M37 hub swap

[Redpawn]

Any body ever tryed to swap diffrent hubs on to an M37?I have a set of M37 axles in my suzuki samurai and I have limited wheel and brake options so I thought if I put 8lug hubs on it I would have lots of wheel and brake options.What I was thinking is use four chevy 3/4 ton rear hubs and use the drive caps and rear axle shafts out of M715 axles.The only thing so far would be bearings.I was told the M715 axles are 16 spline and I know the M37 axles are 16 spline and it looks like the chunk of M715 axles is off set like the M37s.Does any one see any problems with this plan or has any one tryed it?

 

[Tanner]

Ray at Helitool / Uglytrucking has disc brake conversion kits for the M37 axles, allowing you to use modern GM disc brakes setups, but regarding wheel options, it's pretty much YOYO - you're on your own...

http://www.uglytruckling.com/M37 Trucks/M37 front brake manual1.htm

Tanner

 

[Redpawn]

I've heard of the disc brake kits from uglytruckling but 600 per axle plus caliper and rotors is kinda steep for me.I can build brakets no problem it's just the rotors I can't make so if I can just adapt chevy hub the no problmes at all.I guess no one has tryed it so far.I put up a post when I get some thing going.

 

[M37Dodge]

Liability - not too many folk will try it out of fear of something going wrong ($$$$$$).

Anything is possible with the proper tooling, machining, and money. Good luck.

 

[Redpawn]

I can't see any more liability than wielding a ring on a m37 hu for brakes but that is a good point.As soon as I get the motor but in my samuria I will be mesing with it to see if it's doable.But I figure what the heck I already made a 4x4 jeep t90 2wheel drive and stuffed a v6 chevy with m37 tcase and axles in a suzuki samuria whats one more challenge.

 

[DaveWH]

This is a very old thread, but I had the same thought. I am doing some research on M37s as I plan to take delivery of one in the coming months. I would like to upgrade the brakes, wheels and tires and it just made sense to me to do it all at once. I have seen a few kits that require sending hubs off for rework and using GM rotors... And I'm reading about the limited tire options for the original rims.. not to mention the 6 on 5 7/8" bolt pattern (please correct me if that's not it)... Again, I'm not even a "new" owner yet - so if I'm missing something incredibly obvious, feel free to correct me. I plan on going to the Mount Dora show in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to beginning my in-person education there.
dave
Cocoa Beach FL

 

[Storm 51]

You might try talking to Charles Talbert at M-Series Rebuild. Charles is a wealth of information and has all the parts you need (I believe) to feed your fantasies.

Good Luck with your project. The M-37 is a great little truck.

 

[MWMULES]

The military came out with a replacement tubless rim for the 5 hole Budd lock ring wheel and I think ZiggyO had some for sale. You might want to shoot him a PM and see if he still has some.

 

[Valence]

The military came out with a replacement tubless rim for the 5 hole Budd lock ring wheel and I think ZiggyO had some for sale. You might want to shoot him a PM and see if he still has some.

Not trying to derail... on the topic of M37 wheels, I've read some that the Pioneer Tool Trailer, being 5 lug, also uses the M37 wheel. Do you know if that is the case? I would be quite interested in going tubeless...

Sorry, I didn't take any photos specifically of the wheels, so I cropped a few that were decent... the tires said 7.50-16. So, 16" wheels.

 

[DaveWH]

As I understand, there are disc brake packages available.
The gearing of the differentials is 5.89 or something not highway friendly like that
The choice of wheels is very limited - compared to standard lug patterns used by Ford / Chevy / Dodge
With that in mind, would it make sense to swap out the axles with a better ratio'd, more popular lug pattern that already has disc brakes?
If so, what axles require the least modification to meet those needs?
I have a custom driveshaft shop near me... I have a fab shop to do the remove / replace and any mods to the axle... just looking for some direction - or alternately a reason not to pursue.
In the end I'm looking for a shop truck, short-distance (like 10 miles / day) daily driver with occasional highway use.

thanks
dave

 

[Juskatla]

Somewhere, some time ago on another forum that I can't locate now, there was a thread about a guy who did pretty much what you are asking about. Its some years ago but someone may recall the posting. I think it was related to running hubs modified to fit the existing axles but allowed the use if disc brakes and the then readily available Humvee rims and tires. This was all custome but he posted the procedure and lots of dimensional information. I regret not filing it for reference but maybe someone here or on the G741 will recall who and where to locate the info.