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  • 63 Town Wagon

    Just wanted to say Hello and brag about my new project. I hope to access the knowledge all of you attained over the years. I will post pictures when I get my magazine subscription and upgrade my status.
    I recently acquired a 1963 Town Wagon for doing some carpentry work. It looks like I'm going to need to repair the floor pans in front but the rest of the body is in great shape. I will be looking for a gas tank, the previous owner put a 50+ gallon tank in the back and removed the old one, oh well.
    Thanks for your time.
    Scott

  • #2
    Welcome Scott you've come to the right place. Is this a two wheel drive or a TW Power Wagon? Either way you're floors are pretty typical of Townies. The cab mounts are usually the first to go and can be a challenge to rebuild. Study what you have and rely on the members here for help. We've all been where you are now so need to reinvent the wheel. Pictures help us to help you. Can you give a few more details on your truck, engine, transmission, etc. Stock Townwagon gas tanks are few and far between so you may be looking at a different tank. Some Ramcharger tanks have been mentioned as well as van tanks. Ask away we're here for you. I own a 64 TWPW myself and have worked on several along the way.

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    • #3
      It's a TWPW. VIN # has SPEC for front axle and I see power steering but it's been disconnected. 318 engine with 4 speed tranny and PTO winch (LU2) on a platform bumper. Runs good but I haven't done a compression test yet. It's drivable but the brakes suck. I'll post pictures when I get access. Not much left of the interior but the front seats and I don't think the drivers seat is original. The biggest issue is the prev owner cut a hole in the roof and made a cover for it. He did an okay job but it could have been better. I guess I'll have to make a decision at some point to try and patch it (24"x36") or make it work. I have a couple of ideas if I decide to improve on his design.

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      • #4
        sounds cool. I just got a 62 from a guy who owned it for 40 years, many mods, but it seems to be a solid old truck. cant wait to see some pics!

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        • #5
          Scott any idea what the hole in the roof was for? You may be able to get a piece you need from another TW to match the profile. VPW has a couple of junk bodies that could be donors. One Townie owner just posted picutes on the Townwagon list of his 4 wheel disc brake conversion. I find the stock brakes work as long they are adjusted correctly. No doubt you'll have to do a brake job but at least parts are readily available. I look forward to pictures of your truck.

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          • #6
            I think it was so he could road hunt and pop up out of the roof. He installed a cover similar to a skylight on a house roof, so it's at least water tight. I'm going to tackle the floor pans and brakes first. It has sat for some time. so right now it's just clean, clean, clean (and kill mice!).

            Can't wait until I get my subscription so I can expand my world lol.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Bonedog View Post
              I think it was so he could road hunt and pop up out of the roof. He installed a cover similar to a skylight on a house roof, so it's at least water tight. I'm going to tackle the floor pans and brakes first. It has sat for some time. so right now it's just clean, clean, clean (and kill mice!).

              Can't wait until I get my subscription so I can expand my world lol.
              You now have subscriber status, so you have full benefits.

              I need to better inform the forum users about this. Rather than waiting for your first issue, I want new subscribers to contact me by email and let me know their forum user name and email address, as well as their real name and street address with which they subscribed to Power Wagon Advertiser, and the email address they may have associated with that. It doesn't hurt to email me your phone number too.

              The reasons for this are several. I live across the road from cows, so this is not an operation with NASA levels of technological sophistication. I have to move you into subscriber status in the forum database. The magazine mailing list and forum database are not in any automated way linked together.

              What can complicate it is that the forum database does not include real names in nearly all instances, and they very often use different email addresses for the forum that are different from the email address they associate with business transactions. This means there is usually no way for me to even begin to guess which new subscriber is which forum user.

              I like your enthusiasm.... have fun, and thanks for joining us in the magazine and forums!
              Power Wagon Advertiser monthly magazine, editor & publisher.


              Why is it that the inside of old truck cabs smell so good?

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              • #8
                Here are some pictures I took the first day I saw her. I'll post more this weekend.
                Attached Files

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                • #9
                  Ummm yeah is that what they mean by character? lol. Interesting front porch you've got there. And what's with the dual spare tires on the back? As long as you like it that's all that matters. Offer still stands for any help I can pass along.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Ron in Indiana View Post
                    Ummm yeah is that what they mean by character? lol. Interesting front porch you've got there. And what's with the dual spare tires on the back? As long as you like it that's all that matters. Offer still stands for any help I can pass along.
                    Yeah it's a character all right. I'm going to have to deal with the mount on the back bumper, it's welded and completely blocks the back doors. Diamond plate was formed to the shape of the front bumper and welded. I scraped the paint off of the windows and ripped out all of the built in rotted benches. The entire interior had indoor/outdoor carpet glued it, also gone. I saw VPW has floor pans that match so I'm gettin me some lol. I appreciate your offer and will definitely be using you good services. I see a lot of great info here so I'm quite excited. Oh, the dual tires, previous owner used to go down to the desert for up to 2 weeks so he took no chances. There's a 50+ gallon gas tank in the back, 2 spares, extra fuel pump, filters and lots of other goodies to get back out. A true outdoors man lol.

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                    • #11
                      Ron,

                      I thought of a question. Where can I get a gas tank for my TW?
                      Thanks
                      Scott

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                      • #12
                        I hate to burst your bubble but the floor pans at VPW are NOT for Townwagons. They are for 61-71 Sweptline pickups. The TW is based on the 59-60 Power Giant series.

                        As for a gas tank, that is going to be hard to come by since most are damaged. I've heard some Ramcharger tanks will work and maybe a tank for a van will also. The trick is the rear facing filler hole almost at the level of the tank. This makes it interesting when filling a tank at the gas station.

                        Back to the floor, you can either fab a new floor as most people do or find a 59-60 truck with good floors. That is as hard to do as finding a TW gas tank though since they rot like Townies also.

                        Here is a great site to learn more about Townwagons. This was put together by Eric Bannerman who was the previous owner of my Townwagon. http://townwagon.com/sites/tw/index.htm

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                        • #13
                          I like it.....

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                          • #14
                            Thanks Ron. I was going to call and talk to someone before I bought anything. I've found an '60 PW with no drivetrain but the body is supposed to be in great shape, I'll see it this weekend. Eric's site is one of the first ones I found when I started searching. great info! I can tell it's going to be a labor of love.

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                            • #15
                              Here is a link to more pictures
                              http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/.../Town%20Wagon/

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