new guy from pa

[gusbratz]

hello, i bought a rusted out 63 m37 last week and am trying to set it up as a plow machine. I do not have any dilusions of restoration. I just want to build a solid work truck for my 1/2 mile driveway. so far I cleaned the carb, pulled the head and unstuck some valves, flushed the crank case with kerosene, fabricated some mounts for a fisher plow hydralic set up, modifed some old IH dump truck tires to fit on it, built some ignitin wires and got it running. I am in the process of trying to figure out a way to put power steering on it but the box I have turns the wrong way. I am going to need some rear leaf springs for it as most of mine are broken. junkyards around here don't have too much old stuff so it is going to be tough to do it on a budget. I wanted to say hi and introduce myselfs in case I have any questions lator on. great site!!

[Gordon Maney]

Welcome to the group! Please come and ask questions, we are happy to help you.

You will want to find some tire chains for snow work.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Welcome to the site. the 2" wide springs on these trucks are indeed not a common item. Good luck, and ask away.

[Kaiser2boy]

Pa. ya say. I dont know what part of Pa. you are in but I am in the Northern Tier, Tioga County. It is R_U_A_L and a half here . Many dirt roads and very few places to have engine work done.
I found that many items for your M37 can be found at NAPA or CAR QUEST if the guy behind the counter is willing to do some digging.
There are three M37's sitting around here within an hours ride. Two in Towanda on rt 6 and one in Erwins NY on rt 417 just off rt 15. I keep toying with the idea of buying one for parts but my wife says I have to match dollar for dollar toy money for her usless junks she wants. She sees the M37 as the worlds most expensive paper weight. No sense of humor at all.

[gusbratz]

I am in scandia pa just outside warren. I'm lucky my wife is pretty easy going and lets me do what I want with my money but I am trying not to let this turn into a money pit. I like my m37 and am relly enjoing it so far and that is worth something to me but i don't want to restore it. I just want to make a solid reliable work truck for around the house. my driveway is 1/3 mile each way so in an average snow storm I plow 4 pases. I live in the middle of the woods and might get firewood with it in the summer too. there was an m37 on ebay for 1000 with an extra frame and it didnt sell, I am trying to get ahold of the guy to see if he would sell the frame so I can take springs off of it or maybe I will have to buy some from that vintage powerwagon website.
I put some brake lines on mine and it and needed one of the rubber ones for the front steering knuckle. orederd a 62 w300 power wagon one from the parts store and it was the right one. I am thinking and hopeing m37 and power wagon were built off the same chassies so parts should be the same. I put regular plugs into it and made some accell wires up for the ignition. It was hard because where the wires poke into my waterproof distributor I could not crimp the brass ends on the wires or they would just arc out to the aluminum houseing. i just stripped them off and poked them in. does any body have an better trick to attach the wires to the distributor?

[Kaiser2boy]

I too just wanted a truck I could bump around in.
I am not sure when it happened or how but I must have nicked myself and became infected with, " let me just fix that part the right way". After that it was all just a blur. I now am waiting for the engine to come back from the rebuilder. In that time I have gone over the truck fixing and replacing items.
The amazing part is that you can get almost anything for the old guy and its not real expensive. The engine rebuild is going to kill me I know but it had to be done.
It sneeks up on you with no warning at all.
The guys on this site will steer you on just about any problems you can think of and then some.
Good luck.
Alan in North Central Pa.

[Gordon Maney]

I am not sure when it happened or how but I must have nicked myself and became infected with, " let me just fix that part the right way". After that it was all just a blur. I now am waiting for the engine to come back from the rebuilder.

That is funny.

[Jay Turnbull]

Oldie but newbie

Back from rehab. The various nostrums,notions and inundations sort of numbed the senses but when the light appeared, I walked to it...smack dab into the grill of a forgotten,forlorn M43. The imprint is indelible and better than any tattoo I have ever seen.
Yes, It has been a long stretch, but have no fear. I can attest there is no cure for M-virus, M-thrax or OD Fever. One can suppress it, but like M-alaria the cyclic fever and sweats keep coming back no matter the concoction.
The creak of the driver's door as it swung open rattled memories so deep, unleashing flash backs so profuse, that I had to stand back to not be bowled over by the rush. Strangely, no fear, but a sense of calm.
The cab's smell filling my nostrils, the olfactory memory so strong, beckoning as if to enter a kitchen filled with fresh baked pies tempting to stave a hunger. The odor of canvas and sweat instead conjuring images of a bench filled with wrenches,topped with a vise, Go-Jo hand cleaner and a first aid kit emptied of band-aids. There's work to be done.
Welcome aboard Brother gusbratz. Regards,Mobilized Medic