The WC53 Carryall thread .

[HRT5SLCFD]

1/2 Carryall

This is Matt's. It could be fixed, if a guy had the right tools, a pattern for the rear sides, and a bunch of time. The front of the cab is racked pretty good, along with the drivers door. Like I said it could be fixed.

[Bruce in BC]

Thanks for that bit of information

There are a bunch of things that could be done to bring that carryall back to life .Perhaps the thing could be turned into an extended cab . There are a lot of small parts that would be great if you were into a restoration .
There was a panel up here for 500 bucks that was in excellent shape . Put the two together and all you would be missing is the side window openings .
It is a good thing that I do not own a decent truck and a trailer . My yard would be full of these things .

Bruce

[HRT5SLCFD]

Been looking

I have looked at the pictures that Matt sent me over and over. I all most called about 2 weeks ago to go get it. That would put four in my yard. It would be a shame to turn it into a truck, but unless you have a back to the Carryall it just isn't going to work. I have made the upper rear convex shape, the lower quarter panel, the wheel wells, and the window boxes, but the hard part is the main belt line and the window frames. I have an extra tail gate with some hinges, so that wouldn't be a problem. If the price was a little lower, I would be up in Big Sky country in about 1/2 a day.

[Bruce in BC]

and on to the floor

Pretty much got the air bag cross member finished . A couple of holes to drill and that will be it . I bent up some small corner braces out of 1/8 plate . The braces fit inside the channel . I drilled holes in the braces to allow fuel and brake line to pass through . THe air bag is just sitting there and not loaded with air . The brace looks a bit ackward in the photos but it looks like it came with the truck when I look at it in real life . I tossed in a sheet of wood where the floor would go and had a look from the bottom the brackets do not look home made at all .
Bent the brackets by hand with a vice and a big hammer ,

Bruce

[HRT5SLCFD]

Great progress

The brackets look great. We are using the same airbags on our projects, except a four link system. I think the floor will go in great. Where are the air lines going?

[Bruce in BC]

Air lines

Not sure where I will run the lines . I have a hole drilled in the top of the cross member . I think the lines will go from there along the back of the cross member to the dash and then to a air tank .I ordered new fittings today ,but only the ones that go in the bag . I need them to help size up some things . What I want is the old style manual controls with one valve and guage for each side . No truck places around here so I can not salvage the parts off an old truck . It would be nice to find a big old logging truck that was getting parted out .

Bruce

[fiverman]

air bags

Hey Bruce looks good ! I'm wanting to go airbags on my rig too. Was wondering about placement, I thought bags were supposed to be outboard as far as possible for stability or can that be taken care of by shocks or maybe a sway bar?

[Bruce in BC]

you want them out as far as possible

This is problematic with the carryall frame . The frame is quite wide . I have seen air bags attached to the radius arms instead of the axle . Think 72 chev truck . These same style arms were used on NASCAR cars for years .
I am running each bag with a separate air supply line and control , this settup will stop air transfer from one bag to the other when loading in corners .
I also have leaf springs to locate the axle but they are quite soft . So the way it is constructed at present may be fine or not . No way to know until I drive it for awhile .
I have a spring under and 4 inch dropped axle in my hot rod . Works out to about an 6 inch drop . Also uses drag link steering . The car should have bump steer and be a total pain to drive . Steers fine to me and even in a full lock up skid the car goes straight .
So we have awhile to wait for testing on the Carryall .
Building section 2 of the floor right now.

Bruce

Keep in mind I have 15 inches of travel with this suspension . Shorter , smaller bags might fit outside of the frame rails . I was going to engineer some cantileavered air bags but I figured this route was quicker .

[fiverman]

air bags

Ok, makes more sense now, I thought you were just leaving the leafs in place while setting up the bags, but of course the leafs are the stabilizer. I've followed this thread for quite awhile now and am just getting ready to start in on my 43 wc53, all of the postings have sure been helpful in getting me ideas and motivation, Thanks to all.

Jan

[Matt Ely]

1/2 a carryall

Hey guys - Matt in Bozeman. The 1/2 carryall is going to a new home in California. Kelly, the new owner has one beautiful build without original engine. We determined mine had the original engine. Thanks for the interest, Matt

[Bruce in BC]

That is great Matt

Nice to know that the carryall is going to keep another one running . Too bad you do not know where the back half is located . I still need those lower hinges .

take care
Bruce

[Bruce in BC]

A visual pleasing solution to an ugly problem

As some of you are aware I decide to use tube shocks on the rear . The shocks come up into the cab and the cross brace for the shocks is ugly . It works but the brace looks like an add on . I thought the brace was ugly enough that I was not going to show any pictures of it .The brace needs to be covered but allow access for changing the shocks . I wanted the cover to look like it belonged there , cover the shocks and not have any edges that would be in the way of feet or legs . I just mocked up the cover and it looks quite good . A trailer fender may have worked for this but I did not have access to one so the cover is made from some 4 inch exhaust elbows and a whole lot of little pieces .
I am very pleased with how it looks and seems to blend in . There is a lot more to do to the cover yet . The floor is not installed and will slide back a bit and then get welded in place . The cover will have a full flang and be screwed in place with screws spaced about 1 inch apart .

Bruce

[Bruce in BC]

Progress

Got the floor notched and flanged . Drilled holes to access the airlines and bolts for the bags . I welded in one floor brace and after fitting the floor four or more times I have started to weld section #2 of the floor . Once that is done I will weld in another cross brace , replace a flange and then fit the second seat in place . Once I figure out what goes where section #3 can go in place .
Then I take a hard look at the front floor which is in but may get changed , not major but I think the seat riser box is getting tossed .

Merry Christmas

Bruce

[Bruce in BC]

Rear of the shock doghouse

I made up a wooden buck or hammer form from a piece of plywood . I traced the buck onto some cold rolled 18 guage and then cut the metal about 1/4 inch over size . The metal was then clamped to the buck and the 1/4 inch excess metal was rolled over the top edge . In two spots there was 1/2 inch of metal to roll . The metal was then placed against the shock cover and scribed , then trimmed with aviation snips . What you see here is the metal tack welded to the rear of the shock cover . The seat will cover this up except for when the seats are pulled for packs or a stretcher .

[TK064]

Bruce, do you think you could have used a smaller diameter bag or that the bag you used was the best choice? Also I have to say your progress is really Pi$&ing me off :)

Keep the posts coming.

Tim