M-37

[rumplecat]

This is the first shot of my M37, after we walked down most of the five foot plus tall johnson grass it was sitting in. I drove by it for ten years before I got the bug.
James G.

[HWooldridge]

I've seen and owned ones in worse shape - so pull her out of the grass and go to work...:)

[Bill Wincapaw]

Alright!
Looks pretty original, Congrat's on your new acquisition.
Regards
Bill Wincapaw

[3dot]

hey looks like a good project. I love these old trucks.


good luck

[rumplecat]

Attached are a couple of pics. on our progress with the M37 project. I am still missing a set of winch bumpers for anyone who has a spare set for sale!
James G.

[rumplecat]

We are getting close to blasting time on the whole truck! Looks like we will miss the 4th of July parade this year but we will be ready in '05!
James G.

PS: I still need some winch bumpers!!!

[Terry Newton]

I bet those rollers under the tires work great with limited space.

[rumplecat]

They are pretty stiff to move but they were cheap! I thought you were going to visit this week. It has been a good clear week now they are predicting three inches of rain tonight - I hope the creek don't rise....again! Haven't found HIGHER GROUND YET!
James G.

[Terry Newton]

I will be back, though.

I have not forgotten about your bracket.

See you soon.

[rumplecat]

We stripped off everything on the "new" replacement engine today. It looks pretty good cleaned up, built in '52. The current engine in my 1952 M37 was built in 1962. it looks like eveything on the truck was rebuilt prior to it being DXed! Too bad it sat in the weather for 10-15 years. We prime it tomorrow.
James G.

[Terry Newton]

I know this has been asked a million times, but oh well:

What color were the original M37 engines? Not silver, I believe.

Anyone have a pic?

[rumplecat]

The only color on the three engines I have is OD, my son wants to paint it gloss black with all the attachements in OD, but I think we are going to do the opposite. I have two coats of high temp BBQ flat black on it now and I think OD is the way to go.
James G.

PS Terry I found an original brass fire extinquisher for the M37 to go in that bracket.

[rumplecat]

We decided on OD using spary cans from WalMart, the olive drap camo paint they sell. At $2.29 a can it looks pretty good, Krylon has been good in the past we will see how it last!
James G.

[Terry Newton]

It always makes my stomach turn when you talk about the great deals you find. :)

Keep those pics coming.

[rumplecat]

As we get ready to sandblast the frame it was time for the transfer case to be removed, stripped and completely filled with oil. We have scraped and brushed it to the bare metal and now it is time to paint. We decided not to have the engine, transmission and transfer sandblasted, instead we are do it by hand. Slower but I think less likelyhood of problems in the end.
With the transfer case inverted we filled it from the bottom with oil all the way to the top we have no leaks, so I hope that holds true when it is remounted and running.
James G.

[Bruce]

Hey James,
You have been busy! Older vehicles sometimes had different points of lubracation painted red, my rig had this done to it, by a previous owner, I think. All the zerk fittings, dip-stick,filter nut and oil filler neck. Not sure whether it will stay that way. Also my engine is 10 years older, 1941/42, re-built in 1967.
Thank A Vet Today,

[rumplecat]

Pulled the engine and transmission today, came out without a hitch.
James G.

[rumplecat]

It took a pint of SiliKroil and three hours of tapping to get the manifold off the old engine. One of the center studs would hang up everytime we tried to remove it. It would come out to about 1/2 inch from the end of the stud and no more! After a couple of dozen tries it gave in before we did. The engine is seized but look how great the valve springs look, we are going to tear the engine down to see what happened.
James G.

[Warren Watt]

It may be stuck due to one piston that married itself to the cylinder wall using a tiny bit of rust. Thanks for the posts. Good luck.

[rumplecat]

Got my frame and bed sides back. the guy is not cheap but he does a great job, almost too good, now I have to find a way of painting the inside of the stake pockets and frame cross members! POR 15 really will not come off your skin!
James G.

[MoparNorm]

James,
I hope that you are painting that frame immediately. It will start to oxidize within 48 hours if left out after blasting.
MN

[Bruce]

Hey James,
Good start, don't wait to long or you might have to start over again.
Norm, if James did get surface rust, would he have to blast or sand again?

[MoparNorm]

If he is using POR -15 maybe not, but any other paint or powder coating and he most certainly will. Blasting, cleaning, prep and painting are really four parts of a one part process.
MN

[rumplecat]

After a break for a few months we started back up and today we put the transfer case back in. We dressed it up and we also painted the frame.