FIRST AID KIT

[Sal]

Dose anyone have a picture of how the First Aid kit is attached to the side of the passenger seat ?

[snowdad]

I have a few and am going to try to send them so bear with me.
Phillip

[m-37Bruce]

They look familiar........

[Sal]

Thanks Phil. But it looks like it will hit the door when you close it..

[m-37Bruce]

Looks are deceiving, the FA Kit showing is mine, & it don't hit/rub or anything.

[ChrisC]

Is this location correct for all years? My M-37 has the indent, but no holes for the strap, are those footman loops?
The last M-37 I worked on had oval holes right in the seat base fro the strap to pass through, it was 51 model, the one I have now is a late 52.

[Lifer]

Again, this is an area in which there is a lot of variation. Some had the oval slots that Chris mentioned, some had Footman loops, some had a metal bracket with a spring latch, and many had none at all. (My own M37 had nothing.)

Looks like you have a bunch of "wiggle room" to play with and, whichever option you choose, no one will be able to say "that's not correct!"

[m-37Bruce]

Some slots, some Footman Loops, some w/nothing, like lifer said. I was told the FA Kit was deleted after 53, as was the Fire Extinguisher. My truck had four holes for the Footman Loop mounting.
Nobody has asked/comented about the Tank Commander's Bino Holder mounted to the seat base?

[cuz]

My 54 only has two 3/16" holes, one forward of the kit and one aft.

[m-37Bruce]

How far from the floor are they?

[Sal]

To tell you the truth I had never seen a First Aid Kit mounted when I was in the service. We used to carry them in the O V M compartment of the Deuces and 5 Tons. On my truck I have 3 holes in a triangular patten on the side of the seat, two on top with one on the bottom in the middle.

[m-37Bruce]

Those holes in the tri pattern are for the rubber bumpers, I see if I can snap a shot of them. (inside & out)

[Joe]

The round holes are for rubber bumpers. I've been told that the bumpers are the same as those used on the hood on the M151 to support the windshield when it's down. There MIGHT be slots for straps to hold the FA kit but not all M-37 came with the slots. According to the First Aid FM (FM 21-11 1943), only every 4th motor vehicle vehicle came with a FA kit so that probably explains why many vehicles don't have the slots. Also the FA kit was later deleted entirely (See Production Changes on this site.) I don't know if any M37s built after that time came with slots or not. I don't THINK footman loops are original but I'm not certain. I suspect that most M-37s didn't come from the factory with FA kits or the slots for the straps. I also suspect that the footman loops were added by military units or by later civilian owners so that they could add the FA kit without going through the difficulty of cutting slots in the seat frame.

FWIW My '51 and '54 M-37s both have the three holes (w/o bumpers) but no slots.

[Rick C]

If I can find my production history book, I believe the mounting holes for the first aid kit were deleted pretty early on in production. Way back in the Big Electric days there was a discussion about this and it was decided that slots were the original mounting method. The original design also should have had holes for bumpers on the floor as well. I had a 1951 parts truck with the bumpers in place.
Rick C

[Sal]

What I finally did was to use the two upper holes on the side of the seat to attach the strap too. I used 2 Truss head screws through the strap after making holes in it with an awl. I also found that the glove box door rubber bumpers were about the same size as the 3rd hole so I applied some silicone sealant to an extra one I had, and installed it. It does the job and looks good...