintenance shops did not always have welders back then. It would be brought up to date when the Jeep happened to go to a support unit, maybe just for a paint job, or higher echelon repairs. The Completion of the MWO would be entered in the DA-478. The DA-478 followed the Jeep for its operational life, and was destroyed when the Jeep was finally scrapped or disposed of by the DRMO. The History of your Jeep is gone forever the day it is transferred from the US Gov't.

by **moneypit** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:07 pm

wes, thanks for posting that! i really thought some farmer put that in. i was going to take it off but i kinda liked it and i'm pretty lazy sometimes (see, lazy is good sometimes)..............frank

by **moneypit** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:07 pm

wes, thanks for posting that! i really thought some farmer put that in. i was going to take it off but i kinda liked it and i'm pretty lazy sometimes (see, lazy is good sometimes)..............frank

by **Ben Dover** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:12 pm

Uncle Sam was not a farmer.

by **moneypit** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:18 pm

hey ben, yeah i guess he wasn't- but it does have the bubba-fied look to it.........frank sorry about the double post i don't know why it does that

by **Rod** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:16 pm

When I did my Factory Class restoration I had to remove the clasp. The one on my M38 was brazed on.

by **Ben Dover** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:40 pm

The ingredients back then were not always ideal for a neat job, the Jeep sheetmetal was thin, the lock was hard to get a good ground for arc welding, it was difficult to clamp, most fixes looked crappy, brazing was the easiest.

by **Bob W** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:40 pm

My '52 M-38 had one brazed on. Ugly!!!!!!! I removed it.

by **Ben Dover** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:55 pm

I can't imagine a driver staying stuck to the jeep when it is driven wild enough to up end the passenger seat into the windshield. I did it in a 59 CJ-5 when I hit a 5" tree at 35 MPH after falling asleep in a driving snowstorm. I was thrown from the Jeep. There must have been one heck of a road test to realize the need for the anchor.