Car of the Week: 1951 Dodge M37

[dodgechargerfan]

In October 1969, I received my orders to Vietnam where I was assigned to the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion at Fire Support Base Nancy. After getting a temporary assignment as the battalion mail truck driver, I was given my first truck — a deuce and a half. I drove that deuce for several weeks before settling into my regular duty as Courier Driver for the battalion, with a daily run from Firebase Nancy to 45th Engineer Group Headquarters in Phu Bai. But this time, my truck was a mid-’60s Dodge M37.

Introduced in 1951, the M37 was used extensively in the Korean War, and then again in Vietnam by the U.S. military. The basic body style remained unchanged from 1951 through 1968 and was ultimately replaced in the mid-seventies.

The M37 was powered by a 78-hp Dodge straight-six mated to a four-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drive. It’s top speed of 40-45 mph created no problems for me in Vietnam. My 70-mile round-trip took me through several villages and the city of Hue where my speeds were lucky to reach 25 mph.

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[68R/T]

"Kind of" interesting history. Too bad it's nothing about the truck.

 

[TheIronSausage]

"Kind of" interesting history. Too bad it's nothing about the truck.

I get that he's giving it his history, but I wish some of these guys included "before" pictures. Some people's idea of "needed a lot of work" is the paint was faded, there was a tear in the driver's seat, and some mouse turds in the glovebox. Some people tackle that '68 Charger that Jass's friend has. I'm somewhere in the middle..

 

[Dr.Jass]

A "rough" military truck usually means beat fenders and a ripped seat. They're well-maintained throughout their service life. They're the easiest restoration in the world: Paint virtually everything olive drab, any patches--which are rarely required, even up here in SaltWorld--are flat sheetmetal, and surplus NOS parts actually just fall out of the sky in some parts of the country. About a billion were built, of which maybe a couple of thousand have been "butchered" (to use his term) meaning they were upgraded with non-stock drivetrain parts that allow speeds over 40MPH. Our local, small National Guard unit had better than a dozen of these things for longer than I can recall. Hell, they still might. I haven't actually looked at their motor pool in a decade or more. It's just part of the local backdrop.

I like to see these old military trucks, and can certainly understand this guy's affinity for one. Considering the above, though, I've never understood what people will pay for something like this nor been particularly impressed by the restoration of one. My desire to own something like this falls somewhere on the list between a Pacer wagon and a 4-door Granada.

 

[Stretch]

I don't know that I would ever take on a job requiring the kind of work that truck would need.