Military Vehicles Magazine • OCTOBER 2019 73
CLUESINTHESERIALNUMBERS
M37 serial numberscan be found on thedashboard data
plate.However,sincethesecanberemovedand/orreplaced,the
Serialnumbercanalsobefoundstampedonthevehicleframein
thefrontleftwheelwell.Lightlygrindoffthepaintandruston
theframeforwardofthefrontaxle.Thereshouldbeeightnum-
bers.If thereareonlysevennumbers,youhavea pilotvehicle
(prototype).
The first “actual production” M37 bore serial number
80006012 andwas completedon January2,1951. TheM37
featured here (with serial number 80006025) was completed
justover a weeklateronJanuary10, 1951. 80006025 minus
80006012 equals13.ThatmeansthatthisM37is the13th“ac-
tualproduction”offtheassemblyline!
HISTORYOFNUMBER 13
Beinganearlyproductionvehicle,thetruckfeatured here
wasmostlikelyissuedtotheU.S.Army.Atsomepointinits
history,it wasmarkedassurplusbeforebeingtransferredtothe
NorthCarolinaRoadDepartment.There,it waspaintedyellow.
WhentheRoaddepartment,nolonger hada use forit, it
wenttotheMoreheadCity[NorthCarolina]FireDepartment.
TheFireDepartmentpaintedthetruckredandwhiteandusedit
asa brushtruck.Whenit wasnolongerableto turnover,theFire
Departmentsentthetruck tothe“boneyard.”
In1987,twoformerMarines,myselfandmytrustycompan-
ion,FrankBrewer,werescoutingthebackroadsandjunkyards
ofeasternNorthCarolinawherewediscovered theabandoned
M37.Thebodywasinexcellentconditionwithnorustandno
dings.Thepaintwaspeeling,exposingmultiplecolors,andthe
canvaswasrotting.Wedeterminedthatallit neededwasa fuel
pumptogetit running.
Afterwepurchasedthevintagevehicle,wemadetheappro-
priate repair, and I have been driving it ever since. Because of my
Marine heritage, I repainted the truck in Marine Corps colors. A
yellow rotating beacon and siren have been added. Except for
a new voltage regulator and paint, it is still in that original, “as-
found” condition.
The truck has been in parades, military displays, and car
shows. Back home on the farm, it has pulled many hay ride wag-
ons.
As of July 2019, the 13th production M37 is still going strong
(Including the tires that were on it when purchased in 1987). It is
a testament to the durability of the Dodge M37
David lives in Thomson, Georgia, and would love to hear
from anyonewho has a M37 with a serial number lower than
80006025.Untilthen,hewillclaimthetitleof “OldestM37.”
(BELOW) More than 60 years after rolling off Dodge’s production
line, the truck now sports USMC colors and sees service in parades,
shows, and even pulling for hay rides at Thanksgiving.
(RIGHT) The details on serial numbers came from the small book
titled, TM 9-1840C M37 – The Production Story from the IPC Research
Department (John Zentmeyer), published in 1987. It is out of print but
several vendors still stock copies.
Un