New to the site and some questions

[jmacqueen]

Well here we go... Jumping in with both feet...

I bid on an M-37 on fleabay in Arizona and surprisingly enough I won it.

I guess I'll post pics when I can get out there and get it.

Any tips on titles, title transfer in AZ or anything else I might not be thinking about as I drive out to get it?

I assume these never had a normal VIN#, any advice on getting it titled and what not when I get it back in Texas?

[Bruce]

Year, VIN Stuff

Unless your truck is very early, pre-1950, your VIN will be on your left frame horn, just ahead of the steering box, the #'s will be approx. 3/4" tall.
You might need to remove some crud/under coating & or paint? I used a putty knife, steel wool & a 3M pad moistened w/ paint thinner.

[jmacqueen]

It's supposedly a '53, supposedly restored around 8 years ago.

Has a braden winch, combat wheels, power steering and power brakes and a heater/fan of some early sort and looks solid enough in the pictures. 12 volt conversion with electric wipers, some kind of 4 wheel hydraulic wheel lock I assume for winching. Supposedly everything works and it's a driver.

The owner says the power brakes are rare and stock on it?, dunno about that myself but hey if they work I'm ok with em.

The power steering pump looks like one off my old '67 cougar.

All to be seen soon enough.

[bosco]

Hey jmacqueen and welcome to the forum. Just now reading this thread and catching up on whats happening. I believe you stated that your in the Dallas area, well I'm south of Houston. I'm surprised you couldn't find a M37 closer than Arizona, cause I have seen many in the state of Texas for sale at good prices.

Couple of things I would like to point out about the M37 you won on ebay. If it's a 1953 you will have one of the earlier models. The braden winch is a major plus which adds value to the truck. The 12 volt conversion is fine as long as you are not looking for original. Power steering is a wonderful thing, but I see no reason to have that on this type of truck, unless you intend to drive to work at least a few times a week. Power brakes stock on any M37 ... never heard of that. You stated the owner said the power brakes were rare and stock on the M37 ... well you got feed a line of crap. I really don't wont to be negative here, but I really hope you checked this truck out personally or had someone dependable do it for you. I do not know the rules of ebay, but I would think that if a seller doesn't state the true facts (or actually lies) you may be able to get out of the deal. I sure hope you got this truck without much money out of your pocket. Ok, I sure others on this forum will have different opinions and some may agree with me ... but unless you got this truck really cheap I would say NO DEAL.

There was some very good sound advice here mentioned, especially Uggs lessons learned. If you decide to follow through with the purchase, I hope you will be pleased. No matter what, you'll find that the folks on this forum will always offer their knowledge to a fellow MV'er.

As for as the title, the guy your buying the truck from should have one. Your best bet is to call the motor vehicle department in your area and ask them what you need to do. The previous owners title will already have the vin # on it. If you only get a bill of sale ... then thats where your local motor vehicle department folks will give you the straight talk on how to make things legal.

Good luck....

[jmacqueen]

Well I have a feeling someone else did some kind of resto on this truck 8 years back and did the 12v conv, elect wipers, power steering and brakes before the current owner bought the truck. All are things I planned to do to any truck I bought anyway, so worth money to me if already done.

Maybe a FD or FS did the power brakes, who knows... who cares.. I was going to add power brakes and steering and probably go to disk brakes anyway. I do plan to drive it, not just look at it. I'll see how good a job they did when I get there. Having PS and PB will just save me time if it was done well.

The only real fear I have is whether there's 200lbs of bondo under the paint, something I can see better in person.

If it drives, everything on it works as was advertised, and it isn't half bondo its worth the money to me. Most of the trucks I see around here are 4-5k with anything like a straight body and don't even run at all.

If it's totally misrepresented it won't get bought, but I really doubt it is.

He's got a clear title, I believe I just need it signed/notarized, a bill of sale, and TxDot will be happy. I guess I need to check the VIN on the title vs the frame number though.

At any rate, I do want a useable driveable truck so it'll get rebuilt and upgraded to be driven often and be safe on the highway, and kept as stock military looking as I can keep it while doing so. That's the plan anyway.

[Ugg013]

The only real fear I have is whether there's 200lbs of bondo under the paint

Hi jmacqueen:

Boy, do I know that feeling. I discovered what I had thought was a small Bondo patch turned out to be the whole side covered in 1/4 to 1/2" thick Bondo over galvanized sheet metal. ARG!

Good Luck
Ugg

[jmacqueen]

Yeah, I guess M37 body parts aren't so large or hard to come by though.

I'm hoping if whoever did the resto went as far as converting to 12v, electric wipers and doing power brakes and steering he wouldn't pile in a bucket o' bondo on the body work. But ya never really know, ya know...

Anyway, I'll find out how happy I am soon enough, gonna drive out to get it Sunday and hopefully have it home Monday night.

Probably drive it around a bit for a week and get a feel for it, then get those combat wheels off and start in on brakes and axle seals and bearings and work my way up. :)

[bosco]

jmacqueen,

Sounds like you found what you were looking for ... good deal. Be sure to take that magnet along to check for any paint covered bondo. Post some pics when you get the chance.

Best of luck...

[Bruce]

Pictures......

Yeah, We want some pictures! BTW most all of the 37's panels are flat or curved, so bondo is hard to find, patch panels a little more dificult to find if they are done right.

[jmacqueen]

Pics will be taken.. :)

I rented a nice 10,000lb trailer, but I have to pull it from Dallas to Houston with my 4Runner to swap out for a heavier truck, then out to Arizona.

I found a guy that has a motorcycle in Dallas that he needs delivered to Tucson so I'm hauling that out to him to pay for some fuel, then getting the truck Monday and heading back to Dallas, unloading, returning the trailer and then driving back to Houston to swap back out for my 4Runner.

About a 3000 mile journey all together I guess.

[jmacqueen]

Well I made it back with my new truck!

I'll get some pics up soon, I already need to pick some brains.

The truck starts good and runs strong, lgal driver with a solid body though I see a few places that may be bondo a bit no major cancer visible.

PO didn't know a lot I don't think. Looks to be an old fire rig, a few remaining scars from removing equpment in the bed.

Power steering works but wasn't done well at all. That'll have to be redone for sure. Brakes work but master cylinder is in bad shape.

The hard top seems to be tack welded on across the front, hard to tell, bolted in back.

The resto that was done on it 8 years back seems ok, but not really complete.

I'll probably post some pics up tomorrow. I was going to start with the running gear, but I think my first job is getting the steering column and steering box squared away, I might need a new steering column and PS box altogether.

[Bruce]

Don't Know

The #'s, but most folks use a Saganaw box, GM 1 ton van, someone sure to chime in w/all of the info your needin'? Sonds like a lot of driving, worth it I'm sure!

[jmacqueen]

Yeah, 20hr drive out, 24hr drive back the next day. I'm gettin too old for that kind of thing, takes me a couple days to recover these days.

I'll have to identify the PS box. The PS box is mounted inside the frame, bracket is cracked and loose, column had been shortened a lot and is crooked in the cab. Basically a pretty bad job.

Not having owned one with a stock PS box and column I don't really have a good idea what all I'll have to replace.

I started a thread in the M forum, as soon as I learn how to link an outside pic from my website in my post I'll post pics of it all and see if you guys can tell what it is and what's been done.

[Bruce]

Check This Out

http://www.snakeriver4x4.com/psteering.html

Tom Howell is the guy you need to talk to. I will check out your other thread in the M section.