Good, Cheap, Fast - Pick one (M37 Rebuild)

[Redleg130]

This was my experience, but for someone wondering what it might cost to rebuild an M37, I can share what I ended up spending.

Overall, it was just under $20k ish

This was full engine rebuild, done by NAPA in (North) Topeka. Transmission rebuild done by Smith Brothers transmission in Topeka. Vintage Power Wagons provided nearly all the parts. Radiator recore done by B & D Radiator Shop in McLouth, KS. Rebuild work done by a mechanic who did a very high quality job as a side project. Nearly every system in the vehicle has been at least looked at, with most of these systems being completely rebuilt. It is mostly original design with modern system upgrades not being visible (eg C30 master cylinder, horn, etc)

It was a just under 2 years of a project, with most delays finding and getting parts, figuring out oddities in adaptive part replacement over the years, and that it was a side project for the mechanic.

What I ended up with is good, and I hope to have it last another 70 years on the road. Engine test runs sound much smoother and steady than it was previously.

Some highlights - I assume this will be the last full rebuild given that many uncommon parts were a challenge to find (eg crankshaft). Routine maintenance parts seem to be available now and likely in the near future, but not the rarely messed with items. Vintage Power Wagons was incredibly helpful in translating my non mechanic terms and photos into helpful suggestions for parts and collections of parts (thank you very much Steve and Matt). I think I was very lucky to find people willing to work on this vehicle (because the found it interesting and knew what to do) in my region and I think as time goes by this will become increasingly difficult.

I am not a mechanic, but I participated in the work to the extent I could without pestering the experts and learned a significant amount about this truck.

I learned that I will never strip paint myself ever, and just wait for a sandblaster place to have an opening. That was tedious to get a decent result with paint stripper and a wire wheel, but it worked.

Ill get photos when I finished test runs and such and I get it back on the road. Mostly I wanted to share what dollar figure I ran into since I went into this blind. My original (uneducated) estimate was about a quarter of what I thought it might be, but I am still happy with the results, and after seeing the effort it took to get this thing back in operation, I feel the cost was quite fair.

 

[Travlr]

This was my experience, but for someone wondering what it might cost to rebuild an M37, I can share what I ended up spending.

Overall, it was just under $20k ish

Pics?

 

[ODAddict]

Thanks for posting.

As someone who is deep into rebuilding my truck, your cost estimate seems reasonable.

What I will add is to be very, very careful in giving your truck over to some of the vendors who advertise rebuilding/restoration services. They will likely take years (yes, much more than two), and charge unreal sums of money, Seems some of them are geared toward the money-is-no-object hedge fund billionaire types dealing in highly-modified tricked out Frankenstein monsters rather than to the hobby market.

One gave me a reluctant quote for "100k-200k" for body work alone. If I had left my truck with this business, I think (given what I had already been charged) that it would have cost in total $300,000 to $400,000. I took my truck back (missing a few critical parts), but am now joyfully working on it.

 

[Redleg130]

For anyone interested in the parts list, which of course was specific to my truck but could be useful for an idea of what may go into a 'full' rebuild, I itemized it here: Cost of Dodge M37 rear main oil seal repair (by rebuilding everything) – Stickelman.net

I will post pictures when I get my hands on it, which should be in a week or so. Below are pictures of it just before the crankshaft split and one of the pistons blew. This kind of failure, based on what I have been told, would have been inevitable given its age. I kept the fluids up and didn't drive it fast, 55 or so at most, although ill keep it at 45 when I get it back to improve its longevity. The engine didn't have a rebuild tag on it, and I suspect it either was never rebuilt, or if it had been it would have been in the 60s. The transmission had a rebuild tag on it from the 60s. In any case, no one had been in the engine for decades.



Cleaning out the water distribution tube in the block right before the engine failed, it had a ton of solder blobs in it, enough to make a musket roundball out of. This job wasn't super difficult and probably a good project for someone that has a newly acquired M37 to confirm adequate coolant flow. Watsons Wagons has an excellent video on this subject at Dodge M37 Water Distribution Tube Removal (youtube.com) - although prepping with oxalic acid likely made the removal of mine much easier than shown in this video.

 

[Travlr]

Thanks for posting.

As someone who is deep into rebuilding my truck, your cost estimate seems reasonable.

What I will add is to be very, very careful in giving your truck over to some of the vendors who advertise rebuilding/restoration services. They will likely take years (yes, much more than two), and charge unreal sums of money, Seems some of them are geared toward the money-is-no-object hedge fund billionaire types dealing in highly-modified tricked out Frankenstein monsters rather than to the hobby market.

One gave me a reluctant quote for "100k-200k" for body work alone. If I had left my truck with this business, I think (given what I had already been charged) that it would have cost in total $300,000 to $400,000. I took my truck back (missing a few critical parts), but am now joyfully working on it.

You guys are way too upscale for me. I have less than 5K into my chassis swap, will be able to drive freeway speeds, stop, and tow, and buy mechanical parts at any parts store easily. If I have more than 7K in this truck when I'm done I will be surprised... and that includes a complete new rubber kit, LOL.