M37 Restoration Project - Revived

[M813rc]

It looks like you have quite an impressive collection of MVs!

The advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it!) of living close to Fort Hood (40 miles) and Fort Sam Houston (65 miles) in the good ol' GL days, when everything sold cheap in big bunches.

Cheers

 

[ab705]

While I'm waiting for some light parts to arrive (red full-lens doors are on back order, amber being shipped), I thought I'd turn my attention to wiring for a while. I have a reproduction wiring harness (the most complicated one), which I bought several years ago, and I just checked on prices for the other harnesses, and I think I'll make up what I need from scratch. I'll stay with the original Douglas connectors when it's expedient to do so, but I'm sure that I'll be making up some Packard connectors as well, at least for certain modifications.

Here's the wiring harness that I already have:



I should be able to use what's left of the remaining old harnesses as general templates for making the new ones. There will be a few modifications, such as for a keyed ignition switch, brake system failure warning lights, 'possibly' electric wipers (haven't decided yet), etc.

In any case, I want to do a proper job crimping the Douglas 'bullet' contacts (terminals), and I wasn't happy with my existing assortment of crimp tools, so I shopped around a bit and got a good deal on a very nice Buchanan 10692, mil spec MS3191-1 crimp tool kit, which, from what I've heard, should work with these contacts. It's in nearly-new condition (just a bit of patina and NO rust) and still in its original wooden case, complete with three go/no-go gauges, instructions, and even a warranty registration card (I suspect that the warranty may no longer apply, as I think this was probably made in the 1960s). I also have all three positioners (aka, locators) for the three wire size ranges the tool was designed for, which control characteristics such as crimp depth and ratchet release point.

I believe that if this kit works for the Douglas connector contacts, it should also work for the Packard female connectors (i.e., male contacts).

As to the Packard male connectors (with the female contacts), I'm still looking for the best crimper. I've seen people use a 4-indent crimp tool like the above, but I'm not sure if that's optimum for the female contacts in the male connector. I'm guessing that a 'nest and indent' crimper might work well, based on the way the contact is constructed. I'll do a bit of research, but if anyone knows the answer, please chime in...and feel free to correct any of my nomenclature.

Here's the nice wooden case the tool came in:



And here are the contents (going by the instructions, I think this is a complete kit, and the extra holes are just for future expansion/options):



Go/no-go gauges:



The crimp tool with all three positioners.



I'll post a few photos after I start using the tool. That might have to wait a few days, as I'm currently trying to get ready to put our dock in the water for the season. I have to pull it out every year before the river freezes over, and because of its design and the nature of our shoreline, it's always a big job to get it back in the water. More later.

 

[M813rc]

I believe that if this kit works for the Douglas connector contacts, it should also work for the Packard female connectors (i.e., male contacts).

As to the Packard male connectors (with the female contacts), I'm still looking for the best crimper.

It should work for both Douglas and Packard pin connectors, as they appear to be identical. I have found that a Douglas pin, with the metal shroud not in the way, will plug directly into the Packard socket. I haven't looked closely at the Douglas socket side to see how they compare.

My crimper (4-point) works on both the male and female connectors.

Cheers

 

[ab705]

It should work for both Douglas and Packard pin connectors, as they appear to be identical. I have found that a Douglas pin, with the metal shroud not in the way, will plug directly into the Packard socket. I haven't looked closely at the Douglas socket side to see how they compare.

My crimper (4-point) works on both the male and female connectors.

Just guessing, I'd say that there might be multiple crimp types that would work for the 'male' Packard connectors with what I would call a female terminal.

I was just looking at the Amerline Enterprises website page for the MS27144-1 Packard 14 gauge 'male' connector kit, and there is a link to "Tooling Recommendations for Crimping MS Single Wire Series Terminals." If you click on that link, this is part of what comes up:



I'm not sure (I'll have to look it up again), but I think that 8338564 is the ordnance number for the terminal used with the MS27144-1 kit. Here's a link to the Y6275 die set. We're talking big bucks unless one can find a good deal on a used die set.

 

[ab705]

The taillight repair kits from Army Jeep Parts arrived yesterday. They look good, and I think they should work well. One had been sprayed with cosmoline (or something similar) as a preservative and had to be cleaned, which was easy enough to do. I plan to paint/touch up the divider plates in white before installing.



For mounting the kits inside the light housings, I obtained some new rubber grommets (for what I assume are vibration-isolating mounts) and made some thick-wall copper grounding sleeves to go inside the grommets, which originally had thin-wall brass rivets inside them. More photos to come when I have time to work on the lights.

