Front Bumper

[JimC2]

I finally got that ugly front bumper off the truck.
Gotta bring a winch style lower grill in from the hangar before I install the winch bumperettes. Removing rusted 70 year old bolts was a chore.

 

[JimC2]

About fifty years ago we needed to relocate the truck across the storage yard (I wasn't there).
So one of my friends torched a couple of holes in the frame and stuck a big U-bolt in to attach the towbar.
It's always kind of bothered me and now that I'm refurbishing the truck, I'm going to repair the rear hole because it is structural.
However, the front hole isn't and my friend went west way early, so I'm thinking about leaving that front hole as a historical tribute to him (it isn't structural and can't be seen when the winch and bumperettes are on the truck).

I'm dithering - what would you all do ?

 

[JimC2]

"However, the front hole isn't and my friend went west way early, so I'm thinking about leaving that front hole as a historical tribute to him (it isn't structural and can't be seen when the winch and bumperettes are on the truck)."

Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth. The frame extension rails for the winch slipped my mind. I do have to repair that front hole. But I did get a test fit on the winch bumperettes done today.

 

[JimC2]

The dent in the front of the passenger side of the hood and the fender dents are really bugging me. They aren't particularly important, but I think I'm going to fix them next because I'm tired of looking at them.

 

[ab705]

I'm dithering - what would you all do ?

Considering the location of the holes and their intended purpose, I would just weld them up, grind them flat, and re-drill them. If you place a temporary copper backing plate under the holes while welding them, it can help prevent dripping/dropout/burn-through, so less grinding to do on the underside. If you're pretty handy with a MIG, you can get by without the copper backing plate while welding them up.

If the holes were in a more critical location on the frame I would consider the same approach, but might also weld on an appropriately shaped reinforcing gusset before re-drilling the holes.

 

[JimC2]

They ARE in a critical location - very critical - the cast reinforcing bracket that attaches to them also attaches to and registers with two holes on the side of the frame that go through two pieces of steel and one of cast iron. A friend will be doing the welding. Good idea about the copper plate. Thanks.

 

[JimC2]

I'm expecting to get the back rims from the sandblaster Tuesday. Will probably take the rest of the week to prep and paint the rims and let the paint cure before mounting the tires - hopefully sometime week after next.
What is the best way physically to prep and paint the back side of the red and amber reflector mounts? They are welded on.

 

[JimC2]

I'm glad I like this truck - because it sure is a pain in the nether regions...
My 37 is a lot lighter, and it was anemic until I put the big block Chevy in it. I can't shake the urge to do a similar completely reversible installation of a Dodge 360 Magnum bored 0.040 over and stroked to 4 inches for 410 c.i. in this truck. It would be smaller and lighter than the Chevy and almost as powerful. The NP420 has to be retained in its original position in order to power both the dump bed and the winch. That can be accomplished by using a civilian input shaft and housing together with a hydraulic clutch and an early slant six manual bellhousing - I've done that before with a 318 LA in my 37 before I switched to the Chevy.

 

[ab705]

They ARE in a critical location - very critical - the cast reinforcing bracket that attaches to them also attaches to and registers with two holes on the side of the frame that go through two pieces of steel and one of cast iron. A friend will be doing the welding. Good idea about the copper plate. Thanks.

I suppose 'critical' is a relative term. I'm not saying that hole location isn't important. Let's just say that there are other places on the frame where the stresses would be very different, and I would consider using a reinforcing gusset, but I don't think you need any extra reinforcement at that location for a simple hole repair.

Also, on winch models (assuming that you have all of the winch-related parts, including the frame extensions), IF memory serves me right (correct me if I'm wrong), the top flange of the frame rail is sandwiched between the winch-to-frame bracket (FSN 2540-770-5772) and the frame side rail extension (FSN 2510-508-1086/1087). These would not only impart great strength to the top flange of the frame rail in terms of resistance to bending or to buckling under a compressive load, but they would also prevent the use of a gusset because it wouldn't fit. In a sense, they would serve more or less the same function as a heavy-duty gusset.

I think you'd be fine just welding up the enlarged holes and re-drilling them.

