Waxing philosophical about MVs PLEASE READ UPDATE

[billy]

The MV community needs folks that know their shit about these vehicles.
The old guys are dying and the world needs replacements of kind,generous and knowledgable gents to carry the torch.
That means us.
So soak up every bit you can.
Because some earnest young pup is going to be looking for help.

[billy]

We may not think of ourselves as the cool old fart that knows everything.
But somebody might look at you like that

[carolinamv]

Agreed

[CowboyTrucker]

As a 21 year old beginning on his first full restoration and first MV, the info on this forum has already been a huge help. The one MV guy I have talked to for a bit in person was one of the last pushes I needed deciding to get one and hopefully I will get to talk to him again next month. And the guys in the car club I am in have taught me about a lot of things with my other truck (a 55 F100). I know none of you know everything, but I appreciate you "cool old farts" learning what you can so I can keep asking questions.

[Cal_Gary]

Keep asking those questions, boys. This is one of my concerns as I get older (turning 59 this year)-finding and getting enough youngsters interested in order to keep this hobby alive for decades to come after us baby boomers can't maintain them anymore.

Us "old-timers" learned from some "older-timers" back in the day, and continue to pass on the knowledge....
Gary

[Carter]

Well as a member of the old fart platoon I will continue to do what I can but recommend the search feature where a large volume of info is always available.

[carolinamv]

Hope the preservation of Military Vehicles continues, and doesn't turn into every young person wanting to bob or lift a 5 ton truck and paint it like its the end of the world.

Same with old guns, younger people want cool looking assault rifles and nothing more.

[just me]

I just wish you wouldn't have used the word WAXING in conjunction with MV's!

[52PLOWERWAGON]

I'm 15 and I've been exposed to military vehicles since day 1
ill probably be a cool old fart some day

[w30bob]

Well............I'll just throw this out there and see what sticks. The point is well taken that those "in the know" about vehicles produced almost 70 years ago are fading fast. Some of their knowledge will be lost forever. Most of that will be shortcuts, tricks of the trade, and the like. Once that stuff is gone it probably won't be re-learned by a bunch of hobbyists who don't drive and maintain these vehicles daily.

But we do have in our possession a tool to help capture that information before it's too late.........and it's this forum. The bad news is searching for specific information on here usually ends up in frustration and having to post a question that's been answered in the past. To be blunt.........this tool we have sucks at what we'll be relying on it to do more and more as time goes on. I've lost count of how many times I've Google'd something M37 related and was led to a post here on the forum. And as I dive in I learn so much more than what I was originally searching for. But trying to find that other info by a simple search almost never works. So pretty much anyone will ever need to know about M37s is here.....we just can't find it when we need it.

I don't know a lot about forums or online archives and the like.............but we really need a better tool. I talked a little about this a while back when I suggested we set up a "table of contents" in the Tech Section so people could find quick answers on how to repair "X" or what to do when the "engine sputters and dies", etc. etc. I'm guessing this forum really isn't capable of doing something like that. But the problem we're talking about isn't about people dying........it's about not being able to access the information we already have and be able to share in a way that's easy, efficient and reliable for future users of this forum.

I was once told at work not to bring up problems if I don't have a solution to offer........but it looks like I'm doing just that. I apologize for that, but I think we all understand the problem. Does anyone know how to fix it?

regards,
bob

[T. Highway]

Hello Bob,

Its in the works but as you know the info is scattered all over this forum.

I have been working behind the scenes cleaning up all of the sections and sorting enormous amounts of relevant data here on the site.

I would imagine around the first of the year you will begin to see "Sticky Thread Sections" pop up in a couple parts of the board index. These will be the building blocks for very comprehensive "Indexes" of technical data.
I think in the beginning I will leave these threads UNLOCKED for forum member input and or links to pertinent data. These threads will be heavily moderated to keep it on track 100%. When suggestions are proposed and added to the main INDEX of the thread, we will delete the suggestion posting to limit the thread to only valid data.

I need all of our fellow forum members to help with this project, all suggestions are welcome and will be considered. If you don't feel comfortable posting suggestions openly please feel free to PM them to me.

Regards,
Bert

[w30bob]

Hi Bert,

Wow..........that's great news! I'll help any way I can.

thanks,
bob

[just me]

Something I'll add when I get the last (for me) missing dimension is the correct sizes of the wood for the he troop seats. The only dimensions I could find online are not correct.

[m-37Bruce]

I know some the old farts here and I resemble it a little bit. You are 100 % right just me, I have been sort of MIA for a minute, but feeling re-energized to bring the od goddess to her wheels again.