TROOP SEATS

[anthony manzella]

Got my up rights and seat brackets , Big Question is are the wood seats on driver side same size for the passenger side with the spare tire mounted on the front of the the bed. "Thanks Tom for a quick turn around with all weather related conditions of this pass week"

[MSeriesRebuild]

Got my up rights and seat brackets , Big Question is are the wood seats on driver side same size for the passenger side with the spare tire mounted on the front of the the bed. "Thanks Tom for a quick turn around with all weather related conditions of this pass week"

If you have the bed mounted spare tire, troop seats are different on the passenger side. There is a swing down portion at the front (often referred to as a "jump seat") to make room for mounting the spare on its bracket. The swing down seat can only be used by a passenger when no spare is mounted. This applies only to the early trucks, prior to the B1 series which went into production during model year 1958. All the B1 series trucks had the door mounted spare tire. On the B1's, troop seat length is the same on both right and left sides.

[Carter]

This was copied from Cabell Garbee's M37 website, thanks Cabell.
http://www.garbee.net/~cabell/bedwood.htm

" Dimensions for the seats and side boards are:
upper board, 2 each side 2.75"x77" (use 1"x3"x8' boards and cut to length )
headache rack, 2.75"x?? (use 1"x3"x6' boards and cut to length)
seat, driver side are 3.5"x77" (use 1"x4"x8' boards and cut to length)
seat, passenger side with rumble seat are 3.5"x61.5" (use 1"x4"x6') otherwise use same dimensions as used on the left side.
seat, passenger side jump are 3.5"x?? (use 1"x4"x6' board and cut to lengths) "

[anthony manzella]

Thanks for the help guys , guess what I'm after is the lenght of the seat boards on the passenger side from back to where the spare is I do have the information that Tom from snake river has given me , but I dont have the M at home so Im looking to find out as much as possilable with out having to take a long trip to where its in hibernation and get everything set for when the old mother nature gives her grip up on this Cold weather. .

[MSeriesRebuild]

We use several different types of wood based on customer specs. We have a small business near us that makes wood tables for the restaurant industry. What works best for us is to specify the material type and exact dimensions to them, the end product is exact cut to length wood that is dressed and sanded with the proper rounded edges, etc. We can then mark and drill the bolt holes, finish with clear polyurethane or paint, and install. Makes a beautiful show quality job that will last for years, likely forever if stored inside. A little more invested up front, however the last time it needs to be done.

[rixm37]

Hello Anthony
Charles is right on the money with his recommendation for doing the best you can up front. I used Garbees dimensions. The passenger side seat is shorter than the driver side. The upper 2 rails are the same on both sides You can tell right off because of where the seat hinges are mounted. I used oak from the local big box. Cut it to length and rounded the edge of each slat with a 1/8 router bit. I liked the oak so much I stained it and put 2 coats of satin urethane on them. Not MIL SPEC but I liked the look allot. Finally I used stainless steel carriage bolts, nuts and washers for all the wood so no rust and no staining on the wood.

[k8icu]

First....Very nice wood on your truck rixm37! Looks Great!

Second, Has anyone ever tried to use fiberglass (PVC) planks from say a HMMWV seats or say M35? I'm just corious as to how well it would work.

[MSeriesRebuild]

First....Very nice wood on your truck rixm37! Looks Great!

Second, Has anyone ever tried to use fiberglass (PVC) planks from say a HMMWV seats or say M35? I'm just corious as to how well it would work.

It works out great.

[anthony manzella]

BEAUTIFUL pictures rixm37 it is the leanth of your passenger side seats that I'm after hope to come close to your work. thanks one an all.

[Master Yota]

Just a little note on stainless hardware - put a little anti seize compound on the threads during assembly. Stainless has a tendancy to gall up as its tightended and can lock right on should you need to remove it.

Nice pitctures rixM37...!

[T. Highway]

Nice pictures rixm37

[WarrenD]

Rixm37, very nice truck! I agree, though not authentic, the troop seats look much better to me in natural wood. I guess I've always had an appreciation for natural wood finishes. I was rebuilding an old 8x10 view camera years ago (big with bellows) and if I had done an authentic restoration, I would have painted the body battleship grey. (The originals were made just after WW2 and the factory had loads of grey paint left from the war, thus the finish!) When I got the wood parts sanded down, the maple was so nice, I decided to stain and polyclear as I just couldn't cover it with paint.
If/when the day comes and I get my M37, I'll be doing the wood the same way!

[rixm37]

HI Anthony the seats on the passenger side are 62 inches long. That clears the spare and the tailgate nicely.

Thanks to all of you for all the nice comments

Master Yota that is good advice I have had trouble with stainless bolts binding badly. Heck I thought it was because they were made in China and bad steel. I'll now put anti- seize on the stainless I use in the future.

[cuz]

Stainless is great for corrosion protection but is much softer then the Grade 5 & 8 hardware we usually use. When you thread the soft stainless into a harder steel nut or plate nut the stainless will stretch and you often end up with a fatter stem of stainless protruding from the back and front sides of the nut and a very skinny part in the nut. This makes removal very difficult.

The use of stainless hardware is not necessary just for corrosion protection. You can use cadmium and zinc plated hardware so long as you don't accidentally remove the plating they will last very long.

[rixm37]

Thanks Cuz. I didn't know that. I am hoping I never have to take the seats apart. The bolts I had trouble with were in the exhaust system won't be using stainless there again. Had to torch them off.