Walter

[tbone1004]

Been lacking on pictures, so here's a few.

Here's a picture of the truck when it was in service with our local VFD. This was in October of 2010.



Here's a picture of my current DD and my M116a1 trailer from July 2011. I guess it's fitting that my search for a vintage truck ended up with the M37 after purchasing the trailer. I found the trailer back in NC and got it for $300. Since then, I haven't done much to it unfortunately, but I removed the brake mechanisms since the handles weren't with it, and I replaced the landing leg with one from an A3. I highly recommend doing this for anyone with the A1 series trailers as the adjustable height makes it much easier. I didn't have a crank, so I milled a custom 1/2" socket and use a hand speeder wrench to turn it, but can also obviously use a regular ratchet.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-18-in-sp ... ockType=G4


Here's a picture of how the fire dept put the chevy cab onto the M37. They stuck the cab on there and riveted flashing to the cab and the door frames. You can also see some of the lovely wiring that is long gone.

After getting a local sandblasting quote saying that it would be around $2k to blast and prime the truck with ZRC, I think that I am going to pay to have the frame and possible the bed blasted, but sand the cab, hood and fenders. Not quite sure yet, but thinking that it may be a good plan to save a bit of money and put some more of my own blood, sweat, and tears into the project.

[Monkey Man]

Can I have a couple more pics of your trailer, the Corio trailer has gotten short shift so I want to build one with Dodge wheels and yours looks very similar to the frame trailer I drew up.
Thanks

MM

[tbone1004]

yup, let me know what specific ones you want? It's in snow right now with a flat tire, but the snow is melting this week

Here's some more pictures



With the pump sitting in the back of the tailgate you can see how far down the rear suspension was compressed, poor springs. Stood right back up though which is good.


Here's the new gauges that are going in. Autometer Old Tyme Black
Having our machinist at work make up an adapter ring to allow me to mount the 3 1/8" speedo into the hole. After the repower I'll make a new panel to allow the equal sized tach to fit in as well, but it'll look like this for now. Probably stick the original lights back in the sockets just to keep the holes plugged.

[Monkey Man]

Just a few pics of the frame and axle setup, I am going to build mine light and non-braked as it'll only be towing the quad bike and general waste but I will incorporate the wheelarches into the frame the same and use mesh to make it solid panel but self cleaning. Don't bust your butt getting the pics, I have yet to get a friend to weld up the axle components, I don't mind welding the rest but I don't have a big welder and I am not confident enough to weld running gear components yet.

MM

[m-37Bruce]

John at MidwestMil has NOS retainer rings. Those buckets are soft, if your careful, you could bounce it out, maybe?

[tbone1004]

Thanks Bruce, I wish his site wasn't such a pain int he a$$ to navigate, but I'll have to go digging through there.

[m-37Bruce]

Give him a call, if it's easier for you, John is a great person to deal with and usually has exactly what your looking for. I meant to ask about Litchfield, are you in-land or near the coast?

[tbone1004]

inland ish. We're about 8 miles west of I295, so about 45 minutes ish to get to the coast. Mainly because there is no direct path there. So both?

[m-37Bruce]

I spent about a year in Bucks Harbor/Machais, ME in the early seventies, fall,winter and spring. I have been following your thread over on the HAMB as well, made any decisions about drive-train yet?

[tbone1004]

Machias is really nice.

Drivetrain still hasn't been decided on. The more I think about diesel options, the less I am enthused about going the route that I originally intended. I got to drive the new Army FED which is using the GQB4.5l that Charles has now switched to and it is pretty slick but has a $11k price tag. I looked at the Isuzu 4bd2t that the owner wants $1k for up the road that is in good shape, and while it is a lot better than the 4bta in terms of noise and vibration, it still has quite a bit of clacking going on that I think would detract from the ultimate goal of a fun relaxing daily driver that I can take to the beach and relax or go scuba diving in etc. A nice smooth and quiet gasser is my only option right now until I can afford a newer diesel. I'm not afraid of computers, and since I know Cummins is going to be offering their new V8 diesel to the public that or the QSB is a much better mannered engine than the older non computer controlled ones. Also quite a bit lighter which is a huge improvement

The plan right now is seesawing. Invest in dual carb intake manifold, headers and shave the head of the flathead, or what is more than likely going to happen, find a 318/NP435 combo or Jeep 4.0l with NV3550 and throw it in there for the time being to get a bit more drivability out of it. The area that I live is a little too hilly for an engine with so little bhp and the abysmal gearing of the np420.

