M37 "Brutus"

[Cal_Gary]

Great updates, John-congratulations!
Gary

[John Mc]

I just realized I've fallen way behind in my updates. I just his 500 miles since the rebuilt engine, transmission and transfer case were put in.

Here is Tim Holloway putting the 251 engine in:

Engine installing sm.jpeg (153.42 KiB) Viewed 2328 times

And here it is all buttoned back up:

251 Engine 1 sm.jpg (189.74 KiB) Viewed 2328 times

251 Engine 2 sm.jpg (187.4 KiB) Viewed 2328 times

[John Mc]

The focus was on making the power train more reliable. He still looks pretty much the same from the outside, other than the addition of the winch.

Winch side view sm.jpg (176.47 KiB) Viewed 2328 times

We had a local fab shop make the bumperettes from the old 1-piece bumper. Winch is freshly rebuilt. It looks a little too new compared to the rest of the truck, but since this is a working-in-the-woods truck, It will soon be a little more grubby.

Nose Job (winch) sm.jpg (151.9 KiB) Viewed 2327 times

[John Mc]

Tim Holloway and I figured out the mystery of the headlights that worked only on rare occasions. Previous troubleshooting had narrowed the intermittent problem down to the likely culprit being a bad socket in the female connector on the truck's wiring that plugs in to the back of the light control switch. Getting that connector disassembled was a bit of a pain in the butt. A "Rube Goldberg" press made from a 6" piece of 1"x2", a 15/16" socket and a couple of Tim's woodworking clamps did the trick. Once it was apart and the offending connector removed, a little crimp on the socket, reassemble, and the lights are now working reliably.

[Cal_Gary]

That looks great! A few character marks will blend it in with little time and effort. Well done!
Gary

[John Mc]

Those of you on the Dodge M37/M43 Facebook group have already seen these photos, but I thought I'd share a big set back for Brutus. I got run off the road by someone who apparently thought they were entitled to more than half of a small dirt road - on Veteran's Day, of all days. Here's the story:

I came around a 90˚ corner on a small dirt road a few miles from home. Another truck came around the next bend from the other direction. He was running near the middle of the road. I squeezed over as much as I could, assuming he would move over a little as well. He did not, so I was forced to squeeze over even further... just enough for my right wheels to sink into the soft shoulder on the edge of a steep ditch. Turning the wheels did nothing to pull me back on - the truck hung on the edge of the ditch for a bit. I was afraid to turn too much for fear of rolling the truck into the ditch. I also could not brake hard, for fear of shifting the weight and rolling the truck. I have the Arctic top on the truck, but we all know that provides zero protection in a rollover.

Long story short: Brutus lost an argument with a telephone pole. (Well, the telephone pole lost as well... 6000# of truck does not stop on a dime just because of a wooden pole in its way.)

Fortunately, I was not going very fast - it was just about 300 feet past that 90˚ turn which I had to slow way down for. If you know these trucks, you know that 300 feet is not enough to build back up much speed. I teetered on the edge of the ditch before finally dropping down in and hitting the telephone pole about 200 feet from where my right tires first dropped off the edge
The other person just kept on driving - never stopped to check if I was OK (in their defense, they were probably around that 90˚ bend by the time I came to a stop and might have had no idea what happened).

Not a scratch or bruise on me. I was not even sore the next day (which everyone was warning me to expect).

Accident 1 sm.jpeg (176.09 KiB) Viewed 2222 times

Accident 2 sm.jpeg (176.26 KiB) Viewed 2222 times

Accident 4 sm.jpeg (177.32 KiB) Viewed 2222 times

[John Mc]

I had about 1500 miles on it since getting it back on the road last spring after Tim put in the rebuilt engine, transmission and transfer case and front disk brakes. It was running like a top. I'd been driving it in the woods on firewood and logging duty, and around town.

We're hopeful that the damage didn't affect the engine, and the frame does not appear to be obviously mangled. No collision insurance on the truck. I had liability only: Hagerty would not insure the vehicle if there were under-21 drivers in the household, so I went with my regular auto insurer - who would not do collision or comprehensive on an antique vehicle. Fortunately, we are having a good year at work, so maybe a year end bonus will take some of the sting out of getting this back on the road.

[RCrombie]

That looks great! A few character marks will blend it in with little time and effort. Well done!
Gary

Well that’s a bit more than a few character marks!!
All seriousness though, glad to hear you’re ok. Trucks can be fixed... sad to see Brutus in that condition though. Hopefully the repairs are limited to sheet metal, and nothing too involved.

[John Mc]

I finished pulling the damaged parts off of the front end of Brutus yesterday. Some of the sheet metal has been damaged beyond any economical repair: the hood, RF fender and cheek. I'll also need to replace the radiator, fan, right frame extension, grill guard and right headlight bucket & guard. The engine does not appear to have been touched. The frame appears straight - possibly a slight twist in the very front end of the right frame rail.

I can attest to the effectiveness of the headlight guards. With all of the damage to the right front end, the new LED headlight on that side still works: just a little scuffing of the lens, which should buff out.

Tim Holloway has the sheet metal parts to replace what can't be straightened out. Since those will need to be repainted, I removed the rest of the sheet metal from the front end, which will be repainted to match. It will be a bummer to lose the patina the truck had - I really liked the "working truck look". I will leave the cab and bed as-is.

The plan is to bring it from outside Tim's shop back over to my garage for the winter. Tim is in the middle of another project, so we'll spend some time gathering up needed parts and possibly prepping them for installation. Sometime in the spring, we'll haul the truck back over to his shop to start putting things back together.

I forgot to get a picture of the current state. I'll add that when I get back over there.

[Cal_Gary]

@rcrombie, my post was long before John's accident.

That was one serious crash-so sorry you have to do so much rework on your truck, John! Thankfully you are OK and able to repair it. Other than combat damage that might be the most I've seen in the civilian world on an M37.
Keep us posted on your progress!
Gary

[John Mc]

Thanks, Gary. I was amazed that I never really felt a thing, either at the time of the accident, or in the following days. I was not moving very fast, but once the wheels sunk into that soft shoulder, the only way I was coming back out was on the end of a tow truck's cable.

I expect progress will be slow over the winter. This winter is mostly just getting the needed parts and possibly getting some of them prepped for installation.

[RCrombie]

@rcrombie, my post was long before John's accident.

That was one serious crash-so sorry you have to do so much rework on your truck, John! Thankfully you are OK and able to repair it. Other than combat damage that might be the most I've seen in the civilian world on an M37.
Keep us posted on your progress!
Gary

Sorry guys, my attempt at humour was in poor taste.

[NAM VET]

I can 't imagine now discouraging having this happen to your just completed truck must be. I just don't now if I would have the energy to do it all over again. At least some consolation that your are not seriously injured. NV

[John Mc]

@rcrombie, my post was long before John's accident.

That was one serious crash-so sorry you have to do so much rework on your truck, John! Thankfully you are OK and able to repair it. Other than combat damage that might be the most I've seen in the civilian world on an M37.
Keep us posted on your progress!
Gary

Sorry guys, my attempt at humour was in poor taste.

I took it as a joke and was not offended. I had earlier made the comment that the front end looked a little too new compared to the rest of the truck.

On the other hand, I was not amused by the guy on the Dodge M37/M43 Facebook group who made a comment along the lines of "Admit it, you were drunk."

[Cal_Gary]

Ditto-I didn't take it as a joke nor malicious, Rob -just pointing out the timing of my post. I'd never joke about a fellow member's accident-happy that John is ok!
Gary