The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Bruce in BC]

getting more use out of my carryall

Dropped a tree yesterday, the top broke off in the wind. The tree is in my yard and my yard has a mini forest on one side . Of course the tree got hung up. Of course I have to get the tree down, of course I have a concert to attend, of course it starts in less than 40 minutes. So I fired up the Carryall, positioned it, ran out the winch cable, placed a block, made sure there were no neighbours standing in a stupid area, and winched the butt end of the tree to the side, until the tree rolled off the branches it was hung up on. Today I will clean up the mess and rewind the winch cable, I had to wash up and run off to the concert, so everything was left laying on the ground once the tree was down. I did shut off the power to the truck. I would not want a bear or a bird to operate the winch when I am not there to supervise.
As an aside I have been falling on and off for decades, I was attempting to swivel the tree when it fell, and was fighting a lean. The tree did not swivel and the top missed the opening I was shooting for buy about 4 feet. Even when yo have an idea what you are doing, falling can be dangerous and I do not fall trees every day. Once the tree was down I found there where more branches on the top than I thought and when standing the branches would have been in contact with the neighbouring trees.
Am working on the truck on and off, did an oil change and the new Donaldson filter just fits over the engine mount, almost like I designed it that way- the Donaldson filter is longer and does a better job than the Fram. The oil is much cleaner after the first 100 miles than was the case with the Fram.
Also I am machining up a pivot for a rear tire mount, I wish my Colchester lathe had a 4 jaw chuck - three jaws are never close enough to do high tolerance work.
Take care - yes the truck is still a pleasure to drive :-)

Bruce

[Bruce in BC]

The price keeps climbing on these trucks.

Fourteen grand for this puppy and it is missing quite a few pieces. In some shots the body looks decent and in others not so much. The rear picture is quite telling, the body is racked over and the passenger side top corner is blown open. To fix this, and do a decent job, would take a lot of hours of work. Looks like all the side windows are in place.
Of interest is the cab in the back ground that was once a carryall but was converted to a pickup in the past. Not pretty.

I am looking for a better seam sealer for the seam down the side of the Carryall, the stuff I used has failed. Going to try something else. Just need a few hot days and some time.

link to ad; http://www.collectorcarads.com/Dodge-Carryall/80932

[jim lee]

Looks like I have the wrong tank in this machine anyway. Seems like an M37 tank. I'm thinking about just springing for a repo one & sender from Midwest and be done with it.

As for the battery tray & the seat frames. I'd like to just have a look at an original tray. I have a tray, but its plywood along with the box lid but there's nothing holding them together. I'd like to see how the original went together. Maybe I could build one. As for the seat frames who made repo ones? Are there any drawings around? If I could get drawings of the frames I know a fabricator here that I'm betting could really do a great job making frames.

I was looking at the hat channels and had a thought. I could pin interior cloth with magnets. Those tiny rare earth type ones should be able to do it.

Well, now I'm working on brakes. We'll see how well that goes.

-jim lee

[Bruce in BC]

Parts, pieces and firing a truck up for the first time.

Jim I have a tank but it would need to be hot tanked, getting it down there would mean a days cruise. Which might be worth the effort just to get pictures of my carryall and yours side to side.
If your tank is not rusted through then the best thing to do would be to get it hot tanked and then lined inside with something like the renew company does. I have used aircraft sloshing compound in my tanks over the years but the sloshing compound does not work with ethanol fuel.
Sending unit - most replacement units are adjustable for depth - just get the correct ohms setting- I think it is 33-240 but we need to check that out. Wrong unit and the gauge will not read correctly.
Seats - check out ebay or walk back in this thread and there are sources for reproductions - old bus seats are close enough to get by with if you are not shooting for 100% restoration.
Battery tray - what are you missing? Supports, tray or the cover? This stuff shows up from time to time- usually 80 -100 bucks for tray, 40 -50 bucks for each support and the last cover I saw was close to 200 dollars. I think I have a tray, got to upgrade my subscription to posts picks of it here. Money is tight, as usual.
So i was brilliant and ran a bundle of wires through the hat channels that are in the ceiling of the carryall. Every hat channel has something in it including one large airline........... This is brilliant until it is not. It is not brilliant for the simple reason is the hat channels are there to run screws through to support the interior cloth or panels. So all that brilliant work needs to be undone. Not going to be a simple task, Unless I cut and splice the wires. Also have a few updates to perform over the next month or two.

