Home 
The spring repair kits are separate from the springs themselves, and yes, pricy, but I also purchased them because all were so wallowed out into an egg-shape they would be unsafe if left in place.
A friendly word of advice, for all your pending repairs: Envision your family in the vehicle-is their safety at risk if you leave the existing parts intact-yes or no? If the answer is yes, spend the money and do the repair correctly w/o taking any chances-their lives and yours depends on it!
Gary
Need buying advice ...
Moderators: Cal_Gary, T. Highway, Monkey Man, robi
Thanks Gary, that is some very wise advice. Not only would I not want to do anything unsafe for me or my family but I would not want to take the chance of having an accident where someone else gets hurt. This would not only be bad from a legal standpoint but would be a bad mark in the public view of Military Vehicles in private hands.
Anyway, I am off tomorrow to look at the truck. I will let you all know how it goes.
Thanks for all of the advice to date!
Phil
Anyway, I am off tomorrow to look at the truck. I will let you all know how it goes.
Thanks for all of the advice to date!
Phil
Well, I won't say all of the spring talk has been for nothing as I am sure I have learned a bit and others who read will learn as well but the truck with the sagging issue is not going to work out.
I drove 3.5 hours (one way) to pay her a visit. While the truck was down on the passenger side about 1.5" compared to the other side, the truck had more other issues than I think a $4500 truck should have. First off, my definition of little to no rust is way different than what I saw. I have also learned to ask if the truck has any BONDO as well. It looks like the majority of the truck has 1/8" of bondo on it, some of which was missing in large chunks. The front of the bed was rusted through all the way across as well as having major rust under the headlights. The rear of the truck right under the tailgate was rusted through at intervals across the back. Amazingly the tool bins looked excellent.
I drove the truck and at speeds around 37mph she began to vibrate pretty bad. The steering had almost 1/5 of a turn before anything happens. The suspension feels as hard as a rock but I guess that is to be expected with the known issues.
Another bummer was the entire underside of the truck was completely oily! I don't think there was a thing that had gear oil in it that was not leaking in some capacity. Most could probably be fixed with new gaskets or drain plug seals but I swear if we could tap into the oil that was there we could bring gas prices down for EVERYONE
The only real positive was the motor started right up from cold. It seemed to run quite and smooth and idle well. Shifting was a bit harder than I remembered with my first M37. I absolutely could not down shift without grinding gears (that part could have been me-guy told me I should 'double clutch' it.
Oh well, at least I was able to keep my wits about me and not fall for the first truck I got behind the wheel of!
I will continue my search thought it may have to wait a couple months while my son is born
.
I drove 3.5 hours (one way) to pay her a visit. While the truck was down on the passenger side about 1.5" compared to the other side, the truck had more other issues than I think a $4500 truck should have. First off, my definition of little to no rust is way different than what I saw. I have also learned to ask if the truck has any BONDO as well. It looks like the majority of the truck has 1/8" of bondo on it, some of which was missing in large chunks. The front of the bed was rusted through all the way across as well as having major rust under the headlights. The rear of the truck right under the tailgate was rusted through at intervals across the back. Amazingly the tool bins looked excellent.
I drove the truck and at speeds around 37mph she began to vibrate pretty bad. The steering had almost 1/5 of a turn before anything happens. The suspension feels as hard as a rock but I guess that is to be expected with the known issues.
Another bummer was the entire underside of the truck was completely oily! I don't think there was a thing that had gear oil in it that was not leaking in some capacity. Most could probably be fixed with new gaskets or drain plug seals but I swear if we could tap into the oil that was there we could bring gas prices down for EVERYONE
The only real positive was the motor started right up from cold. It seemed to run quite and smooth and idle well. Shifting was a bit harder than I remembered with my first M37. I absolutely could not down shift without grinding gears (that part could have been me-guy told me I should 'double clutch' it.
Oh well, at least I was able to keep my wits about me and not fall for the first truck I got behind the wheel of!
I will continue my search thought it may have to wait a couple months while my son is born
.Sorry that one didn't work out Phil! Better to burn the gas and keep your funds secure as opposed to buying one "sight unseen" to find out you overpaid through the nose. Keep an eye on this forum, E-Bay, and the Government Liquidation sites. You'll find the right one and will be glad you waited. Have you ever attended the Aberdeen event? I'm told everything you would ever want for a military vehicle can be found there. Too far for me, but I'm going to Portland OR next month....
Gary
Gary
Cal_Gary
1954 M37 W/W
MVPA Correspondent #28500
1954 M37 W/W
MVPA Correspondent #28500
Gary,
I have not been to the 'Aberdeen event'. I take it this is held at the proving grounds up in MD? I've been up there just to mill around and get up close and personal with some German armor. You can see all the pictures you want but until you stand in front of a Panther or King Tiger tank you just don't get quite the feel of the size. I can't imagine what it would be like to have one of those come towards your position!
