How to ID an M37

[Jesse19rap]

I am seriously considering buying a M37 i found near me. I've been learning about the vehicle over the past couple months. At one point someone was taking identification numbers and giving information about the vehicle, can anyone tell me where i can find information about a particular truck?. Is there a vin number I need to look for? The number on the hood is #2409701. Can any information be derived from that number? I would like to know as much as possible before taking the leap. The guy is only asking 2500 bucks for a complete rig so i thought that was a pretty good deal.

 

[WarrenD]

You can look for the SN on the brass data plate attached to the glove box lid. You can verify that number with the SN that is stamped into the frame just forward of the driver's side front wheel.
The number you have so far is the USA Army number that was assigned by the Army when the vehicle was accepted. It is likely an indicator of a time period, but they don't always run sequentially with the SN. It looks to have been built around March 1952 as a rough guess.
You can also go to g741.org and search the data base for owner's trucks with numbers near that USA number to get an idea of build dates. My M37 has a build date of March 53 and the USA number is 2434380.

 

[135gmc]

The only safe SN to rely on is the one stamped on the frame. Parts can move from truck to truck, but the frame is the final answer