Barn Yard Restoration and Trip of a Willys M170 – Part 1

A total of approximately 6,500 M170 ambulances were designed and built by Kaiser Jeep of Toledo, Ohio, from the mid-1953 to the early 1963s. The M170 Frontline Ambulance is a variant of the M38A1, with a 20 in (51 cm) stretched wheelbase, formed the basis for the later civilian Willys CJ‑6 Jeep. The spare tire and jerry can were relocated in a special wheel well on the right interior side of the vehicle, and a larger 20 US gal fuel tank was fitted. Capacity was six seated passengers, or three lying on litters; one behind the driver and two over each other.  One liter on the floor and the handles through holes in the tailgate. The top litter was hooked to the windshield and a loop on the back frame for the top. The M170 suspension was heavier than the M38A1 and had a larger fuel tank. The Marine Corps used the M170’s modified as radio jeeps. Not much to be found since the Marines heavily modified the jeeps and other equipment; “Improvise, adapt and overcome”. and all the manuals were published by The Department of the Army “TRUCK, AMBULANCE: FRONT LINE,  ¼ TON,  4×4, M170TRUCK, UTILITY:1/4 TON,  M38A1”. Luckily that manual came with the jeep I purchased.  The brake and mechanical parts are the same as the parts for the M38A1 and can be found through an assortment of distributors on the internet including eBay.  

In March 2017 I found a 1953 M170 (that is what NC title says) on eBay and I purchased it in Raleigh, NC. The guy in Raleigh had to sell it because the HOA (the modern Gestapo) was after him for parking it on the street.  It was desert tan and marked as USMC.  The man in Raleigh had gotten the M170 from Kort Natali in Arizona who had painted it tan and marked it as USMC.  Kort told me that the reason he painted it tan was that was the paint he had on hand at the time. Kort had done some research on it and determined that it had been a Marine Crop radio jeep.  Kort had outfitted it with radios which were still on it. The radios were not of the Korean War era but looked good. 

Kort had purchased the M170 from Christian Hazel, the editor of a Fourwheeler magazine.  Christian discovered it in a barn. It was in rough shape, but still intact.  He got it running and operational.   It had been converted to a 12-volt system.  He wrote an article in Fourwheeler Magazine about getting the M170 back in running condition.  It can be found at:

https://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/1406-1954-willys-m-170-army-ambulance-resuscitation/

Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Bill Lane

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