g741.org

Hello new friends!

This is my first post here and it might as well be the location of my build thread. I've never done a vehicle restoration before, but as an avid off-roader since I was a kid I've had all sorts of practice with various maintenance and field-repair items. My family is also interested in military history, so when the opportunity came along to snag an M37, we couldn't pass it up. Especially since my boys are now 15 and 11 years old and the project is a good excuse to get them to try their hand mechanical challenges and learn some new skills (along with myself).

The M37 we picked up began life in 1952 with service in the USAF at Hill Air Force Base. It looks like it was never kitted with a winch (unless the bumper on it isn't original, but it does have faint outlines of unit numbers) and sometime in the mid 60s was transferred to the National Forest Service and then on to private ownership though government surplus (thanks yellow paint). We purchased it at Hill Air Base from a servicewoman who was retiring and moving back home and their family didn't want to travel with the project.

It was kind of fitting to load this bit of USAF history on our trailer while F35s were demonstrating overhead. My son and I liked that a ton.

The interior is blue, but doesn't seem USAF blue (it's light) and sometime after USAF service it was fitted with a fiberglass top, the crane (which sadly they mashed the back of the bed and removed the tailgate), and installed the snow plow. 12V conversion was done, and I have no blackout lights or the military light switch (dang).

The rest of the car appears to have been olive drab, in either case there is enough rust that I'll probably have to do a frame off and sand blast and repair portions of it.

Engine runs great and purrs, brakes don't work, but otherwise looks like a solid restorable specimen. We will see and we are looking forward to the adventure!

Welcome welcome welcome!
This is the place to be for all of your M37 needs-lots of knowledge here; feel free to use the search engine on the Homepage or post your many questions. That looks like a nice project truck!

Please add your location to your profile as it will offer clues to your closest vendors as well as forum members who might be nearby. I'm in Draper Utah and terrorize the Salt Lake Valley when the opportunity presents itself. Our friend Chuck aka Travlr is down in Delta Utah so if your domicile is in Utah there are a couple of us within striking distance!

Again, welcome, and enjoy the adventure you are about to start!

Gary

Welcome to the hobby...(almost typed "Welcome to the sport!)" It's a lot of fun and will be rewarding, if at times a little frustrating. Fortunately, parts and information are readily available.

I'm finishing a frame off restoration, and many, if not most, of the participants on this forum have already done the same. So, there's a lot of help and experience out here.

First thing I suggest if you haven't already done so is to acquire a complete set of manuals. You can find them on line, but I've found it's most useful to have the bound hard copies. They're just a lot easier to use in the shop. One source that I've used is Portrayal Press. Patrick Tipton is affable and helpful.

Good luck, and keep us updated.

Thanks guys!

I'll have to look at getting both the digital shop manuals (for dreaming during work breaks) and the hard copy for the shop! I'm actually in Millard County next to Delta. I've never seen an M37 running around, so I'll have to look up Travlr. That's awesome having some M37s so close!

I just finished a quick walk around video for those that prefer watching M37 content. My kids are excited so we will probably be adding video clips as well as stills to this thread as we embark on our restoration:

https://youtu.be/M7urNOdwGjM?si=SnKgYg4U0pBUfY74

Nice video. Thanks for the link.

If this truck were mine (yeah, I too have a similar new project in the works), I would inventory the modifications and missing or damaged items. Then I'd step back and evaluate my goal with the truck. You'll have to decide whether to retain the mods and/or to replace or restore the missing or damaged components. As you noted in your video, that can range from a faithful "purist" restoration to a tricked-out restomod with many steps in between.

In my mind, the first order of business is to make the truck safe and reliable and put it on the road. Then you can enjoy it now while deciding what you ultimately want to do with it.

You may not want or need to do a "frame off" to get to where you want to be. If you do, budget a couple of years unless you have a team working on it pretty much constantly. Try to do something every day on the truck, even if it's just for a few minutes. That way you'll stay engaged and motivated, and you'll be pleased, if not surprised, with your progress over time.

Hope that helps.

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Thanks,
Gary

The metal loop you mentioned in the jerry can mount area is indeed for the jerry can strap. Most trucks lose them over time once Bubba gets ahold of them. It keeps the can from swinging out on left turns.
Gary

Both Midwest Military and Vintage Power Wagons have new 24V blackout headlight switches in the original 3-lever style. Both of these companies are also a good source of a wide variety of parts for the M37.

You'll also need the Headlight Cannon Plug that connects to the back of the 3-lever headlight switch. The link is to VPW's listing for it. I could not find one on Midwest Military, but it's probably worth asking if you are ordering other parts from them.

M-Series Rebuild sells patch panels for the headlight well area of the front fenders. This is a common problem area for rust.

Are you going to stay with the 12V conversion, or go back to the original 24V set up?

Thanks for the links John! That will give me a lot of stuff to reasearch (I even sent an email to Charles of M-power to see if they have any front fender kits available (I couldn't find them on his site).

My son and my nephew were excited to work on the rig, so I backed it out and we tried to get some bolts loose. After 2 hours of trying, we got 1 bolt out and 1 loose but wouldn't remove. Talk about demoralizing. I'm definitely going to need a propane torch or something to get some of these bolts to break loose without...well...breaking.

A few days later my son, now with a couple more friends, decided to try again. I wasn't particularly in the mood, but we bought this "for the kids to learn", right? And @ODAddict's words were ringing in my head: "Try to do something every day".

So why not!?!? I got the truck back into the garage and we proceeded to try again. This time we got some snow plow bolts removed, some snowplow brackets busted off, the rear light rack removed and a bunch of snowplow wiring also removed. Not bad for an hours worth of work.

And better yet, the kids all had a blast! So overall it was a win and we were blessed with an amazing sunset as we opened the garage door to park the truck:

And, for those that like "moving pictures", episode 2 of our adventure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ph0hQN5tS8

My favorite penetrating oil for helping remove stuck bolts: Blue Creeper. The stuff just seems to work when nothing else will.

A good impact wrench works wonders as well.

Of course sometimes there is no alternative to heating it with a torch.

I’ll have to try blue creeper! I’ve been a fan of kroil for years, but the old bolts and cold temps made it hard to work!

Forgotten Waypoints wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2024 8:55 pm I’ll have to try blue creeper! I’ve been a fan of kroil for years, but the old bolts and cold temps made it hard to work!

It does not take much. A few drops here and there, and let it sit for a bit. I have a friend who restores old Dodge trucks full time. I gave him some while we were working on my truck, and he's hooked.

Good luck with your project!

One may have thought that I'd figured this out before, but recently I've started using this technique for removing seized fasteners:

After liberal use of penetrating oil, use your wrench (or vise grip or nut extractor, if the fastener is rounded; hammer on the nut extractor, if necessary). Gently move the wrench back and forth several times. Do not force movement. Just wiggle the wrench. Apply more penetrating oil. It seems that most of the time, the fastener will move ever so slightly, even imperceptibly. But it will move. Continue to work back and forth as the fastener moves more and more. Apply more penetrating oil. Eventually, you'll achieve success (and relief)!

This also works with screw heads, though I've found that using a vise grips attached to the screw driver allows you to both apply force and torque motion to minimize the chance of camming out the screw head.

Hope that helps.

Awesome. Great suggestions, I'll give both of them a try.

See, you're already making progress-nice job!
Gary