Anyone Know this M37?

[somd]

Hi All, There's a '63 M37B1 listed on that 'bay site out of Linden NJ. Anyone familiar with this vehicle who could tell me about it? I'm looking for my first one.

Thurman in Maryland

 

[M-37Bruce]

A new guy from the peach capital of the Northern hemisphere. I am not familiar with the B1 your speaking of, I will however go look for it on ebay. BTW Welcome to the Fold!

 

[M-37Bruce]

I did not find it, saw a few, prices all over the place, trick here is to buy the most complete rig you can afford (running or not, of course, running is good), by-pass a lot of headaches and scrounging, unless you like that sort of thing.

 

[somd]

M37 in NJ

I did not find it, saw a few, prices all over the place, trick here is to buy the most complete rig you can afford (running or not, of course, running is good), by-pass a lot of headaches and scrounging, unless you like that sort of thing.

It sold for $5,037. I was hesitant to bid since I could not get up there to view it, and the seller had zero feedback. Yup, looking for the best truck I can afford, with a total budget of 10k. So, still hunting for an M37, or G506, or Unimog 404... Yeah I know, eclectic choices. I'm going for a general class of vehicle rather that a specific era or brand... I've not owned a military vehicle before, but have much experience with older things, including a 1946 Chevy 1.5 ton civilian, which I loved. I expect the performance, care, and feeding of any of the aforementioned vehicles will be similar.

I note that the Heritage Festival being held a Prince William Park in Virginia in Sept. is inviting military collectors. I'll be there to meet and greet whoever attends, and maybe get a line on a good truck if one doesn't find me before then.

Thanks for the response, Bruce.

Thurman

 

[NAM VET]

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