The more that I work on some of the little things along with talking to my brothers and working on their cars, the more I want to make it into a beach cruiser/restomod type and that requires a smooth running relatively quiet engine first and foremost.

Have also decided that at least the rear axle is 100% coming out. I am 99% sure that I'm going to buy a CUCV and put the axles from there in. They come cheap, have high quality axles, cheap disc brake conversions, and allows me to use stock hmmwv wheels and tires which with the 4.56 gears are about the right height to look right. I think the sidewall on the 1100r16's are a bit too tall for my liking.

[JimC]

tbone, does the np435 have a driver's side PTO outlet?

When I installed a 318 in my 37 back in the 60's, I retained the military np420 so I could keep the winch jackshaft for the LU-4 in the stock location.The long np420 civilian pilot shaft will fit the military np420 to the civilian bellhousing. From memory, I had to drill one new mounting hole in the bell housing.

I only ran the 318 for one year before I switched it out for a bb Chevy and sm465 transmission because though the 318 was dependable, it was way underpowered, particularly in sand. If you want to stay Dodge and in that engine series, I think the LA360 would be a much better choice than the 318. Again from memory, I think the LA360 power would be somewhere about 255 HP at roughly 3700 rpm (don't hold me to that). The Dodge LA engines are an easy install. It took me a weekend to do the 318.

I kept the stock differentials because I liked the extra torque they provided. With the V8's, the 37 will run much faster than you will want to drive it. I've had mine up to a little more than 111 mph with stock differentials, which was more than enough to suit me (that translates to "never again").
Whatever choice you make, have fun with it. The M37 is a whole different vehicle with 350 to 400 horsepower and not bad with 225 to 250.

[tbone1004]

I've been talking quite a bit to some local guys as well as Master Yota on here and I think I'm going to go with a Ford 351W or a 302. Lots more aftermarket support than the Dodges and should also be available for a lot less money. My power goal from the get go has been around 200bhp and 400ftlbs of torque. The stock 351W is close to that, little light on the torque stock, but a dual quad intake and some decent headers should bump those up a bit.

I have seen NP435's with outputs on both sides of the transmission, but the truck as it is doesn't have a PTO winch and I'm not sure that I'm going to install one. It will get a winch eventually, but if it gets an LU-4 which would be purely for aesthetics, it would likely be with an electric over hydraulic system, or straight hydraulic conversion. That is one of the last things that will happen though.

I plan on having a lot of fun with it now and that is part of the drive away from diesel. If I could afford one of the new quiet high revving diesels or if the OM617 was capable of putting out the power that this truck needs then we would be having a different discussion but they aren't, so gassers it is. I thnk they'll have a lot better fun factor as well.

[JimC]

A 351W stroker would be a good choice, at about 400 cubic inches, in order to get the torque up.
I'm not familiar enough with Ford transmissions to have an opinion about them.
I would run the hipo cast exhaust manifolds for the Windsor because of the problems fitting headers within the frame rails ( a grade A pain in the rear, even on my 67 Mustang).

A 454 Chevy with the sm465 is another decent choice and an easy install. It does require the close fit cast truck exhaust manifolds to clear the frame rails.

I've had an LU-4 on my M37 since 1962, and love them. I think they are perfectly matched for the truck. I just bought another one for my XM708. I do recommend reinforcing the front housing for the pinion gear if it is the aluminum variant.

I'm doubtful about the dual 4-bbl's.
Particularly avoid the cathedral bowl Holley's. When you're running diagonally across a cotton patch (or any row field), at about 50-60 mph, the floats get to bouncing and the engine stutters.

[tbone1004]

yeah, I'm staying away from chevy's just because they are so common in everything else, trying to be a bit unique. Thanks for the tip on the headers though will come in handy. At some point i'll probably buck up and put EFI on there, but figure dual quads would look cool and be alright for most daily driving conditions.

[JimC]

I tried to post a photo of the hipo's, but the board attachment quota has been reached, whatever that means.