New member, soon-to-be-owner...

[LesBerg]

Good morning, everyone!

I was going to say "I am seriously considering buying an M43 I found with no power train or rims." if I can find rims for it, but I'm sure I'm going to do it anyway.

That said, does anyone know if there's a source for them in the Pacific Northwest?

It's fairly complete otherwise and seems to only have had a few modifications. Gages, sheetmetal, axles, interior - it's all there, and the scrapyard owner is a Mopar fan. He's willing and eager to trade it for a 1974 Dart Sport / 71 Demon clone project car that hasn't seen a wrench in fifteen years.

I don't know how I'll power it yet. I'm open to suggestions..

I'm new to the M43s, but not vintage vehicles. I've got a 1948 Willys CJ2A and a 1954 GMC PD4104 Greyhound bus.

I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Les

[CSCameron]

Welcome! You've opened a can of worms here, "no drive train or rims". Do you plan to restore it back to original, or go in another direction? We'll need more information!

Clark

[LesBerg]

I'm thinking 'Original within reason'

It turns out that it still has the transfer case.

Whether I go back to the original power plant will depend a lot on what it would cost, and parts availability. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of the 'stuff a V8 in it' thing. I won't repower with anything that would involve cutting original metal.

I repowered my 48 CJ2A with an odd-fire Buick V6 without any cutting/welding the frame & tub except for a notch to the right of the transfer case shifters. This was in sheet metal I had to replace anyway. I did cut & weld a spare trans cross member. Doing it this way means going back to the stock motor is a bolt job with all stock parts, and doesn't ruin the value of the vehicle if it gets restored in the future.

I'd do the M43 the same way. I would look at a number of options:
1. a period-correct repower. What was a popular motor to replace the flat six with? The only V8s I would look to would be the flatheads.
2. power plant from a newer Power Wagon. I haven't looked at this, so I don't know if it would be feasible.
3. military repower. Was/is there a 24v military motor that would be appropriate?
4. small mechanical diesel

I'd prefer something that sounds similar to the original motor, or is distinct in it's own right. I don't want a small block Chevy/Ford/whatever. The yard that I'm buying it from has a couple Mercedes cars with the OM617 diesel (with and without a turbo), and there are adapters to mate it up to various Ford, Chevy, Mopar, and Toyota transmissions. Having a divorced transfer case opens a huge realm of possibilities. The question would be 'will it fit without destroying the historic value of the vehicle?'. I'd like it to be usable/drivable and have the option to install a correct engine and trans that have been freshly built down the road.

As far as the interior goes, it turns out that my cursory look in the cab missed that the original gauges are gone, as are some of the various switches. It does have the spotlight and a 24v generator.

So I'll figure out something with the cab and slowly work it back to original as I can find and afford parts.

I'm going to go with original paint, lights, wheels, but probably not the tires. I know lots of people love the NDTs, but they were designed as an artillery trailer tire, not a traction tire. I'd likely use Super Traxxions or a modern M/T that's not outrageously out of place. Something like the Cooper Discoverer STT in a size as close to the original as possible.

I'll keep the box interior as stock as possible, but likely fill the storage with camping / hunting gear. She won't be a show truck. She'll get driven and used, but able to stand in properly and respectfully at a Veteran's Day parade.

OK. Let me see if I can get some pictures attached...

m43-z1.jpg (52.71 KiB) Viewed 2443 times

M43-2.jpg (139.61 KiB) Viewed 2465 times

m43-3.jpg (77.47 KiB) Viewed 2465 times

The US Army markings are present on the hood. I'm hoping I can peel enough paint from them to figure out where she came from.

[Cal_Gary]

Welcome aboard Les! That's quite a project but not impossible either as long as you take it as one small project at a time.

A couple of Mountain West sources for you:

surplusjeep.com is Surplus City Jeep Parts out of Oroville, CA. They have M37 parts too.
Idahomotorpool.com out of Fruitland, ID also has some M37 stuff off and on-Alex Gordon is the owner and great to work with!

