Hi all. I have been looking at buying my first m37. Have been reading /looking at these the past year and one came up. I was told it has a Chevy 350 that starts, but after further questions was told the clutch isn't hooked up. They somehow moved it under power to a better spot where it's been sitting.
Is this a bad sign of an incomplete conversion, or relatively straightforward to hook up? Are there other things I should ask that are important to this conversion?
Also body is just fine for what I want, but bed has holes. Are those easy to get and install for a good welder? Thank you!
M37 with Chevy 350 questions
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- sturmtyger380
- SFC
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 5:13 pm
- Location: Up State SC
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
Hi, 'Is this a bad sign of an incomplete conversion.' It's hard to tell based on your description. Do you have any photos?
Most conversions are custom type work and each one might have to be worked on differently.
Are the truck beds easy to find? Most are not in very good shape unless they are on a well kept truck. Holes are fixable but it just depends on how much good metal there is in the bed.
Alan
Most conversions are custom type work and each one might have to be worked on differently.
Are the truck beds easy to find? Most are not in very good shape unless they are on a well kept truck. Holes are fixable but it just depends on how much good metal there is in the bed.
Alan
47 CJ2A
53 M38A1
52 M37
51 M38
67 M416
?? M101A1
53 M38A1
52 M37
51 M38
67 M416
?? M101A1
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
I know nothing about 350 conversions
How is the frame?
You may want to look at upgrading the brakes, especially if you operate in hilly areas. When you start moving that 6000# truck faster with the 350 engine, you'll want to be sure you can stop it. Properly adjusted and in good condition, the stock brakes work surprisingly well, but higher speeds, hills, or pulling/carrying a load can call for better stopping power.
How is the frame?
You may want to look at upgrading the brakes, especially if you operate in hilly areas. When you start moving that 6000# truck faster with the 350 engine, you'll want to be sure you can stop it. Properly adjusted and in good condition, the stock brakes work surprisingly well, but higher speeds, hills, or pulling/carrying a load can call for better stopping power.
1951 M37 "Brutus" w/Winch and 251 engine
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
Sorry, I don’t get it…., English in not my native language. Do you mean the clutch is loose, like disconnected…?
The floor is like 1mm thick but with good work can be saved (depends on the hole
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Sebastian
(sorry, I only speak in METRIC)
(sorry, I only speak in METRIC)
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
The frame seems very good. Very solid. All I got from them is that the clutch is not hooked up. I just wasn't sure if this is a common conversion or not and something you can get a lot of information on to help troubleshoot and finish.
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
In my 53 years of driving/rebuilding/repowering M37's I've come to find out the stock ring & pinions can't handle much more torque/speed than the stock motor can deliver. Such as you find in a small block Chevy engine.
.
The gears don't break, rather it just wears off the Formate coating on the teeth and they turn into razor blades in short order.
At the time synthetic lube didn't exist, and every gear oil additive available didn't make any difference.
I went thru 13 sets in my Detroit Diesel powered one in just under 250K miles.
And yes, the pbacklash was to spec, and several original NOS drop-ins did the same thing.
Unfortunately, those gearsets aren't as easy or cheap to source nowadays.
PoW
.
The gears don't break, rather it just wears off the Formate coating on the teeth and they turn into razor blades in short order.
At the time synthetic lube didn't exist, and every gear oil additive available didn't make any difference.
I went thru 13 sets in my Detroit Diesel powered one in just under 250K miles.
And yes, the pbacklash was to spec, and several original NOS drop-ins did the same thing.
Unfortunately, those gearsets aren't as easy or cheap to source nowadays.
PoW
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
Are there any ring and pinion upgrades for increased power?
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
Wow! Replacing a gear set on average just a little over ever 19,000 miles, and doing it 13 times? If I could not find something obviously wrong, I think I would have given up after 2 or 3 and replaced the whole axle assemblies with something else.
1951 M37 "Brutus" w/Winch and 251 engine
Re: M37 with Chevy 350 questions
Yes, apparently the new production 4.89:1 gearsets are not made of the same material.
And when I get around to building another Diesel M37, it will have a Dana 70 or 80 axle, narrowed and rehubbed to take stock 5-bolt Budd wheels. The front axle never had any problems, as it usually was still with hubs disengaged.
Much less work overall than the old route I took.
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
PoW