This 1943 Ford G8T 1.5 ton military truck has been in the family since right after the war, it was purchased as surplus and used as a farm truck.

I took a trip out to the ranch and looked it over today for the first time (located in the CA central valley area) and, as the ranch is currently being "cleaned up", the time has come for our family to decide what to do with it.

This truck certainly has quite a bit going for it; Metal has no serious rust, just surface rust, all of the running gear appears to be complete, sheetmetal is very straight, except for the roof which is "oil-canned" in (probably from kids jumping on it at one time). A lot of the military markings are still present.

Here are a few photos, comments are welcome and appreciated. We would like to see this truck go to a good home, as opposed to being hauled away for scrap. I have not been able to spend enough time with it to determine if the engine turns free, etc. A while back one of the folks on the ranch pulled the plugs and put some marvel oil in the cylinders, but since the electrical system clearly isn't capable of cranking it, nothing else was done. We do know that the truck made it to the barn under it's own power, when it was parked there 37-odd yrs ago.

I like the stenciled maximum speed and tire pressure requirements, right across the dash.

Here is the barn it has been slumbering in since 1971-72.






















Engine is all there



Wow...How many leaves are in these spring packs???



Date of Delivery June 30, 1943









Turn Signal or ???






Fuel tank is HUGE!

 

Nice truck. Well for one, I am willing to bet any military vehicle restorer would love to get that truck. I have seen these trucks listed on EBAY. But with it being a 43 and military, I would try the militarty restorer route first. Maybe get ahold of some local people that are involved with WWII vehicles and maybe they can tell you who to contact about the truck.

It would be a real shame to see a piece of history like this go to the scrap yard.

 

Nice truck...quite a piece of history sitting there. It would be a shame to this end up as scrap. I think Chaos gave you a good suggestion to start with. Wish I were of more help, but best of luck finding a home for it...definately deserves one other than the junkyard.

 

The major differences with the earlier and later trucks are inside the cab, the guages, light deflectors, rivited on dash plates and the steering wheel. The side of the hood may or may not have Ford embossed in it, I have a 42 and 44 without it. The engine is probably the 226 flathead 6. I doubt if the bed and dump are original tho, and if you need a wiring diagram pm me and I'll send you a copy, most of the military trucks were a positive ground system.

 

Looks like a great find. Looks like most all the military specific pieces are still there, the guards over the head lights, flip out windshield supports, etc. As a piece of interesting info, Ford used the 6 cylinder in the miltary, not the V8. I have the front clip (hood, fenders, grille, etc) from one of these trucks, and most all the parts are identical, however the hood does not have the FORD whiskers on the sides of the latch, as none of the military trucks did. Hope you can find somebody that can preserve and restore these somewhat rare trucks. I'm sure a military restorer would love it.