Thread: M43CDN Amb
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Old 12-10-17, 18:30
rob love rob love is offline
carrier mech
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Posts: 7,517
Default M43CDN Amb

A local Aviary operator recently gave us this M43Cdn. It had been sitting for some 20+ years after the starter broke on it. Of course, it came complete with the mouse nest from hell, which I have taken steps to remove most of it.

The truck was used to bring food out to the hives in the winter, so unfortunately it had it's stretcher racks removed and some modification to the back. The mouse nest in the roof panel resulted in some rot thru of the upper right roof, and there are a few other minor rust thru in the typical places like the roofline and one cab corner. Hood has a severe dent from flying open, but on a good note the fenders do not have the usual rust under the headlamps.

Some careful sanding produced the artillery tac sign on the front left of the hood.

One puzzle is the only red cross that can be seen is one on the roof, underneath where the roof rack was. I can find no traces of red crosses on the sides or back. Did the trucks not come with them from the factory? And did the Army remove them back in the day for camouflage purposes? Or could some of them have been re-issued for other uses besides ambulance?

The carb had been replaced with a civilian carb, and left without the aircleaner, so through moisture transfer the engine was found to be tight. A night with some acetone/dexron mix in the cylinders, and the engine can be pried over now. I just finished repairing and testing the starter, so it is time to re-assemble. Bonus was that the original aircleaner and carb, along with the original distributor, wires, and even spark plugs, were all in the back of the truck.

It will join the line-up in the back yard until the time comes that there is a need for a running ambulance within the museum.
Attached Thumbnails
M43CDN.jpg  

Last edited by rob love; 13-10-17 at 05:41.
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