They are never finished.

Bruce

How to stop a conversation,

" Are you going to paint that thin?"
"no".............stops them every time.

even more fun

" No , it is worth more if I do not paint it, estimator figures it would take the value down by about 18 to 20 grand"

That one is real fun.

[jim lee]

Yeah, sorry about the enormous picture. Sometime forums will reduce them, and now I know. Here is the result of tinkering on and off on the machine for a couple weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKeySF_pfy4

My Son took the video. I was so jazzed that I was able to get the old thing running. I had to put a plastic boat gas tank in the back to feed fuel. The original is all clogged with rust. Sounds like it runs great! I was really surprised.

Plans? Long term I'd like to get it to the point of a drivable toy. Pretty much original, probably olive drab. But for the short term? Get it on the road and I donno', do it up like a hippy wagon? :) I think that would be funnier'n heck.

But anyway, we'll see.

Missing parts..

Working gas tank & sender. (What's the round thing on the inspection plate?)
Seats, I got a bunch of seats but they are all front seats. None of the rear seats.
Carb & manifold. It has a carter WA-1 carb on it. Old thing.
Battery tray. It would be nice to see how they go together.
Radiator's leaking.
The rear door bottom needs some help. But really it seems amazingly complete.

Oh, and I'm on Anacortes, Fidalgo Island.

-jim lee

[Bruce in BC]

How about a few more photos Jim?

Only a bit smaller on the next ones. Your last attachment is big enough that it the back half shows up on my wife's computer, which is on the other side of the house.
Your truck looks to be in very good condition. Smart move would be to get it running and fix small stuff while it is still intact. What is the truck missing and what are your long term plans?
Your post has been hit 1100 times in one day, that is a pretty good record, welcome aboard and please keep us posted as to what you are up to.
Funny how many of the Carryalls had that dark green colour added to them at one point or another. The truck looks to be in very straight condition. I love the bondo on the radio antenna mount - someone filled mine with welding rod - he did not use a fill plate , just welded the hole up with a few miles of gas welding rod.

What Island are you on? Are there places to camp and how many ferries does it take to get there?

Bruce

I am working on the odd thing on my truck, which included vacuuming up dog hair and ticks. I had 4 ticks on me last Saturday- which are 4 two many.

[jim lee]

Wow! Long thread!

New WC53 owner. I just bought onetonwagon's other WC53. You can see it's tailgate in one of his pictures on this thread. I was able to get it because I live close by on the next island over.



The machine's not been run for years. As a first step I've been working on seeing if I can just get it running again. It looks like its going to work.

I've wanted one of these since I was a kid. My older brothers had a half ton version and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was the 60s and it had paisley window curtains, they had long hair..

Anyway. I just figured I'd say "Hi everyone!"

-jim lee

[Bruce in BC]

The carryalls sold about 2 hrs after the post to this site.

Pretty good deal, a single carryall for 2 grand - the second one would have been a good start for creating a four door Carryall. The vehicles were for sale for almost 3 weeks, I did not jump on them because I do not have the space or the time to get into another project....actually I do not have the cash. If I had a spare 100 grand I would go at another Carryall in a heart beat. Order all the glass, axles, motor, transmission, transfer cases, wiring, guages and seats on the same day. Piecing a vehicle together takes a lot of time.
Funny how quick the Carryalls sold after they were posted here. I went as far as to contact the guy to see if he wanted to part with the parts truck but the sale had gone through.
I took the WC53X up into the back country today, it was quiet on the way up into the mountains and the squeak returned on the way down the hill. Kind of funny but tracing it down will not be. Dropped the tire air pressure to 20lbs, 12 might be better but I drove home on the pavement and left it at 20lbs to save time. Will air them up tomorrow.
Got a spare tire on the way. There goes $600 bucks. I have no idea where I am going to put the spare. Also the carryall has a set of headphones inside, they are the work tunes model, I suspect the colour needs to get changed to some sort of dark green. Driving by a police car with bright yellow ear muffs on is a bit blatant.

