new owner introduction

[garm]

I won my first M37 today and will have it soon. An army truck has always been on my vehicle bucket list. But, I don't know a thing about it, very glad to be here.

Other than a "misfire", it is complete, runs and drives. Original wheels come with it.

What do you think of these wheels?

[Cal_Gary]

Welcome aboard, Garm! I see the Juab notation-are you in Utah by any chance? Please add your location to your profile-it helps when we're providing expertise, resources, etc. Glad to have you with us! Nice truck, easy to work on, and plenty of expertise here to help you along. Use the search engine, or just post a new question-you'll get some return responses, usually rather quickly.
Gary

[NAM VET]

Well that is a coincidence! A few days ago one of my sons, he down in Mobile, sent me a picture of this very truck on Bring a Trailer! I commented then that it looked like a good candidate for a full restoration. I did the same as you last summer, bought a M37, and have been working on it ever since. I decided to rebuild my motor and other things out in my driveway this past winter, spring and now summer, living in SC. One thing that helped me get a head start on all sorts of things, was to go back and read hundreds, more likely thousands of posts on this and other M37 forums, saving me the headache of little mistakes that would take time to fix. Before I would tackle this or that project, I would do a search on this forum, and then read all the comments, which saved me no end of complexity.

So welcome, and get a can of Kroil, and a big assortment of SAE wrenches and sockets, and dive in. Oh, and having reprints of the several applicable army TM's is essential.

NAM VET

[garm]

Yes, Nam Vet, that's the one!

Thanks for the welcome, not sure what I'm getting into here, but by all accounts it's going to be fun. And I enjoy learning!

I'll put my location; I'm in SoCal. After it's army life, this truck was a fire department vehicle.

First question is why do people convert from 24v to 12v? What are pros (or cons) to doing that?

[m-37Bruce]

Welcome garm, where in So Cal? Those Bead Loc's are off the chain!

[garm]

Hey Bruce, I'm up in Chatsworth. You?

[m-37Bruce]

Richmond, VA, but a visitor to Costa Mesa once or twice.

[j mccormick]

Welcome to the forum! I converted my truck to 12V because the old wiring was shot and expensive to replace, and for the simplicity of a 12V Delco alternator and civilian distributor. Everything on the 24V system is so cumbersome and hard to check without proper tools, with the way mine is set up about all you need is a test light or a voltmeter to check things out. I know its not waterproof but I don't need that. To me simplicity is paramount, engineering with simplicity in mind, to me is the best. But each to his own, its interesting to see all original setups too.

Joe

[garm]

Thanks, that makes sense. Great forum!