The books by James Lyles "The Hard Ride" are great references for Vietnam era guntrucks. Mostly M35 and 5 ton because that's what they were, but there are a few sections on the smaller GT's such as the M37. A couple of box armor types, short box and long box armor. All were field built so no two are really the same. For a quick look, you can go to my photo gallery for my M37 guntruck, it's short box armor type: http://www.pbase.com/baywing/m37
I have a pair of M60's. Some had a 50 cal pedestal mount but unless you did a lot of re-enforcement underneath, the mounts tore out very fast. Also, not a lot of room in the back of a M37 to swing a 50!

We have a vehicle index covering the M37B1 Gun Trucks on WarWheels.net. Here's the link: http://www.warwheels.net/M37ArmoredPersonTruckINDEX.html .

Remember though, the Roden kit represents an M37, but many of the Gun Trucks were based upon the M37B's.

The Roden kit comes with parts to build either version.

H.P.

One of the more obvious differences between the M37 and M37B1 was the location of the spare. The M37 had the spare mounted in the bed while the B1 had the spare on the drivers door. In Nam, any M37 guntruck had the spare either removed completely or moved back into the bed. Simple reason, the driver might need to get out fast and didn't want the spare in the way.
Otherwise, the B1 had a taller shifter handle, an alternator replaced the generator/rectifier and there were a few other subtle differences (there was an extra spring in the left front to compensate for the weight of the spare). If you do a VN guntruck, be sure to leave off the gerry can that was mounted to the right front fender in front of the door. The 5 gallons of gas in the can was equal to about 12 sticks of TNT and none of the crews wanted that nearby when they were drawing fire. I get asked that all the time at shows, my truck is "missing" the gas can. When I explain why, they don't ask again!!

Here are two views of the gun mount used on the M37 with the M60 machine gun :





I guess it is quite similar to the one fitted to WW2 Dodge 3/4 ton trucks...

H.P.

Great thread!
Just wondering: would there be any interest in (Vietnam) M37 guntruck decals? Though there's no such kit, it is not really hard to scratch yourself some armourplates....

Mark

Just wondering: would there be any interest in (Vietnam) M37 guntruck decals?

If you use the DEF wheels us there anything that needs to be changed on the kit parts?

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If you use the DEF wheels us there anything that needs to be changed on the kit parts?

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No, they are made to fit directly onto the kit and replace the kit wheels/tires.