The WC53 Carryall thread .

[TonyKeffaber]

Welcome WC53 in Tennessee

Its a great site, I haven't posted in a while, last picture I have is mine getting loaded. I am relocating to Nashville, TN, so my WC53 wannabe is sitting in storage until I get a house built. The ridiculous rear tires were so I could clear the storage door, and I still needed a couple hundred lbs of ballast to squeeze it in.

[Bruce in BC]

I can so relate to those rear tires

I need to get a set of low profile 16 inch tires so that my carryall will fit in the shop and on the hoist. A inch and a half would make life easier.
Alec where is that glass filter going?
Still pouring rain out here.

Bruce

The Power Wagon page has a Carryall for sale. This is the one from Oregon - has a new owner and now in Colorado.

[Desoto61]

I need to get a set of low profile 16 inch tires so that my carryall will fit in the shop and on the hoist. A inch and a half would make life easier.
Alec where is that glass filter going?

I've eyed my truck for the same thing, it's fine with the temp tires on it but... We'll see, might need to air down to get out of the garage in the end.

The glass cup doesn't get installed in the tank. It's designed to mate with the brass fitting, you push the little metal rod into the fitting which allows flow into the cup so you can check to see if there's water in the bottom of the tank or not.

Very slick work by the way Alex! You make me want a lathe if I had a place to put it!

[WC53inTN]

4bt

Of the 4bt guys out there, is anyone running an intercooler? If so, how are you modifying it to fit in the narrow nose of the WC?

Also, my 4bt came with a good 5 speed Eaton transmission, but it's not an overdrive trans. Any thoughts on whether to expend any efforts and money on an overdrive unit for it? Or should I just go with a NV4500 or something equivalent?

Thanks
Bryce

[Bruce in BC]

ZF 6spd from a gasser is rumoured to fit the Ford adapter. Kind of depends on what you plan on using the rig for but I think an overdrive is pretty much a no brainer.
As to the intercooler it can be done and without a lot of hassle. There is room under that rad shroud to fit both IF you do not use the original rad. Or you adjust the cross member to allow room for the inlet and outlet under the rad.

When you set up your frame and wheel spacing you may want to stretch the wheel base one to one and three quarters inches . I would recommend borrowing the size of tire you plan on using and tuck it under the fender and see how it looks to your eye.

I think your truck may have been one of several that were on ebay about 6 years back. The rust pattern sure looks familiar. Any idea as to the history of your truck?
Got a side or rear view photo to share?

[WC53inTN]

Thanks, just looking for a driver and to pull a medium size camper, nothing heavy duty. The Eaton uses a SAE bellhousing, and since the dodge adaptor plate is usually cheaper I was looking the NV4500 direction. But I did find a good ZF at my local scrap yard.

I actually did shift the wheel base about 1.5" after I read an earlier post from you, and it looks great! Again, that's what is so cool about this thread, lots of helpful info.

I was told the truck came from South Dakota, but I picked it up from Massachusetts....yea that's a long way from Tennessee. The guy had bought two and is restoring the other one to original condition, but decided to sell this one. Is there anyway to look up info with the VIN number?

[WC53inTN]

I'll post a few more photos this weekend of the carryall.

Bryce

[Bruce in BC]

A little update

Mixed up some old epoxy I had sitting around. At $275 a gallon I think using the stuff makes a lot of sense, even if it is 7 years old and white. Lots to do yet. I did this right after blasting a week ago.

I also repaired the dash where some sort of handle attaches. There was a big diagonal hole in the dash. I have no clue what was there from the factory, so I made a guess, based on a little bit of flat edge that I could see.

The pink stuff under the glove box door is real old bondo that is filling a bullet hole. There was about 4 coats of colour on top of the bondo. Must have been done way back in the early sixties. All the rest of the body work was done in lead. Poorly done at that. looked like motor pool work.

The black lines are seam sealer. I am using it everywhere. There are a lot of gaps left from when these bodies were assembled at the factory.

[Alxj64]

Looking good Bruce!

Bryce, I don't have any info on the intercooler yet as I haven't made it that far with mine but will be fighting that battle for sure.

In regards to the life and travels of these trucks... mine was dumped from service in San Diego in '49. Lived in an Orange Grove in Cali until 2000, was restored partially restored in San Diego and then moved with the owner to Utah in 2002. Was sold in '03 to a guy in AZ who kept it only a few months and was then sold to a gentlemen in Louisiana in 2005 (first shows up in this forum in '07 I believe), where he did a 4bt/4L80E swap on the truck. It was hit before completion in 2010, and I bought it all smashed up and without a drivetrain in May of 2012. It is now living on the East Coast equivalent city (Naval Station wise) as the city it first lived in. It was a Navy truck but I just can't bring myself to paint it the Navy colors. We at least have Fort Story and ****eck Army bases here too.

Looking forward to more pictures of the project. Mine is getting a slight wheelbase stretch too. Its going to be very close to my fuel tank under suspension compression though because I was greedy and the tank turns out to be 30.5 gallons.

[WC53inTN]

Pics

Bruce, here is a shot of drivers side and rear for comparison. I saw pics of a similar truck earlier on the thread, but I don't think it's mine.

Thanks Alex, let me know how you handle the intercooler once you get there, I'm condidering a smaller intercooler from turbo car or something like that. Also, did you fab your own tie rods, and if so, what material? I'm using a Ford setup, and the linkage is quite ugly with all the adjustment hardware, I'd like to clean it up like yours.

Tony, Clarksville isn't far from Nashville, so once your settled, lets compare projects and swap some ideas.

[WC53inTN]

Another pic

Sorry that one was rotated, couldn't get it fixed. To the hardcore Dodge guys, don't hate me that's a 1951 Chevy in the edge of the picture!

[Bruce in BC]

It sure looks like it was in a grass fire.

Your interior got warmed up but the outside managed to not get burnt.
I cut out part of my interior panel to fix corner damage similar to yours.
A stud gun and patience and you will be surprised how much you can move that metal.

[WC53inTN]

I was told it was in a grass fire in south dakota. All wiring, bushings, etc cooked off it. But I wanted to build a driver anyway, so that didn't really bother me. Nothing got so hot it warped as far as I can tell. Body is a bit banged up but solid and complete like most western trucks. My 51 Chevy came from Montana and had no rust, just needed some lovin. The lower gate is the only thing that really bothers me, it's pretty bad, but workable.

[Alxj64]

Bryce... My tie rod setup is 1.5" x .250 DOM and the rod ends are the offset rod ends from Dan at Ruffstuffspecialties.com and they use 7/8"-18tpi GM tube adapters. Its super beefy. I kinda let my off road fab tendencies take control with the steering linkage and suspension components. Lower arms are 2" x.250 DOM with forged Metal Cloak flex joints.

[Alxj64]

Well the tank welding did in fact go better than expected.



Temp sensor adapter for the fuel system details worked out. Connects to bottom of ECM fuel cooler outlet.