a little introduction

[98taco3]

howdy, My names mike and im new to the M37 world and im in Colorado. I picked it up out of Sunflower, Arizona, about a 13 hour drive from here. Its pretty much complete except for a wiper arm and a few light lenses and supposedly ran great a few years ago. I should be able to get it on the road by the weekend, the fuel system cleanup is going good, all thats left is the tank. And just a few noob questions, the truck has no bumper numbers on it but i do have the hood numbers. Is there any way at all to figure out where it served? and any thoughts on the bed damage? It doesn't look like accident damage, it got hit to hard and fast. The steel was punctured and folded over. Possibly damaged in service? Heres some pictures of it.

[HingsingM37]

Welcome aboard Not a bad looking truck at all. You should be able to locate a bed panel to replace that dented one without too much trouble. Nice that you have your hood number as well. Some of the other guys here will chime in as far as researching it . Lots of knowledge here.
Have fun with your M37.

[T. Highway]

Welcome Mike, It looks like a good candidate for restoration.

[Nickathome]

Nice truck. None of them are found without some rot or damage....If you don't want the hassle of removing the whole bed side, then find a donor with a trashed front portion and cut out the good material and patch it up.

My truck had some cancer and a half assed home made patch on the left rear of the bed side in the same area as yours. I found a left bed side and rather than go through the hassle of removing the whole side, I just cut out what I needed to repair, and welded new pieces from the donor on. I then sold the bed side to a guy and made $40 bucks on the deal.

[Cal_Gary]

Welcome Mike! I can't view pix from work, but others have already offered their expertise. You've joined a great group of folks here-keep us posted on your progress!
Gary

[Lifer]

Gee! That bed panel seems to have taken a bit of shrapnel. A good body man can straighten and patch the panel, though. Won't even have to take it off the truck unless he wants to. The hardest part would be removing the dent in the rolled edge, but even that isn't too difficult with the right equipment.

[Paul in Kempner, TX]

There are many relevant web sites that have useful information for helping you learn about your truck.

Here's the link to my Kempner Power Wagon Museum web site

http://www.texaspowerwagon.com/

Here's the answer to your question

http://www.texaspowerwagon.com/vehicle_history.htm

[SierraM37]

About what mine looked when I got it 5 years ago. I'm doing a frame off restoration with the addition of disc brakes and power steering. Pix can be seen here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... 6292a0fff4

I've not started on the body yet - But don't have the hole in the bed that you do. I do have it all in it's smallest pieces ready for the blaster and then I can re assemble.

Have fun, take your time, get some manuals - I got lucky as mine came with a set of 3. Welcome to the M37 fan club. Good group of guy's you'll meet along the way.

[rixm37]

Hi Mike and welcome. Your truck looks like it will be fun to restore!! If my eyes don't deceive me those look like Selectro hubs on the front end, nice.!!Can't wait to see your progress. You may find more numbers on the left and right side of the front bumper when you sand it very lightly. Also same on the rear bumperettes.
Rick

[98taco3]

thanks for the advice guys! Ill keep updating on here, its going to be a rolling resto if it runs alright when i get her fired. first order of business is getting it drivable and from there paint/stencils. The damage does look like shapnel to me as well lifer, i think i may end up leaving it, whos rocking one with "real" battle damage? there is just a single layer of paint on the bumper and theres actually a USAF sticker on it as well that i can barely make out. No evidence of there ever having been bumper numbers on it. On the bumpers or the bumperettes. The bumperettes were painted with a yellow and black stripe pattern too, maybe under that... I suppose they could have been replaced at one time.

[Nickathome]

With regards to your truck having "battle damage", I seriously doubt it...Not to burst your bubble but from the evidence I've read and been told, most if not all the M37's in this country today never left the states during the wars. Now I can't prove that, however it does make alot of sense. Think about it, over 115,000 M37's were made in total. Out of that maybe a fraction, say 15 % went overseas. Most of them didn't return as it was more economical to simply leave them behind as is the case when most wars end. We leave materiel behind because its simply cheaper to leave that damaged, obsolete vehicle behind than ship it home. Add to that the fact that M37's weren't front line vehicles, so unless your truck spent some time at Keh Sahn during the seige, I'd say your "battle damage" most likely was caused by a more benign source, such as an over zealous farmer driving into a tree, or having a cable snap on that stump he just pulled and the chain whipped back and caught the side of the bed, etc. I mean I can't prove it isn't battle damage, but the odds favor the damage coming from a domestic source.

[98taco3]

With regards to your truck having "battle damage", I seriously doubt it...Not to burst your bubble but from the evidence I've read and been told, most if not all the M37's in this country today never left the states during the wars. Now I can't prove that, however it does make alot of sense. Think about it, over 115,000 M37's were made in total. Out of that maybe a fraction, say 15 % went overseas. Most of them didn't return as it was more economical to simply leave them behind as is the case when most wars end. We leave materiel behind because its simply cheaper leave that damaged, obsolete vehicle behind than ship it home. Add to that the fact that M37's weren't front line vehicles, so unless your truck spent some time at Keh Sahn during the seige, I'd say your "battle damage" most likely was caused by a more benign source, such an over zealous farmer driving into a tree, or having a cable snap on thate stump he just pulled and the chain whipped back and caught the side of the bed, etc. I mean I can't prove it isn't battle damage, but the odds favor the damage coming from a domestic source.

Most likely happened here but who knows really. The way it got hit when you get close to it doesnt look like a cable or backing into a tree, whatever hit it sheared the steel in 2 places completely out. I dont believe im going to bother fixing it, just paint over it, adds a little character.