New to me 1953 m37

[Danger Ranger]

I would like to see a 4bt in there, but a nice rebuilt flathead would be refreshingly simple i would think.

 

[53Fox]

Hey everyone, I'm back after a two year hiatus. Work took me to Bermuda; I can't complain, there are far worse places to spend a few years. Now I'm back in Maryland and ready to get back into the truck while taking some time off.

My big question is towing. I sold my gooseneck trailer and hitch before I moved away, so I'm looking for ideas on renting a trailer to move the truck. U-Haul has an auto trailer rated for 6,000lbs Is that too close for comfort? Has anyone used one before?
Thanks

 

[1943ht]

53Fox, used one just like it to pull my 53M37 behind my Jeep Wrangler (4-Door). It pulled fine, but I had to bring my own straps as the straps on that trailer wont fit over the dodge tires ... used the web straps with the hooks end and just hooked onto the trailer strap and snugged up over the tires using the trailer ratchets .. worked quite well ... also watched my speed and left plenty of room for braking ... pulled mine approx 3.5 hours with no problems. FYI: I pulled my rear axles before hauling.

 

[53Fox]

53Fox, used one just like it to pull my 53M37 behind my Jeep Wrangler (4-Door). It pulled fine, but I had to bring my own straps as the straps on that trailer wont fit over the dodge tires ... used the web straps with the hooks end and just hooked onto the trailer strap and snugged up over the tires using the trailer ratchets .. worked quite well ... also watched my speed and left plenty of room for braking ... pulled mine approx 3.5 hours with no problems. FYI: I pulled my rear axles before hauling.

Thanks Mark,
The Uhaul trailer I was looking at is a dual axle drive on. I thought about the trailer you used but didn't want to pull the axles. I'd much rather find something to drive on and pull away.

 

[Mercunimog404]

A plow truck in Nevada?!?? Must be awesome low miles....

It snows a crap ton here. Tahoe are averages 29 feet a year.

 

[1943ht]

53Fox also used a drive on to haul my M37 from WI to PA ...worked well behind my rental truck ...ran into the same m with the straps on the drive on ..used straps and chains with binders on that trip

 

[53Fox]

It's been awhile since I've updated. Progress? Yes. Problem? Yes

i got it moved again, no issues with the Uhaul rental, thanks for advice Mark. Next I stripped it down, primed and painted. I had the color matched from the inside of the fording cover plate. It was the only part that didn't get the school bus yellow. Pulled the top off, all ready to cruise with the kids for summer. Next came the typical m37 fix the brakes. Before I moved out of the country I replaced the master cylinder and all seemed good. Got the truck home filled and bled the brakes, all good for about a week, losing fluid,pulled a wheel off and saw what the wheel cylinder looked liked and ordered four new ones the next day.

Now starts the problem. I put the truck on blocks and found all the wheels were dragging. No worries, got all four drums turned,installed the wheel cylinders, and adjusted all the cams in. When it's on the blocks all wheels spin free, no contact. Bleeding the brakes and now they are dragging again. Am I missing something? All the shoes are adjusted in and the drums are turned. I figured I'd have to adjust them back out. I'm thinking the fluid isn't returning to the master cylinder leaving the shoes in contact with the drum? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has been driving me nuts.

And I will get some pics of the progress up soon.

 

[NDT]

Check the hoses for internal swelling/blockage.

 

[Roller]

It's been awhile since I've updated. Progress? Yes. Problem? Yes

i got it moved again, no issues with the Uhaul rental, thanks for advice Mark. Next I stripped it down, primed and painted. I had the color matched from the inside of the fording cover plate. It was the only part that didn't get the school bus yellow. Pulled the top off, all ready to cruise with the kids for summer. Next came the typical m37 fix the brakes. Before I moved out of the country I replaced the master cylinder and all seemed good. Got the truck home filled and bled the brakes, all good for about a week, losing fluid,pulled a wheel off and saw what the wheel cylinder looked liked and ordered four new ones the next day.

Now starts the problem. I put the truck on blocks and found all the wheels were dragging. No worries, got all four drums turned,installed the wheel cylinders, and adjusted all the cams in. When it's on the blocks all wheels spin free, no contact. Bleeding the brakes and now they are dragging again. Am I missing something? All the shoes are adjusted in and the drums are turned. I figured I'd have to adjust them back out. I'm thinking the fluid isn't returning to the master cylinder leaving the shoes in contact with the drum? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has been driving me nuts.

And I will get some pics of the progress up soon.

Make sure the master cylinder pushrod is not adjusted out too far, which will not allow the piston to return all the way. There should be a little clearance between the pushrod and the piston.

Frank

 

[53Fox]

Pics of progress, loaded on the rental trailer and new home in the garage

 

[53Fox]

Starting to tear down

 

[53Fox]

Everything was school bus yellow all the rubber, cowls, everything...Except for the back of the fording cover
I took the plate and had the color matched. Ive never even thought of painting a truck before, so I just kept reading all the threads on here and decided to give it a shot.

 

[53Fox]

I knocked all the loose stuff off, rough sanded the yellow, used a case of primer sealer, and then sprayed the green.

 

[53Fox]

Coming back together

And pretty close to where it sits today

 

[53Fox]

Far from perfect, but not bad for a thirty dollar sprayer and BEHR paint.

I spent the past week sorting out my brake issue. Another new master cylinder, bleeding, adjusting, bleeding, adjusting,adjusting, adjusting, and finally got it right.

Just got back in from testing and its good to go, no brakes dragging, and stopping as it should. I'm still only getting around 30mph out of the truck, originally I thought this was due to the brakes hanging up. Does this sound like I'm in low gear? One of the sticks has been disconnected for who knows how long. I'm guessing when the 350 and auto conversion was done.

Here are the pics of the position everything is in.

 

[MatthewH]

There should be 2 shifter sticks for the tcase. Looks like the right side one has been torched or cut off,
Have you tried shifting the one hooked up and seeing what happens? The one hooked up should be your high/low shift rail, so my guess is they only hooked up the high /low and just left the other one in the 4wd position

 

[1943ht]

Have you considered lock out hubs for your front axle? John at Midwest Military carries them for the 37 and they make a difference regards drag and speed.

 

[mhassett]

What a transformation.