My first power wagon

[matttupp84]

Hey guys. I'm brand new to this site. And to the power wagons. Been wanting one for a while. And my grandpaw ran across this one at a friend of his house. He was going to send it to scrap metal but i couldnt let that happen. I picked it up for cheap but. Its pretty rough. The bed is completely rotten. But besides that, the rest of it is suprisingly solid for sitting in the woods for 20 years. He said the motor only had about 2000 miles on it. But who knows about that! It needs a fuel tank, lines, brake lines, etc. ALOT of work to say the least. Any help from you guys as to where to even start looking for parts would be greatly appreciated. Cant wait to get this thing rolling again for my grandfather.

 

[citizensoldier]

Good parts suppliers would be ABlinn,Midwest Military,Vintage Power Wagon,Ebay, Military vehicle swap meets, Memphis Equipment to name a few. Good save its a winch truck! Unfortunately prices have gone up on parts but if you look around some deals can be had. The want ads on Steel Soldiers is a good place to put a list of things your looking for. I have seen far worse brought back from the dead. Is the motor free ?

 

[ralbelt]

Also check on to the G741.org site. Thats where alll the M37 guys hang out and always have parts liisted.

 

[matttupp84]

thanks guys i appreciate the help. Any help is good help at this point. I'm not sure if the motor is free. Haven't really had time to check it yet. I paid 500 bucks for the truck. So i wasn't to worried about the motor. The bed is my biggest concern. I dont know if i'll ever run across an entire bed close to my area. I aired the tires up and they still held air, and it still rolled. So that was a good sign. The wheels weren't locked up or anything. Its been through **** it appears. But its still a soild truck. Needs running boards as well. they are rusted out pretty bad too. Already spotted a few of them on ebay. I'm very puzzled at how the top works though. The guy i bought it from was a "fabricator" and him and his neighbor made the top and tried to mold it in with bondo. Its horrible. I plan on cutting it off and putting the canvas top back on it. but i'm curious how the window frames work. Was there frames or did he add them as well. When i see others with the canvas top off there are no window frames. So i'm just curious before i start trying to take the home made top. suggestions?

 

[M-37Bruce]

Nice Catch

Welcome Matt,
Be careful how you remove the fabricators top, likely they used the roof bow and welded it all together, window frames and all. I have some bed parts, pm me if you'd like?

 

[matttupp84]

Yes i am going to be extremely careful. I'll take my time with it. And you are right they did weld it to the roof bow. And i guess the window frames as well. I wasn't sure how they worked. Thanks for the help.

 

[chevyCUCV]

Nice save!
I cant believe people even consider scrapping old vehicles, especially something as complete as that
You have a fun project ahead of you

 

[citizensoldier]

Good beds can be found and depending on what you want to spend Midwest Military makes a complete floor replacement that in my opinion when you add up labor and materials to try and do it yourself is a good price. I can't believe I forgot about the g741 site! Sorry Robi!.. Lots of very knowledgeable people there and good place to look for parts.

 

[matttupp84]

I did see the replacement bottom. The bad part is the sides are bad as well. There's prob not even enough left of the sides to make a good weld with a new bottom. The back where the tailgate bar is, is pretty bad off to. I'm a pretty good ways away from needing another bed. So I can just be patient if I have to. I appreciate all these good sites! I've been busy all night lookin. Haha

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Congrats on the save! With patience, time and money this is all repairable.Don`t get discouraged, because you have a tremendous amount of work and time to invest in this project, but it will be worth it when done. Be sure to take lots of pics to look back on.

 

[matttupp84]

Thanks again guys. I look forward to the project, and getting it back original for my grandfather. It will be a lot of work i know. It appears fairly simple compared to the cars i have restored. I have done frame off restorations on cars and they were an incredible task. I know the m37 wont be easy, but hopefully its not as technical. I have pretty much decided since the bed is complately rotten, i'll have to remove it, and i'll have to remove the top. I am just going to take the rest of it apart and down to the frame, it will be easier in the long run to replace brake lines, fuel lines, etc. and the frame really needs to be painted very badly as well since it set in the woods for 20 plus years. I'm excited about it and so is my grandfather, which makes it even more enjoyable.

 

[Storm 51]

As someone here wisely said, "It's not what you pay for it; it's what you put into it".

Get the manuals first. Go look at the PS magazine articles online. Read a lot. Once you understand the concepts behind the engineering it will be a lot easier and more understandable.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Storm 51.

