Rebuild progress all in one thread

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Josh
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Rebuild progress all in one thread

Post by Josh »

Well gents, this is going to be my rebuild thread. I hope you like pictures... :shock:

8/27/08

And it begins:

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And, then I had a wedding to attend, as well as the bachelor party, and, got violently sick with the flu, so, I didnt get to work on it for almost 3 weeks, until today:

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good start:

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This thing was HEAVY:

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This rebuild sponsored by Sun Drop

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Wiring is NOT my strong suit

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Ouch:

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More ouch:

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Rust:

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more rust:

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even more rust:

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you guessed it, rust:

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sigh, rust:

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The classic rust spot:

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Hack job from one of the previous owners:

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and, whats that on the drivers side? RUST!!! :evil:

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My NP203 Double box. 6" long. current NP435 has a case length of 12", and a tailshaft length of 8". 4x4 version has a talshaft length of 6", so, I'll save 2" there. Current space between T case and tranny tailshaft is 17". With the 203 case, and the adapter plate, Its 10", so, Im going to gain 9-10" of rear driveshaft length, which, is GREAT, as my rear drive angle is fierce. Not to mention, I'll get a final low-low range first gear drive ratio of ONE HUNDRED TEN TO ONE!!!! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

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Sadly, my AWD NP205 wont work with the 203 parts. However, Im still holding out hope that an Audi S4 center torsen diff will work, just need to get ahold of one, which, is not easy, and Ava (my silver S4) is not going to donate hers...

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The only V8 engine that should go under the hood of an M:

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And, for those of you who were asking how I did the Dana 60 front swap:

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Spacer blocks are going to get replaced with higher arched springs, so save the speech on sapcer blocks ont being safe in the front end ( even though I ran them for 3 years with no issues):

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lots-O bondo (thanks, previous owner):

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Motor mounts:

I'm going to change them a bit, for a few reasons, one, I dont like the steep angle on them, causing uneven loading, secondly, they move around a bit, and 3rd, they aren't going tot ake the power this thing is gonna make!!

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Its not as bad as it looks:

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again, not as bad as it looks:

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The money shot:

Just imagine... Two of these under the hood, at 1.5 bar of boost.... Ah He hehehehehehehehe:

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Last edited by T. Highway on Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:38 am, edited 18 times in total.
Reason: Merged the two threads of the same project.
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W_A_Watson_II
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Post by W_A_Watson_II »

WOW, keep us posted on the progress!
Thanks,
Will
1946 Dodge Power Wagon
1953 Dodge M37 - "Frankenstein"
My 1953 Dodge M37 WEB Site
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rixm37
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Post by rixm37 »

Josh that looks like a big project. I like the engine mounts ohh and the twin turbos and 100 or was it 200 to one transfer case. What a beast it will be! Thanks for sharing your pictures. It will be fun watching your build.
1952 M37
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1942 Chevy G506
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HingsingM37
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Post by HingsingM37 »

Josh,
Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your work. Have fun. Keep it fun, thats the most important lesson I learned. I remember my teardown in 05. Seems like a hundred years ago. I love your Mopar valve covers.
By the way, your garage is so similar to mine its creepy. Same Craftsman AC on back wall and bike hanging from ceiling on back right corner. Even the random cracks in the floor.I have an Oshkosh airshow poster where you have an Audi. The aged wood construction even looks alike. You need to hang an extension ladder on the wall under your window. Its funny when I look at the picture album posts how similar all our two car garage "shops" are. LOL :)
David
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1958 M37B1
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Post by Cal_Gary »

Man that is quite a photo album-thanks for sharing!
Gary
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uglyranger
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Post by uglyranger »

Great pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share. I'm going to be watching this rebuild.
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Post by Carmen »

Do you know what the best part after looking at all those pictures? There not mine. HaHa. Just kidding like they say " Been there and Done that" best of luck and believe me you will LOVE you truck when it is all done.

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Post by refit1701 »

Great photos! It's always nice to see someone else knee deep in parts.
-John
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1953 USAF M37 wow, restored
1962 M151 Ford Production, on the rotisserie now
1953 USMC M37 w/w -in storage
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NCmountainman
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Post by NCmountainman »

Good pictures!! How many SUN DROPS did you go through? Anxious to see the finished truck.
Ed Bennett
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m-37Bruce
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Thanks 4 Sharing Josh

Post by m-37Bruce »

Hopefully a good ratio of work to Sun Drops to picture taking?
Bruce,

1953 M-37 w/ow

Retired Again

Keep Em Rollin'

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Post by k8icu »

A couple of things

#1 Post a warning next time saying that dial up beware of the amount of pics. I couldn't see them all till I got home and back on DSL (on dial up at work)

#2. Yes the wiring is as bad as it looks. Now is the time to clean it up and make it look better. Your truck will thank you and run better...it's a proven fact...:)

#3. How about make the truck look real good and spray some OD on it too. OD and MVs just go well together... Your truck will thank you and run better...it's a proven fact... :)
M37s are HMMWV in my world!
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Post by Josh »

Thanks for all the comments! So far, its going better then expected, unfortunately, the rust is worse then expected, as I found out tonight. Thank god I have a near mint spare body back at my parent's house...

This thread will be VERY bloated with pictures, as I am going to post them in embedded here, so, considere yourselves warned... :lol:

I tagged the harness and pulled it out in one piece with the intent of creating a wiring diagram and making a new one... I meant the mess wasnt as bad as it looked, as my last project was EFI, with on board diagnostics to EVERYTHING, so, the wiring harness in this is about 1/10th as complicated as that! :lol:

I'm not sure on the color yet, it wont be OD though... sorry.

As far as the AWD thing goes, I think I have a new idea to look into. The NVG242HD... Used in the H1 Hummer, and later H2 hummers. AWD, with a torsen gear drive center diff. good for up to 1500 ft-lb input, has a 2wd mode, AWD mode, 4X4 high, and 4X4 low (2.72:1). If I put my double box in front of it, I'd get 150:1!!!!

more done:

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Rust:

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MORE RUST:

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Good god...

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My truck is Holy

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Front channel:

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Beefy:

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m-37Bruce
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Post by m-37Bruce »

The threads on your apron, where the "L" brackets are mounted look like they are in very good/great shape!

Mine were toast/fluxered? Luckily I had a spare bed to poach from.
No OD huh, how about some Air Force "Stratos" blue?
Make Lifer happy. :D
Bruce,

1953 M-37 w/ow

Retired Again

Keep Em Rollin'

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refit1701
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Post by refit1701 »

HEY! I'm doing Strata Blue, don't spoil my mojo!

8)










(...cause mine IS an AF truck.) :D
-John
Member of Dixie Division MVC

1953 USAF M37 wow, restored
1962 M151 Ford Production, on the rotisserie now
1953 USMC M37 w/w -in storage
1942 M6 Bomb Service Truck (sold to UK collector)
1967 M116A1 Pioneer Trailer
1968 M101A1 Trailer
S-89 Comm box
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m-37Bruce
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Never Thought 2 Ask

Post by m-37Bruce »

Josh, any clues about your trucks provenance, Data Plates still around?
Sorry refit1710, I always thought the more the merrier?
Bruce,

1953 M-37 w/ow

Retired Again

Keep Em Rollin'

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