My M37 Restoration Thread

[JStinson]

Hokie smokie it looks like it was under water. It would take an awful lot of BONDO to fix that Ha Ha Ha.

I hope you did not pay much for the truck.

Look at the picture, at the left side, all the scratches and whatnot on the metal is where I scraped off bondo. I put it there 4 years ago when I did the original "restoration" on the truck. I'm not interested in building a bondomobile this time around.

PS: the truck was cheap.

[Kaiser2boy]

Hokie smokie it looks like it was under water. It would take an awful lot of BONDO to fix that Ha Ha Ha.

I hope you did not pay much for the truck.

[JStinson]

You might find an entire, decent parts truck with a nice cab....


....just a thought.

Not a bad idea, I checked around but decided that the VPW cab was the best/easiest option.

Here's a picture of my current cab. VPW sent me some pictures of the one they're sending me, and it looks pretty solid.



As you can see, this one is a nightmare.

[Kaiser2boy]

This is just an update on the work:

I moved the cab under the shed so I could start work on it. I looked around it and discovered that it had more rust damage than I had originally though. The channels are rusted through up front, and rust in other areas is pretty much irreparable. I've been talking with Midwest, VPW and Memphis Equipment about a good used cab to replace it. Memphis got back to me on a price first, then VPW. Midwest won't have one in stock until next week. VPW was nearly a third of the price of Memphis, which really did not surprise me a whole lot. Of course, I'll have to factor in shipping, which could be horrific.

In any event, I'm currently waiting on VPW to tell me how much it will cost to ship it. The bottom line is that I've hit the first major stumbling block. Should be over it soon though.

When I see two items for sale that have wide price differences I ask myself why is that. Not to throw stones but I have bought stuff from VPW and it was made in Tiwan and a bit off in quality. That does not mean the expensive guys stuff is any better but you can ask where its made and maybe that will explaine the price .

[Gordon Maney]

This is just an update on the work:

I moved the cab under the shed so I could start work on it. I looked around it and discovered that it had more rust damage than I had originally though. The channels are rusted through up front, and rust in other areas is pretty much irreparable. I've been talking with Midwest, VPW and Memphis Equipment about a good used cab to replace it. Memphis got back to me on a price first, then VPW. Midwest won't have one in stock until next week. VPW was nearly a third of the price of Memphis, which really did not surprise me a whole lot. Of course, I'll have to factor in shipping, which could be horrific.

In any event, I'm currently waiting on VPW to tell me how much it will cost to ship it. The bottom line is that I've hit the first major stumbling block. Should be over it soon though.

You might find an entire, decent parts truck with a nice cab....


....just a thought.

[JStinson]

Update

This is just an update on the work:

I moved the cab under the shed so I could start work on it. I looked around it and discovered that it had more rust damage than I had originally though. The channels are rusted through up front, and rust in other areas is pretty much irreparable. I've been talking with Midwest, VPW and Memphis Equipment about a good used cab to replace it. Memphis got back to me on a price first, then VPW. Midwest won't have one in stock until next week. VPW was nearly a third of the price of Memphis, which really did not surprise me a whole lot. Of course, I'll have to factor in shipping, which could be horrific.

In any event, I'm currently waiting on VPW to tell me how much it will cost to ship it. The bottom line is that I've hit the first major stumbling block. Should be over it soon though.

[Gordon Maney]

I am envious.

[JStinson]

Who are you getting the upper straps for your tank from?

Powerwagontim. He's on this forum.

[jrodjared]

Ooo la la

[Gordon Maney]

The purpose of this post is mostly to gloat. I pulled the gas tank out in preparation to install it. I'm waiting on the upper straps.

Here are a couple of pictures of the tank. It's a NOS tank that I got from Midwest Military. I was talking to John one day and I casually asked if he had a gas tank laying around. He said he had an NOS one. After my heart episode subsided, I told him to send it.





It's my favorite part so far. Nearly brings a tear to my eye.

Beautiful.

[doodlebug]

The purpose of this post is mostly to gloat. I pulled the gas tank out in preparation to install it. I'm waiting on the upper straps.

Who are you getting the upper straps for your tank from?

[JStinson]

Gas Tank

The purpose of this post is mostly to gloat. I pulled the gas tank out in preparation to install it. I'm waiting on the upper straps.

Here are a couple of pictures of the tank. It's a NOS tank that I got from Midwest Military. I was talking to John one day and I casually asked if he had a gas tank laying around. He said he had an NOS one. After my heart episode subsided, I told him to send it.





It's my favorite part so far. Nearly brings a tear to my eye.

[JStinson]

I also got the rear hubs completed and back on the truck. The bearings were repacked and new seals were installed. I mentioned before that the left rear hub was missing the snap ring. I ordered another one from VPW and got it installed as well.

[JStinson]

More Progress

I worked on the truck all day today. I managed to get a good amount done. Most of the work was on the brakes. I got the slave cylinders honed out and rebuilt, then mounted on the truck. I got the lines connected to the cylinders, but I don't have enough parts yet to connect the rest of the lines together.

Honing out the cylinders



Four freshly rebuilt cylinders

[JStinson]

I got the last of the slave cylinders apart and blasted the parts. I was gentle with the metal cups (I guess you could call them pistons), so as not to take too much metal off of them. I had to get the corrosion off though, some of them looked rough.





My brake cylinder mobile:



I plugged up the threads with paper towels to avoid caking up the threads. I still have to hone out the insides. I have rebuild kits to fix up all four.