 

[JimC2]

You are correct, with the possible exception that if the locations aren't correct within about 1/32", the parts won't align close enough to accept the bolts, and the two important loads are shear on the frame at the bolt holes and shear in the five bolts that pass through the cast brace. Right now, the shear loads created by the driver's side of the winch are being carried by only two of the five bolts that pass through the frame on the driver's side.
I do have all the parts and the setup is identical to the one on my 37 with the exceptions that the 708 PTO has an output shaft both front and rear (the rear jackshaft that goes from the PTO to the hydraulic pump is bent and will have to be replaced), and the front LU-4 winch pinion housing on the 37 has been reinforced in the field by a 1/4" thick steel collar to help resist shear and bending loads in the aluminum front housing flange that are created by the winch pinion shaft (the original housing flanges on the 37 winch were destroyed by the pinion shaft shoving forward on the front of the housing under heavy load).

 

[ab705]

I wasn't saying that the bolt holes don't need to be positioned and drilled accurately. I completely agree with you that accuracy can be critical, and you need to be accurate when re-drilling the holes to help distribute all of the expected loads more evenly on the frame and mounting bolts.

Accuracy is even more critical when, for example, replacing a structural frame rivet with a bolt, in which case the holes should not only be perfectly aligned, but carefully sized to create a tight interference fit.

 

[JimC2]

Arrgghhh.....
Today was a mixed blessing.
I went out to my hangar to measure the height of the lower grill on my 37 (with winch) so I could modify the 708 lower grill to match.
The entire 37 grill and the top radiator shroud were missing. Also, one of my headlight buckets on the 37 had been unbolted and was hanging from the electrical wires. That in itself was not a big deal since I have extras, but the inside of the hangar looked like it had been struck by a tornado. Ransacked, a lot of stuff had been moved, but I didn't find anything else missing. My seven aircraft engines and four planes were still there, as were my avionics and propellers - but it was baffling.

On the positive side, I found two NOS inner windshield frames complete with glass and weatherstripping and two rims that are in better shape than the ones I am having sandblasted.

But it looks like I'm going to be doing hangar cleanup this weekend instead of working on the 708. Maybe the NOS outer windshield frame will turn up too.

 

[JimC2]

Ground the frame rail welds flush yesterday and drilled the two new holes. Mounted the left bumper today. The front 6 or 8 inches of the left rail is twisted (in front of the spring shackle) and will need to be straightened before I install the winch. I feel like I made headway even if it isn't visible.

 

[Blake]

A winch M37 just doesn't have the lower grill section installed. There is not a "winch model" lower grill.

Arrgghhh.....
Today was a mixed blessing.
I went out to my hangar to measure the height of the lower grill on my 37 (with winch) so I could modify the 708 lower grill to match.
The entire 37 grill and the top radiator shroud were missing. Also, one of my headlight buckets on the 37 had been unbolted and was hanging from the electrical wires. That in itself was not a big deal since I have extras, but the inside of the hangar looked like it had been struck by a tornado. Ransacked, a lot of stuff had been moved, but I didn't find anything else missing. My seven aircraft engines and four planes were still there, as were my avionics and propellers - but it was baffling.

On the positive side, I found two NOS inner windshield frames complete with glass and weatherstripping and two rims that are in better shape than the ones I am having sandblasted.

But it looks like I'm going to be doing hangar cleanup this weekend instead of working on the 708. Maybe the NOS outer windshield frame will turn up too.

 

[JimC2]

Yeah, I figured that out. I've owned my M37 with winch for over 60 years and my XM708 without winch for over 50. I should of remembered that off the top of my head..... Senior Moment

 

[JimC2]

I'm going to put a hydraulic jack under the inboard corner of my left bumperette and jack the truck up while sitting on the outboard edge of the bumperette to see if that will apply enough torque to the front frame rail to straighten it.
Wish me luck...

 

[ab705]

I'm going to put a hydraulic jack under the inboard corner of my left bumperette and jack the truck up while sitting on the outboard edge of the bumperette to see if that will apply enough torque to the front frame rail to straighten it.
Wish me luck...

You might try chaining a long (>8') pipe or 4x4 to that section of the bumper and push down on the end of the pipe. That will give you a LOT of leverage to twist the frame rail.