The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Bruce in BC]

Well the top seam of the radiator had split along the front side top. i took a great amount of time to strip all the paint out and even made a few tools for the purpose. Ground the sides down on a hacksaw blade to make it thinner and used the teeth to scrape out any paint I could see . the top soldered up without any issues. The radiator fill neck was a different matter. i attempted to fix a tiny leak and made it worse. Went through at least 5 rotations of cleaning, soldering and pressure testing before I got it squared away.
Also got the ratio adapter in and now the speed is accurate. What a difference that makes, I did not release how much math I was doing while driving and checking the speedometer with the old inaccurate adapter.

[Bruce in BC]

How is this for a laugh? Not all packing looks great after a few days. Actually this is a shot taken in the morning before we tucked stuff in its container. IMG_0357.jpg

[Bruce in BC]

door art IMG_0362.jpg

[Bruce in BC]

There is a nice FREE campsite that I like to hit outside of Lillooet. I would be happy to drive up a logging road and camp but the bugs are nuts. this campsite has no bugs. had a fellow from Germany drop by to talk about the truck. He was on a 7 month trip from Alaska to Chile riding motorcycles. This is how I got the truck level. Not sure I will do it again because the axle was twisted about 6 inches and my tire carrier was out of alignment by about a 1/16 of an inch. once off the logs everything lined up but I worry about what the twisting might do to the body.
The swing out carrier works real well, I spent about three 12 hour days building it. I will toss off some pictures once the camera turns up. IMG_0359.jpg

[Bruce in BC]

Not many pictures of this trip. I had my camera ready to pack but once I got rolling the camera was no where to be found. I did take some pictures with my phone but find resizing them so I can post to be a real pain in the ***. I had a little write up and went to post the picture and hit the usual wall. then there was the issue of getting the edit function to show up on iphoot and after that I lost all of the text. Now I am grumpy.
So here is a picture of a door that followed me home. Great rust free sheet metal crushed by a bull dozer. I brought it home for the internal parts. Pretty sure the truck was stationed at the RCAF airfield in Kamloops B.C. I found some door art that I outlined in chalk. IMG_0361.jpg

[jim lee]

I'm waiting for the pix of Bruce's six day trip.

-jim lee

[Goose]

Yeah, welcome aboard.. That machine looks kinda' like mine. It has that requisite 1950s green paint job.

I do worry about putting Hemi in a frame that was designed for less than 100 HP.

-jim lee

Yes Jim, it's amazing how many power wagons ended up that "Kelly Moore Green" color. My Dad and uncle have a butchered Carryall that was that same color when they bought it. I'll post some pictures of it. I've really been enjoying your blog.

Chris

[Greg Coffin]

This project is going to be fun to watch! Lathe work! Riveting! Fabrication! Welding! Wahoo!
Greg
Carryall Owner Wannabe

[Goose]

Thanks for the welcome guys. This should be a really fun project.
Yes, I do plan on boxing the frame from the engine cross member back. I plan on using 3/16 plate, since that is the thickness of the outer frame. Question for you all that have boxed these frames; what did you do about things that bolt to the frame with nuts and bolts? For example the battery tray or the front fender mounts. Did you drill access holes in the added plate? Bolt all the way thru? Weld in nut plates? For the most part I plan on welding in captured nuts from McMaster Carr or welding in a round nutsert made on my lathe. I want to use all fine thread since that is what these trucks were originally, and it will allow me to use DDCP bolts when I have them. Some of the holes will pass all the way thru and be sleeved for strength.

The frame that came with this truck is not in the best shape for a resto mod. I was able to locate another frame in much better shape not far from me. I've already had it sandblasted and sprayed with metal etch primer. The bottom of the engine cross member was rotted out so I ordered a new one from VPW. The cross member at the front of the rear leafs also has some rot in it. That one is not available so I will be fabbing the repairs. Once these cross members are done and the nutserts are in the boxing can begin. I plan to tack all the boxing plates in until the framework is done, in case I have to add another nutsert somewhere in the rail.

Here's the blasted and primed frame. I'm using two engine stands as a rotisserie. I had to cut them to the same height and take the lean out of them, but they work really well and make turning the frame effortless. You can see that bottom of the rear cross member on the floor. Those rivets are not easy to get out. I have some plans on how to install new rivets, may have some questions for you Alex.

Chris

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Hi Guys, Just wanted to introduce myself. I've been following this board and your builds for over a year now and am excited to have a build of my own. Here she is, my WC 53. Some of you may recognize her, there was a picture of her somewhere back there in all the pages of this thread. Pretty rusty, lots of parts will be replaced, but here is the plan:
5.7 Hemi
NV4500
Tcase to be determined. Either divorced unit or NP241
60 Front, 4.56 gears
14 bolt rear, 4.56 gears with Detroit locker and disk brakes
2015 RAM 2500 coil springs front an back
As stock appearance as possible/practical/affordable.
I've already started on it, looking forward to sharing the project with you all.

Chris in California

Congratulations and please keep us up to date on the build, I love the idea and plan you have for your build.

[Alxj64]

Welcome to the board! Sounds like a nice build! I'm interested to see how you work out the rear coil setup, sounds comfy! Any plans to box the frame as Jim alluded to above?

[Gary Weaklend]

Welcome aboard Chris and good luck on your Carryall. When it's done you will be very proud of it and be able to share many stories every time you pull into a parking lot.

[jim lee]

Yeah, welcome aboard.. That machine looks kinda' like mine. It has that requisite 1950s green paint job.

I do worry about putting Hemi in a frame that was designed for less than 100 HP.

-jim lee

[Bruce in BC]

welcome aboard, keep us posted. we love pictures.

[Goose]

Hi Guys, Just wanted to introduce myself. I've been following this board and your builds for over a year now and am excited to have a build of my own. Here she is, my WC 53. Some of you may recognize her, there was a picture of her somewhere back there in all the pages of this thread. Pretty rusty, lots of parts will be replaced, but here is the plan:
5.7 Hemi
NV4500
Tcase to be determined. Either divorced unit or NP241
60 Front, 4.56 gears
14 bolt rear, 4.56 gears with Detroit locker and disk brakes
2015 RAM 2500 coil springs front an back
As stock appearance as possible/practical/affordable.
I've already started on it, looking forward to sharing the project with you all.

Chris in California