unused holes on the rear crossmember?

[Elwood]

Looks like Sal nailed it.

Ordnance p/n 7350311, "STOP, rear door step (M43)", Group 1501, quan = 2

[06boblee]

This picture might be of some help. It's of a M43 chassis .

M43 REAR a.jpg

Sal

another mystery solved!

[DJ]

Cabin fever must be sitting in, little holes causing a lot of discussion. Hope spring gets here soon.

[Elwood]

Cabin fever must be sitting in, little holes causing a lot of discussion. Hope spring gets here soon.

I was just thinking about asking which oil to use in my engine, transmission, transfer case, differentials, steering box, and winch...

[isaac_alaska]

i got a 5gallon can of Shell Omala 460 for the low price of "free 99" from the distributor. turns out it has a "5 year shelf life" after which point they gotta toss it. really slippery stuff!

[just me]

Winch lube.

[just me]

I was surrounded by complete and original ambulances this past weekend. (Over 30 of them.) Not one had those brackets on the rear. The fold up steps I fiddled with were narrower than the stops in the picture. Maybe it was one of those things that got dropped early on like the primer pump and accessory Jack on the dash.

[w30bob]

C'mon guys.......this is easy! They're lightening holes to keep the M37's weight manageable. Dodge had to meet the Army's specification for max gross vehicle weight somehow.



later,
bob

[Elwood]

C'mon guys.......this is easy! They're lightening holes to keep the M37's weight manageable. Dodge had to meet the Army's specification for max gross vehicle weight somehow.



later,
bob

Bob, I think you're confusing the M37 with the '63 swiss cheese Pontiac.

[52PLOWERWAGON]

bob I was also thinking weight reduction ......

but then I looked at the rest of the truck

mine does have a super rare weight reduction kit under the headlights

[w30bob]

Travis,

If you're referring to the "rusted out bolt holes in the fender under the headlights" super rare weight reduction...........it ain't so rare!

Think how bad-ass the M37 would be if the body was made out of aluminum instead of steel........it might actually accelerate when you hit the gas!

later,
bob

[52PLOWERWAGON]

if they were aluminum I wouldn't have bought one

think how junk they would be when that aluminum oxidizes

please don't even get me started on aluminum bob

[Elwood]

Had the G-741 series been built with aluminum bodywork, there would likely have been fewer built (expensive), and also likely be very, very few of them left. The value of the aluminum would have resulted in scrapping of most of them once they reached the end of their military service lives.

The second series of G-741 contact maintenance trucks, the CMU-5, and the USAF R-2 crash truck, did have partial aluminum bodies. I don't know the survival rates, but I'd bet that a lot of these trucks (or at least their light-weight bodywork) went to the scrapper just to recover the aluminum.

Plower, I'm guessing that you aren't a fan of the new Ford trucks?

And Bob, a properly tuned M37 flathead 230 has neck snapping acceleration...from zero to about four miles-per-hour, when the engine hits the rev limit in first gear.

[52PLOWERWAGON]

I am a fan of the new ford trucks .......

I mean I am a huge fan of making fun of all ford trucks

there is a reason I bought a 52 dodge m37
because I needed a real truck NOTa beercan on wheels

just sayin'

[Elwood]

Umm...this may be before your time, but up until the 1970s, beer was sold in steel cans. The switch to aluminum cans is a relatively recent thing (for us old guys, anyways).