The WC53 Carryall thread .

[AAIndigo]

Looking for a photo of the liftgate hardware

Well I finally finished the body work on my wc48 body and have her all primed, now come all the other parts. I'm looking for a photo of the lift gate hardware. My lift gate had a door latch rigged up on it and I need to fabricate or purchase (I know fat chance) some hardware to work with the tailgate (I have all the parts for that). Can someone please post a photo of the parts that are needed. My parts manual shows a simple hook latch that appears to lock into the pillar lock assembly. is that all that's needed? Is there a handle on the gate as well? Any help is much appreciated.

Making progress
Archie

[AAIndigo]

lift gate hook latch

Well I just finished going through 68 pages of material (great thread here) and about a bazzilion photos online and on my computer an I have answered my own questions. Funny thing is I have a bag of tailgate chain squirreled away somewhere and I'm thinking it may have what I'm looking for. If not, The fabrication of a hook latch looks to be the easiest of tail gate hardware to make.

Archie

"I'm looking for a photo of the lift gate hardware. My lift gate had a door latch rigged up on it and I need to fabricate or purchase (I know fat chance) some hardware to work with the tailgate (I have all the parts for that). Can someone please post a photo of the parts that are needed. My parts manual shows a simple hook latch that appears to lock into the pillar lock assembly. is that all that's needed? Is there a handle on the gate as well? Any help is much appreciated."

[mcinfantry]

i may be selling parts soon....

http://gallery.me.com/ltalessi#100595

body is totalled

frame bent too

[Bruce in BC]

Should be repairable

A bent frame is not that big of a deal . It is the body work that will take some time . Personally I would collect the insurance , kick back and wait awhile before coming to any decisions .
I am very sorry to see this Lee . You have a chunk of your life invested in this truck . The first six months of a vehicle getting on the road are the most likely months to have an accident . I am not sure when you had it licensed and started driving it but it was not that long ago . You deserve to have years and years of enjoyment driving the thing .

Bruce

[Jerry Henry]

What a sad thing. I'm really sorry to hear about this. And I'm totally stunned to see that it was a Chevy that did it? He must have been really moving, but it doesn't look like it from the pictures of his truck.
Take your time making a decision.
JH

[HRT5SLCFD]

Don't sell it

It's a sad thing. It will take the wind out of your sail, but we all have several times where unexpected events set us back. We all have had damage of some sort before we even started. Take a day off, and then get back on your horse, and fix it. Your great job on the engine should keep you going. Don't give up.
James

[mcinfantry]

I was going 65. He hit me going at least 80-90. He never the brakes.

The rear frame is bent, cab mount bolts sheared off, the rear floor is buckled and all the cross bracing is torn off and the sides are bowed out up the the middle glass. Hood barely opens on pass side, will not open on drivers side. The frame is bent near the transmission crossmember on both sides.

Luckily we were wearing seatbelts. I saw the truck coming.... And kind of expected it.

I have no intentions of selling it, but then again, Im hoping/ expecting the insurance company to be reasonable.

Luckily I had put a 10ga floor in, iirc. Luckily I had put 1 1/4" pipe in an inverted u in the rear to strengthen and stabilize the rear hatches. It really helped.

[Bruce]

A SAD Day

i may be selling parts soon....

http://gallery.me.com/ltalessi#100595

body is totalled

frame bent too

Lee,
I sad to see this, but like the guys said, "take your time, wait & see" the insurance thing will be interesting..........

[mcinfantry]

Lee,
I sad to see this, but like the guys said, "take your time, wait & see" the insurance thing will be interesting..........

yep. i have found a body, now will they pay for it????


here is the floor

[gmayer]

Lee,
Sorry to hear about the accident, you are lucky. I think if you give it a couple days you will cool off about it. It always looks the worst right when it happens. I am sure you will get it straightened back out and back on the road. An old body man told me to recreate the accident in reverse. Get some chain and a power pack and start pulling an pushing. A little body filler at the end. I had to recreate a corner, and if you have something relatively straight you should be able to tackle it one problem at a time. It looks to me like James would be able to tell you better than most some tips.

Archie,
You are a lucky man to have all the hardware. I am hoping someday James will be able to get me the hook setup to finnish mine. I am sure someone that has a working tailgate will be able to beter explain.

[JStinson]

A man's truck really speaks volumes about an individual. Broceph in the Chevy there really stood a chance to be taken seriously at one point. Then, unfortunately, he decided to "upgrade" his truck to the awkward monstrosity that we see here.

I was going 65. He hit me going at least 80-90. He never the brakes.

Really sorry about the accident. You've been given good advice, though. Give it some time. I have a feeling we'll see her again, better than ever.

[mcinfantry]

I plan on keeping it. I'm dealing with insurance now....

The body is bowed and bent all the way to the doors. Rear 4 body mounts are torn/gone....

[Gordon(Scotland)]

It's a complete strip and reassembly job I think.

I'm not hearing anything in that damage you couldn't fix, but for me the real bugbear is that the body side panel double skins would probably need completely separating, straightening, and sticking back together.

It is quite possible though. Down to you if you need to change the chassis but I'd think the chassis would be the easiest part to swap out.

Gordon

[mcinfantry]

I'm not hearing anything in that damage you couldn't fix, but for me the real bugbear is that the body side panel double skins would probably need completely separating, straightening, and sticking back together.

It is quite possible though. Down to you if you need to change the chassis but I'd think the chassis would be the easiest part to swap out.

Gordon

Thanks Gordon.

The rear tailgate opening had been a problem for the two previous owners. I had to weld a 1 & 1/4" u shaped pipe in to hold it stiff enough to keep the tailgate closed. And that would have to be removed. The pipe was put in in three pieces.... The floor is one piece steel, welded in as well. The rear three hat channels tore from the body, body mounts and sheared the body bolts.

When I originally separated the body skins, I used a stick on sound deadening over 100% of the interior and exterior panels. I then used a spray on sound deadening on top of that. In other words hammers will NOT work. Unless you can scrape or burn that coating off. And I coated the underside of my entire body the same, and rocks and sticks and water have not penetrated it. When you tap on any panel it sounds like solid wood.

The cab body is bowed, and shifted all the way to the doors. The door gap used to look like ||. Now its like >| and the top of both door wings are are bowed out past the drip rails. Yes, I realize we can adjust the doors somewhat I'm only describing visible changes. We have not taken anything apart.

I agree it can be fixed. But at $90 an hour in labor, I believe a new bodybwould be cheaper.

I have to get his insurance to agree to the amount they are willing to spend to fix it. Under Louisiana law the least amount of coverage should be 25,000.

[Gordon(Scotland)]

We've all had to straighten Carryall shells



That shell was 2" out of square, and I had to jack it 4" before I could get it right.

Insurance companies are tricky creatures. Might be better to go for the write-off value of the Carryall, less a deduction for keeping the 'wreck' then just part it out and use the bits to rebuild a squarer one?

Virtually every bit will be usable, but a lot of work.

Gordon