M37 Restoration (53-41242)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks Wayne for the extra tips on how you repaired the tanks. I have to gather enough courage to work on mine!

There is so much on MLU that I completely missed Super Dave's resto thread!

Thanks,
Alex

[Bob Carriere]

Any photos ??????

We have salvaged a few tanks with some lead solder and a POR 15 gas tank liner....... works beautiful and did not have to cut out a section of the tank.

When preparing the tank with an acid etching solution ( included in the POR gas tank kit) you let it dry real good...... then insert a 12 volt light bulb and turn out the shop light...... all the invisible pin holes look like a star filled sky. We used a ballpeen hammer to dent in each pin hole.....agressively cleaned and flux the hole and applied solder.... a bit of light grinding and hole is sealed. Once the sealer is sloshed inside you get a perfect seal.

I did an Allis - Chalmers tractor gas tank nearly 10 years ago that looked like Swiss cheese around the welded seam and has not leaked yet.

On my reclaimed tank the modern gasoline keeps washing off the OD green paint but the outside ( and inside) of the tank is not affected...just need to repaint.

By the way if you are using the early CMP gas tank with a short filler neck located under the edge of the tool box.... you may not be able to put in a standard fuel nozzle to fill it up..... I have to use the CMP/UC square funnel with the attached "horse cock"....... you just can't reach the filler opening otherwise.



Cheers

[Wayne Hingley]

Ive been working away at preparing many body pieces for sandblasting; banging out dents and repairing a few rusty spots. As everyone knows, its the area under the headlights that almost always gets rust on these trucks. Both sides are about the same on this one. Fortunately the rust was very localized. I made up a small patch to replace the bad spot.

There is still a long way to go before I get down to the frame!

[Peter Phillips]

Looking good Wayne! I've used the POR Tank Sealing system on my other hobby (vintage 3 wheelers) and have had great success. You just have to follow the instructions to a tee. I'm hoping to see this rig in person at the end of March!
Cheers, Pete

[Matthew P]

In that lower right photo if you stopped right there you'd have one tough brute of a T-bucket

Matt

[Wayne Hingley]

Made some progress with sandblasting today. With this load complete, I have everything except the body tub and frame sandblasted.

[Wayne Hingley]

Mice had built a nest in the insulation between the cab roof and the inner headliner. The mouse piss and moisture did quite a number on the metal in that specific area. I had considered cutting out a section of the cab roof and trying to match up and weld in a new piece of rounded sheet metal, but decided I’m not talented enough to do that without making a mess. The best option for me was to repair the area with fibreglass after a light sandblasting of the inner surface. It was a quick and easy repair, and turned out pretty good.