 

[power wagon]

mattupp good save i can sleep better tonight knowing a power wagon was saved from the scrappers, there are many places to get parts that you need, i have a few 37 beds here but shipping will be a bitch, good luck with her ,take your time soon you will be getting another and another , you were warned lol, i love the m37 but my faverite is the civvy model,these things just keep multipling here next it will be a duece ,

 

[fasttruck]

The windshield halves are hinged at the top and locked with a center latch on the botton. The windshield can b e held out on adjuystable arms and secured in place with large wingnuts attached. This, like everything else on the truck should be lubricated. Get the pubs: a opperators manusl orginazatioonal maintenace manual and a lubrication order.The windshields are held into the outer framer by five small bolts on each side across the top. You haved the puish the frame out to horizontal to reach them to replace broken glass.

 

[rosie]

Hey guys. I'm brand new to this site. And to the power wagons. Been wanting one for a while. And my grandpaw ran across this one at a friend of his house. He was going to send it to scrap metal but i couldnt let that happen. I picked it up for cheap but. Its pretty rough. The bed is completely rotten. But besides that, the rest of it is suprisingly solid for sitting in the woods for 20 years. He said the motor only had about 2000 miles on it. But who knows about that! It needs a fuel tank, lines, brake lines, etc. ALOT of work to say the least. Any help from you guys as to where to even start looking for parts would be greatly appreciated. Cant wait to get this thing rolling again for my grandfather.

Hi Matt, PM us with a phone number, we may be able to help you in your restoration. Great find!

 

[Tanner]

Welcome to the Steel Soldiers site Matt! Congratulations on your M37 acquisition!
But it's not a Power Wagon; those were civilian trucks...

There are lots of good resources here & on g741; sign up there to if you haven't already done so -

Most of your parts needs are readily available, but I'd recommend trying to get a complete bed if possible, as buying piece parts MAY cost you more than a good complete bed. Are you going for a 100% accurate nut/bolt restoration, or looking to make a driver with modern updates, like disc brakes, dual-circuit master cylinder, etc.? The fuel tank may be toast, if the tank is as bad as the bed sounds. Some folks use the fuel tank from a first-generation Chevrolet S10 Blazer/GMC S15 Jimmy - this may be an option for you if a used tank is unavailable -

Again - Welcome to SS & keep us apprised of what you find underneath during tear-down...

Tanner

 

[matttupp84]

Thanks again for the help guys. Y'all have been so nice and helpful! Very glad I found the site. I've had an old car problem for a while. I have a 65 cadillac that I did pretty much a nut and bolt restoration on. And now I'm done with it. So I was ready for another project. I've always loved military trucks. So I'm sure I'll be wanting more. Haha. I am hoping to find a complete bed. But apparently there's not a whole lot of options in the Louisiana area. Thanks for the info about the windshield. I was a little curious about it. I'm not planning as of now to do a complete nut and bolt restore. But I do want to keep it as close to original looking as possible. And yes the fuel tank is toast. As well as the lines and everything else to do with the brakes I'm sure. I have emailed a couple of guys about a bed. So that's somewhat in the works. But everyone is up north it seems. Thanks again for all the help. I've been making a list of all the sites you guys have mentioned. He said the motor only had 2000 miles on it when it was parked. But that was 20 years ago. And he also said the tranny, transfer case, etc was all rebuilt at the same time. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. If you guys run across anyone in Louisiana or Texas keep me in mind.

 

[Tanner]

Even if you find a bed a bit further away from you, there are folks here on SS that travel up/down the major highways & they could probably help transport a bed to your neck of the woods for a few bits of green paper with pictures of dead Presidents/famous historic people on them...

Tanner

 

[citizensoldier]

If that truck has been sitting for 20 years I recommend dumping trans fluid or Marvin Mystery oil down each cylinder and let her sit for a few weeks. She is probably froze up.. To bad your so far away. I have all the parts you need. Clutch and or parking brake might be stuck too. Ask for a gallon of liquid wrench and sprayer for Christmas.. lol..

 

[matttupp84]

Well the truck rolled when I put it in neutral to pull out of the woods. So that was a good sign the brakes weren't locked up. I was thinking the same thing about the marvels mystery oil. It woks wonders! But I did find a complete truck today with all of the parts I need. So I'm trying to find a shipping quote from someone. Has anyone ever shipped a complete vehicle? I checked out uship today. Waiting for a quote from them. It's only been a couple of weeks and I'm already thinking about getting a second one. Lol. I started adding up all the parts I need and I think I might come out ahead just getting an entire truck with the parts I need.