1953 M43 M37 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 US Air Force Ambulance 12k Orig.Mi. RUST FREE

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1953 M43 M37 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 US Air Force Ambulance 12k Orig.Mi. RUST FREE:
$9500.00

This amazing survivor 1953 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 has absolutely zero rust, is incredibly straight, has only 12,000 original miles, has never been wrecked, and has had only one owner since Uncle Sam sold it (not counting myself).
Tucson is where the US Air Force retires all of its aircraft because of the lack of humidity; the theory being they can be partially disassembled for spare parts but called back to action should a National emergency arise).
This M43 would make an incredible military restoration vehicle, parade center piece, hunting truck, RV, Harley transport vehicle, rock crawler, camper or doomsday prepper Bug Out rig for the zombie apocalypse. This truck goes by the name HELLZ RV.It\'s all original except for the following major modifications done less than 30 miles ago upon request of the recently deceased owner by Desert Dog Automotive in Tucson, a shop that ran from 1995 to 2014, specializing in restoring old military Jeeps, and whose owner, now retired, was a professional airline mechanic who worked for Delta Airlines as a shop foreman in the 80\'s but back in Da\'Nang, Vietnam in the late 60\'s he worked on fighter jets for Uncle Sam as a Navy Veteran.
Original M43 owner supplied rebuilt (from bare block up) Chevy 454 all stock except for RV cam. Edelbrock aluminum intake plus big bore Edelbrock Quadrajet carburetor with electronic choke. New HEI Distributor. New plugs & wires & air filter and of course all new fluids from stem to stern.
Original M43 owner also supplied rebuilt GM SM465 4 Speed Manual transmission with new HD clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing & pilot bearing. This transmission is tough enough to have been installed in many a school bus and has the Granny Gear low range 1st gear of approximately 6.7 to 1. Combined with the 5.83 stock gear ratio of the stock M43 it has a mighty low crawl ratio, equal to that or more than modern competition rock crawlers.
Desert Dog professionally installed this furnished drive train, modifying drive shafts to accommodate and then installed dual electronic fans mated to original OEM 25 quart capacity radiator (refurbished & flow tested by Performance Radiator of Tucson), then converted stock 24 volt electronics to a 12 volt Painless wiring harness with modern fuse box, plus installed modern lights and gauges and professionally routed a complete new exhaust system by Exhaust Works of Tucson with single Flow Master muffler.
Needless to say this BBC runs perfect. Fires with a click of the key. Oil pressure strong. Runs cool. Dual electric fans do their job and activate thermostatically. Sounds nice & throaty but not too loud. Carb is very responsive. No knocks, no smoke, no issues. Just clean, smooth power with a classic Flow Master rumble.
The 4 Speed transmission transmission with new clutch kit shifts smooth.
The stock straight cut gear transfer case (which are known to be tough) is still in place and the 4x4 actuates as it should. The T-case gear ratio is 2 to 1. The aftermarket Super Winch manual lockout hubs engage smooth as designed.
This vehicle does not drip any fluids on the ground overnight.
The stock wheels and tires were replaced with 5 almost new (D Rated) 37 x 12.5 x 17 BFG All Terrains mounted and balanced on 5 custom made Diamond Racing steel 17 x 10 rims that have a nice wide offset.
All the brakes were gone through, drums turned, plus replaced wheel cylinders, new master cylinder and brake shoes. Of course all the fluids from every case were replaced and everything greasable was lubed.
The parts & labor bill from Desert Dog was just over $10,000 and then there\'s the cost of engine, carb, intake, transmission & clutch, painless harness, gauges,
This truck is street legal with a clean, notarized, Arizona title. All the running lights work including brake lights and turn signals. There\'s a bright dome light in the cab activated by a button on top of the dome light. There\'s a red interior light on the dash that comes on when either of the front doors are open. The temperature, oil pressure and volt gauges work. The speedometer does not. The fuel gauge does not. The wipers do not (although both motors are confirmed good). The non-working gauges are likely simple fixes but are ultimately up to the new owner to resolve.
