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I am new to the M37 forum. I have been on the PW Website for about 12 years. I need to rebuild the engine on my M37. The shop that is very reputable said it would cost about 28 if the do it. Does that seen about right?? Robert N.

Man! I wish I could have gotten mine rebuilt for 28 bucks. It cost me $1,400 plus change to get mine done!

Welcome to the forum, too!! There's a lot of nice folks here who will be able to help you out with anything you care to know.

GOOD AM,
I did my rebuild myself; last month. The parts and crank machine work cost meabout $600. I only did the bottom half, as i had spun a c/r bearing. So the only machine work I needed, was having the crank turned down. Then the gasket and seal set, new connecting rod, bearings, both mains and rods. new rings for the #6 piston. If you are doing the complete engine, and if you have to have the bores made oversized, all new pistons and rings. $28?? dollars $2800 dollars??
I'd say $2800 is right on if you are having someone else do the work. GOOD LUCK. BOB

I think $28.00 is way too cheap and that $2,800.00 is way too much, Bob.

I had mine rebuilt by a shop that specializes in racing engines. They bored the block out to .060 over. Then, they installed new (oversize) pistons and rings, new rods, hardened valve seats, new oil pump, new thermostat, new mains and inserts, new seals and gaskets, and installed a NOS oil pan that I provided for them. When I got it back, it was completely reassembled and had been dyno tested. All this for $1,400.00, which I thought was "expensive" considering that I have rebuilt many engines for less than $500.00. Of course, I never paid myself for labor on the DIY overhauls, and I told the pros that I was in no hurry for mine to be completed and if they had more urgent things to work on mine could wait for a while. (That may have helped with my cost, too, since "rush" jobs are always more expensive.)

How much you will actually have to pay will depend on where you live, too. Big cities or other high cost of living areas will be more expensive due to higher labor costs. "Depressed" areas will be less expensive because people will settle for a little less if it puts food on the table at supper time.

All things considered, I'd say that $2,800 is a little steep. $1,500 to $2,000 would be a more appropriate range.

LIFER, You are probably right on. I am thinking New York City prices. But $1,400 with all the work you had done seems to me a great bargin. Hope he finds the right shop.
BOB

Lifer wrote:Man! I wish I could have gotten mine rebuilt for 28 bucks. It cost me $1,400 plus change to get mine done!

Welcome to the forum, too!! There's a lot of nice folks here who will be able to help you out with anything you care to know.

Thanks. I am still getting use to this forum format. I did mean $2800. I started getting a tapping sound while out on the local trail with my daughters. I came home and pulled the pan and found a 1/4 inch play on #3 piston rod. For all the trouble of pulling the engine, I figure I should just rebuild the whole thing and be done with it. I have a 47FF, 1/2 ton carryall and my m37, I love theseold trucks. My daughters like the M37 the most for off road because all the boys look at the truck and them. Robert.

It depends on how thorough you go through things. Just tackling the bottom end, $2,800 is about right. $1,400 would have me wondering about what might be getting short cut, this is too cheap in today's market place. We have 5 in various stages of rebuild at this time, the bottom end parts run around $1,000, this does not account for any tear down, clean up, machine work, or assembly labor. $400 won't touch that, so yeh I'm scared of the job I'd get for $1,400. If you want a nothing left unturned build to include all accessory items with available worthwhile upgrades included, run in and final adjustments made on the test stand, with warranty so all you need to do is install it and go; you can expect that to run a little north of $5,000 these days. It's the world we deal with now. I hear talk frequently about bottom end builds getting done for $500, I just have to shack my head on that one, that amount will just buy half the parts. That's maybe a job where just 1 hole gets attention. You are making a good decision in going ahead with a total build.

GOOD AM,
When i tore my engine down, to R&R #6 connecting rod and have the crank turned; i inspected everything. There was no ridge at the top of the bores, the cam shaft nor any rotating part had any excissive play. The inside of the engine was real clean, no sludge. The mileage on the truck showed 22.450. The rebuild tag on the engine indicated it was rebuilt in 1981.
the truck ran solid before the #6 rod bearing gave up; Had good compression, except #6. So based on all of the above I decided to just do the lowere end. The machine work on the crank cost me $250. All the journals turned down to .030. I bought the bearings both main and rods from Kanter antique autos in N.J. Wheil i had the engine out i replaced the clutch disc, the release bearing, water pump, had the radiator re-cored. Thes items were not included in the price of getting the engine up and running again. Again good luck with whatever course you take.
BOB

41wc14 wrote:...I love these old trucks. My daughters like the M37 the most for off road because all the boys look at the truck and them. Robert.

Aren't teen-age daughters fun to watch? When my daughter was 14/15/16, she "had" to be drop-dead gorgeous every time she went out the door, even if she was just going to the mail box. She'd tie up the bathroom for hours in order to get the desired effect. Must have worked, too, 'cuz she had boys following her like a pack of hounds all the time! (Of course, I had a well-oiled shotgun, too.)

Anyway, I now have 3 teenage grand-daughters, so I get to watch it all over again (while their dad keeps the shotgun well oiled).

I'm glad your girls enjoy the M37. Encourage them to keep loving it and give them every possible opportunity to be "seen." They'll love you for it.

My daughters are very much into the trucks. They want to learn to drive the M37. I told them that if they learn to drive it, they'd be able to drive anything with a clutch. Robert N.

MSeriesRebuild wrote:It depends on how thorough you go through things. Just tackling the bottom end, $2,800 is about right. $1,400 would have me wondering about what might be getting short cut, this is too cheap in today's market place. We have 5 in various stages of rebuild at this time, the bottom end parts run around $1,000, this does not account for any tear down, clean up, machine work, or assembly labor. $400 won't touch that, so yeh I'm scared of the job I'd get for $1,400. If you want a nothing left unturned build to include all accessory items with available worthwhile upgrades included, run in and final adjustments made on the test stand, with warranty so all you need to do is install it and go; you can expect that to run a little north of $5,000 these days. It's the world we deal with now. I hear talk frequently about bottom end builds getting done for $500, I just have to shack my head on that one, that amount will just buy half the parts. That's maybe a job where just 1 hole gets attention. You are making a good decision in going ahead with a total build.

Let me verify what I meant by bottom end or internal block stuff. That includes cleaning, crank, cam, timing chain and sprockets, rods, bearings, valves, seats, guides, boring, surfacing, both head and deck, surfacing tappets on both ends, plus all the necessary new parts to bring it to a long block assy.