The WC53 Carryall thread .

[DavidGB]

Second the motion.

I would like to confirm that $800 for 4 of those XML's is probably a great deal. I know I paid more and I was quoted over $1100 each for new ones from Michelin 2-3 years ago when I was looking.
DavidGB

[Alxj64]

Yea, they are an excellent deal for sure. I know of another set of 4 here in Va for $800 currently. They are not mine but rather a set I sold a guy back last summer and he ended up not using them and selling the truck they were slated for.


Was wondering if I could bug someone for a favor?

How thick are your body mount blocks at the rear of the frame by the tailgate and again how thick are they where the frame rises over the rear axle? I don't have my body on the frame to measure for the clearance and I am trying to figure out where and how high I can mount my fuel tank.

[Bruce in BC]

Body mount thickness

Mine were all 1/4 thick rubber. The two front ones that are made from white oak are quite a bit thicker, misplaced mine so I am not sure how thick those puppies are. 1 1/2 to 2 inches me thinks, on the front ones.

[Alxj64]

Thanks for that Bruce... I'm leaving myself an 1" clear space about the frame in the very back. The sump pickup and return lines, etc will all be side mounted fittings so the only things on top will be the sender and filler..

Speaking of filler... was the tube that goes over the frame on the stock setup a flattened out tube? I am actually trying to figure out a way to avoid putting the steel notch plate inside the truck and have the floor be entirely flat. Hard part will then actually connecting the filler tube to the neck unless I have a nifty flexible rubber hose or something.

Anyone have a picture of a stock Carryall fuel tank?

In regards to my mess... Finished boxing the frame. Got the front link brackets back on. Tightly fitting too. Been doing some research on coatings and decided that I'll have the whole frame dipped and then galv coated and then powered. This seals up the inside of the frame with zinc where I can't get the powder. I will never be able to weld to the frame again (well I can but its going to be a nightmare) so I am going to run the truck through its paces in its assembled chassis form to see if I can make something break before having it all coated.

Yes, I used Star washers for that "look". Most will never be seen but if they are... its one more detail that in my mind matters a little bit to absorb the modern touches with some period details.

Pictures for your viewing pleasure.

[Bruce in BC]

Fuel tank pictures

Here some of what you might be looking for. I will look around for the original piece that fits over the frame.

[Alxj64]

Bruce, I mean this in the manliest ways possible... But you are my hero! Thanks so much for that.

If you had to guess... whats the diameter of that fuel hose.. and you can give it to me in Metric if thats easier to guess in... Ha ha.


So this... this is a bit crazy... $273.00 for an NOS gate handle... holy cow. Guess I should hold on to my stock rear gate handle since I am using one that I can "key alike" with the doors instead.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WW2-WC-Dodge...vip=true&rt=nc

I guess this just to shows that the balance of parted out trucks to existing trucks is skewed more towards the existing... but in the need of parts. Unlike the Mustangs and Blazers, etc of the world, where there are parts galore... these trucks exist but not enough parts to go around... which is fine by me.

[Bruce in BC]

filler pipe diameter

The hose measures 2 1/8"
The filler tube is a tad oval and measures either 2 1/4" or 2 1/8"

I thought you were building a custom tank . Are you using the original hardware or making something up?

Look what just followed me home. Get this they were only used for kerosene. No rust in them at all. Only one character dent in all three.
Not bad for 36 years old. Cost = 30 bucks for all three and 10 bucks worth of fuel.
But they are the wrong colour, I think that is fixable…….

[Alxj64]

Good score on those cans Bruce! I was given one OD green plastic modern one recently. Won't be carried around on the truck I don't think but its a cool thing to have and can use it for the other diesel engines at the family farm.

Thanks for those measurements. Looks like I am stuck with the floor notch out afterall. Ohh well. I'll make it as low profile as I can.

I thought you were building a custom tank . Are you using the original hardware or making something up?

