Hi everyone, I just recently bought my 63 M37 and am checking over here. I was over on Steel soldiers and was direct here for more info so here I am.
My truck is in pretty decent shape I would say. It runs for a min or two then dies out but I just pulled the carb off and ordered a rebuild kit for and gonna clean out the rest of the fuel lines just to make sure and also change out the plugs and points and oil. Basic maintenance since its sat for a long time they said 2 years but I think longer. I am still trying to dig up more info on it but the data plate is missing which makes things alittle harder but I do have the engine number and the SN on the frame. I was told that is was Marine Corps truck but was wondering how to verify that.
Welcome to the forum, great to see pics of your M! It does indeed look to be a Marine M37. The telltale signs are the paperclip loops welded to the front bumpers and the yellow lettering on the dash. There should be metal surrounds around the rear tail lights as well. The guys on here can give you all the specifics on Marine M37s. Make sure you add it to the registry. Fuel system and brakes do seem to always need attention on these old guys when you buy one........so you're on the right track. The pages at the end of the registry have the M's listed with serial numbers like yours, so check it out.
Great bunch of guys on here with incredible knowledge about these trucks........you came to the right place.
Welcome aboard Hilborn! Glad to have you with us! You'll get a real education on just how much fun it is to get these trucks back into working order, along with a ton of free advice from a bunch of experienced folks here who own or have owned M37s over the years, as Bob has pointed out. Posts go up every day and most always garner a number of responses, all in the spirit of helping out!
Be sure to use the "Search" function above-type in a key word or two, like "brakes" for example and it will return a number of posts on the topic.
Again, welcome-feel free to post your many questions if the search function doesn't give you what you need.
Gary
Cal_Gary
1954 M37 W/W
MVPA Correspondent #28500
G741.org Forum member since 2004
I'm glad to see that you followed my suggestion and signed up here. Looks like you have a nice truck to start a restoration on. I'm glad to hear that you have already ordered points, plugs and a carb rebuild kit.
Can't tell by the pictures, are there two vent lines going to your distributor? These are necessary to keep your coil from overheating. Since you will have the carburetor off, please take a moment to look inside of the intake elbow for the proper fittings that are used to direct airflow into the distributor vent lines also.
There are allot of great people on this site that will offer up tons of advice to help you get your truck running.
Bert
1952 M37 W/W Rebuild @ 59% complete
Engine rebuild @ 95% complete
1985 M1009, 1990 M101A2, 2008 M116A3 Pioneer tool trailer
MVPA # 24265
NRA Life Member
NRA Cert. Personal Protection Pistol Instructor
NRA Cert. RSO
Class III RSO/KCR
Jason,
Too bad you're so far south. I'm up in Oakland and it would be fun to find another M37 enthusiast nearby. I'm sure you'll have fun with the truck. We picked up ours in January and it should be on the road this weekend. It will be the first time I've driven it outside of a parking lot! The crew hear is super helpful and have a ton of knowledge to share. Enjoy the new toy .
Thanks for the welcome guy. I hope to learn a lot from everyone and pass on somethings I learn too.
I'm lucky with my find and how good it is compared to my other M37. I'll post some pics of it a little later. Yes I have two.
My other one is a 52 I think but it's in very rough shape. And I'm thinking on selling it. I don't need any of the parts off it since mine has most of them. But we'll see what happens.
Looking at these pictures it odd how life can be so tough on some things. And on others? Time just slides by. That poor truck looks like whoever owned just hated it. There's hardly a square inch on there that isn't damaged in some way.
Yea it's amazing to have two different states of a the same Truck. But with that said there is some stuff that is still good on the 52. And then there is quite a bit missing or rusted out or bashed in. Who knows what I'm going to do with it just quite yet. But if someone needs something I can look to see if I have it.