The heater blows hot.
The original glass is not cracked or broken. Both front windshield windows fold open as designed which is a very cool feeling when driving.
There is a step ladder that\'s designed to let you walk up into rear cargo hold as shown in picture.
There is a picture that shows how the ambulance stretcher hold goes through the entire width of the vehicle which would be perfect storage for a motorcycle ramp for a Harley transporter. Rock Crawlers or Doomsday Preppers could hold high lift jacks, pry bars, ice fishing pikes, long guns, fishing poles, long bows, oars, tents, fold up chairs or whatever.
The Braden PTO winch is secured in place out front is rated at minimum 7500 lbs. Soldiers tell me they\'ve seen these things pull 20,000 lbs and with a snatch block pull 40,000 lbs. dangling straight up the side of a cliff. The original green painted drive shaft for the PTO is sitting in the cargo hold, next to the step ladder, shown in picture. Since the SM465 transmission has PTO options it can certainly be mated up by the new owner.
There is also a large black plastic bin with yellow top full of spare parts that comes with the sale. Included are all kinds of original service manuals and misc. original parts as well as metal tags. This bin sits in the rear cargo hold pictured next to the 5th spare wheel which is a matching but more worn BFG 37x12.5x17 All Terrain on a brand new 17x10 matching Diamond Racing rim.It\'s not clear if this M43 which features US Force badges on the glove box door originally came out of the San Diego Naval port or the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson as the original color is the Navy blue as determined by the interior of the cargo hold, underneath the fender wells, as well as inside the stretcher hold.
Like any antique unrestored vehicle 62 years old there are some flaws that have been noted. I have no documentation of the original 12,000 miles except that I saw the original odometer with my own eyes before it was replaced. Moreover, the condition of the truck in general and the undercarriage in particular would suggest extremely low miles.
One thing is for sure, the motor and transmission and clutch and wiring harness have less than 30 miles.
Another thing for sure is there is absolutely no rust on this truck beyond the mild surface rust coming from under the patina of the surface paint on the roof. The only start of corrosion you will find is the bare beginnings of surface rust inside the stretcher hold shown in the picture. There is no bondo or filler anywhere on this truck (except for a small patch of filler on the center of the rear barn door on where the lock cylinder is missing). The frame and everything else is as solid and dense as the the day it was produced over 62 years ago.
For whatever reason the speedometer was never hooked up and even if it was it would need calibrated. Since I\'ve never driven it anywhere but surface streets I don\'t know the top speed on the highway but according to a formula that you can Google it will go 75 mph at 3500 RPM with the 37 inch tires, the 5.83 gears in the stock differentials and the 1 to 1 final drive ratio of 4th gear in the SM465 transmission.
If you conservatively figure a straight rust free 60 year old 3/4 ton 4x4 Dodge Power Wagon with no drive train is worth at least $3000 then figure a new BBC engine, trans & clutch is $4000 then the parts and labor to get it running, safe & street legal on 12 volts is another $10,000 then wheels and tires another $2000 you\'ve got a very cool old truck worth at least $19 grand, which is half the BUY NOW price. This is a great investment that will never go down in value.
Questions can be emailed or called into 520-977-0112.
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TERMS & CONDITIONS: Winning buyer is obliged to pay $500 PayPal deposit within 24 hrs. of sale close. Balance to be paid in full via cash in person, bank wire transfer or over-night FedX cashiers check 72 hours after deposit paid. If winner chooses to pay balance via PayPal a 2.5% PayPal fee will be added. We will help coordinate shipping wherever possible. Vehicle is within a mile of Interstate 10. Vehicle will be stored for free 20 days after sale. On 21st day a $15 per day storage fee will apply. Antique vehicle has been listed as accurately as possible and comes with no warranty expressed or implied.