recently purchased an M37. please throw some knowledge my way.

[DDaniel8]

I had an M37 when I was young but it was so far gone i ended up trading it off for a willys. the truck I have now is a 51 model, virtually rust free, and all complete. I pulled it from a 25 year slumber in a barn in western Tennessee. I am trying to just get the truck up and running at the moment. i found a precision fuel pump at oreillys that worked with the truck and have made all new fuel lines. I pulled the tank and have started trying to clean it up. any kind of pointers or advice from experience would be greatly appreciated

 

[61sleepercab]

I would soak the pistons and cylinders with some P.B. Blaster penetrating oil and turn engine over by hand some if stiff from sitting. It may help free up the piston rings. I would start soaking nuts and bolts with P,B. like lug nuts and bounce or pulse the pressure on a wrench not just turn all at once with all your might or you will find out why some tools are called breaker bars!!!!! Just take my word on that one. Heating stubborn bolts or nuts dull red with a torch and then turn while still hot. Good luck, the local VFD had a M37 with winch which was handy for tough work but they are a slow truck with skinny brake shoes. Mark

 

[DDaniel8]

I have taken all the plugs out and put marvins mystery oil in each cylinder, the engine turned over by hand with no problem. i spun it 3 or 4 times by hand then tried the starter, the starter turned over, just very slowly. I am hoping to get the fuel pump and lines hooked up tomorrow and just see what it will do with fuel in it. ive never tried messing with a vehicle that i know nothing about its mechanical history.

 

[Storm 51]

Get the manuals (the ones on CD's are not as good as the original paper ones) and read them (at least look at all the pictures). It will help a lot.

Remember this real "old school" technology; simple, but very different.

Good Luck! They are fun trucks whether as garage toys or driving in the woods.

 

[KaiserM109]

I would soak the pistons and cylinders with some P.B. Blaster penetrating oil

Best penetrant I have ever used, bar none!! We call it peanut butter.

Advice, be easy on sharp starts, the rear axles are a bit weak. Our battalion in Vietnam went through them like you wouldn't believe. Loved that truck, though. It always got me home and took a couple of slugs and a little shrapnel for me.

PS Storm 51 just happened to pick the bumper numbers for my old 3/4 ton when he restored his: 9I-15E HHQ 32, Ninth Infantry, 15th Engineers, Head Quarters 32

 

[Dodge man]

Nice find OP! I also have a '51 M37. I don't know how mechanically inclined you are but the 'Principles of automotive vehicles" TM 9-8000 is very good at explaning how all of the vehicle systems works. Get one from the 1950s or 1960s. There are several on a certain auction site right now. If your's has the Autolite electronics, there's also a manual that covers the Autolite electronics (distributor, starter, generator, etc) and gives details of each specific model. I strongly recommend it. There's also an old TM of Fuel Pumps. I finally found a real one but CD copies are easy to find. And of course, get copies of the M37 Service and Parts manuals. I'm not on here very often anymore but feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Would love to see some pictures of the progress on your truck. Good luck with it.

 

[piratexpress1369a01]

X2 on the pictures

 

[DDaniel8]

i will get started on the pictures tomorrow. I want to take some before I start getting to in depth with it.

 

[DDaniel8]

thank you, I will look for one of those models come pay day. i am trying to do this truck on a tight budget.

 

[DDaniel8]

tonights update. I finally have the tank cleaned out and looking good. I installed the new fuel lines from the pump to the carb and dropped a line into a some fuel to the pump. after getting fuel all the way to the carb i realized that the needle and seat it leaking. the threads have been stripped in the carb. would you go with some thread lock? after running into that problem I realized that was a dead end for the night, so i went to lights. all the black out lights are working fine however the headlights are a no go. i tried bright and dim but nothing. i took one bulb out and all the connections were good. I also shook the bulb but did not hear anything loose inside it. my generator and oil pressure gauge both seem to be working. I am hoping that i can get the distributor rotor, cap, and magneto from work tomorrow. at least find one that will work to order.

I appreciate all the Tips so far.

 

[DDaniel8]

this is the only picture i have taken so far.

 

[elkhtr]

Looks like a solid place to start.
Have fun!