Picky question

[Cav Trooper]

I picked up a spare tire carrier at the MVPA convention, it had all of the brackets and the interior reinforcement which is welded in. Naturally my spare tire mounted in the bed was shot and I had it covered with a camo net, so, I had to buy a new spare also at the show. Long story longer, I mounted the new tire carrier and tire with no problems except now, the truck looks like it leans to the left if viewed from the front or back. I assume the extra weight on that side is the issue. Has anyone else notice this? The truck does not handle any differently and I wouldn't expect it to. All the shocks and springs are in good condition and the truck was restored a few years ago. Am I just too picky?

[Longhunter7]

Not Picky!

Cav trooper,

If you M37 isn't the later B1 series truck, then it didn't come with the spacers in the driver side spring pack.

They installed spacers in the spring pack to level the truck when the weight of the driver plus the spare tire are on the drivers side.

I didn't want to fight with the spare tire every time I got in or out of my 63' M37B1, so I went with the mount in the bed like the older M37's.

I then had to modify the troop seat hardware to move the brackets farther to the rear and shorten the Oak troop seat wood on the passenger side, to clear the bed mounted spare tire.

I also installed the jump seat that is used to add more room for troops when the spare tire is removed.

Yes, it was worth the trouble!

Note...these pictures were taken before the frame off restoration.

[Cav Trooper]

Thanks Longhunter7,

I went the opposite way. My M37 is a 54 model and some have said that they did upgrade the older models with the spare tire on the door. Either way, I wanted that look. I drove late models in the service and the door issue isn't a problem. I don't drive the truck everyday any way. Thanks for the spacer tip. I wonder if anyone has the spacers or a picture of them. I can make my own and I would assume all I need to do is measure the difference in height from left to right to determine spacer shim thickness. Where did you get the jump hardware? I may just install that for the gap instead of making new seat boards.

[Longhunter7]

Spacers?

Cav Trooper,

Try Charles Talbert at M-Series Rebuild. I'll bet he has some from M37 projects.

You can probably find the jump seat on E-Bay. I had good luck finding a lot of my parts there.

Here is the almost finished project.

[Cav Trooper]

Your truck really looks good. I would like to find a clean tailgate like yours, also, I'd like to put the fording kit on. I just can't justify the money. With some of the engine bay parts missing for the fording kit and not knowing what else is missing, it is too much. I did install the heater, winch and reworked a lot of stuff. The truck was parade restored, not meant to be driven much. I've gotten it road worthy and thinking about putting front disc brakes on it. I replaced the master cylinder with a dual chamber but the previous owner put silicone brake fluid in the system and I still get a spongy pedal. I'd like to swap out the silicone but everybody says don't try. All of the brake parts are new, lines, cylinder, shoes and hoses so, I'd go through a lot of $$ to replace it all again. I'll have to email Charles and maybe John at Midwest about the spacers.

Thanks,

[Cav Trooper]

spacers

Ok, now that I know I need spacers and ubolts, I have someone on another board who says they have the spacers and maybe the longer ubolts. If they don't come through, does anyone out there have a set? I looked in the manual and didn't find any mention of spacers, if there is a reference, does anyone know which manual it would be in. Also, anyone know of a jump seat setup for sale in case I decide to put one in? I may just replace the seat slats instead of all of the bother with the jump seat.

Thanks