1952 M37 Cdn

[Chris Olson]

Here is a pic of my project M37CDN
I bought it from a fellow off the internet who was doing a complete restoration of another truck.
He had bought this truck for some parts he needed to finish the other one. I called about his ad, went and looked at it and bought it on the spot... I have always thought the old Dodge Powerwagons/M37's were cool.
When I bought it a month ago there was no engine or transmission but the rest of the drivetrain was there.
The yellow paint was from the logging company that used it in the forests around Powell River B.C.
I have since done a quickie
'no harm/no foul' Chev 350 /SM465 engine swap just to get the thing moving under it's own power. By playing around with engine position I was able to fabricate brackets that use existing holes in the framerails. To accomodate the extra length of the Chev engine with a regular water pump and fan I spun the rad support bracket 180 and bolted up a Toyota Landcruiser Radiator
( Exact same width but slightly shorter than the Dodge rad).
I Also had to take out the gas tank and have the "sponge of death" removed from the bottom and the inside sealed.
I will try to take some pictures of the swap once I get it running( hopefully this weekend)
I am really glad that I found this forum as it has been very inspiring.... the posts with pictures of beautiful restorations are enough to get me thinking about phoning around to some sandblasters although I am not sure whether this truck will ever have a Dodge engine in it again... everything I own (even my 1948 Willys Cj2a) has a Chevy engine. But again after seeing how well a 4BT Cummins fits in there.....

[Bruce]

Chris, You aren't the first to do the Bow-Ty thing, probly not the last either! The important thing is that you got her, and your taking care of her! I think I can see that the logging boys did away w/ the tail-gate, buggers, I guess it was in their way? Alot of the guys would like to see how you did your conversion and the brakets that you fabbed, so get the pics and post 'em. I'm guessing that the sponge from heck was some kind of bacteria that could survive the moisture of the Great North West, did U get a pic of that? lol
Congrats,

[52M37]

Hi Chris:
Sound like you are on the way..
Tell me about the 'sponge of death'?
I had a Jeep CJ5 that had a skid plate for the gas tank and a rubber pad between the tank and th gaurd. It was just like a 'spnge' and held water there until the tank rusted out. Is this what you are talking about? I have a 52 m37 and do not see one of thes things. maybe i am missing it?
Hal

[Randy N]

Chris
Looks like a great project. I'm out in Langley and have a 52 M37 at home that I just bought. Have some spare parts, if your in need. I was going to get rid of them, but Nickathome (another PWA reader) suggested that I hang on to them in case someone was in need.
Anyway Good Luck!

[Chris Olson]

Hal... the 'Sponge' that I was referring to was inside the gas tank... I'm pretty sure that there was a great deal of fill-ups in the camps where no one was too concerned with the concept of cleanliness....ther was a healthy 3/4 " of sludge that had congealed to a near mat like consistency....this was to go along with the eight gallons of varnish that I drained out.... smelled nice too

Randy, Thanks for the offer I will keep you in mind as I go through this thing.

[3dot]

I think I have a few Cdn data plates, from my cab. If you are interested e-mail me.

[Arrr]

Chris,

Good luck with the project. Looks like it's not in bad condition. Was there an old M43 that was with it for sale? I'm down in Victoria and have a lot of extra parts for sale or trade.

Cheers
JD
M152

[Chris Olson]

Well I have been slowly peeling up the yellow paint and fixing little things here and there... but I needed to move it around in the yard.. so i got it running again and took it out for a spin just to shake the cobwebs out.

I took the hardtop off to check out the rust situation... not too bad I will have a little to fix once the truck gets torn down to the frame.
I have also been doing some shopping ... I picked up a Diesel to power it... so hopefully by Fall I will have some more pics to share.....

[Arrr]

Chris,

Truck looks in great shape!! What kind of diesel have you picked for it?

JD

[Chris Olson]

I bought a '95 dodge cummins 6BT with the Auto trans, less turbo and alternator for $1000 Canadian..
It looks like I will have to change the shape of the firewall (push it back) and I will have to eliminate the cowl vent.

As for the Auto tranny i actually like how the newer Diesels run with an auto.. My brother has a '92 Cummins truck and it has had no problems.
I plan on making a Column shifter that looks like the one on the old Willys Jeeps

Obviously I will need to upgrade the front springs and install power steering.

There are also plans afoot to swap out the axles for a set I picked up from a CUCV 1 1/4 Chev truck.. I will need to narrow the front housing for sure.