Thanks Chris for letting me know when the M37 was declared obsolete. So the next question is.........for those of you who had M37's in the late 70's and 80's.....where did you get parts from? I'm talking before there was Midwest Military and VPW....where did you find the parts you needed to restore or even keep your M37s running. I'm thinking that now-a-days we have it pretty easy finding parts....but it must have been tough right after the military declared them obsolete and sold them off. So tell me how it was back then.
Up here in Washington the only place was Wittenberg Motors (it became Freeway Truck Parts) for a "dealer". They primarily converted big military trucks into fire trucks and farm trucks. Parts were a side line, and definitely a sorely disliked stepchild. The M-37s were something they really resented because they were so small. They only carried parts for them because a lot of their gov't salvage purchases contained them.
Other than that, it was word of mouth and some NAPA stores (when you could find a p/n conversion).
There was no internet either. Everything was phone call or mail.
Lot tougher, but some incredible deals, because everyone thought of the trucks as "junk for suckers". They didn't go fast, they weren't pretty, and they were old and weird.
Parts back in the day were actually easier than they have become of late, and with a much broader selection that covered most everything. All the surplus dealers of yesteryear had good stocks on hand. A few of those are still around, most have extremely low supplies now though. The others mentioned are the ones who are basically buying up what is left from dealers who no longer find furnishing M37 parts a profitable venture. They are also reproducing some higher demand items which is a good thing. Parts pricing will continue to rise, as they become fewer and more in demand by collector's, etc. Bargains of once upon a time just do not exist any more. These fantastic "for sale" ads you see for "RESTORED M37's" priced at $5,000 - $6,000; I expect they have London Bridge on that ad somewhere also.
The big parts supplier for us here in NE Ohio was Sam Winers in Akron. Then there was Memphis Equipment and South Eastern Supply. Then there was the club members you knew that would have a part or two that they picked up somewhere along the line that you could buy from them. The local MV Club and the MVCC (MVPA was the MVCC back in the day) Supply Line where your best options and our social networking.
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