The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Bruce in BC]

!940s Dodge Carryall $600 bucks

Well this one lasted a few hours and was sold . I did not even get to grab the pictures. Was reported to be rusty but "ALL THERE " I wish I had managed to grab some pictures.

[Alxj64]

^Where was that one at Bruce? I imagine that at $600 it would be gone quick for sure... even if it was a total parts basket. I feel the prices on these trucks are starting to really creep up... and quickly too.

[Bruce in BC]

600 dollar carryall

Was in the Sanatonio craigslist, had four to six pictures but once the ad was pulled I have no way of knowing how to look at the old ad.

[Bruce in BC]

Dodge WC53 Carryall parts on Craigs

Interesting prices

Dodge Wc 53 or halfton carryall parts - $4700 (Atascadero)
condition: new

I have all the hard to find carryall parts for sale. Included both rear doors, top very good with a little rust, bottoms bottom is rusted out but both have all the hardware. All side windows with inner panels are there but all are rusty but savable. Seat frame brackets plus radio table are there. I even have an original radio manual for the 53. These parts come from the most desirable WWII vehicle that many people make off road trucks out of them. 9 out of 10 times these parts are gone from these vehicles. A must for carryall owners.

I wonder what he would ask for the whole truck?

[Alxj64]

Still tinkering with mine. Lee had used a tiller type steering setup but with a PS box. He had torch nothched the frame in a few places to make the box fit and then welded a strap over the top of the notched area and then notched the strap some. I wanted to fix that spot in the frame since my steering is now cross over and I wanted the cross section back in the frame for strength especially since the crossover boxes put more lateral load on the front frame section than the stock type box mount. I cut out the bad spot, cut a replacement plate, fit everything in, then TIG welded it in using the copper-nickel Monel filler rods, which btw bring all the trash in the steel to the surface. MIG welding this steel doesn't really show the porosity and amount of impurities that are in this factory frame rail. Light an arc with the TIG and you can watch the impurities come right to the top.

I fixed the frame and cleaned it up Saturday afternoon... overnight Sat I had a nightmare about the frame top flange cracking after I had the truck built and an entire series of events leaving me stranded with the bad part in the frame... So I got up the next morning and installed a secondary load path that is a category B rated fatigue prone detail vs the end welded dissimilar metals being a D rated or maybe even an E rated. I am going to change out the bolts themselves with something more low profile. A few button head socket screws will look more like rivets anyways and allow the inner fender to sit on the frame rail the way it should.

[Alxj64]

Also have made more progress moving down the line with boxing in the frame.

I've been keeping note of how much rigidity this is adding to the frame. When I started with the bare stock frame, I had the front supported on jack stands where the suspension points will be, and the rear sitting on the rear leafs and on the axle and tires. I could lift one front corner of the frame nearly 3.5" before it would entirely unload that same side of the frame from the leaf springs, all the while watching the whole chassis twist. I am boxed all the way up to the front horn risers but still have a few welds left to make. I have isolated that same frame twist down to 5/8" of deflection before unloading the leaf spring. Additionally, that is having removed one of my front transmission cross members. Also I still am yet to add the rear cross member back over the axle for the shock mounts / fuel tank mounts/ rear frame bracing.

[Bruce in BC]

Looks good

Button heads will work and look fine in there. What happened with you boxing the frame? This is one area that would benefit from being boxed. Not that mine is boxed any place.
Gardening, house stuff and medical stuff has me out of the garage.

Bruce

edit ,I posted this while you posted your update. So I gather you will box to the front crossmember?

[Alxj64]

What happened with you boxing the frame? This is one area that would benefit from being boxed.
Bruce

Not quite there yet. Working my way from the back to the front. Figured I'd get all of the holes and internal hardware located before I "boxed myself out" from getting into it... ha ha... I've got the last few feet up front to get fitted and welded into place. The hard part is getting ALL of the holes for the brackets to line up. I'm making my own drill bushing sets to transfer the holes from the outside web to the inside web via an 1/8" pilot hole.

