Then

Now

 First viewing 

The following is a work in progress...more of a diary and some ranting about the progress that is going on with the truck. As winter approaches I will clean up this page.

The inside is very nice. With all the strecher and seats being proper.

Good Points

This is a neat looking vehicle. Decent for the money. The inside needs little work to get it road worthy and most of the body work can be done by me. It is fairly complete inside although I need the rear step.

Low Points

The body has the dent damage from the tree falling on it. It has also been seriously reworked before. It was not a super professional restoration but not bad for a motor pool type fix. The vehicle is 12 volt using a converted generator. The transfer case is not out of a Ambulance as it has an extra shift lever on it. I believe it is for a winch. The windshield does not pop out and some "joker" screwed the windshield in with sheet rock screws. It has modern rear taillights and directional signals( that will be changed).

NO BRAKES!...I did not know this as the seller said they worked. Pedal goes to floor so I suspect a master cylinder. I have ordered one from an M-37. $58.....

The engine runs fair. Hesitates on acceleration. Will give it a tune-up.

On May 1 Restoration has begun....

We are off and running. The first thing we will do is fix the Brakes. I have looked at them and ordered a Master. Price is very reasonable.

5/8/2004 Spent a couple of days at the Aberdeen show so I now have the bug.

I purchased a 10 ton porta power and will have to remove the inside headliner so that I can "pop" back the dented roof. Will do the best I can. Some dents will remain but it is a military vehicle.

Installed the new Master Cylinder. Brakes now work.

5/23/2004 Finished Sandblasting today. About a 15 hour job. My compressor is a bit small in providing air volume and I had to keep taking breaks to let it build back up. Also I recycle the blasting media so I had to stop after using it all , move the ambulance out of the "blasting cave", scoop up the media into 5 gallon joint compound buckets, and then move the ambulance back. This was done too many times....  The media becomes less abrasive and the performance degrades after about 4 times. It is then time to get new.  I still need to do the spare. I hope to paint shortly...rain is in the forecast so we will see.

5/31/2004  Black POR has been applied. It has brought out the "dings". Looks like someone took a shotgun to the drivers side rear (from a distance). Also doing some work with Glazing compound to fix up the previous bad bondo. 

6/08/2004  The first coat of Gillespee 33070 paint has been applied. It went on well. A couple of "runs" do to pilot error. I will sand these out when dry and then hit it with a second coat. 

6/21/2004  The stencils have arrived from Rick Larsen. He has done a great job. They apply easily and now it is just my painting skills to make sure they look good. No one seems to make an automotive no luster red or white paint. I have bought some Nason paint from the local Auto Parts place and am thinning it an extra 20% with the hope that it will dull it down. I have had to mask the large Geneva Cross areas my self using masking tape and luck. Check out the pictures below.

6/30/2004  Red part of the Geneva Crosses have been painted. A little touch up is necessary. I have reinstalled the inside panels, installed the new wiper arms, and all lighting. Also put in front directional lights and replaced the Right Rear light with a left rear to give the service lighting on both sides so brakes and signals can always be seen. 

7/11/2004  When I purchased the vehicle the seller promised me Combat rims with the deal. He stiffed of course. I have had to purchase these myself else where and will be buying new tires for the rims. Should be done by fall.  I found a bracket for the siren which was broken off. It has been blasted and painted and is now on. Need to do some finishing touches on the inside.