There are a number of other great vendors out there but further away-some are members of this forum-John Bizal of Midwest Military is one, and another great guy to deal with!

Please edit your profile and add your location if you have a chance-that will make it easier to route you in the right direction as we move forward.

Thanks! Glad to have you with us!
Gary

[LesBerg]

Gary,

I've been to the Idaho Motor Pool a couple times, they're a great bunch! We lived in Boise for about seven years or so. I've got an email in to them about a few parts already, and I've had a PM from a member about picking up a set of five rims out on the Pacific coast.

This rig has its issues, to be sure. I promise that I've seen and resurrected worse. My current daily driver is a 1948 Willys CJ2A that was stretched 24" by a previous owner. When I picked it up the frame was cracked out in several places, the floor looked like French lace from the gas pedal to the rear bumper, and the list goes on. Just imagine the havok wreaked on a jeep frame and suspension when it had 1300 pounds of extra steel removed and recycled getting it back close to stock, not counting the 3-point rear plow...

To be sure, parts are a little harder source for the M37 family, and the maintenance and repair seem to be way more technically complex.

I was a mechanic in the Army for several years, and a heavy truck mechanic for a decade or so after. Mechanically, there's not much I've not done with the exception of automatic transmissions (voodoo boxes!). I'm not saying I know it all, not by any means. What I do know is the limitations of my experience. I'm not afraid of asking stupid questions of the people who have gone before (like you guys!). By way of example, I was reading the Build Blog section and read a thread written by a gent who was rebuilding his winch. I would likely have made a number of the mistakes he did, not being familiar with the equipment. Reading the thread, I would like to think I would have heeded the advice to double-check the bearing preload and equalize the shim packs.

That's not to say I haven't cut corners before. I have and I've paid the price. I've learned to thoroughly research manuals, repair techniques, and the advice and experiences of members of forums like this.


I truly value the experience and expertise of you guys, in this forum and other, and your willingness to share what you've learned the hard way. You are the 'Old Guard'

That said, I have some skills that others may find useful. I've made a couple of canvas tops for my jeep. I've made a few mistakes and had a few ideas. I'll share my thoughts and experience where it seems appropriate, and I hope it will be useful.

It will be a journey, possibly decades long, and I look forward to it. My father served two or three tours in Vietnam in the Navy, and my grandfather was a founding member of the First Armored Division. He served with First Armored, 6th INF Reg, 3rd Inf Bn, Headquarters Company from the beginning through at least Anzio, driving a half-track for Gen. Patton, and it's his bumper numbers I run on my jeep. The men and women who serve deserve the recognition of their sacrifice and the vehicles that served along side them deserve it as well.

I want to thank you all in advance, as I promise I'll be asking a LOT of questions. I'm going to try to document this build far better than I did the Willys. If anyone needs pictures or measurements or anything else, I'll do my best to accommodate.

This is my Willys, shortly after I bought it two and a half years ago with a broken frame, no brakes, and numerous other problems:

jeep0.jpg (110.4 KiB) Viewed 2431 times

This pic is from late August this year, after untold hours of work - you know the kind I mean:

jeep.jpg (49.39 KiB) Viewed 2431 times

My wife supported me 100 percent getting Ironsides to the local airfield to get this picture. I buttoned up a transfer case rebuild, tranny work, and a Buick 231 Odd-fire repower to make the deadline for this photo shoot. We made it by less than two minutes.

I promise this level of dedication to my M43.

[NAM VET]

as someone who just acquired a '52 Command Version of an M 37, fortunately for me in a much better condition to start with, I am "with you" on your dedication to resurrect your M 43. Mine was daily driven, street licensed, weathered a bit and very original and with no nothing more serious than a little surface rust. I too have bought a big assortment of mostly cosmetics, and just had it shipped from NE to SC. But after only two days "home" here, I had my right knee replaced, and won't be able to driver or do much work on it for as long as two months. So had it AAA flatbedded another 100 miles to my son's place in Columbia, SC, where he has it in his service garage. And like you, I have wrenched on cars since I was a kid, and long ago learned to act according to my own skills, and respect and accept my lack of expertise.

