1963 M37B1 and introduction
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 7:12 pm
Hello everyone,
I discovered this forum while looking for information about M37s. My name is Tony and I am the owner of two 1963 M37B1. One is a running truck and the other is a parts truck. I am also a USAF vet and spend half of my time in FL and the other half in PR. You see, the FL winter is too cold for me.
In December of last year I went to see and potentially buy a 1955 civilian Power Wagon. It turned out that it was in a very bad shape. Rust everywhere and bondo everywhere. Broken transmission, no papers and a terrible homemade truck bed. So I passed on that one.
But the guy also had the M37s for sale. We started talking about it, did some research and a couple of weeks later, drove it home. I bought both trucks with intention of making one good truck using the components of both trucks. The body of the parts truck is shot, but it has a solid chassis with a rebuilt original engine, gearbox, t-case and both axles/diffs.
The running truck is in better shape but it needs a lot of work. The chassis is not good so I am going to transfer the body and drive train to the good chassis of the parts truck. It was converted to 12 volts (luckily he saved the original starter, generator and the regulator). He also changed the carburetor, but again, he saved the original carb. It has an electric fuel pump and no wipers. It will need a complete wiring harness and new tires. My bank account just dried up while typing this!
Currently I am getting the chassis ready for the transplant. I removed the body, fuel tank, transmission, shocks and yesterday I removed the steering box with the steering wheel still attached to the column. Removing the steering wheel is going to be fun! Thanks to previous posts and restorations well documented here, I’ve been able to learn a few tricks on how to do certain things and I am very grateful for this site. I am fairly good searching for info, but I’m sure that once in a while I will have to ask questions and suggestions. Any help will be sincerely appreciated.
It’s the first time that I am working on a military vehicle like this one, but it’s not the first time that I worked on an old 4x4. In the past I rebuilt a 1969 Land Rover Series IIA and later a 1957 Land Rover Series I. Hopefully I can put that experience to good use while working on my new project. I am not a mechanic, but I already downloaded the TMs and as you know, those manual are key to learn about the M37s.
A pleasure to be here and please, stay safe.
I discovered this forum while looking for information about M37s. My name is Tony and I am the owner of two 1963 M37B1. One is a running truck and the other is a parts truck. I am also a USAF vet and spend half of my time in FL and the other half in PR. You see, the FL winter is too cold for me.
In December of last year I went to see and potentially buy a 1955 civilian Power Wagon. It turned out that it was in a very bad shape. Rust everywhere and bondo everywhere. Broken transmission, no papers and a terrible homemade truck bed. So I passed on that one.
But the guy also had the M37s for sale. We started talking about it, did some research and a couple of weeks later, drove it home. I bought both trucks with intention of making one good truck using the components of both trucks. The body of the parts truck is shot, but it has a solid chassis with a rebuilt original engine, gearbox, t-case and both axles/diffs.
The running truck is in better shape but it needs a lot of work. The chassis is not good so I am going to transfer the body and drive train to the good chassis of the parts truck. It was converted to 12 volts (luckily he saved the original starter, generator and the regulator). He also changed the carburetor, but again, he saved the original carb. It has an electric fuel pump and no wipers. It will need a complete wiring harness and new tires. My bank account just dried up while typing this!
Currently I am getting the chassis ready for the transplant. I removed the body, fuel tank, transmission, shocks and yesterday I removed the steering box with the steering wheel still attached to the column. Removing the steering wheel is going to be fun! Thanks to previous posts and restorations well documented here, I’ve been able to learn a few tricks on how to do certain things and I am very grateful for this site. I am fairly good searching for info, but I’m sure that once in a while I will have to ask questions and suggestions. Any help will be sincerely appreciated.
It’s the first time that I am working on a military vehicle like this one, but it’s not the first time that I worked on an old 4x4. In the past I rebuilt a 1969 Land Rover Series IIA and later a 1957 Land Rover Series I. Hopefully I can put that experience to good use while working on my new project. I am not a mechanic, but I already downloaded the TMs and as you know, those manual are key to learn about the M37s.
A pleasure to be here and please, stay safe.