New Restoration Started on March 1953 M-37/42

[snowdad]

Got some more done on the truck today as we had some wonderful weather. Patched the gas tank and primed some metal a second and third coat. I also uncovered another stencil. All in all a productive day and starting to really look good. Just not at the rate I want. The stencil is 'TP-40' inside the right side fender well. Anybody ID the font of the stencil? I plan on restoring this stencil. I taped over it to save it. You can tell in the pic of the 2 bed sides the progress I have made. I was starting to get a little stressed over the project until I took this pic. It really made me feel like I was making progress! As for the rubber-like strip between the fenders and wheelwells, would it work to use strips of innertubes here? I also plan on sealing all seams with a paintable caulk to stop any future rain/rust issues. You can tell that the front (yellow) reflector on the left side is really different from the one on the right side that I posted earlier in the week. It appears that the one on the right side was an aftermarket replacement at some time. I got the tailgate hinges/pivots cleaned up nicely with a drill and wire brush attachments. At one time the rust was so bad that the tailgate wouldn't budge a bit. I will have to do a little work on the tailgate and the bed mounting flange on the left bed side along the wheel well will have to be replaced due to severe rust.
Phillip

 

[1943ht]

Great progress. Fender welting is not that expensive and is what the vehicle originally had... Have seen some trucks without it, But I think it looks better when it’s installed. Have you rinsed out your fuel and return lines? I ran Acetone thru them and then blew out the lines... Acetone is a great solvent and cleans out those lines better than just air alone... If you ask OldFart or GhostDriver you'll get an earful on making sure those lines and that tank are clean before using!

Check out my thread on the M37 Forum "Another One Bites The Dust” Been where you have and have lots of Pics and info on my M37 project. That tank has a lot of crap in it and that stuff has nothing to do with your strainer... condensation sludge, varnished fuel, etc build up after sitting for years and your approach to cleaning and sealing that bad-boy is on-track.

DON’T dip your filter element on the tank pickup in any of that Muriatic Acid. The material that pick-up filter is made from is not metal... Soak it in gas to clean it up... would recommend taking the pickup apart and pulling that filter off to clean it. Do you have the original filter on the firewall by the regulator? The element inside that filter on my vehicle was the same as the one in the tank... I also added an inline filter (Modern Type) before the carb on my restoration as a final line of defense. Have not had any issues with fuel and am confident that my beast will make the MVPA 3K+ ALCON trip with 0 fuel system defects

 

[snowdad]

Mark,
Thanks for the reply. I plan on replacing the lines. I blew them out with compressed air and got virtually no rust at all.
I am currently soaking the pickup and strainer in carb cleaner. Seems to reallly be cleaning it up good. And I have disassembled it as far as I can see. Wish I could take the individual discs apart, but think this is going to work. I will be adding an additional inline filter as one of my only modern conveniences.
With my M, the firewall mounted fuel filter had already been deleted by the time it was built. I did not know the element was the same.
I would love to take that Alcan trip.
Take care and I will continue to follow your thread also. It is coming along right nicely.
Phillip
p.s. Thank you for your service

 

[citizensoldier]

Yea, that cat really likes hoods. It is actually a different one that was in the tree and on the tire under the right front fender. He is a breed called 'Maine Coon Cat'. My daughter brought him home from work as an orphan cold, wet and a hungry kitten. Never knew he would get this big. Look for other 'supervisors, shop foremen, and project managers' in my other pics.

I have a Maine Coon.. They are extremely smart and vocal cats.. Keep up the good work on that M37..Slow and steady wins the race.opcorn:

 

[Baron3-6]

Ok folks. Need help identifying the stencils on the front bumper. These letters have been tempting me ever since I bought it about 3 years ago. After stripping some of the heavy blue paint off I discovered a 5 point star and the letters to the right of it. What I have been able to ascertain is ***EG-11. This is the front bumper to the right of the winch (driver's side) Any ideas?

Looks like "HQ-11" was the vehicle at one time...strip off the other side of the bumper and it should show what unit it was assigned to. HQ-11 would make sense for a command truck. If it was the same as modern codes this would make it:
Battalion (or Brigade? depends on whats on the other bumper) Headquarters
The first one would be the S-1 Section or "Shop"....Admin section, awards, memos, promotions, legal, etc. The second "1" being it's vehicle number within the S1 section. The officer in charge of the S-1 Shop (usually a CPT or 1LT) would have HQ-16 on his jeep, with the senior NCO (NCOIC) having HQ-17.
An M42 in the S1 shop would make sense, it'd be nice to have a rolling office.