The Beast, WC 53.

[Ugg013]

Hey All:

Hopefully, this will work, & I'll be able to post some pictures of "The Beast" when I 1st got it. Most of the work on it to-date has been mechanical. I just started to tackel that little dent by the roof (where, I was told a tree fell on it). It came with a 318, 5 spd, ps & ac, yes, ac.

I put 4:86 gears on it & also had to have the gas tank rebuilt. This is a father & son project, as my son's just getting to the right age to be fun. Our goal with the Beast (also being our 1st foray into the wonderful world of MV's) is to make it look as original as possible on the outside, but all nice & cozy & comfortable on the inside.

We love to drive around in the Beast and watch all the people rubberneck as we drive by. My son wants me to take him to school in it, so he can brag to all his buds. Oh, BTW, it also has duals with glass packs, so it sound's reeeeal wicked when I goose the pedal. HA!

Later
Ugg

[Ugg013]

Bummer, I can only post one picture at a time.

[Ugg013]

Another shot.

[Ugg013]

Still another.

[Ugg013]

Last picture for now. I promise, it does look much better now, but it's far from done.

[dbemis]

The Beast

Ugg,
Except for your "little dent" the Beast looks to be in remarkably nice condition. Which transmission to you have and does it have the e-brake on the back of it? I am resurrecting a Carryall using a Dodge 270 hemi and Np435, PS and disc brakes. The most troublesome part was the e-brake. I have now begun the body work, lots and lots of little dents and holes etc. I have some pictures at http://imageevent.com/dbemiswc53/carryallprogress . I have not updated this since last fall when I had to stop for the winter. As I proceed I will begin to add more photos. By the way does your carry all have any of the original seats in it? I would like to hear of your progress as you go along. Good luck!
David

[Ugg013]

Hey David:

Thank you. Yes, I was surprised when I got it. I had actually only seen pictures of it before I bought it. But to equal out my good luck, I didn't get any paper with it when it was delivered to me. I went thru a whole bunch of crap to get it titled. As far as what tranny is in it, I really don't know.

At this point in time, I'm not going to the extent that you obviously are. Nice job so far. If what you have done so far is any clue as to the outcome of your rig, I have no doubt it'll be one fine looking machine. Do you plan on keeping the military tires on it? As far as getting really into a major restore of it, well, it ain't happening just yet. I'm really not set up for anything like that now.

1st of all, several years ago, I made a very large mistake. I have a 3.5 car garage, that I built as my hideout/shop when we 1st moved into Uggville. Well, one day, my wife discovered how much room that was, and asked me if she could put a few items in there for a little bit. HA! Like a dummy I said okay. I think that crap was cancerous by the way it spread thru out my whole garage. I can't even fit a bicycle in there now, let alone a vehicle.

Now, my tools. I used to have alot of good tools, but thru out the years and locations and what not, quite a bit of em have walked away. I have replaced and even improved on some of them, however, alot of those are still new, in their boxes, somewhere in the garage, under the carnage. Ya have to walk sideways thru the garage, where you can fit.

I even have some construction equipment, and a built a large shed for them to park in. Guess what? They sit outside, under tarps. I've had the Beast for almost 3 years now. It's been outside all that time. (sniff) I have some more current pictures of the Beast, after I tackeled the dent with a Porta Power. It looks a whole lot better now. Ya know, it's kinda funny, all the window cranks work, even the one that was under the dent.

As far as seats, I have the 2 front seats and the rear seat. I don't have an E Brake yet. After talking to Paul in NY, I plan on doing what he did for seating, and using seats out of an Exploder. Geez, the guys that drove during WW II must have been short. My knees are in my chest when I drive, and I have a **** of a time moving my foot from the gas to the brake and back.

I now have your web site locked into my WC 53 info section. I'm looking forwards to seeing your rig as it progresses. I'll post more of mine soon, more current ones. We spent most of the day today crusin around, watching people rubberneck as we drove by. This is a father and son project, and my son really loves it.

Later
Ugg

[dbemis]

Ugg,
The tires in those photos are used 11.00 x 20's which I bought to go on the 20" rims until I can afford something better (6 of those for the price of 1 new decent road tire.) I would hope to eventually find a more roadworthy tire that is also an inch or two shorter than the 42" than the 11.00 x 20's. My memory of NDTs vs various other treads that I used to run on my civilian PWs when I had them was that the NDTs were miserable on ice and hard pavement at speed. Have you seen Moparnorms' Carryall photo site? http://imageevent.com/moparnorm/carr...9qu1.buffalo_s
Should you decide to replace your seats and are willing to sell the old ones I would love to have the chance to buy them. Also the sheet metal tub that the drivers' side seat base rests on was removed from mine. I'm curious about your roof rack. Do you think it is original or added on later? How does your Carryall handle with the 318 in it, and what sort of speeds is it comfortable at? I love working on this but sure wish I had one to drive in the mean time.
David

[Ugg013]

Hey David:

Yep, I've already been to that site, and also Paul's site to get the full impact of what he did. I've been in contact with Paul for a while, picking his brain for info. I kinda like what he did to the rear end by installing the cargo doors. I've always preferred the doors to a tailgate/hatch combo. As a matter of fact, I downright HATE the tailgate/hatch combo. I'm toying with the idea of also doing that to mine. If I did that, I guess the Carryall would become a WC 53.75. HA!

Yes David, I do plan on getting different seats for the Beast. I already promised the rear to someone else, but when my no good, rotten Dell crashed, I lost the guy's name and address, along with every piece of email I had saved from day 1. I also lost all of MY FAVORITES, but was able to get most of em back.

Your memory of the NDT's are correct. In off-road/tactical/mud/snow situations, they're great, but on regular road or in rain/ice, they suck the big one. I wanted to get them for the Beast for looks only, but I'm now thinking of something that looks close to the NDT's but has treds.

The box under the seat? I never really noticed. Is that what the seat bolts up to? Sure, if it's not needed for something else, I could let it go with the seat. I'm not gonna change the seats that soon, my priorites lie in a different direction. Just keep in contact with me.

Later
Ugg

PS: David, of you want, I'll send you picures of what I've got. Just send me your email address.