I am building a custom tank, but fitting it where the stock tank went. I don't have any sort of tank at all anyways. I was hoping to avoid having the bump in the rear floor for the filler neck. I feel like it was an afterthought / oops on the desinger's part. I am planning on using the original filler neck itself as I like the look it gives the truck and since mine won't be a woods truck I'm not concerned with it getting torn off by a tree etc. Also, since diesel seems to like to vapor weep oil, I'd rather it run down the filler tube than the side of the body like it does my pickup sometimes if I don't put the cap on all the way.

I'm still planning a stainless tank inside of a mild steel skid / support system. I have some little side projects coming up in the next couple weeks (house keeping / shop keeping) that are required before I can start on the tank build. First thing first will be to get the motor back into the chassis so I can stop tripping over it in the garage.

[Bruce in BC]

All in all a good day

I needed to get the body off the frame and on the rotisserie. It took some organizing but I got a crane truck in and the body is now on the rotisserie, sort of. The rear bolts dropped right in place, the front did not and I need to get the sawsall out and the zip disc to make an adjustment. This will take an hour or so.
On the plus side the body hung from the crane pretty much level. The weather held off and I managed to wrap the body in several tarps and plastic before a storm rolled in. I was uncertain about the rotisserie and the adjustments I had made, it looks like it will work. My son and a neighbour helped roll the chassis back in to the shop. On my own this takes an hour and a half with a come-a-long. Had that job done in 10 minutes.

the only downside is - no pictures. Kind of interesting with the body hanging from the crane. I think that was a hundred bucks that was well spent.
Take care out there.

Bruce
in soon to be wet B.C.

we need the rain

[Desoto61]

My son and a neighbour helped roll the chassis back in to the shop. On my own this takes an hour and a half with a come-a-long. Had that job done in 10 minutes.

Ha! I don't know how many times I've thought "I'll be so happy when this thing can move under it's own power" while I've been pushing and winching the frame in and out of my garage! Getting closer though, if I can keep throwing money at it I may actually make it happen this year.

Definitely want pictures though, a carryall body needs a real rotisery, not the little thing I could get away with on the truck cab.

[dirtfab]

New to me WC53

OK, I've been looking for a while for a WC53 to mod into a daily driver with modern mechanical components. I would really like to do a 6BT, NV4500, NP205 or Atlas along with Dana 70 or 80 rear and Dana 60 front. I know I will have to do some firewall mods to get the 6BT in, but would like to see pics of how people addressed that along with cooling- both radiator and inter-cooler. I have a "doner" 1996 CTD that I would like to use most of the components from.

Anyway, the challenge was 1st finding a WC53. Then I wanted to find one that was a little too rough/incomplete to justify a full restoration, yet not too far gone to build into a resto-mod.

I was tipped off on one in Oregon and picked it up this week. It was rougher than I had hoped and was told, but I think it will work well for my goals. Here is how she sits today....it was parked outside for about 10 years....

[dirtfab]

It looks worse than it is as there was a bunch of algae, moss, & other plants growing on it...also the truck has multiple layers of brushed on paint that are pealing. Fortunately, this excessive paint is probably what kept the body from rusting into a small pile in the dirt.

[Bruce in BC]

welcome aboard

Pressure wash that baby and send us a ton of pictures. I think the painter who did your truck used the same source for paint for mine. The 6bt will be a push to get in and fit. It has been done on a few PWs, most look a bit ghetto fab but the odd one comes close to the mark.
Depending on what you paid the truck looks like a good start.
Be careful on the inside - there may be little lose parts that will disappear when hit with a pressure washer. Also i would clean that thing before it is declared a national heritage site or protected micro climate.

nice to have you on the thread
Bruce

[dirtfab]

Thanks Bruce- been watching your build- some nice work there. I know the 6BT is a challenge, but I have one with less than 140K on it. I really want to use it and love the power and torque that it has. The same 96 Dodge truck has a Dana 80 with a detroit locker and a Ford 35 spline balljoint 60 with an ARB locker in it. I would like to see all that swapped over. I like the 4BT, but from my research most are not getting much more than 18-22 MPG. I was hoping you could get more like 30 MPG with a 4BT. I got 20-22 with my 6BT. Thoughts? (My MPG numbers for the 4BT came from the 4BTswaps.com site)

I think I did OK on the price. It is worth more than what I paid in parts alone. Both rear tailgates are there with hardware and the top gate is in excellent condition. The lower gate is good, but has rust at the bottom and will need to be re-skinned. It seems 90% of them need to be re-skinned though, so it was not a deal-breaker for me. Window boxes are there and complete and the bad rust is mostly the front floor area and the battery box. I already started pressure washing. Most of the interior has already been washed and came out well. Even the flange around the rear wheel wells is in pretty good shape and intact.

