The WC53 Carryall thread .

[Bruce in BC]

That Ford axle is the way to go .

The Ford NP205 transfer case will have the universal 6 bolt pattern - you can bolt it up to the NV4500 from a Dodge or Chev or better yet get a Ford 6spd out of a gasser and the spline count should match at 31 .
Dodge used the dana 60 axle and the NP205 so you are staying with the style and intent of the original . And you can tell the purists that the vehicle came with those parts from the factory .... special edition skunkworks of course
Thanks for the update , it helps to keep me focused .

Bruce

Bring on the photos

[HRT5SLCFD]

Pure?

The four door will be the farthest thing from a purist, but the other stockers will have to do for that. The four door will end up being my street rod of sorts. The junker will be my test at doing real sheet metal. Then the other 53 will be as pure as I can get. I sure wished the numbers matched for the engine. Oh well matching hood, cab, and Vin #'s will have to do.
James

[Bruce in BC]

Monday morning I got access on my mind *

I wanted to have access to the sending unit on the fuel tank . I started by bending up some steel and figured out that it would take too much time to form . I was looking at a window winder mechanism and part of it had the right shape but I wanted to keep that winder mechanism . So I went out to my spare pile and low and behold there was a complete piece of metal that I could adapt . So being flexable I left the window winders alone . I am uncertain as to the piece of metal's origin but figure it was either a shifter boot plate or went around a rubber seal on an air vent or heater vent . So after a bit of banging and lots of trimming on the 16 guage floor sheet I spot welded the piece in . Now a 1/4 inch aluminum access door will sit flush with the floor , and I have access to the tank if I need it . The seat will have to be removed to gain access to the tank .
* think ....... Fleetwood Mac

Bruce

My aches got aches

[Bruce in BC]

rear gas door is in

Not exactly high end finishing on this quarter panel , but it should be good enough to not need much filler . The gas door is small enough that it matches the old side reflector in size . There is a chance that I will stick a reflector on top of the gas door at some later date . I did place the reflector on the door and "poof " the door seems to vanish .

[AAIndigo]

In need of lift gate hooks

James,

Are you making these latches to sell? I could use a set of lift gate hooks or one on loan so I can fabricate (I can be trusted, ask Gordon M the carryall guru). Any help appreciated

Archie

I have ten sets almost done. The short rods, the two pieces that cam together, the main bracket, the only thing that I need to finish is the "S" cam on the bottom, and the little springs. They won't be original, but they will work very nice. All the pins are in the proper place, and I think with some heavy sandblasting the will look very close to original. Garrett, I still have those hooks, and you can have them when I'm done using them as a pattern. The hooks are the same pattern as the rest of the other hooks. I will have the whole set complete, along with latches when the tax return comes. Should be mid March. I had two extra sets but sold them a little to maturly. Oh well live and learn. I'm also a little over half done with tailgate hinges. I'm going to pick up my third Carryall Friday. There is a guy making command car bodies, I think I'm going to take a stab at making Carryall bodies. I'll make the inner skeleton first, with the wheel wells, then on to the outer skin. I believe there are several Carryalls out there that have been chopped up by some farmer who wanted a make shift pickup. Anyway 2 1/2 years I'll be retired, and really start doing some fun work.

James

[Bruce in BC]

the rear panel is ready for installation

Just have to sand off some paint and I will weld it in place . Not sure how much welding I will do . Continuous beads look good , but the warping is difficult to control .

[Bruce in BC]

Stress crack question

I just found some stress cracks in the rear of the Carryall . The cracks are in the upper hatch corners and under the drip rail . The cracks follow the curve in the corner . I see two ways to get at the cracks .
(1) Cut the drip rail , weld the crack and then try and weld the drip rail back in place
(2) remove the entire drip rail , considering the location of the spot welds that locate the drip rail , removing them looks problematic .
Has anyone found these cracks on their carryall ? If so how did you repair them ?

Thanks
Bruce

[Bruce in BC]

Corner repair on a Carryall

It took awhile to figure out if I was should remove the complete drip rail or just the corner part . After I figured out that the upper hinge would cover part of the welding and any flaws the decision was made to cut under where the hinge is attached . The cracks were opened up with a small 1/16 cut off blade and MIG welded closed . This was followed with a bit of grinding and filing to clean up the weld . The spot welds popped loose with about three smacks from a hammer on a sharpened putty knife . This trick will cut through the welds and does not damage the part .

[Bruce in BC]

And the drip rail is now welded back in place

The inside of the drip rail is completely welded to the body in an attempt to increase the strength in the corner . I also welded on some old seams that were not completely welded when the body was built back in 1942 . There are also a couple of tack welds that do not duplicate the original welds but they look as if they could have been done back then .
Now to the lower valance .

[Bruce in BC]

Lower corner repair

The lower corner needs to be attached to the inner frame . A small piece of steel was hand formed in the vice and then bent to shape . It is a right angle bend but it also has a curve in it too . Lots of small finicky work to get it to fit and weld it in place without warping . The filler piece extends all the way to the bottom or under the valance . I was attempting to create as much reinforcement as possible .After MIG welding the area was cleaned up so that the welds were flat enough not to interfere with the tailgate or the water seal . It is hard to see in the photo but the gap extends right out of the picture frame . The filler piece can be seen laying on the screw driver in photo one .
Photo 2 has the new lower valance sitting in approx it's final position . The valance will not get welded in place until the other corner is complete and the body has been stripped and primed .

[Bruce in BC]

Acquired an extra dome light for the rear .

It is not an exact copy of the original . The bezel is a bit more intricate but the glass is the same size and the rear stamping or case is identical too . Most likely from a earlier model ...... maybe a top of the line Airflow .
I got a quote from a rust stripping place - kind of expensive . Five grand expensive . I will look a bit more into this and get a firm price .

[Gordon Maney]

What about the electrolytic method we have read about? ....using a battery.

You mean $5,000?

[Bruce in BC]

The quote was a rough guesstimate

From a representative for Redistrip . About $3500 to have the paint and rust stripped and $1500 to have the body phosphate coated . They used to use the electrical method but found the costs too high . Now they acid dip the body , drop it in a neutralizer solution and then pressure wash the body . I have had a few bodies done by the company in the past but the cost has outpaced my wages . I am not sure what I am going to do . A old pool liner and a battery charger may be the way to go .

[Gary Weaklend]

Dome Light Bezel

I've been able to get a couple dome light bezels with the glass off eBay for around $20 each. They are the same dome lights used in some 1930's Chrysler cars.

[fiverman]

top speed

I have a 43 wc-53 and have read all of this thread, I have yet to start rebuild. What I'm really trying to figure out is to repower or not, just what are the realistic speeds of these trucks stock (top, cruising etc.)?