I also ordered 200 feet of M13486/1-5 14-gauge wire.

 

[ab705]

I've made a bit of progress on the light restoration work.

I've started stocking up on supplies for working on the lights and wiring:



Supplies also include a bunch of Douglas and Packard connectors for both 14- and 12-gauge wire. I have 200 feet of the correct mil-spec 14-gauge wire, and I plan to order a smaller quantity of 12-gauge mil-spec. The thick wire insulation provides a large enough outside diameter for the rubber parts of the connectors to seal snugly against the wire insulation.



After blasting and priming the light 'cans,' I painted the insides white with the idea of increasing light output a bit. I installed NOS internal parts in two of the lights. For the other two, I salvaged a couple of newer-style internal parts from a couple of used lights that somehow had never leaked over the years, so those parts actually looked newer than the NOS parts.

One of the lights (below) is shown with NOS internal parts installed. The parts are a bit tarnished, but not rusty. The parts came without the rubber shock-isolation grommets, so I installed red silicone grommets with internal zinc-plated brass spacers inside the grommets to make the grounding connections.



One of the lights (below) is shown with a set of the used (but like-new) internal parts installed. The internals are a bit different from the original ones I found in my lights, as they use a somewhat different shock-isolation design, but just eyeballing it (I plan to measure it to double-check), the bulbs seem to be in the same positions as the originals, so I don't think there will be any functional/performance difference.



I also worked on some of the light mounting brackets. The photo below shows the right-rear bracket. It was solid, with only a little surface rust, but rather bent up, and the Douglas connector clips were toast. I dismantled those parts and straightened them (not shown).



The next image shows the left-side light bracket parts after removing a welded-on license plate holder and straightening the bent parts, but prior to prep and paint work.



The following photo shows the above light brackets and a few other parts after straightening, blasting, priming, and painting:



I have amassed an assortment of light 'doors.' These include a few NOS doors, a couple of good used doors, and a nice repro door. Whichever ones I end up using will be prepped and painted matching Marine Corps green.



I also obtained a couple of amber Gama Goat doors/lenses. I have a pair of red ones on order.



Among the supplies I've ordered are a number of 24V LED red and amber bulbs in a few different variations in size, LED patterns, etc. I plan to experiment with these LED bulbs (and the original incandescent bulbs) in combination with the stock doors/lenses and the Gama Goat lenses to see which combinations appear better to me in terms of brightness, beam pattern, viewing angle, etc.

Cheers

 

[ab705]

Very busy this week with other stuff, but some minor progress on the M37:

I bought a replacement Signal-Stat 600 turn signal switch/lever that matches the old corroded one that had been installed in my M37 except for the paint color, which is easy enough to change. The switch appears to be an NOS item, as there are no signs of it ever having been installed. I also received the two red Gama Goat tail light lenses that I ordered (as mentioned previously).



In preparation for duplicating the information from the old data plates onto a new set of reproduction data plates, I bought a set of Capri 1/8-inch number and letter stamps. They appear to be good quality, and the side of each stamp is engraved with its character, making them more user friendly. It would be nice to have a holder for them with some space between the stamps for easier extraction, but that's a minor detail, as I probably won't be using these very often. And besides, space is at a premium in my shop, so the more compact the tools, the better.



I also just ordered a turn signal flasher that should work with LED lamps, and a connector for it.

Progress may be slow on the M37 for the next couple of weeks, as the excavation work for our new driveway and garage is supposed to begin soon.

 

[G744]

Another tip for any & all: When using threaded stainless hardware, it is wise to coat the screw/bolt threads with milk of magnesia as an anti-seize. Works better than the black goop.

 

[ab705]

Another tip for any & all: When using threaded stainless hardware, it is wise to coat the screw/bolt threads with milk of magnesia as an anti-seize. Works better than the black goop.

Interesting comment. I've used unflavored milk of magnesia (primarily magnesium hydroxide) some years ago to help prevent galling of stainless fasteners in a few high-heat applications.

I use anti-seize compounds on a case-by-case basis, and if I do use an anti-seize compound, I allow for the applicable lubricity factor ("K" factor, or torque coefficient) for torque adjustment. One high-temp anti-seize compound that I use quite a bit is Loctite LB 8036. For other applications, such as spark plugs, I might use a dab of electrically conductive metal-containing compound (copper, nickel, etc.) of which there are several available (but don't get any of the compound on the porcelain insulator of the spark plug).