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nice clean 1953 M62 wrecker (gasser) on GSA in nebraska being sold for scrap

G744

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
Hidden Valley, Az
Having driven my M543 gasser (yes, the bed was swapped by the local guard unit) some 200 miles from Yuma to Chandler, AZ was an experience indeed.

It was Summer, so I drove it at night to stay as cool as possible, and the blue flame from the tailpipe was just divine. That R6602 had plenty of grunt, with some 234hp.

She rolled on around 55 MPH, and consumed right at 200 gal of petrol. Such is life with a 36,000 pound MV.
 

msgjd

Well-known member
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Location
upstate ny
Having driven my M543 gasser (yes, the bed was swapped by the local guard unit)
M543's built before 1964 are all gassers (originally).. The Austin-Western conflict / Garwood resolution happened around 1957 , thus gasser M543's were in production about 6 years , and then the (diesel) A1's and subsequent (mulitfuel) A2's started rolling in
 

msgjd

Well-known member
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3,230
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Location
upstate ny
Would like to know more about this.
i don't recall if the story is here in a SS forum, or if i read it at a different military truck website, or an A-W construction website, or ATHS magazine, or could have been in Military Vehicles magazine .. The "conflict" had to do with a problem with a Patent or some other Legal matter with the boom and/or its components, i do not recall exactly.. It was a paper problem, nothing to do with safety or structural integrity.. As for the military, the issue got a "resolution" by contracting with GarWood for their boom and re-classifying the application as a M543
 
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Bradym114

Member
29
46
13
Location
Anita Ia
I bought this truck from the guy that won the auction. he was going to scrap it. He was able to get a title for it and get it running. It starts and runs great! The crane works too! I haven't driven it much because it has no brakes, but it acts good moving around my yard. The top is a mess but was sealed up good which saved the cab. With it running and a title i paid 3500. I didn't think i did bad. But i really don't need it, I just hate seeing this stuff go to scrap. I'm putting new fan belts on it then it's going to set till i get to it to restore it. But If anyone is interested in it PM me I'll get more pictures and get some videos of it running. Id be happy to get my money back out of it. plus, whatever the fan belts cost. She is located in Anita IA.
 

swiss

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,710
768
113
Location
Oakwood, Ga
I bought this truck from the guy that won the auction. he was going to scrap it. He was able to get a title for it and get it running. It starts and runs great! The crane works too! I haven't driven it much because it has no brakes, but it acts good moving around my yard. The top is a mess but was sealed up good which saved the cab. With it running and a title i paid 3500. I didn't think i did bad. But i really don't need it, I just hate seeing this stuff go to scrap. I'm putting new fan belts on it then it's going to set till i get to it to restore it. But If anyone is interested in it PM me I'll get more pictures and get some videos of it running. Id be happy to get my money back out of it. plus, whatever the fan belts cost. She is located in Anita IA.
pinging you on pm
 

biscuitwhistler37

Well-known member
289
838
93
Location
Michigan
I bought this truck from the guy that won the auction. he was going to scrap it. He was able to get a title for it and get it running. It starts and runs great! The crane works too! I haven't driven it much because it has no brakes, but it acts good moving around my yard. The top is a mess but was sealed up good which saved the cab. With it running and a title i paid 3500. I didn't think i did bad. But i really don't need it, I just hate seeing this stuff go to scrap. I'm putting new fan belts on it then it's going to set till i get to it to restore it. But If anyone is interested in it PM me I'll get more pictures and get some videos of it running. Id be happy to get my money back out of it. plus, whatever the fan belts cost. She is located in Anita IA.
Thank you for saving it!
 
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