MILITARY MIGHT

THE ULTIMATE M43 OVERLAND AMBULANCE, FOR A LUCKY EX-MARINE

WHEN you come head-tohead with a behemoth M43 on a one-lane suspension bridge in the middle of nowhere, one must reflect on the proverb ‘might is right’. This was the case when we ran into Lucky Hilmanofski and this ultra-cool, Korean War era overland ambulance in the Northern Sierra Nevada. He hit the gas and we hit reverse. Fortunately, I’ve known Lucky for years (yes, that’s really his name) and he was just messing with us, as a dedicated jarhead will do.

Introduced in 1951, the M43 was the ambulance variant of the M37 Power Wagon, which in turn was a redesign of the battle-proven World War II era Dodge WC Series. Gearing up to take on communists on the Korean Peninsula, six prototypes were produced in mid1950 for testing and the first of these snub-nosed workhorses rolled off the assembly line in December. With live front and rear axles, a 230ci in-line six-cylinder engine, New Process four-speed transmission, and a PTO winch, they were tough as a pitbull and mean as a hungry hyena. In short, the M43 Power Wagon was a purpose-built war machine. This fine specimen is one of 11,000 that went into service in 1951.

BACK STORY

WHEN Lucky, a former US Marine paratrooper and motor-pool mechanic, and his wife Cindy decided to retire, sell the farm and move to Baja, Mexico, they knew they would need a rugged and reliable vehicle to explore the region’s backcountry. Having purchased his first Dodge at age 21, a 1975 W100 four-wheel drive, Lucky became a lifelong Ram guy and knew their ‘overlander’ would need to be a Power Wagon of some type. When he came across this bone-stock ’51 ambulance, save the Air Force Blue paint job, it was a match made in the trenches.