Stefan's Dodge WC 26 Carryall restauration

[bochelim]

Hello from Limburg (Germany) to all Power Wagon Lovers!

I have been a silent reader of Zeph's WC 26 restoration theme for a very long time.
I already own a fully restored Dodge WC 56, but I always wanted to drive a Carryall. I just love the look of these early 1/2 ton Carryalls!

Rather by chance I found a Dodge WC 26 in Arnhem, the Netherlands, which more or less needs to be saved.

I am an IT engineer and love technology in general, but a complete restoration of a vehicle is new territory for me. After all: I also work in crafts on the side and am not entirely untalented.

A fortnight ago, the Carryall came to me, right next to my Command Car, and I have already started the first work on it by taking pictures and documenting.

1/2 ton trucks are hard to find here in Europe, so it will be even harder to get good spare parts. The main sources of supply will probably be in the USA.

I wanted to start this thread here to bring you along and keep you up to date. You never stop learning.

I'm sure I'll need some tips and maybe one or the other can help me with spare parts

So: I'll start the project in the next few days and hope that this thread will fill up quickly!

Best regards to Germany,

Stefan

[70th Division]

Hello Stefan,

Welcome to the G !!!!
It is great to see your beautiful Carryall project posted here !!
Zeph is a master when it comes to Dodges

You can find many parts through Midwest Military in Minnesota, USA
He makes many great Dodge parts and panels that were never available before.
Your Carryall looks to be in pretty good shape to start with !!

I am curious if you know what country it came from in Europe ?
With that gray paint could it have been from Switzerland ?
Or was it imported from the US ?

We will be looking forward to your restoration of this beautiful vehicle

I have some great German neighbors here and they keep looking at and trying to get my unrestored 1941 Dodge WC-12 , they really like style

Keep us posted !!

Best Regards,
Ray
Florida, USA

[zepher11]

Greetings and welcome Stefan,

Looks like you have a great Carryall project on your hands, and hope my restoration thread was an inspiration to you. I have some interior parts like inner window trim and rear door latches, etc..

Once you have taken inventory of what you are in need, let me know and Ill take a look.

We we're in Germany in the summer of 2019. We spent a night in Karlsruhe which looks a 100 miles or so south of where you are. It was hot there that summer. Into the 100's I think. Not as hot as here, but warm. Enjoyed our trip through there down to The Eagle's Nest and Austria.

As you move forward, please post photos of your restoration efforts.

Good luck!

[17thAirborne]

Stefan,

Welcome to the forum. We all look forward to your posts. There are many here with great advice and experience. They have helped me immensely. Your project will be enjoyable and challenging with many rewards along the way.

Als information, meine Mutter ist uhrsprunglich aus Trier. Ich habe mehrere Jahren in Deutchland und Belgien gewohnt als Junge und als Offizier.

Wiedermals, Grusse und viel Erfolg!

Oz

[twinflyer17]

Stefan - welcome and two great looking trucks! I'm personally a jeep guy, but would love a WC and enjoy following these types of threads. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!

[bochelim]

Thank you all very much!
Nice to see and read how many of you know my country not only for the dark times it had!

The WC26 was imported into the netherlands in 1990. Before that, the Dodge was probably sitting in a car yard in Texas for many years waiting for someone who will rescue it.

It was probably driven until the 1950s.
At least it has a flathead engine from 1950, which I found out yesterday. So if anyone has a T215 for sale: I am an eternally grateful buyer


Yes Zeph, Karlsruhe is about 100km away from me. So it's no distance for US-Americans
If you are ever here again, our farm is always at your disposal, then you can have a look at Koblenz and Frankfurt.
By the way, I got my passion for Dodge WC cars through our former farm:
In March 1945, when Limburg was liberated by the US Army, some officers drove onto our farm and asked my grandfather if he would like to become mayor. My grandmother used to tell me about the big beautiful vehicle that was standing in the yard. She was just a kid and was fascinated from this big vehicle. Yes, and it turned out to be a Dodge WC 56. She only remembered that it was bigger than the Jeeps. She was able to identify it immediately from a photo.

I'll be very happy to take you up on your offer of parts, Zeph!


At the moment I'm still taking it apart. The whole thing runs quite well so far, although some parts are unfortunately in worse condition than I thought, but I knew what I was getting myself into.
The roof was welded shut once. I'm still torn about how to proceed here. As far as I know, this was often done by the army?

I have also started to remove the foreign parts. Especially in the front area quite a lot has been changed, as you can see from the pictures.

The windows all need to be replaced, the frame needs to be straightened, etc..
One nice thing, however, is that the original wooden brackets are still installed! I will try to preserve them as much as possible!
Otherwise, the chassis is in quite good condition and there are rather small things to be done here.

At the moment I have to work late most evenings, so some of the photos are quite dark, but I hope I can give you some impressions of the "dilemma".

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[bochelim]

A small update on the current status.
So far I have only managed to dismantle a few parts due to lack of time. Nothing really special, so I haven't reported any more so far.

But as a German I have a huge problem:

The engine! The installed engine is a civil one from the 50s.
I'm looking for a T-215 for several months now, but of course these are scarce here in Europe...

So the big question is, if there is possibly someone here, or if someone here knows a person who sells an original T-215 engine. I realize that shipping should be difficult and that here may be large costs to me, but the project is worth it to me!

If I should not find a T215, which engine would be suitable? A T214 or a T112?

Otherwise, there have been only small, typical problems so far.

What I would be interested in is what the front running board needs to look like....
I think on my WC26 was welded something that does not belong here. In the next few days I will post pictures of this.

Maybe someone can help me with the T-215. I really hope for the help of the community!