The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Alxj64]

Alex,

I thought one of the big advantages of the 4BT over the 6BT was not needing to redo the firewall. Could you have mounted the 4BT farther forward? I'm still on the fence on what I want to run in mine- 4BT, 6BT with major mods, or a late model Hemi. I'm kinda leaning towards the Hemi, but I wanted to see what type of MPG you get. I'm still in the parts collecting phase until my shop is done. I hope to have a functioning shop by the 1st of the year.

A traditional 4bt, yes, can be fitted without much modification to the firewall if any at all. My engine is the Common Rail ISB170 with a rear mounted gear train. It was designed originally for equipment and gen-set use, small buses, etc. Plus the firewall that was in my truck was already cut up, beat up, and just needed some love / needed a better shape to it. The Allison is just as much of an issue as the engine is. The transmission is massive in diameter.

I haven't been around lately as I had a big work project. I spent a week in Yellowstone NP with a double Y lanyard hanging off of the Gardner River Bridge, something actually older than our Carryalls! Built in 1938 and rehab'd in 1978.






And while I was gone, I spent some of my parts money on tools. I'll never get the truck done if I keep buying tools, but I figure good tools will help create a better product in the end. I've often heard that "A true craftsman never blames his tools for the work he produces", however there is always "The right tool for the job".

WC4Door has one of these Magnetic Brakes. I have barely had time to unpack it and have only made one quick bend with it before having to close up the garage and catch up with regular life again. Expect some good updates after this coming weekend. I'm running out of space in my tiny little garage.

[Bruce in BC]

Oooooh there is a story or two right there

(1) What on earth were you doing to that poor bridge. Just looking at the photos wants to make be puke. I came as close as you can to doing a swan dive over a 2100 foot drop. This was 40 years back. I can still picture it today.
Even when you do everything right something can go wrong. In my case the ground I was standing on decided it wanted to move elsewhere. I had my hands on some blueberry bushes that did not want to move. The plants and I became close personal friends.

(2) So fill us in on the bender when you get to test it out.

(3) The thing that takes the most time with wiring is not how to wire. It is not the time on the connections either. It is where to put stuff and where is the best place to run the wire? I can see several routes, picking the best one is no easy task. I was going to run my fuse box in the back of the glove box, but after some thought I elected to stick it on the drivers side kick panel. At present I have it dummied in place with magnets and double packed tape. Needs a bit of refinement yet.

take care out there

Bruce

[Bob Thompson]

I actually enjoy doing the wiring, I know some people consider that a perversion but I do enjoy the end result.
Start with a list of each circuit, Find the furthest point forward and rearward of the fuse panel. After that it's a matter of figuring out how long the individual wires should be. I have a couple twenty foot wires that I have painted reference marks every half foot. One red one white, I send one rearward and the other forward. I marked them with a paint stick so the numbers are durable. I also keep a seamstress' tape measure handy . After all the leads are cut to approximate length it's time for loom. Whether you choose split or or woven is a personal preference issue.
When making your list don't forget things like Trailer Brake controller or 12VDC to the trailer for the 7 pin connector. A lot of people forget the license plate light as well. If you are working on English cars or Brass cars add an earth for each circuit.
I keep all the wire lengths in an essay book specific to the vehicle, and it goes with the unit if I sell it on.
During the loom process I apply a bit of sealant to the ends of the loom and then apply shrink tubing . It keeps water and other contaminants out of the harness.

[Alxj64]

Bruce, it was just a routine inspection on the Bridge. Nothing special. I was hooked to something the whole time.

The bender it cool. Its a 6 ton electro-magnet on a foot switch. You can use any shape die you want to bend the material around. Rated for 16 gauge steel at 4' wide. You can even bend a broad radius around tubing and stuff like that by mag-clamping it to the table. It came with a set of pre-machined dies that have a cam type adjustment system similar to a normal Tennsmith finger brake. I haven't messed with it a ton yet but it will be helpful in building the transmission tunnel and fire wall.

In the mean time, decided to start working on my anti-wrap bar for the rear suspension. I'm planning on having custom rear springs made, and they will be soft. Will need a nice anti-wrap setup to keep the suspension planted the way it should be. I ran the numbers for some good anti-squat and ended up with a 60" long lever arm.

Its all built out of 1/8" angle and 1/8" plate, using dimple dies and #10 button head screws. I picked up an extra leaf spring shackle to use for the frame hanger end to allow for swing cycle loading and the axle end will have two poly bushings hidden down inside the bar. If I had thought about it I would have built the front arms this way but after having built this one anti-wrap bar, I'm content with my 2" x .250" DOM tubing for my front suspension links as if one of those took a hit and failed it would be catastrophic; if the anti-wrap bar folds up, its not the end of the world.

Pictures.

[Alxj64]

more pic-tars...