I have a high grade metastatic prostate CA, although for now, on my shots, it seems to be laying low. None of us really knows what sort of life we will be blessed with, but being retired, and with a place to work on my truck, and the support of my wife and family to dive head first into its restoration, I can't wait to plug in my HVLP sprayer, and drizzle some Kroil on a few fasteners, and get to work.

I am with you on your own journey.....

and away we go.
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[LesBerg]

HooYah! That's a nice truck!

I can't wait to get mine home and get rolling on it. At the moment, I've very seriously considering using the same powerplant my jeep has - a post-Kaiser odd-fire Buick V6. They have great power and torque and easy to get parts for. And they have ridiculous potential. In stock trim, they develop about 180hp / 210ft/lbs of torque. At the top, the stock blocks can handle twin turbos and about 650hp.

I have to be careful driving my jeep, or it barks the tires coming off a stop. The sound of an odd-fire V6 is pretty unique too. The best way to describe it is that they sound like a high-revving non-turbo diesel.

[carolinamv]

If that M43 could talk it would never stop thanking you for saving it

[52PLOWERWAGON]

a slant six would be sweet

I had one with a ford 300 6 in it, it sounded close to original

or a gmc 302 with all of the military parts like from a m211 or m135 would be awesome I considered doing this with a 5 speed

[LesBerg]

I'm actually considering the slant-six. It's an absolute torque-monster for it's size and almost indestructible. I'm thinking five speed manual trans as well. I plan to research what powerplants military and civvy rigs have in common, because I'd like to keep this beasty 24v, and that will mean 24v engine controls.

A nagging suggestion in the back of my head is the HMMWV V8 diesel with a manual trans. I keep ignoring it because I want to keep the rest as stock as I realistically can, including the transfer case and axles. I don't know what kind of abuse it can take.

One of the guys over on TheCJ2Apage.com forums mentioned that he has a friend that has one of these, and the transfer case gets crazy hot driving over 55mph. He says the guy has actually had instances where he's boiled the gear oil. Is this a legitimate issue, or did he have something else going on? Thoughts?

[j mccormick]

These trucks have 5:83 gear ratios in the the axles and were never made to travel 55mph for long periods of time, no surprise that the transfer case might get a little hot. If you want a modern truck capability you'll have to change to a different drivetrain. I like old and slow myself!

Joe

[LesBerg]

Yeah, I'm like that with my jeep. The guy I'm getting the rims from has an original engine & trans available as well. I'm going to see what he wants for them. I'd have to source a radiator as well.

[LesBerg]

OK, I'm going to try to get an original engine & trans for the M43. For a number of reasons:

1. repowering loses a lot of original functionality - I like the waterproofing, military light systems, possible radio installation, and fording capabilities. If the trade-off is going slower, I'm okay with that.
2. The money saved in trying to obtain an original engine & trans is spent several times over in custom parts, expensive engines I'm really not interested in, and exotic transmission solutions. I can't afford the popular 4BT swap, and don't want to corner myself into having to eventually swap out the transfer case, axles, brakes, etc because of an engine choice.
3. Part of the thought of the repower was upping the torque and power a bit without going bananas. There are a LOT of performance parts available for these motors and it seems that just getting the governor adjusted properly makes a huge difference.


Any, I gotta go. I'll be back on in the morning.

Thanks guys!

-Les

[Cal_Gary]

That's quite a dossier of experience, Les! Feel free to post your many questions-plenty of expertise here to keep you on track and out of trouble!
Gary

[52PLOWERWAGON]

the gmc 302 is 24 volt and ive seen guys get tons of horsepower from them find one out of a m211 or m135

but the flatty is a good engine, mine has a hi performance cam and I deleted the heat riser and it has so much power it is ridiculous