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Hello gentlemen, I've been looking for Power Wagons and M37 WC's for years and I finally found one in a farm auction listing. It is a 1963 M37 WC with canvas top and the auction bill claims no rust and only 33,000 miles. I intend to go look at it to make sure it is as advertised but I have no idea how much money I should expect to spend or what the value of such a truck would be. So I would really appreciate some feedback on this as the auction is Saturday afternoon and I'll have to get a cash loan from my bank and take it with me. I'm probably making a mistake by assuming that the no rust and low mileage claims means it is in near mint condition. I'm going to try to get up there on Thursday to take a look but it is 100 miles away and I'm not sure I'll have the time to get there before auction.


Thanks in advance for any replies and help,

The Stranger

Mileage claims on surplus military vehicles are useless and have no basis for authenticity. Speedos were changed often in the military and the only record of the change would be in the vehicle's motor pool record and that was destroyed by the military when the vehicles were declared excess to the unit's needs and surplussed off. So you will have to make your own fair wear and tear inspection and assessment. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1200 for a parts truck to $2500 for a driveable/all there truck that needs serious work to $5000/6000 for a complete good tunning truck. A cosmetically restored truck or a restored truck with all mechanicals rebuilt and the price goes way up.

But the word AUCTION takes the common sense pricing completely out of the equation and you must deal with brain dead bidders with a fat wallet and no idea what the truck is really worth.

HELLO STRANGER.
Take a look at Ebay, type in M37 and there are a couple M's there that might give you a starting point.
I bought my M from the govt three years ago, one of the best vehicles i own. GOOD LUCK. BOB

I would tell you now that no matter how good the truck looks on the surface you never really know
how mechanically sound it is.
Repair bills can run into $1000's

Just bear this in mind before bidding. You dont want to buy cheap to pay dear.
As said previously, e-Pray is a good place to check out prices that people are looking for.

Good luck!

As anyone will tell you, the purchase price of the vehicle will just be the beginning. Restoration/repair will probably double your original outlay in short order.
Then, the "madness" sets in! It is an incurable mental illness that makes it virtually impossible to resist buying anything that's OD in color. It also causes a "need" to purchase every known combat accessory known to man and will drive you into the poor-house in your search for NOS parts.

Incidentally, the M37 is not a "WC." "WC " stands for "weapons carrier," which is what the WWII Dodge trucks were. The WC suffix was replaced by the M prefix between WWII and the Korean "conflict." The M37, therefore was never a "WC." It just bears a strong resemblance to its daddy.

Not to undermine my esteem college from Georgia but even though the M37 never carried the WC nomenclature it was in fact a weapons carrier by nature. Meaning it served as a weapons carrier, weapons platform, troop carrier, command and control vehicle, pickup truck, and lunch grabber among other things.

And continuing to not undermine our esteemed colleague from Georgia the WWII Dodge model series letters WC did not represent Weapon Carrier. The model series letters during that period were VC, WC, WD, WF and etc, Weapon Carrier is actually a term used by GI's to ID anything capable or appearing to be designed to carry weapons and ammo.

My spin is a bit different, not knowing your level of mechanical expertise:
Winch model? Goes for a lot more ($2000+) than a non-winch model.
U-joints-good and tight, not slopping all over the place.
Coolant-clean, not contaminated or just rusty water.
Signs of severe leaking-radiator, block, gear boxes (to include the steering gear), differentials.
Slop in the steering box (grab the wheel and see how far it moves before the wheels start to turn).
Clutch free travel-1 inch.
Smells: burned clutch, brake linings, electrical...
Wiring harness-intact, not frayed, hacked severely, etc.
Does it run? Check the tire wear-even, or do you have unusual wear patterns.
Glass-intact or broken? Just the windshields go for $150 EACH and up.
Tranny/transfer case-shift smoothly, no chatter, binding, jumping out of gear?
Any missing parts? Tailgates and winch parts can be expensive, and hard to find.
Crankcase oil-check closely for fuel in the oil-the fuel pump is the culprit.
MOST IMPORTANT: DO YOU HAVE A TITLE?

There are plenty of parts suppliers out there-some are members of this forum.
Finally-GOOD LUCK in your search-plenty of willing members on this forum who will share their expertise whenever you have questions.
Let us know how you do!
Gary

I also think you need to find a MVPA member who is familiar with M37b 's . MV's are somewhat different then your average collector vehicle . I agree with all the above posts , #1 ,is NEVER trust ANYTHING at a AUCTION ! as they say buyer beware ! When I purchased my M37 ,I was looking for a good body , no rust , I like wrenching more that body work ,so I looked at vehicles in the south and west , better chance of finding a nice ride . #2 what are you getting for ownership from the auction? BAD paperwork is a LARGE pain the BUTT . You can end up spending a lot to get ownership , check with your local DMV and see what is required in your state . Spring is coming so I suspect you should start seeing a few vehicles up for sale . #3 buy as much vehicle as you can , it's sometimes better to spend more for a good restoration than spend a lot of time and MONEY bringing a vehicle into a restored condition . #4 I don't know what your skill level is , but as they say ," MAN HAS GOT TO KNOW HIS LIMINITATIONS" buy a vehicle you can fix ,if you have to job it out that can be a very expensive road to go down . #5 BEWARE of "OD FEVER" happens to everybody , usually passes sooner or later . MY last bit of advise , does the wife know about your plans or were you planning to just have the MV show up one day ? In spite of all the above ,collecting MV's is a GREAT hobby and you can meet some good people and have lots of fun , DON"T rush into anything, enjoy Bob K

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cuz wrote:And continuing to not undermine our esteemed colleague from Georgia the WWII Dodge model series letters WC did not represent Weapon Carrier. The model series letters during that period were VC, WC, WD, WF and etc, Weapon Carrier is actually a term used by GI's to ID anything capable or appearing to be designed to carry weapons and ammo.

Ya got me, Wes! I forgot about the other ones. May I now borrow your tractor? It seems that I may need to extricate my head from my backside! Maybe another cup of coffee will help?

Not to worry Lifer. We all have driven that tractor at one time or another!

They do offer a really nice surgery for that problem. It's called a Plexi-otomy. They cut out a square of your front lower abdomen and insert a sheet of plexiglass so you can see where you are going when your head is buried up _____________!

I like that one!! I wonder if the VA considers it "elective surgery?"

Lifer,

It can't be an elective surgery,the ones who need it would never admit it. An occasional trip up there is made by everyone.The people who will admit the trip do not need the surgery. People like my ex boss who said to me once during an agrument ,when I said to him "youv'e never made a mistake,have you!" he replied "I have too,two of them,but one wasn't mt fault. Those are the people who need them. He retired several years afterthat. Good thing because I probably would'nt have made it many more years working with him.