Take care out there

Bruce

75th anniversary of the Alaska Highway, would be great if a bunch of Power Wagons were headed that way this July.

[Bruce in BC]

two carryalls for sale in B.C. $2000.oo

Might be good for parts or a serious build with multiple sources for parts. Perfect for a 4 dr build.....if there is not too much rust. The ad needs more pictures.
Gee Kevin I thought everyone new that, just as all Jeeps were made by Willys and that Dodge was owned by Willys and the "Power Wagon came out in 1941 and all Dodges used in WW2 were Power Wagons.
A bit like
"is that a Willys?"
"Nope its a Dodge"
" Are you sure?"

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/...ationFlag=true

[Kevin in Ohio]

I was at a show once and a guy was talking to his buddies looking at a '41 WC 1/2 ton. he told them that was the stupidist thing he'd ever seen. Taking an old truck and making it into a 4 wheel drive. I guess he didn't like the governments request.

Another classic one was I had a guy come up and asked if I had the front and rear PTO attachments for mine. I said closed cabs never came with a winch and no rear PTO was offered. He then told me they all had it because they would hook them all together and make a "train" so it was impossible for them to get stuck. While all this was being said his 2 buddies were just shaking their heads in agreement of their leader. I told him I'll have to see if I can find a set and he walked away satisfied.

Some people just don't think things through.

[Bruce in BC]

Another carryall on Craigs list - nice one.

I have seen this one before, no clue what the price was back then. 10 grand now.
It would make a fun grocery getter.
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/6089107128.html

Fun when you google a persons name and find all the court cases attached to his past, puts things in perspective.

[gyman98]

Well said ^^^

Like I told you on instagram, it's jealousy. That's given him the benefit of the doubt though and maybe he is full on stupid

[Bruce in BC]

That had me laughing

Some folks are so ignorant, their stupidity and lack of knowledge is down right entertaining. Sad part is they wear it like armour and will spew their limited thoughts all over the place. A day at a mud bog event or parts of MOAB make it quite clear that two digit IQs are more common than a person would think.

Remember the guy who thought I should rip out the cummins and put in a big block? He also thought a mustang front end and lowering kit would really fix up the truck along with flames. IQ? Maybe 74. After building hot rods for 44 years I am darn confident that I know who has their poop together and who should not be allowed behind a wheel.

Your truck is a dimension ahead of the rest, it will be a blast to drive, and the people with dumb ideas? Way funny. Honestly there is more finesse in your build than mine and the response to my truck has been outstanding. Alex you have a high point in Carryalls in the making, stick to your guns and enjoy the ride.


Poor Cory, thinks that blinker fluid is a real product and he goes to the car dealers to get air for his tires because that is the only source for OEM air.

[Alxj64]

Rolled mine out of the garage into the daylight this weekend. I shared some pictures and got all sorts of feedback from the public...

[Bruce in BC]

GPS trackers

Trackers . I have a spot tracker tucked away on my hot rod and have been testing it for over a year. If you go to the spot sight and punch in your codes you can see where the vehicle was and where it was last stopped. I like the unit and have been wracking my brains on where to install one out of sight on the Carryall. On the hot rod the unit is hidden under the cloth roof, it works great and is invisible. Not easy to pull off on the Carryall. Sticking it on the windshield is a bit obvious and the unit doe s not work under steel.
The unit cost 150 dollars and about 100 a year to operate. I was ok with that . But I just got tagged with a "service fee" of 15 dollars and a increase in price per year contract of 50 dollars. That works out to a 65% increase over one year.
Just on principle I am not buying the Spot Tracker for the Carryall. The increase in expense is not justified and beyond what I can afford.
I like the unit and the tracking but the price has gone up instead of down. And here I was thinking that the price of electronics was dropping.
So I am looking for an alternative, there are a lot of cheaper services that use a phone tower, these work great in a city but not so well in the bush where there is no reception.

take care
Bruce

Man things are quiet around here.