New to the neighbourhood

[El Muerto]

Hi people, ive had dodge trucks for years and have built and am currently building a couple of M-series trucks.
A whlie ago i had good fortune send me a pair of rescues..incomplete and pretty rough but there was no way i could say no.
One was a WC62..the other is what i believe is a WC53..with a civvy power wagon nose
. I'm getting ready to move on the pair finally so i thought this was the right place to be.
So I'd like to say hello and introduce the adoptee's.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Welcome, and thank you for joining us here. Fantastic looking trucks. Keep us posted on your progress and enjoy!

[Matt Wilson]

Good to "meet" you! Glad to see someone who takes in strays, such as your two recent acquisitions, and looking forward to seeing your progress on them.

[El Muerto]

Thanks for the welcome..a friend was over the other day and was going on that the carryall was a half ton..is there a way to tell other than the frame number if its a half or 3/4? Seems to me the half tons i've seen were early models that had the swept rear fender openings and a pressed impression on the passenger side for the spare.
Can the learned enlighten me please?
This one looks like it has an 8 3/4 chunk in the front axle..rear is empty..someone did some bad additions of some extra coil "helper" springs on the front end. Cant wait to get the 6x6 a little more squared away and get onto cleaning this one up.

[Matt Wilson]

If it's a WC53, as you suspect, then it's a 3/4-ton. Must be an early one, though, if it has an 8-3/4 differential. Later ones shared the same 9-5/8" differential that was used in the civilian Power Wagons. I'm not familiar enough with these models to be able to tell you what other features to look for, to be able to tell if it's a WC53 or another model. If it had the original nose on it, I could tell by looking at it.

How did you determine that it has an 8-3/4" diff in the front? I guess there's a tag or other marking on it? Or maybe a data plate on the body?

[Greg Coffin]

Welcome to the Asylum! That's definitely a WC53 with a Power Wagon front cowl, hood and fenders installed. The 9-5/8" third member has a square head set screw above the oil seal. The 8-3/4" does not. That's the only way I know how to tell the difference from the outside.

Looking forward to seeing these 2 trucks come back to life.

[El Muerto]

Excellent thanks Greg. The chunk in the front looks a little different to me than the other 9 5/8" ones i have here..may just be an illusion tho. Youre right on the hood and nose the carryall didnt have one when it came and a friend stopped by with the power wagon stuff as a donation.." that trucks way too cool to not have a nose..." haha.I'll have a look for the set screw tomorrow. It has a centered rear housing now with no chunk. I was looking at the VPW site last night and see they have 4 pinion cases for sale for the 8 3/4 3rds..and at 200 bucks for a 4.88 r/p i think there may be good value there. Add a lock right..etc i have 4 or 5 eaton ho72 axles hiding here waiting for a home..at least 3 spare 14 bolts..i think 4.88 is one of the choices for them..probably not too common in the eaton though.

Im excited to start playing with this one..but my wife and common sense says i have to get the WC62 done (mostly) first.

I need a windshield for the 6x6 and hoods and and and and and...

[Alxj64]

... i have 4 or 5 eaton ho72 axles hiding here waiting for a home..at least 3 spare 14 bolts..i think 4.88 is one of the choices for them..probably not too common in the eaton though.

Im excited to start playing with this one..but my wife and common sense says i have to get the WC62 done (mostly) first.

I need a windshield for the 6x6 and hoods and and and and and...

Sadly, no 4.88s for the Eatons, just 4.10, 4.57, and 5.14. I have an Eaton rear in my WC53, and a hybrid Eaton / Ford D60 built for the front.

Theres no question that truck is the 3/4 ton version. Can you get the SN off of the front frame rail? I have 2 WC53s at the house currently and might be going to scrounge for a 3rd one; they are my weakness.

I saw that coil spring and it made me laugh as my current build is using a 4 link and struts.

[El Muerto]

Luckilly the coil spring madness is bolted in on this one..one inboard and one outboard of the frame...really bad.
Ive been looking at too many numbers lately i guess..ive been trying to make a plan for some of my leftover M37 stuff . I have a front axle but no spare rear, and in looking for a centered one i spent time on ratio options for a bunch of housings..the winner..dana 70..5.86..my M37 used to wind up sometimes and have a hard time getting the front axle to disengage, maybe that will help.
I have the number off the frame..will have to dig out the paperwork tho.
My mind is absolutely blown with the carryall thread..realy really nice work. All of the posters. I hope my stuff will be up to par.

[Bruce in BC]

carryall porn

So why not take a picture of the back end, passenger side and interior and toss them on the Carryall thread? We would love to see what you have.
I just got the part i was waiting for to help get mine back on the road, might bring it over your way for a visit. I have to go to an opera in Victoria in a few weeks and make 6 or more trips to the island each year.

[El Muerto]

Hi Bruce. Ill be moving it to a new spot in the yard once the weather dries up a bit. I've had to focus on other projects the last year and so its been on the back burner.
I would really like to have a chance to see your work in person.. The wife, son and i live in quallicum but i work in north van , my trucks and shop are still in south surrey. I'm hoping to get the situations condensed this fall.
The tailgates are missing as are the doors. There are a pair of rear body sides stuffed inside as well as some other misc bits. Ill see if i can get a couple of pics before i jump in traffic.

[El Muerto]

Here you go Bruce. One of the things i will be glad to be rid of when i leave here is the trees..11 months of the year they drop a steady blanket of pollen..somedays almost an eighth of an inch thick..a little rain or the dew setting on that..add a few hundred needles piled on and it looks like swamp thing..mtakes about 3 months to look like its been here a hundred years.
So here are the pics and some of the stuff that needs to get installed before i can get to it.

Cheers

[El Muerto]

Hmm..wont let me post the pics..security certificate missing..will repost asap

The pics are too high res..ill have to retake tomorrow.
On the upside the upper tailgate is there..woohoo..ill have to scour bruce's posts on the fab of a lower i guess..some really really nice work there.

[El Muerto]

Ok..i had to drasticly resize these..bear with me..

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Someday I will bring a Carryall home. Probably 5 or 6 years from now post children graduating college. Thank you for sharing this project with us.