My M37 Restoration Thread

[JStinson]

I dont know where you live but if you any place where they salt the roads aluminum may not be a good idea.
Bending and flaring is not real hard if you have a flare tool. Bending , same thing. I have seen sand packed into a line prior to bending to keep it from closing up inside.
I made up a line and was being sooo careful with the bend and flares that I forgot to instal the cap nut on the line first . A few cuss words were spoken then.

Packing sand in tubing is an old moonshiners trick. They would put sand in the copper tubing and wrap it around a tree trunk or a pole of some sort to make the spiral. Blamo, condenser.

I think I've decided to go with a mechanical fuel pump (at the behest of the hippie friend) and, at the behest of Gordon, steel line. That will keep the truck mechanically original, which has been the goal from the get go. Thanks folks!

[Frank Irons]

I don't believe I'll be needing it. Appreciate you remembering me though.

General question: the layers of paint on this truck tell some story. The the earliest coat I can find seems to be blue, and a yellow on top of that. Ideas anyone?

Air Force trucks are Strata Blue, trucks used on the flightline are yellow. My truck had the same color scheme, blue, yellow, and then olive drab.

Frank

[JStinson]

Frame Priming: First Coat

After a week and a half of preparation, I finally have a first coat of primer on the frame and axles. The preparation included hours and hours of stripping the 97 layers of kevlar infused paint with chemical stripper and a steam cleaner. After the big sheets were off, work began with a giant side grinder and a wire wheel. Smaller places were gotten to with a die grinder with either a wire cone or a small wire wheel. Yesterday, as I was working on it, I decided that today would be the day that the first coat of primer went on. After hours and hours of final preparation (and a few incidents that made me wonder if the cosmos were going to let me paint today) the first coat went on.

As it turned out, the setup in the following picture served two purposes. First, it made it easier for me to get under the frame to remove paint. Secondly, it let me know that the left and right oil seals in the front axle are shot completely out.

[JStinson]

[JStinson]

Second coat coming tomorrow.

[jrodjared]

love it!!! right behind you

[JStinson]

Primer: Part Deuce

I got the second coat of primer on the frame. Unfortunately, I'm now at the mercy of the elements. I can't get the first coat of paint on it because the remnants of Lee are sending the humidity off the charts. I got the frame pulled inside the shop to keep it out of the elements. But, I'm pretty much stuck for the next couple of days.

[jrodjared]

This may be a dumb question, but what did you do to the wheels? How did you get them to separate from the drums like that? Good idea for priming and painting.

[jrodjared]

This may be a dumb question, but what did you do to the wheels? How did you get them to separate from the drums like that? Good idea for priming and painting.

OK, on closer inspection, I see you just reversed the tires! OK, I feel like an idiot! haha.

What sprayer are you using for the priming/painting? What are its pros and cons?

[JStinson]

OK, on closer inspection, I see you just reversed the tires! OK, I feel like an idiot! haha.

What sprayer are you using for the priming/painting? What are its pros and cons?

My apologies for not answering this question sooner. I do not know the brand of the sprayer. It's one that we had on the shelf, so I put it to good use. I don't know enough about sprayers to tell you its pros and cons. All I know is that it works for me. I'll try to get you the brand name next time I'm in the shop.

[JStinson]

First coat on the frame

I finally got around to putting the first coat of paint on the frame. It's good old fashion flat black.

[JStinson]

[JStinson]

More paint, transfer case and brake lines...

The second coat of paint is finished. I think that's plenty. I went to work on getting the transfer case back on the frame. I ordered new cushions from VPW. I was able to restore the metal guides (all that I can think to call them right now) that run through the cushions. Also got some new nuts and bolts to mount the case to the crossmembers.

[JStinson]

Brake lines

I ordered a new brake line set from Midwest Military. It's a very nice prebent product and it beat making my own.





The brake lines aren't complete yet. Unfortunately, I'm having a tough time cleaning out the paint in the brass junctions. Guess that'll teach me to plug up important threads before my next painting adventure.

[Gordon Maney]

Great photos, great series.