1953 M37 Project 85% complete

[36x24]

This is a project we started 7 years ago with our 82 year old Dad to keep him active and involved. We couldn’t have made it this far without the advice and input of this forum. There are two complete trucks. Henry, an Army issued non-winch truck with a little rust in the cab sills which has been removed and new sills installed. And Sparky; a Marine issued winch truck (ex fire dept) with terminal body rust but a complete Braden winch setup, Marine specific “paper clip” bumpers and rear shackle mounts. We even have the Marine transport documents found in a folder under Sparky’s driver seat! We were restoring Henry non-winch to start and intended to later make him a winch truck with Sparky’s help. Dad died November 17th and the wind has kind of gone out of our sails.

What has been done?

Engine: Rebuilt carburetor, rebuilt fuel pump, rebuilt distributor w/Pertronix kit, plugs, plug wires. Head tanked and surfaced. New head gasket. Oil bath air cleaner and fording elbow restored. Radiator tanked. New hoses, belts and fluids.

Brakes: New hard lines, flex hoses and wheel cylinders. Converted to dual circuit master cylinder. Brakes actually work! This is very rare for stock M37 brakes (Dad said they were a suggestion instead of a command!)

Chassis: Frame off blasting and painting. Front knuckles rebuild with new bearings, bushings and seals. Selectro locking hubs installed. Steering gear and Pittman arms overhauled with new seal kits. Rear axle pinion seal replaced. New shock absorbers. Gas Tank removed, tanked and professionally sealed in and out. Sending unit overhauled. Trans and axle fluids replaced.

Electrical: New Vintage Wiring of Maine wiring harness installed. All restoration wiring soldered and heat sealed (by Dad). Headlights restored. All running lights and blackout lights restored. Rare milspec amber fronts for turn signal use. New voltage regulator cable. New battery tray, battery hold down, battery cables and primary electrical cutoff switch in battery box. All gauges and horn restored.

Body: Stripped to bare metal. Dents hammered and dollied out; little if any filler. Rust in underbed tool boxes removed and new tool box floor pcs. fabbed. Undercoat removed from bed before painting. Rust in cab sills removed and replaced with fabbed panels. Body parts zinc primed and painted as we went so everything but the cab is done and painted. Doors rebuilt with NOS parts for window tracks, etc. and new weatherstripping. Driver and passenger seat bottoms and backs restored and covered in correct Beechwood OD Canvas. Tailgate straight and clean with good hinges. All chain shackles are present. Windshield needs glass inserts.

Wheels/tires: It sits on Combat wheels with used radials right now. Also have original Dodge split rims and NDT tires but they are hard as a rock. And an extra set with equally old/bad NDTs. And a spare combat wheel.

Extras: The Marine truck has a CCKW hardtop(round rear window) on it. We also have an original Arctic top(sliding square window) in good shape to put on the truck we have been restoring. And two sets of top hardware for canvas tops. Jerry can and fender mount. Walker hydraulic 3 ton jack. Lug wrench with handle. Pioneer tool rack for tail gate with tools on it. First Aid kit for passenger side. Spare tire mount for rear of bed. Tailgate chains and canvas covers. Driver and passenger side mirrors/brackets. GMTK Toolbox with period correct tools. Low profile driver’s seat back covered by Beechwood Canvas so tall guys can get behind the wheel. CD of all manuals plus hard copies of Operations manual, parts manual and repair manual.

What needs to be finished?

Cab sill seams need to be ground and filled. Some small holes in floorboards need to be filled with provided MWM steel diamond plate. Some filler will be necessary around several small cab patch panels. Prime and paint cab. Re-install cab. Re-install bed, fenders, doors, grills, lights, etc. All hdwe is bagged and tagged and new rubber spacers/weather-stripping is included. All that stuff is done, painted and ready to install. Hook up wiring harness using supplied manual from Vintage Wiring. Rear of truck is done. . The flathead six ran great while we were working with it regularly but it has been sitting almost a year. Even with fuel stabilizer (and ethanol free gas!) we will have to drain the old fuel and get it started over the next few weeks. And maybe rebuild the Carter B&B…..again!

Now the big question:

Like all restorations this one went a LITTLE over budget. Heck, we never had a budget. What we had was many awesome nights working in the garage together with our Dad and we consider that time well spent. It was the journey not the destination. We have the receipts we actually kept in the file (and you KNOW how many others didn’t get saved) for over $10K which is way more than we’d get for the truck finished. We know that. But it has brakes. It runs. It’s 85% painted. It has fresh wiring and lights. No rust. And there is the second truck with winch that comes with it. And all the extras and manuals. And a GMTK to boot. We think $6000 is about right. We have no interest in parting it out. And there’s way too much stuff to ship. We have tons of pics but I can’t post them. PM me and I'll be happy to send them to your email. Thanks for looking.

[Rich]

36 x 24,
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Dad. This would be a great tribute to your Dad!
You have come this far, you only have to go a little further. There is the NC Military Truck Show at Denton Farm Park
If it does not sell you could Bring it to the show to sell. Good Luck.
Rich

[jrodjared]

I say you've come this far, why not honor your dad and keep on going! You know he would love to see it finished. I'm working on a similar situation right now with my dad. He's getting up there in years, and I know what you mean about it's the journey part. It's been a great ride to this point. Maybe I would feel different if I were in your shoes, but I know my dad would want me to finish. Just my two cents.

[Cal_Gary]

I too, offer my condolences for your loss. Based on the work you've described you should have little trouble finding a new home, or homes, for the trucks. Cherish the time you had with your father working on them-many of us would have enjoyed the company, but sadly, not all of us had fathers interested in turning wrenches with us....
Gary

[m37jarhead]

I am interested in buying. Email pics ASAP to: boobolts2014@gmail.com
Do you have valid titles on both vehicles?

Jerry Bubolz (m37jarhead)
480-497-9722
Gilbert, AZ.