Ha ha, posted the above while your were editing your post.

Yea, through the front cross member. The frame just "feels" so much stronger. Should help out a lot when it comes to keeping the gate and door pop issues under control. A rigid frame will force the suspension to do all the work, which is in effect the idea of the suspension...

[Bruce in BC]

It is warm enough to work on my pile.

I need to get the body outside. Easiest way seems to drop it on the frame , wheel it out the garage and have the body pulled from the frame.
So I spent about 2 hrs trying to get the body to line up with the old holes in the frame. I could not get it to slide in place. Body was off to the drives side by about 1 inch . turns out there was a bolt stuck in one of the mounts and of course it could not be seen from the top or sides. had to crawl underneath ….3 times. guys in alaska could here me grumbling under my breath while i tried to figure out what was causing the body to not line up.
Also I needed to drop the rear shocks and notch a bit of the custom floor. That is what happens when you add gussets after the body is off.
Yep that is my shop in super duper ADHD mode.

[Bruce in BC]

Transfer case mod on Utube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hLpvQ_UjwA

hopefully I got the link correct. The WC53 that this gentleman is saving was so far gone as to be little more than a template. Gotta give a high 5 for ambition . I like that 6 speed.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Very nice idea and work!

[vtunderground53]

Carryall template

Thanks for the comments guys. I've been on here for a little while, watching and learning from your own awesome builds. There are some impressive trucks on here.
Mine was rather far gone indeed. I had seen the ad for it a couple years ago, having never known a carryall, but just had to have it. I drove about 200 miles to go get it and have been slowly putting pieces together. It has been real fun and I've had quite a learning curve. There is much I would do differently, but I would certainly do it again!

[Bruce in BC]

front windshield frame and OEM variance

Did a test fit on my window frame . Managed to get it jammed in place. After about 15 minutes of wiggling and tweaking I managed to get the window out with the help of my son. Turns out the outside measurement of the hinge mounts on the window frame is wider than the outside measurement of the two holes in the body. Not sure by how much but I am going to enlarge the openings 1/4 of an inch on each side and then check again.
I have not pulled the body from the frame yet but I have been working on the Carryall.
Takes awhile to roll it off the hoist and park it outside for work. Takes longer to get it back in. The driveway slopes away from the shop. Lots of blocks , a safety rope tied to an eye hook in the floor and I park my trash truck in front of the shop as a blocker. If the truck goes for a trip , I want to be in the drivers seat, not standing in the yard watching it make a driverless run down the hill.

[Alxj64]

Looking good Bruce! I am at a current stand still on mine. I am ditching a lot of my J**P parts that I've accumulated over the years and also a massive collection of M series parts that I'm not entirely sure where they came from... Oh well. Someone can use them. Cheap on ebay if anyone wants M35A2 turns, brakes, etc.

I have a question while I am here... As for body roll on these trucks in stock form... how bad are they? I am contemplating my spring rates and stiffness for my rear setup and also contemplating leaving room for a front sway bar in the event that these front ORIs can't quite be tuned to handle the progressive lean that might happen.

Also, in regards to fuel tank venting... for diesel... What kind of vent systems are you guys running? Bruce I see that you aren't using the factory filler... anyone else with a diesel swap using the factory filler? I want to try and keep mine functional, even if I have to machine a new cap.

[Bruce in BC]

More stuff, and ideas.

(1) No clue as to body roll, I will add sway bars and disconnects as needed, an electric PW bar might be the way to go.
(2) Fuel tank venting- I had to raise my filler position because my tank extends above the frame by 3 inches. I plan on using a vented cap. You could tap into the stock filler tube and run the vent line over over to the passenger side. With a sealed cap the vent would not syphon fuel if you flopped the truck to either side. Some of the newer sending units have a provision for a vent and they have a check ball inside. I like my method because it is pretty error proof.