Brought home my first Military Vehicle

[vtdeucedriver]

I missed the part about introductions; lemme fix that.......

ahem......hello...hello..is this thing on?

OK, here goes.....

Hi! I'm Robert and I'm an alco.........
Wait..never mind..wrong meeting.

I'm just a guy who knows squat about motor vehicles and is looking to learn. I live in NY (insert frown face here) just outside of Hudson, NY. Thats about 40 minutes South of Albany, 2 hours North of NYC (Worlds Largest Peacetime Producer Of Shrapnel) and about 25 minutes from the border of the Peoples Demokratic Reuplik of Massachusetts.

I used to have a gunshop but am in a completely different field now (I'm a nurse and yes, I am a male nurse, and whatever joke you're thinking of I have already heard. Also, I spend , my nights with young women wearing nursing uniforms who are bored and easily amused; not such a bad career choice after all).

I'm a pretty fair gunsmith and am a decent handyman when it comes to wiring houses, framing, etc., but have always been totally lost when it came to motor vehicle maintainance and theory.

Now I'm trying to transition from being a gun guy to being someone who can do more with his vehicle than just change the oil and empty the ashtray.

RM Vivas

HAHAHA, your going to fit right in!!! You sound like our northern version of papabear when it comes to the jokes.

In that area, you will want to become involved with the NY Penn MV club!!! Lot of good members in that club and many are here on SS!!! You also might want to look up Fred Potter at Adirondak Dodge! He has M-37 parts.
Now when you get officially "HOOKED" and ready to take your mechanical Training wheels off the M-37 (good choice for starters) JATonka on SS and goes by John Tennis, he sells deuces and 5 tons in your area.

In your post you mentioned a tour in VN?? You been there before I take??

 

[rmvivas]

In your post you mentioned a tour in VN?? You been there before I take??

Nope. Just making the point that, like a car wreck, a tour in 'Nam or a really craptacular first marriage, there are some experiences we -really- just want to blot out. This Chinese Fire Drill of a road trip was one of them. Somehow I suspect that no matter how much cheap booze, Russian hookers and Cherry Coke I go through the memory of that miserable trip will not fade. I wonder how Charlie Sheen does it.....

My military time came a wee bit later.

Uncle Sam's Misguided Children

 

[L1A1]

First thing I have learned: A garage that will hold my wifes Chevy Trailblazer comfortable is pushing the edge of the spatial performance envelope to hold an M37. I now understood why serious automotive hobbyists have large garages.

If it's a height issue, you can reduce the over all hight of your M37 by removing the (canvas) top frame work, roll down the windows & fold the windshield frame down. You've probably figured that out already.....

Right now I'm spending all my spare time looking at downloaded PDF files of the various manuals and such and contemplating how to make more room in my garage so I can walk around this thing.

Length is another matter. The first MV I ever bought was a 1943 WC62 1.5 ton 6X6 Dodge. When I went to "insert" it into my single car garage/work shop, I found that I had to remove the front bumper & rear bumperettes in order to close the door.

Anyway like others have posted, Welcome to the site. You're going to really enjoy that truck especially when the warmer weather rolls around and you can drop the top and go for a ride through some of the prettiest country side on the E. coast.
Matt

 

[roscoe]

Another welcome from IN and thanks for the entertaining story. Love those m37s.

 

[Storm 51]

Congratulations on your new acquistion and my condolences on being infected with "The Green Disease".

M 37's are absolutely magical. It is simply amazing all the things they can do, like puliing your rental truck and trailer (which were meant to tow the M37) out of the muck.

You've already seen further proof of their magical abilities; their abillity to shrink any residental garage you try to put them in. I've measured garages and measured the M37's and there SHOULD be plenty of room, but when you get the truck inside it barely fits (or doesn't).

Sheer magic!

 

[WarrenD]

Mine fits inside my standard residential garage just fine. The soft top clears the bottom of the door by about 1" and there is enough room to park my riding mower (tractor) in front of it. Measured up, it's foot print is about the same as a Hyundai Sonata, it's just taller!

 

[M-37Bruce]

Welcome Aboard! Your in the right place, also check out Robie's page; Dodge M37 Registry Web Site

 

[Tanner]

Welcome to the world of M37's! There are a number of us with a '37 affliction - You're on the road less traveled today, maybe due to the shortage of Chivas Regal & cheap Russian female accompaniment...

Lots of good info here - enjoy!

'Tanner' / Bryan

 

[Milbikes]

If you are a pretty decent gunsmith, you can become a pretty decent MV owner/mechanic. Hey, they both work on the same principle...energy from expanding gasses to propel an object. And I am sure you have fixed your share of guns previously humped up by hackers trying to improve the 'gun with the lousy aim'. It's funny, a guy or gal who shoots frequently, and studies to improve their aim, rarely comes across a gun that "doesn't shoot right", and those other folks....every gun they buy doesn't shoot right, so they break out the files, the drills, the super-sonic sights etc. Anyway, I am now in your boat, as I just bought an M37. I hope to trailer it home this week, and happily, I only have to go 8 miles.

Pictures to follow!

 

[GUNNY 155]

The gun smith angle may be a big plus when looking to fill that MG mount on the back with a 1919 or MA Duce.