G 741 copy of David Ahls book

[refit1701]

I've been curious too and went searching for the book 2 years ago when I first got my truck. But the fellows here advised me to read the manuals and ask questions here.

Reading it for fun is fine. I probably will some day.

[Rick C]

I followed his M37 "restoration" in Military Vehicles magazine. From what I read he threw some paint on a truck and called it restored... Towards the end it was a mad dash to get it ready for some show he was going to..... Wouldn't dream of paying more than cover price for that book.

Charles....I know a bunch of us would buy a decent reference book on the M37. If you guys check out the Willys M Series group on Yahoo you'll see a man there put together a sweet reference book on the M38 jeep. Not a restoration guide but a book detailing just about every nut and bolt specification and option on the M38 over the years.
Rick C

[rixm37]

I have a copy of the book and it is an OK read. He did put a lot of effort into his stripping and painting. Paint and body that is what most of the book is about.
BUT there is really nothing about anything else.
Nothing about drive line, engine ,brakes, electrical, and the many problems and solutions we discuss here on the forum.
This forum is a much better resource for a restoration than the book is. Read it if you get the chance. But there is nothing in it that you can't find here on the forum or in the tech manuals available for a lot less.
It is certainly not worth 125.00 dollars.

[m-37Bruce]

There was a small group of Dodge M37/G-741 enthusiast who were fine tuning/editing this Forum, the M37 Registry, something happened, we never finished, it all happened just as Robi retired, I still have all of my completed work! Monkey Man, Robi, Nivek, Kevin & myself & I don't remember who else was involved, maybe Brian in Oregon............
Tony can we still make this happen?

[Juan]

It has been mentioned to me to do a guide a number of times. I really would love to do one, however it boils down to this. There is simply not enough hours in the day to run a rebuild/restoration shop and have the extra time to devote to a writting project such as this. I have no idea how profitable it would be, likely nothing fantastic. For me it would be a labor of love, it would take hundreds of hours to really do it justice. If I couldn't approach it that way, I'm not interested. I would want to share all I've learned over the years in how to do it right the first time. So for now, time simply will not permit me obligating myself to such a huge undertaking. Maybe someday if the good Lord is willing.

Charles, sounds like a good project for the retirement. I would buy one right away. Keep the pictures of your projects.

[Monkey Man]

There was a small group of Dodge M37/G-741 enthusiast who were fine tuning/editing this Forum, the M37 Registry, something happened, we never finished, it all happened just as Robi retired, I still have all of my completed work! Monkey Man, Robi, Nivek, Kevin & myself & I don't remember who else was involved, maybe Brian in Oregon............
Tony can we still make this happen?

Well, if I get some time spare over winter I can have a go at it, Robi sent me all the files, I just have to try and make sense of it all

Best Regards - MM

[Nickathome]

I honestly don't get the mystique of this book. I bought a copy back when you could get it for $19.99 or whatever it went for. I consider it a good entertainment, and a hopper companion for those days when I need to kill time whilst waiting for Mr. Duece to make his appearance.

I don't think I would have the conscience to sell it to someone for 500% profit as some have done. I can see dumping it for a few extra bucks, to make a little coin for ones efforts, but to sell it for hundreds of dollars, is just taking someone over a barrel. And seeing what some vendors try to get for parts at the various MV shows I've attended, its no surprise this book is priced the way it is. Can you say "GREED"? I guess the suckers that buy it for that price are to blame also. Who would be so stupid to pay a C note for this crappy book?

[Cal_Gary]

I also have the book and have learned through my own M37 experiences how limited its contents are. For tough issues, I found the best sources are the tech manuals and this forum, not necessarily in that order. Having said that, as more and more of these "guides" get trashed they will become even higher in value since they are out of print.

I still surf through mine but rarely to answer a technical question-the parts numbers are easier to find in it than through the 20P or 34P manuals. Not to pull the pin on the incendiary grenade, but I also do not know if a collective effort by we forum members is the way to go either, based on some of the heated exchanges that have at times taken place here.
Gary

[Nickathome]

Not to pull the pin on the incendiary grenade, but I also do not know if a collective effort by we forum members is the way to go either, based on some of the heated exchanges that have at times taken place here.
Gary

In this case, I simply weed through the "holier than thoughs", and the "my way or the highway" responses to get to the real solutions from those with real compassion and or advice for your situation. ........

[refit1701]

Wow, let's not turn this book issue into a pissing contest.

Everyone has something to contribute to the forum. When someone asks a question, many give answers and the OP is able to decide which route to take.

We all love MV's, M37's in particular. Let's focus on that.