[Alxj64]

Welcome Scott! That truck is in amazing condition! Great score! Glad to see you on the board too as I know that your work quality will also be on par with whats been happening around here lately and not be a "bubba" resto-mod. Divingrocks may show up here and act a little grumpy but I'll just caveat it with the fact that I already know Mr. Dirtfab and he has a longer standing reputation of top notch fab that exceeds mine by years so no stress there on quality in regards of this build and it being another "lost truck" as its not and will be awesome, no doubts.

6BT will yield you with a stretched hood like the pulling truck "Wild Diesel" that Four Wheeler wrote and article on a couple years ago. OR you will end up with one heck of a dog-house under the dash and a pretty low slung drivetrain. Or maybe split the difference with a combination of both.

There is a motor like mine with an Ally behind it for a better deal than I paid for mine. http://nd.craigslist.org/pts/4536261376.html

420 lb/ft and 170 hp. With 4.56 and the OD I'm expecting around 24-27 from mine at 65 mph on flat land. A guy on 4bt swaps has one in a 4wd Dakota with 32"s and 3.27s getting 33-35 mpg and it pulls his 6k lb 5th wheel camper through the mountains well.

Intercooler, radiator, trans cooler, and accessory mounts are all planned as custom builds on mine, stuffed under the cowl with a thin E-fan setup. The dual fan system from flex-lite for the Duramax trucks looks promising actually.

Again, welcome. Ask lots of questions, post up frequently and as always.. lots and lots of pictures!

Do you use a host site like photo bucket? This forum tends to host pictures a little better in that manner.

I actually got to work on mine yesterday! The rear cross member went in. Its bolted in, just like everything else due to my "fatigue crack" fears. I have the shock mounts to design yet and also the front half of the fuel tank supports. I have the designs for the overall shape of the tank and tank skid laid out but have to start figuring out my fuel system layout since this common rail has a few more oddities to it... i.e. the ECM is cooled by the fuel circulation through the low pressure pump and all of the fuel fittings are O-ring boss metric stuff. Bleh...

Tank will be stainless, which means its going to be a little more tedious to construct. I think I know what my 4th of July holiday will be consisting of.

In regards to this photo, the nuts are on the inside of the cross member, and the cross member is welded to plates that bolt to the face of the frame.


Ohh, and motor is back in, dummy struts are mounted and its sitting on its own weight. I "Think" I am going to change the motor mounts some and add a few risers just to change it from the motor "standing up in a Canoe" to it "sitting down in a Canoe" if ya know what I mean. I am level with crank center line currently but I think if I can get the front mounts up a little higher the engine will feel a little more stable. Its kinda floppy at the moment. I am using the LORD style hydraulic mounts but still it moves a lot. I also tested the strut tower rigidity under front chassis weight. Stuck a digital level on the legs of the towers and lifted up the truck and actually dropped it a few times with the level to see if I could make anything change from my baseline... Total static angle change (rotation inboard due to eccentric suspension load) is a total of 0.2°. I'm very pleased with this and may be able to run the truck without needing a tower brace. The math works out that they really aren't that torsionally loaded around the frame rails and most of the load is in shear.



I cycled the suspension up and down to beyond full compression to beyond full droop (10" total travel up front) and everything has plenty of clearance. I want to do it again today and watch the pinion angle to see what kind of caster change I get just to check it against my design calculations. This is all to avoid death wobble which if you've ever had it... its a sketchy thing and getting it in this thing is NOT what I want given my investment.



Stoked to be making progress on this thing again! Totally stoked.