The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Bruce in BC]

there are some interesting mods on this Carryall. Aluminum extended grill, fire wall heat shield, tube frame, coil suspension, air to a air intercooler. High pinion dana 60. There is a lot to like on this build. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRUB...&frags=pl%2Cwn

[Bruce in BC]

Made a turbo silencer ring and then went on another camping trip. I think the silencer ring works tickety booh, at least my hearing thinks so. There is still a whistle that can be heard through the head phones but my ears do not ring after a trip. Seems to work just fine, I found out after I machined the ring that the new rings are made from aluminum and the old ones where stamped sheet. Seems what I made is darn close to what I tripped over on the internet ......AFTER..........I built this one.
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[Bruce in BC]

oops here is the rest of the story

[Bruce in BC]

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This meadow is over 6000 ft up the mountain. Not a bad spot to park a WC53 Carryall.

[Bruce in BC]

Back from a 1200 mile drive in the Carryall. Truck never went over 195 the whole trip. Second fan was never used. I changed the temp guage to an old style analog meter. I tested it before installation and it read 207 degrees when placed in boiling water. I stuck to driving by the tach - pretty much focusing on 2000 rpm on the hills. Lots of stuff happened on the trip, blew a connection during an emergency stop (locked up all the brakes at 50 miles an hour) and still ran over a dog that ran under the truck. This happened in the middle of no where, the owner came buy and said " its not your fault" No clue about the outcome. Things sure change in 50 years - the ice field highway was loaded with tourists and so was the campsites. Got off road a few times and that made for the best camping.

Take care out there
Bruce

[jim lee]

Hello everyone!

Just checking in. Been in bitland for a long time and thought I'd see what was going on in truck-world. Looks like Bruce has been having fun.

Truck is -still- running. And leaking in the rain. I need to get this roof project going.

-jim lee

[jim lee]

meter.jpgplantBot.jpg
Sorry for the off topic post. My FTP server is broken and I need to host these two images for a product issue post.

For those of you that wonder, I designed/built the little 'Plant Bot" on the right. Watches moisture, waters plants, logs data etc. The people that supplied the moisture sensor need a bit of a kick to get their stuff a little better calibrated.

-jim lee

[Goose]

Can someone measure the distance between the rear fender tubs for me from inside the vehicle? Mine are no longer attached and I need to get them back in the right place.

Thanks
Chris WC53

[Bruce in BC]

Mine measure out at 48.5" - but my floor is now all steel, so I may be off by a little bit. For sure a sheet of plywood drops in place. Jim Lees should be dead on.

take care
Bruce

Pictures we really would like to see some progress pictures of what you are doing.

[Goose]

So here is the project to date. I found another frame that was in better shape than mine so it's been blasted and primed. Beauty here is the original truck is still all assembled while I build this chassis. The guy that sold me the cab thought is was a carry all, but it turned out to be a cut down ambulance based on the door tag. The A and B pillars on my body are beyond Swiss cheese, so I will cut it off at the B pillar and mate it to this cab. I'm going the resto mod route so it doesn't have to be perfect. The floor was in better shape than the original carryall, but still needed replacing. I had a piece of 12 gauge bent to fit and will weld the trans tunnel and in place and fill in the openings to make it a solid floor. I will still have the original floor boards bolt in on top of the floor. I'm hoping to reduce some noise and fumes. The back will be a full sheet metal floor with a wood layer above it. Stronger, safer, but still have the original look.

The suspension is all custom made links and buckets using coil springs from a 2015 RAM 2500 both front and back. I will have to cut the coils down a little to get the ride height right. I will probably have custom coils made at some point or run some air bags instead.

The motor is a 2005 Dodge truck Hemi, with a NV4500 behind it, and an NP241 from a early 90s Dodge truck. It all bolts together with no adapters and the tcase drop is on the passenger side where it belongs. I had to cut the front cross member out to clear the steering box and the drag link, but am really happy with the new one. It still holds the stock radiator support and grill assembly in the same place. The milk jugs are to protect my thighs when I walk by and more importantly my son. An 18 month old's face is right at the height of the frame and those corners could do some damage.

