I think one of the most important things to check when buying an old military (or other) vehicle is to do a compression check. Simple and quick. My own M37 started and drove well, and I was lucky to find one that had been often driven, and owned by the same person for a quarter century. A little surface rust only, winch and all. Great shape, came with everything except the military radios. Paid $1100 to have it shipped half way across the country, and enjoyed driving it around. The I did a compression check, and the motor was about to quit. So, with the cost of a high end rebuild being as much as $7K, I decided to just pull the engine in my driveway, and took it out, then to a good machine shop, we put in lots of new parts, balanced, etc, and then I reassembled with the best components I could find. Machine shop was $1700, my parts were another $3K, which included having my starter, generator, carb and fuel pump rebuilt by a specialist with these trucks.
So nine months later, I am driving it now, great truck, runs like a champ.
But I now have over $12K in my truck, not to mention my own hundreds of hours restoring it. If you find a truck at the top of your budget, better see if the engine is ok with a compression check, so you are not deadlined with the additional costs of a complete engine rebuild. I was just out running some errands in my M37. I just love it. It is worth every cent and hour I have spent since acquiring it last summer.
Choose wisely....
NAM VET
