Partial Restoration

[MolderBrown]

I just bought a 1952 M37 from a doctor in Georgia , and it's in great shape , but I have a few questions for those "in the know" . I also bought a winch for it WITH the PTO box . After I mount the winch , WHAT CONTROLS the in - out movement of the cable ? Also , the steering wheel has some play in it . How can I lessen the play ? I don't intend to do a full restoration , as I'm 79 years old and I'd like to drive it awhile before I ship out to Kelly's Green on final orders . Does anyone know about how much paint it would take to "2 coat" the cab and body ? One last thing - This truck is painted a light blue , and I'm positive that it's OEM , mainly because of the fact that EVERY nook and cranny in the beastie is well painted the same , with no sign of OD . Any ideas ?

[RMS]

welcome aboard Molder it sounds like you got a nice strata blue air force 37, id like to see some pics. I'm almost finished painting my 52 m37 (in pieces) it has taken 5 gallons so far and I still need to paint the tail gate and the hard top. granted some paint ended up on the floor as dust. it was my first paint job with a hvlp gun bottom feed . I also used very little thinner and its probably 2-3 mill thick in places.

the winch is controlled from in side the cab, in and out controlled by the pto lever.

what do you consider "some play" in regards to the steering? all the trucks I have seen have about an inch or two of steering wheel travel at center. the idler bushing takes a pounding and a small amount of deflection there equals a lot at the steering wheel. a drag link kit, a new idler bush and pin does a lot to tighten up the steering assuming the box is not shot.

happy wrenching
Robyn

[Cal_Gary]

Welcome aboard, Molder, you've come to the right place for all of your M37 questions. Remember, age is an attitude-if you're young at heart, you WILL be! RMS is dead-on with his response. We love pictures here, so post them when you can.
Gary