Posted by Donald F. Blair on Friday, May 09, 2003 at 9:56PM :
In Reply to: Re: Carb. help needed posted by Tom J. on Friday, May 09, 2003 at 7:59PM :
I have a 1953 M37. I've had a lot of trouble with the fuel system since I got the truck. For what it's worth I'll review the comedy of errors in the hopes that it might be of value to someone in the future.
A. I bought a clean, original, 24V, M37 that had been a commo truck for a 25th Div. headquarters company. What that means is the truck had been a radio truck and had been drilled and tapped for about 4 antenna mounts.
Downside: Blown engine, but I knew that going in and paid a fair price accordingly.
Starting with a bare block that I got from Midwest Military, I had a custom shop build me a brand new engine. That done, the fun began. There were problems with the fuel pump, carb.and voltage regulator. What all this meant was that, with the batteries charged up at the shop, I could get about 10 miles down the road and when the truck stalled for fuel, the batteries were too drained to get going again.
It took awhile to sort all that out. Not knowing there was a small part missing on the fuel pump, we went with an electric pump which was good for about a year and then I started burning up the lead wire and finally burned out the pump.
Got a good mechanical fuel pump from Midwest and got the problems centered square on the carb. Ordering a rebuilt carb from Midwest, I got absolutely the best looking rebuilt I've ever seen. So far the truck is running just about perfect.
Based upon all this experience, I've learned a couple of thins for what it's worth:
A. I recommend John Bizal at Midwest Military for any parts that he has available. I've always given Vermont Commercial Salvage first call and then I go to John.
B. Right now there are no NOS M37 carburetors redily available from my main sources. What we learned from the 3 M37 carbs that I have is that sometimes it takes more than a rebuild kit to get it right. For my money, having seen the work that John's carb guys do, he gets my business.
C. Having trouble with the original carburetor in my W300M, I called Midwest. He didn't have any, but said he'd be happy to pass it through to his carb service. I know I'm going to be happy with the results.
On another note:
My M38 has been down for a year with a split seam in the fuel tank. NOS tanks are unavailable, repro tanks are absolute crap from what I've been told by them that sells them. I called one of the nations' top classic auto restorers and they recommended
Looper Service Center in Rockville, MD. They are a Renu franchise. I couldn't beleive the results! They have a huge shop set up specially for restoring fuel tanks. They can pretty much build a tank from a rusted out skeleton, if you're willing to pay the price.
When they coat the outside of the tank, they guarantee is for a lifetime.
In this day and age, it is wonderful to still find people who know what they are doing, do it right and are fair about the service and price.
Don
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