Just mounted some 35's on the H1 rims so I can roll it around. The front axle is a Dana 60 and has 2 inch wheel spacers to get it to the stock 72 inch width. The rear is a 14 bolt that I cut and widened 5 inches to get it to 72". I know those are GM axles, but they came out of a CUCV, so at least they are military. I'm going to french the rear coil buckets into the frame next and remake my upper link frame brackets. I wasn't happy with the first set, they didn't fit right. Sometimes it is possible to over engineer something and simpler is better. After all that it will be a true roller.

It's been a fun project. I just realized I've had the truck for 2 and a half years. Progress slows down when you get married and have kids, but it's worth it and at least it hasn't stopped.

Chris

[jim lee]

Here's something I stumbled across. See the opening sequence of this video for 3 WC53s.

-jim lee

[Gary Weaklend]

Hard to believe there hasn't been any activity on the PWA Carryall thread since Bruce's August 2019 post . I guess a lot of us went to Facebook. I haven't worked on the Carryall this winter (yet) because of an accident last summer. I had back surgery the first of December to fix a pinched nerve and will have shoulder replacement soon but after that I hope to get back to my garage projects. As far as Carryall projects in the past 18 months I replaced the transmission with an NP420, installed Greg Coffin's power brake booster under the driver's seat, changed from 4.89 to 4.30 gears, repainted the frame and made changes to the interior. Because of my back I will be installing the Bestop Powerboards soon. If anyone has any ideas please post on the PWA site. I'll post more pictures later but here is one from the 2019 VPW Rally when VPW worked on the NP420 transmission. ReconAtVPW2019.png

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Gary, you call me if you need anything. I am 2 hours away sir.
Glad to hear you are well. And hopefully you will be a little better soon.
To get the chance to work on this some and get to drive it really has been a highlight in my life.
Call anytime my friend.

[Bruce in BC]

I stopped posting because I felt like I was in a vacuum. There were no replies and the number of reads had dropped right off. If others post here I will as well. I have made a bunch of big trips and last summer I added compound turbos. Also I have added a canister style air filter to the passenger side fender. Lots of little tweaks and the usual number of parts failure. I have gone as far as having my garage door opening raised 3 inches and the Carryall now gets to park out of the weather. I do have to remember to empty the rear airbags to get the truck into the garage. I look forward to seeing some updates. I see Alex has started posting again as well. I do not use Facebook. I suspect the only thing that would have me join is the market place section.
You all take care
Bruce

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

I stopped posting because I felt like I was in a vacuum. There were no replies and the number of reads had dropped right off. If others post here I will as well. I have made a bunch of big trips and last summer I added compound turbos. Also I have added a canister style air filter to the passenger side fender. Lots of little tweaks and the usual number of parts failure. I have gone as far as having my garage door opening raised 3 inches and the Carryall now gets to park out of the weather. I do have to remember to empty the rear airbags to get the truck into the garage. I look forward to seeing some updates. I see Alex has started posting again as well. I do not use Facebook. I suspect the only thing that would have me join is the market place section.
You all take care
Bruce

Bruce, my apologies for being distant. Life has thrown me for a loop for the last year and a half and have been regrouping.
thank you for qll you do and have done for the forum.
I hope to see your work and adventures soon!

[Alxj64]

Bruce, yes.
I am back. Book of Faces has become a political mess. It is now only good for the marketplace, which is actually dwindling down with sales numbers and the fees they keep bumping up are making it not worth it anymore either. I'm very close to just bailing on all of that mess and finalizing my "Monk" lifestyle. My new garage space is my "Monestary of Machinery" anyways, so I am going to be more frequent here, where the common interest is common. I hope that the political tirades aren't a thing and we focus on trucks, tools, dogs, and beers, or whatever along those lines.
I loved your adventures as they always motivated me to get my truck done so that I can do the same. It is still my hopes and dreams to! I am getting settled into my new shop and have yet to run air and power for my big machines, but I finally have a two post lift! So that will be a game changer for my quality of work I hope!
Cheers old friend and its good to be back!