The Rebuild begins!

[98taco3]

Well i was able to sell another project so the rebuild of the M37 begins! Got it in the garage today and got the old bed ripped off of it. Tomorrow the front clip and engine come off and out of it. Gonna get the engine off to the machine shop and the rolling frame will go in for sand blasting next weekend. Ill keep adding photos here as the project progresses. Ive got a goal of The 4th of June. The good guys car show is going on and it would be great to have its maiden voyage out to that gigantic show. Will be tough to make that deadline but should be doable. Heres some pictures of the bed removal from tonight...

[Cal_Gary]

Nice pix! Thanks for sharing.
Gary

[Carter]

Good to see another being saved, lots of work to be done but it's all part of the fun of ownership.

[98taco3]

Well i put another few hours into it and have the front clip off of her as well as the windshield frame and the cab floor. Tomorrow the engine/trans comes out. If i feel like it the transfer case will as well. Im wondering why the engine is yellow but it IS a T245 since its got the bolt on oil filler neck. Someone must have had the engine out to rebuild once upon a time. Still no stuck bolts! I cant believe it! AND im being period correct with my choice of beverage Heres some more pictures of todays progress....

[rixm37]

And so the epic restoration begins !! You'll probably need a few more tall boys to get you through I know I did
It looks like you have a nice rust free truck to start with. Keep us posted on the progress.

[M37UK]

I havent seen inspection hatches on the cab floor like that before, is it normal?

[Master Yota]

I havent seen inspection hatches on the cab floor like that before, is it normal?

All my Cdn. trucks have 'em...(Two '52's and a '53...)

Don't you just love the amount of progess you can acheive when you're not fighting with broken bolts?!

Looking good so far!

[rixm37]

Hi stu, my U.S. 1952 m has them . I have taken out the one on the driver side when I was working on the dimmer and pedals. I think they are standard on all the models.

[M37UK]

Well would you believe it, my truck has them too

I had never even noticed them before. What purpose do they serve?
Are they for pedalling the truck "Flintstone" fashion when you run out of gas?

[Lifer]

Maybe it was done to make it easier for our Brit, Aussie, and NZ friends to convert them to right-hand drive. Who knows?

[k8icu]

Having spent the last 4 or 5 months rebuilding my cab I can see that both the drivers side and passanger side of the cab are identical (mirror images of each other) so therefore my guess is the driver side was removeable for the peddles and therefore since it's the same on the passager side the floor plate is also removeable. Maybe it made building the body easier at the time?

[98taco3]

Another nights progress! Got the engine and transmission out tonight and the engine partially ripped down. Pulled the head, manifolds, and valve covers and didnt find anything alarming. No ridge in the cylinders but they are really glazed. Valve guides are shot too. Heres some pictures of tonights progress, tomorrow the cab and transfer case comes out. Maybe the tank and steel lines if i feel like it














And a quick question for you guys. I almost had a heart attack when i found this junk in the intake runners. Im a diesel mechanic and ive never seen this stuff in an engine, even engines MUCH older than this T245. It appeared to be JB Weld on the bottom of the intake runners and made me do a double take! Its sort of rubbery and scrapes out fairly easily. Any idea what the heck it is? Heres a decent picture of

[HingsingM37]

Congrats on the start of the project. Enjoy the trip. Looks like your rig is pretty solid and should clean up nicely. Great shot of the Schlitz tall boy!

[Carter]

Maybe Bubba was trying to smooth out the intake runners with JB

No stuck bolts

[98taco3]

Maybe Bubba was trying to smooth out the intake runners with JB

No stuck bolts

thats what i thought at first but the stuff is soft and rubbery in texture. It seems like a dip tank will pull it right out of there.