g741.org

Not on mine either, checked this afternoon.

No extra holes in mine, either.

Late yesterday I lifted the bed and laid it on the floor. Then I got my daughter to help me tilt it up on it's end.

It has no rust underneath and looks dirty but really good.

Leaning against the wall on that rolling cart is a recipe for a scoot out and take out your legs disaster! Careful with that. Looking again, looks like it may be flat on the cart? If so then safe. I have been knocked down more than once and tend to point that out whenever I see it.

I figured today might be the last warm weekend for 2017. So I got the steam cleaner out and cleaned off the body and frame of the M37. Then let it dry in the sun and the 69 degree day.

I had to pull the engine before I pulled the frame and body out to clean it.

The engine is free:



The frame pushed away:



Engine sitting in its cradle:



Here is the mud left from the previous owner:





It's going to be nice working on this truck now that it is clean.







Now I can work on it during the cold weather.

I try to do something on the truck each day, even if it is something small. I decided to remove the side steps. Both steps are bent and I have better ones to replace them.

Those durn carriage bolts that hold the steps on the hangers are low quality and always get rusted. Only one came off clean the rest of them started to loosen and then the bolt started spinning. So I had to resort to the grinder and cut off wheel. On the somewhat straight step I was more careful and saved that step with the cut off wheel to the bolts. The smashed step got the grinder treatment to the bolt heads.

At the end of the evening I still had dirt dropping on me from the 'clean' truck.

I will usually weld a nut to the top of the carriage bolt so that I can hold it with a wrench and that way I do not hog out the square hole and also don't damage the part with a grinder. New bolts are cheap. I need a set of steps, how bad are yours? Mine are rusted, bent I can straighten.

I spent the cold Sunday afternoon, (snow still on the ground) sitting under the truck removing the gas, vent and brake lines from the drivers side of the truck.

I still had the Alabama yellow clay falling all over me from behind the lines and embedded in the wire wrap protecting the lines. I can't imagine trying to change all those lines having the engine, transmission and transfer case in there. It helps to have the bed off too.

I forgot, I was going to ask a question.

What do you guys do to replace the bendable straps that hold the gas, vent and brake lines in place? These have the one hole in the strap for the bolt. I might could reuse some of them. But wondered if someone makes replacement ones or there is another way to go.

Alan

I can't imagine trying to replace all the metal and flex lines with the bed on and the engine in place. I don't think you could do the fuel line under the radiator with it in place.

NV
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So where did you source those? Alan

It's been a slow week getting up to Christmas. It did warm up some and allow me to clean and paint the frame and underside of the cab some.

Here is the finished front drivers support arm. I am using an industrial machine chemical coating on the frame and supports. The under side of the cab will get Army OD Green.



I put the front support back on the frame and bolted the cab to it. There was a rubber type pad there. When I took the drivers side rear cab support off I found what I think is an asbestos pad. Is that what it is and have others found the same? I looked at the passenger side where the muffler mounts and that cab support looks like asbestos too. That makes more sense for that side. Thoughts:

Both sides of my fiddy-three had the belting material, it never crossed my mind that it might be asbestos? I cleaned them up and replaced 'em when I put the steps back on.

I went on a search about these rear cab pads. The manual lists them as 3 1/2 x 2 x 1/4 Silenite Pads.

From a Packard Car Club board I found the following factory training document reference about leaf springs - 'lead/fabric pads (Silenite)'.

So instead of Asbestos they might could be some sort of lead fabric pads.

sturmtyger380 wrote:I forgot, I was going to ask a question.

What do you guys do to replace the bendable straps that hold the gas, vent and brake lines in place? These have the one hole in the strap for the bolt. I might could reuse some of them. But wondered if someone makes replacement ones or there is another way to go.

Alan

I'm using stainless P-clamps to replace the original carbon steel strap clamps (aka P-clamps), since I hate rust.

You can purchase them from a lot of different sources, such as:

Eastwood http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-3-16-b ... -10pc.html

Summit Racing https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpe-17191/overview/