[Chunk]

I honestly don't get the mystique of this book. I bought a copy back when you could get it for $19.99 or whatever it went for. I consider it a good entertainment, and a hopper companion for those days when I need to kill time whilst waiting for Mr. Duece to make his appearance.

I don't think I would have the conscience to sell it to someone for 500% profit as some have done. I can see dumping it for a few extra bucks, to make a little coin for ones efforts, but to sell it for hundreds of dollars, is just taking someone over a barrel. And seeing what some vendors try to get for parts at the various MV shows I've attended, its no surprise this book is priced the way it is. Can you say "GREED"? I guess the suckers that buy it for that price are to blame also. Who would be so stupid to pay a C note for this crappy book?

I sold mine at auction. When I sold mine,I sold in on Ebay with a starting price of 1 penny, no reserve,and free shipping. Its the 14+ bidders that drove up the price. I would have been completely happy breaking even on the price I originally paid...$24.99

[Cal_Gary]

Like I said-no need to pull the pin; I just know how passionate we are about our vehicles and in some cases there is more than one way to do the job "correctly" although not everyone would share that sentiment. We do a fine job of policing each other and keeping each other out of trouble here and I know that we collectively appreciate that. I'd just hate to see such fine relationships go down the bowl over trying to decide how best to compile a REAL Resto manual-nothing more.
Thanks,
Gary

[cuz]

I've read many books that I was advised were not so good or lacked any real value. There is virtually nothing published on the M37 short of a few MV Mag and Army Motors articles. The quality of this book has been public knowledge for many years yet just look at how many folks still went and read it anyway to satisfy their need to see for themselves and make their own determination of weather or not it offered any value or not.

Most How to Books that offer a lot of savvy are those written about the technical side of producing a restored product without being make or model specific. Books titled "How to XXXXXXX" generally yield a lot more useful info than most books title "The Restoration of my XXXXXX.

From the writing viewpoint there are many folks out there that are more than capable of putting out a really good make/model specific resto guide. Such a guide is never meant to walk you through every step of the resto. It would take thousands of pages to cover every technical detail of a resto. Make/model specific Resto Guides are actually meant to offer a place for you to view the many aspects of a resto that are peculiar to that particular vehicle. They are also very helpful in ID'g parts the correct parts to use and the parts and technical support sources. A quality resto book would offer you sources for more detailed info on very technical parts of the resto like web sites and book titles for welding technigues, auto-body repair, gearbox rebuilding and engine rebuilding.

I look at each published offering as a chance to learn something. Sometimes it's a lot, other times it's a little and once in awhile it's that I really wasted my time on that one.

I have listened to all the negative publicity on Ahl's book for about 10 years and now with a free copy circulating I would like to see for myself.

As for writing and co-authoring model specific resto guides or just contributing to the development of one, yes it takes time and personal effort but if you love that particular vehicle and have some knowledge to share then "Put you hands in you hip pockets and carry your ass over to the type writer!"

If you have an M38 restorer in your neighborhood try talking to them to see if they have the M38 Restoration Guide and will let you borrow it. It's not perfect but it's the first M38 specific resto guide on the market. Like Charles I operate my own aircraft repair shop and I am very busy but I also co-own two M38/M38A1/M170/M60/CJV35 specific web sites and forums and my partner just published the guide last spring. A few of us got off our duffs and gave him a hand. We use the proceeds from the guide sales to help pay for the web site and fund more research efforts for historical M38 data.

I'd like to see that happen for the M37 as well.

[Nickathome]

[quote="Chunk
I sold mine at auction. When I sold mine,I sold in on Ebay with a starting price of 1 penny, no reserve,and free shipping. Its the 14+ bidders that drove up the price. I would have been completely happy breaking even on the price I originally paid...$24.99[/quote]

Did you refuse the money?

[rixm37]

Hey Cuz that sounds like a great plan. I would be willing to participate. Hey I can grab my butt and take it to a key board. I can help compile info. And my grammer aint' to bad neither.

I think a good example of a limited book is the one that Gordon Maney has on the Power Wagon Advertiser site. "Dodge Service" That is good stuff. It is limited on what it covers, but well done. He takes the info in the manual and then adds to it from experience on what works and what doesn't.

I have seen many topics about basic items come up over and over so I believe that there are many items that we, the forum, could come up with that are so black and white that there would be no argument on them.

Things like tune ups. carb adjustments and rebuilds, brakes and disk conversions, electrical harness installs, engine rebuilds,and drive line repairs, to list a few. Lots of areas that many folks here have dealt with that would be great to compile into one volume. Don't look at the Ahl book as a bad read. Look at it as a starter for another book that does a better job.