Military Vehicles, January 1997,: RE: M-37, Repower or Not?

RE: M-37, Repower or Not?

Chooljian, Steven A. (sac1@mvulo.mv.lucent.com)
14 Jan 97 14:24:00 -0500

Since your engine is history and you were planning on regearing anyway, I'd
say take that money and invest in a repower. With a repower and taller
tires, you could even do without the regear. I've seen repowers with SB
Chevy, SB and BB Dodge, SB Ford, and a host of different diesels. I've seen
repowered, running, driving M37s for sale for $2000 on up. If the repower
was that difficult to do, I wouldn't expect to see so many. I bought my
'51, which has a Chevy 400 v8, TH400 automatic, custom power steering,
locking hubs, all new brakes with vacuum booster, 36" radials, aftermarket
hi-strength rear axles, power windows (just kidding), and snowplow for $2500
with all improvements except the new brakes and tires in place. Sold the
plow for $700, invested that in fixing things, and then spent anotherr
~$1500 in improvements. Probably wasted $200 in first timers mistakes. Most
of the work was profe$$ionally done--I haven't the time nor the
aptitude.

I have great respect for the stock M37, but a repower offers better, more
reliable
drivability/maintainability at road speeds. IMO, it makes a good thing
better. I don't think the interior/exterior "styling" or basic nature
of the M37 can be improved, so I'm not trying to turn mine into a boulevard
cruiser. Even with the updates, it's not a real "civilized" ride-- and I
wouldn't have it any other way.

Steve schooljian@lucent.com
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From: mil-veh-owner
To: MIL-VEH
Subject: M-37, Repower or Not?
Date: Monday, January 13, 1997 12:18AM

I recently obtained a 1952 M-37 which needs a complete going over. The
engine needs to be replaced as the cylinder walls are rusted and the
pistons
are frozen. The question is: do I replace the engine with an orginial or
re-power. If I re-power, what replacement engine will do the job without a
major installation effort. Can regearing the differentials simply do the
job?