1947 WDX Build

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

This WDX with a later cab was brought to me to be finished after 3 decades waiting to be driven again.

Stay tuned and keep updated as it comes back to life.

It has plans of staying mostly original, gearing change along with brake and steering upgrades will be coming.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Working now on going through the axles, a few things I found interesting.
And a couple of things that for new Power Wagon owners to look at and keep in mind.
1 is that not all axle shafts are the same.
2 is that the rear axle flange jack studs come in very handy
and 3 take your time cleaning all the parts well
I am going to try my best and use this build as a training guide for anyone who may have questions.
while it is being torn down and then rebuilt please if there is any section of the truck that you would like covered in more detail and or you would like photos and or knowledge of removal or installation of parts let me know.
I can post any and all pictures and do a tutorial of any specific area.
thank you

[Todd M]

Matthew
I would be very interested in how the gearing change is completed? Are you going to use the new 4.3?

Todd

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Todd it is under discussion.
We have kicked it around for weeks contemplating the different ways to go.
In the long run it will be getting a 37 inch tall tire.
Throwing that along with 4.30 gears at it may work the engine a little to hard.
I need to run the numbers a few more times and see where it ends up.
I will absolutely take pictures of the differential work and gear change which ever path we take here in the next week or so.

[Jeff Hosford]

Matt,
I'll be interested to see what gears you go with. I want to, at least, put the 4.89's in my WDX. I'm keeping the 230 engine and keep getting told that the 4.30's would bee too much for it. One thing that I wonder about though is that I keep hearing people say that they don't even use 1st gear, that they just drive with 2 through 4. That makes me wonder, if you went to the 4.30 gearing, could you just drive in 1st through 3rd then and save 4th for the highway or would you end up in trouble on a hill?

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Going forward with the build we have decided to stick with the 4.89 gears.
removing the 3rd member can be difficult at times, this one was no exception.
i always try my best and do all i can to remove the differentials without putting a wedge, chisel or scraper between the 3rd member and the housing.
I have a very old chicago rawhide 10 pound hammer with leather inserts.
while applying upward force with a floor jack and several dozen swings it came loose.
Prior to that I drained roughly a cup of water from the rear assembly.
I will post a few pictures explaining what was found.
Also I removed all of the wheel studs using a heavy solid Brass hammer.
I did this to reuse the studs once the hibs come back from Precision Power Wagons where Dan does an amazing job machining and fabricating the the hubs to work with disc brakes.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Here are some of the differential pictures. And the recent work.
I will post brief notes and descriptions in the pictures themselves.
Again thank you for your questions and input.
I truly appreciate it.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Here you will see some carrier and ring gear photos.
when you talk about the carrier and the pins that hold the carrier cap on.
this is what they are and where they are located.
you can see the pin.
As you turn it make sure all of the pins are in the hole.
this carrier is put together with an immense amount of force.
coming up next will be the disassembly of the 3rd member and the internal parts.

[Jeff Hosford]

Matt,
In your second post you said that "not all axle shafts are the same". Can you elaborate on that?

Thanks

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Jeff, the normal axle shaft that you would pull out of a Civilian Power Wagon is called a Tracta style axle. Made up of 4 pieces. Inner and Outer axle shafts and a 2 piece tracta joint the hold the inner and outer shaft together.
The WC 3/4 had what was called a Bendix axle as I recall, maybe Bendix Weiss? Not positive off hand on the spelling.
You can see there is in inner and outer shaft and then ball bearings that go and inter lock between the 2.
The front axle lengths between 3/4 WC and Civilian Power Wagon are the same. So every once in a while you tear down an axle and find different shafts inside.
There have been multiple conversations over the years on what axle shaft is better and or stronger.
I will look up all the details in the TM9 manual later this morning and post a few pictures from there explaining the differences more in depth.

Thanks for asking.

[Desoto61]

I have a set of those front axles in my truck. Think it was Doc Dave that came up with the NOS stash many moons ago. I probably still have cosmoline under my fingernails from those.

[Cheyenne Dave]

Another term for the ball-type front drive is Rzeppa...

cd

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Take a look at this photo.
with the 3 axles pictured from the TM91808C

[Alxj64]

The othet term for the ball-type front drive is Rzeppa...

cd

They look like the Toyota "Birfield" joints as well. I wonder if RCV / Longfield could make a set of these out of 300M that would handle a little more power?

The project looks fun Matt! Can't wait to see it in person!

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

The RCV Axles for the front of the civilian Power Wagon are amazing. They will take a load of Power. I don't have a set on hand but do believe a few of the forum members here have a set.