[Waspworks]

YOU ARE OUT THERE MAN - I love evil way your brain works.. :-)

Greg.

[Alxj64]

YOU ARE OUT THERE MAN - I love evil way your brain works.. :-)

Greg.

Ha ha! Thanks... Evil is one word I have been called recently, but mostly by the purists.

Found this on CL... "Best as Street Rod.." umm, NO!

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/4696935288.html

And that one in Cali is back for sale.

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/4647306632.html

[jbell]

Carryall roof insert channel

Hello all, must say I love the thread and everyone's input. After seven years in storage, I've started dismantling my WC-53 for restoration. The channel around the roof insert is pretty much shot. I'd like to keep the truck as original as possible. I really don't want to fill the top. I would think a good metal fabricator could reproduce the channel but does anyone have any other ideas?........Thanks, John Bell

[Alxj64]

I have the original channel in my truck still. I'll look and see how difficult it would be to replicate. If its doable I may be able to help you out. When I make some other interior items in the future I'll be planning on making and selling extras.

[Bruce in BC]

Welcome aboard John B

How about some pictures?
The good.
The bad.
Weird custom stuff that shows up.
and how messy it is after seven years taking a nap.
Also we want you to do an article or two for the PWA, that would be greatly appreciated.

I ripped off the billet knob and after an hour of tweaking I have the old light knob attached to the new electrics. Funny how a paint colour can change when you photograph something.

The stainless bezels on my gauges keep turning flat black …..
Gone for a week, nothing from me for the next while.

edit: anyone got a trick for turning white gauge lights blue?

[Desoto61]

edit: anyone got a trick for turning white gauge lights blue?

Two options, one would be to put a blue filter on the bulb, either with some sort of cover (I've seen them for sale online if they have the right size), or by adding a blue filter behind the gauge face. Problems with that is that you are filtering all but the blue so the guage may be too dim, and eithe the room for the cover or disassembly of the guage to install the filter.

My preference would be to see if you can't swap it for a blue LED. You should get more light since it only outputs blue, and they should never need replaced (not that they frequently do). Only issue is that depending on the size they may not have a plug-n-play LED conversion, which would require some electronics-type work to build your own. Not hard but would be a little learning curve.

[jbell]

Does this satisfy your hunger?

Here's my Carryall. Just like several other members here, I've retired after 33yrs on the fire department and have started a retirement project. I'm about 3wks into the tear down. I know you've seen this color before. Air Force Strata Blue I assume, OD underneath.
I'm pretty happy about its condition overall. The rear wood floor is intact and complete with some wheel well arch rot. The roof insert was covered with a sheet of galvanized steel leaded in. I cut that out yesterday, breathing protection of course. Window regulators have broken springs. Is there somebody that rebuilds these? I'm tearing it down in my driveway then moving the parts to my storage area. Once I get it apart I'll start stripping and restoring in my home garage.
How do you eat an elephant?.....One bite at a time!
Sincerely, John Bell

[Alxj64]

That WC is in amazing shape! Welcome to the thread and I am looking forward to seeing your truck go together. A lot of our trucks aren't original restorations but I still think they are beautiful in their original form; which is why I am trying to keep the outside and interior appearance of my truck as "period" as I can justify possible while integrating modern features as well. I haven't had a chance to look at that channel yet.

[Alxj64]

Sheet metal is still frustrating

Even with the mag bender, this transmission cover and firewall is still frustrating. If one more person suggests cutting up wheel barrow pans for the firewall and transmission cover I am going to lose my generally mild demeanor and possibly start throwing things. Its difficult to build this transmission cover without using hard lines. I want to transition from the original tail housing hump under the seat into a flat-ish panel over the Allison for my shifter to attach and that pan will be removable. Honestly for the sake of removal I am probably going to heavily rivet the replacement pans into the floor that way if they have to come out later its not the end of the world.

Anyways, finally used the new bender for a project. Making a flanged rib frame for the transmission cover to attach to. This will help me carry some rigidity during the fabrication stages. Also am picking up some more Clecos, I remember using these things in Highschool when working at the airport as just a gopher / fuel farm lackey and thought they were cool then... Super cool now! Its like having 10 friends over to hold things and you don't even have to buy them beer! Then again I don't have 10 friends that would consider coming to work on this thing; most people are into the Foosball and such this time of year.

[Bruce in BC]

dash board brace question

There is an angle iron brace that runs between the fire wall and dash board. the mechanism for the cowl vent attaches to part of it. There is a hole about 1 inch
in diameter in this brace. The hole is near the dash. Does this hole have a purpose? I would like to run the wires from my ignition through this hole and tuck them out of the way on the inside of this brace.
But I do not want to find out later that this hole is for some thing else.

thanks

Bruce

As usual "looking good Alex"
A round or flat panelled trans cover is easier to cover with material than the convoluted mixed up cover that I created……… duh