Anyway, I will continue to look for a vehicle. I don't think ebay is good for me as I take more time to get a feel for a vehicle and idealy like to get hands on.
I hope you all don't kick me off the forums for saying this but as I do love the look and feel of the M37, I may even be better suited for an even lighter vehicle like a M38 (not the A1) or another flat fender jeep due to my lack of technical knowledge and workshop resources. At any rate I do have a month or two to do some thinking while my child is born as I won't be able to get away from the wife or hospital too far.
I have not been to the 'Aberdeen event'. I take it this is held at the proving grounds up in MD? I've been up there just to mill around and get up close and personal with some German armor. You can see all the pictures you want but until you stand in front of a Panther or King Tiger tank you just don't get quite the feel of the size. I can't imagine what it would be like to have one of those come towards your position!
Anyway, I will continue to look for a vehicle. I don't think ebay is good for me as I take more time to get a feel for a vehicle and idealy like to get hands on.
I hope you all don't kick me off the forums for saying this but as I do love the look and feel of the M37, I may even be better suited for an even lighter vehicle like a M38 (not the A1) or another flat fender jeep due to my lack of technical knowledge and workshop resources. At any rate I do have a month or two to do some thinking while my child is born as I won't be able to get away from the wife or hospital too far.
-
uglyranger
- PFC
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:02 am
- Location: Georgia
Well we guess you can stay...........ha-ha, no worries here, everyone is welcome, fer sure! As for Aberdeen, it mostly goes by Ripkin, but the old timers still call it Aberdeen.vascrats wrote:Gary,
I have not been to the 'Aberdeen event'. I take it this is held at the proving grounds up in MD? I've been up there just to mill around and get up close and personal with some German armor. You can see all the pictures you want but until you stand in front of a Panther or King Tiger tank you just don't get quite the feel of the size. I can't imagine what it would be like to have one of those come towards your position!
Anyway, I will continue to look for a vehicle. I don't think ebay is good for me as I take more time to get a feel for a vehicle and idealy like to get hands on.
I hope you all don't kick me off the forums for saying this but as I do love the look and feel of the M37, I may even be better suited for an even lighter vehicle like a M38 (not the A1) or another flat fender jeep due to my lack of technical knowledge and workshop resources. At any rate I do have a month or two to do some thinking while my child is born as I won't be able to get away from the wife or hospital too far.
Always a good time & mostly good to great bargains to be had. Have you snooped around on Gordon Many's VPW page, if not do yourself a favor, nice bunch of like minded folks over there as well; www.vintagepowerwagon.com
& don't forget Steel Soldiers.
BTW, Congrats to you & your other half w/ the impending arrival of a new "Little Dodge Person"!
Bruce,
1953 M-37 w/ow
Retired Again
Keep Em Rollin'
VMVA
1953 M-37 w/ow
Retired Again
Keep Em Rollin'
VMVA
Almost Forgot
I'm thinking that is Bill Wincapaw's old 37?
Bruce,
1953 M-37 w/ow
Retired Again
Keep Em Rollin'
VMVA
1953 M-37 w/ow
Retired Again
Keep Em Rollin'
VMVA
That is a common situation with the M37. Actually, it's only worn "a little bit." These trucks are designed with some "slop" in the steering in order to allow a little bit of bump steer. They were designed to be operated in rough terrain by relatively inexperienced drivers and a "tight" steering geometry would have resulted in numerous dislocated shoulders as they fought the steering wheel. After a while, you become so accustomed to the "slop" that you don't even notice it. My '55 Pontiac had twice as much "slop" in the steering wheel but I could easily handle it on the interstate at 70+ mph. Parallel parking was a pain, though, if the kingpins got a little dry.vascrats wrote:The steering had almost 1/5 of a turn before anything happens.
"PER ARDUA AD ITER"
[quote="m-37Bruce] BTW, Congrats to you & your other half w/ the impending arrival of a new "Little Dodge Person"![/quote]
I forgot to say THANKS Bruce!
I went to a 'Baby care basics' class last night. I got the whole diaper change thing down pretty good on a plastic rigid baby anyway. Now when you add poop
, squirming, and dodging an active wee wee (we are having a boy) that may be another story!
I forgot to say THANKS Bruce!
I went to a 'Baby care basics' class last night. I got the whole diaper change thing down pretty good on a plastic rigid baby anyway. Now when you add poop
, squirming, and dodging an active wee wee (we are having a boy) that may be another story! I didn't get into the diaper-changing bit until I ended up being permanent unpaid daycare for my younger two grandkids. I had changed a few diapers before that, but only very rarely and without incident. My youngest granddaughter, however, quickly proved that little girls can also "baptize" you! It doesn't matter whether the new one is a boy or a girl...be ready to cover the leaky parts quickly!"PER ARDUA AD ITER"
-
uglyranger
- PFC
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:02 am
- Location: Georgia
