1954 Dodge M37 Restoration Project

[Blue Chips]

I started digging out some of my M37 components that have been in storage for years.

Here's an ETW1 carburetor and governor that I overhauled years ago, complete with re-plated linkage, dichromate conversion coating on the carburetor body, safety lock wire, new passage plugs, etc.

And the combination fuel/vacuum pump that I overhauled:

I rebuilt a couple of distributors. Here's one that I kept completely stock. These are totally waterproof distributors that are vented through small tubes for cooling air.

And here's another distributor that I set up for breakerless ignition with a Pertronix Ignitor. Note that I did this MANY years ago, before Pertronix offered a 24V Ignitor to fit the M37 distributor. I used an Ignitor for another vehicle, and I had to custom-mold the inside of the magnet ring to match the distributor cam and install a resistor, since it was a 12V Pertronix Ignitor that would be running on 24V. I still haven't tried it in a vehicle yet, but as I recall, it seemed to work fine on the bench.

BTW, the 12V Pertronix Ignitor and Flame Thrower coil that I installed on my 1953 Ford NAA tractor (which has been converted to 12V), is still working great! Highly recommended!

 

[Blue Chips]

Here's a specialized tool that I made for adjusting the carburetor governor.

Made from a screwdriver, a couple of bronze bushings, and an old socket.

 

[Blue Chips]

This is a repair that I did a while ago. The battery box is located under the passenger seat, and the floor under the battery box often rusts out, since it's out of sight and tends to collect dirt and water (i.e., mud). Sorry, no 'before' picture. I cut out that section of the floor, made a template out of thin, stiff cardboard, and used the template as a model for cutting and bending the steel replacement. The photo is looking straight down at the floor. The green dashed line represents the edges of the new metal piece. I welded it in place with at least 50 plug and stitch welds, sealed the seams with paintable urethane marine sealant, then applied a coat of primer. I was pleased that the metal replacement piece fit well with no further modification. Taking a bit of extra time to create an accurate template helped a great deal.

 

[Blue Chips]

I just made another reproduction data plate for my M37. The original plate showing transmission, transfer case, and road speed information was barely readable. The original was an etched brass plate with slightly raised letters and a chemically blackened background, and I wanted to make the replacement in the same way, which is very similar to the way I made the previously-described main ID/data plate.

Here's the old ORIGINAL plate after scanning it and making several image adjustments in Photoshop, which enhanced the detail enough to use it as a model for a replacement.

I placed the above image into InDesign and scaled it to actual size, and then re-drew the plate from scratch. I made two versions; one is a pretty accurate rendition of the original, and the other has 'improved' spacing and alignment of the contents. I did the latter just for fun. I'm actually planning to use the more accurate version on my vehicle to be more faithful to the original.

I then printed reversed positive films of the design (reversed in order to place the ink side of the film directly against the photoresist film).

Then I coated a couple of sheets of .025" brass with photoresist film, exposed the photoresist through the above positive films, developed the photoresist to remove the unexposed portions, immersed the brass sheets in a special etching solution, blackened the background with Brass Black from Birchwood Casey, and removed the remaining photoresist with acetone. I also applied a thin clear satin acrylic coating, which deepened the black.

Here are both versions:

The one shown below is the one I'll be using, which is most similar to the original.

 

[marlinspike]

Crikey. That's amazing. Looks perfect.

 

[galooph]

Seriously impressive - got to be pleased with that!

 

[Blue Chips]

Crikey. That's amazing. Looks perfect.

Seriously impressive - got to be pleased with that!

Thanks. It's fun to play with materials and techniques that are new (to me).

My next little project will be to make a setup for doing my own electroplating. There are a LOT of parts (mostly fasteners) that will need to be re-plated with zinc and a yellow chromate passivation treatment. I have pretty much all of the hardware now, including a small oven that I can use to bake the parts immediately after plating to prevent hydrogen embrittlement, which is especially important for the harder steels, although I'll probably just bake all of the plated parts to be sure.

It's just a matter of setting up a little dedicated bench for the plating stuff. I'll post some photos when I get it set up.

 

[Blue Chips]

I'm still working on getting my electroplating setup put together and waiting for a couple of supply items. In the meantime, I'll keep working on various parts of the M37.

The M37 was never equipped with backup lights, so I decided to convert the small rear "blackout marker lamp" to a backup light. I would never use a blackout light, and re-purposing the old blackout marker light would maintain the original outward appearance of the vehicle. I found a marker light in excellent condition on eBay for a decent price.

First, I removed the old blackout marker lens parts from the light:

Then I cut out a piece of a backup light lens from another vehicle and installed it in the blackout light 'door.'

I cleaned and painted the body of the light Marine Corps green outside and white inside to reflect more light.
I installed a bright white 24V LED lamp, sized to place the end of the lamp at the center of the new lens.

Here's the finished backup light, ready to install (although that may not happen for a while yet).
Note: There is a piece of 1/16" thick, flat, clear polycarbonate in front of the lens that isn't apparent in the photo below, which I installed to make it easier to seal the lens and to keep the lens clean.

Since the M37 never had a backup light, I'll have to make a minor wiring modification. I suppose I could probably figure out some kind of gearshift-related linkage for a switch, but I might just end up installing a manually operated switch for it on the dashboard, in which case the switch would have a pilot light to remind me to turn off the backup light after backing up.