Ok........so I just went on Google and searched "M37 restoration" and started looking at all the images. In 5 minutes I found 5 pics of M37s with UN-NOTCHED running boards. So we know they are NOT rare.....just different. I guess Chrysler could have made a change to the design (for cost or ease of manufacture, etc) that didn't affect the part's functionality.......so they didn't change the part number. After all, they are fully interchangeable. The only question is did they go from un-notched to notched or vise versa? I think there are more notched running boards out there, so maybe we can assume the un-notched came first. Just a bunch of assumptions on my part, but we may never know for sure. Whatcha think?
I noticed that the running boards on my 54 are both notched. I also found that the notches are just below the drain holes in my cab. Could this be the reason there notched ?
Sal wrote:I noticed that the running boards on my 54 are both notched. I also found that the notches are just below the drain holes in my cab. Could this be the reason there notched ?
I took a look at the pics of the early prototype M37s in David Doyles new US Dodge book set........and they have un-notched boards. That would lead me to believe early trucks had them, and the change was made to notched boards some time early in the production run (before 1952 for sure). As for "why".......I'm not sure.