Zeph's Dodge WC26 Carryall Restoration

[zepher11]

Zeph,
I'm sure you will sort it out.It amazes me that you do all this work by yourself.
Bob

It's just a matter of getting out there and doing it I guess. And in following that thought, today I finished up the inside wheel wells and replace the sheet metal I cut out to gain access to the cinch nuts. I also finished up making the curved fender gussets and welded those into place.

The sheet metal was pretty thin, so it took a while to weld it all back together. Now I can get this into primer and re-install the window boxes which thankfully will cover up all the uglyness underneath:

[zepher11]

Had to add a smidge of body filler to all of the panel replacement areas. This body already had a ton of replacement metal put into it years ago, and I had to redo and add a lot for the major rusted out areas, of which, there was a lot. Not going to get a project this rusty in the future...that's for sure. I think I Learned my lesson with this project:





Was hoping to get it in primer today, but ran out of time. Now it will have to wait about three weeks or longer as we are heading to Europe to follow in the path of the 101st AB.

[zepher11]

Back from vacation, so was able to knock a few more things out on the Carryall. This is the section I had to weld up a large hole, plus it was really dented up here as well:





I used bed liner material to paint on the underside of the wheel wells now that the repairs have been made:





Finally dealt with the holes on the roof where someone had a spotlight:









This past weekend I was able to finish the majority of the body work around the wheel wells and rear of the body and get it into primer:







I also finanly took the time to figure out how to modify my rotisserie so that I could rotate the body all the way over. Man, that sure works great. Will make it a lot easier to blast, paint and work on it as I get it ready to get to the point of re-installing:

[chibobber]

Well it's really shaping up nice. How was the vacation? Any good stories?Still my favorite thread.
Bob

[17thAirborne]

Zeph,

email sent

Oz

[zepher11]

Well it's really shaping up nice. How was the vacation? Any good stories?Still my favorite thread.
Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes, the vacation was fantastic. Well beyond my expectations. As my wife found out, however, it was a tour and not a vacation. It was go, go, go, but we were able to see a lot of history. We followed the path of Easy Company from the 101st AB as depicted in the Band of Brother series. Been interested in the 101st AB exploits since I was a kid. Had a relative in the 101st during the war who went through the whole ordeal, so was great to see where he was during the Epic of the 101st.

George Luz, Jr. was our tour coordinator. His father was in Easy Company and was shown in the the BoB series. He was fantastic. My wife and I became really close with him during the tour. He's a special guy. One night he made a presentation about his father with lots of photos of Easy Company reunions and other family snap shots. It was really a good presentation.

Anyway, I took a gazillion photos. However, for some reason I can download them from my phone. I try to e-mail to myself, but without really decent internet service, we get less than 1MB of service for $85 a month. No cable near us in the sticks... Still working on a solution. I did manage to get a couple downloaded so far.

Here's a photo of George and me in Berchtesgaden, Germany. The Alps were unbelievably beautiful!

George Luz, Jr.

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As a sideline, since we flew into Atlanta, Georgia a day early, the next morning we got up around 5am when headed to Anniston, Alabama to the Civilian Marksmanship Program store and facilities there. Never thought I would get to the CMP. Have bought a few M1 Garands from them, and a lot ammo over the years. Was great to go there.

We then went to the CMP target ranges in Talladega, Alabama. The facilities there were incredible. Plus they had another store. All I could do to not ship another M1 or 1903 home! Here's a photo of the 600 yard target range. Beautiful!

Talladega, Ala 600 Yard Range

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Some other shots of the Anniston facility. They had an indoor air gun shooting range with 80 positions. Pretty impressive:

Anniston CMP 1

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Anniston CMP 2

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Anniston CMP 3

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Anniston CMP 4

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Talladega Store:

Talladega CMP Store

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I'll post some more photos later if your're still interested. So many. We started at Toccoa, Georgia, and then flew to England then on to France, Belgium, Holland. Luxembourg, Germany and then on to Austria. I would do it again even though we had to endure warm beer here and there!

[chibobber]

Zeph,
First off,Yes am very interested in more photos and stories.My Dad did D-Day +31 and went over w/the 12th Army Group(Bradley).He was assigned to 3rd Army and stayed with them to VE day,Then the 7th and back to 3rd for the Nurenburg Trials.Along the way he met my mother in Nancy,France.
I never went over.Somehow it never worked out.I have relatives all over France.Maybe some day.
Keep smiling and keep the motor pool going.
Motor easy,
Bob

[zepher11]

Zeph,
First off,Yes am very interested in more photos and stories.My Dad did D-Day +31 and went over w/the 12th Army Group(Bradley).He was assigned to 3rd Army and stayed with them to VE day,Then the 7th and back to 3rd for the Nurenburg Trials.Along the way he met my mother in Nancy,France.
I never went over.Somehow it never worked out.I have relatives all over France.Maybe some day.
Keep smiling and keep the motor pool going.
Motor easy,
Bob

Wow, your father saw a lot. To be a part of the Nuremberg trials would have been fascinating! Will okay, I'll post some more photos. You know how much I hate posting photos...NOT. I just need to figure out a way to get the photos off of my iPhone on to my computer. I think my ten-year old laptop is just not up to reading my iPhone any longer.

[zepher11]

I figured it is time to start installing the window boxes I made. Makes me wonder how Dodge did it. When one cuts all this stuff out by removing the welds, etc, every square millimeter is painted inside and out...front to rear. I struggle with the process of...do I paint, do I paint after I install, do I paint the back side only knowing when I weld it in that the paint and primer will peel off? Maybe I overthink it? I mean, I should paint behind the boxes OD before I weld them in, right? Then when I do the paint will melt and peel. I guess I will never know how Dodge did it. If I could dip the whole thing in OD that would be great!.

Anyway, I decided to paint the complete boxes and then I will sand down where I will weld them back into place. First, I had to add the tabs at the bottom of the boxes so that they can be welded to the inside of the body. I then blasted them for paint in my blast cabinet. I haven't really blasted anything this large in the cabinet previously. I would prefer to blast outside with my little pot, but it was like 110 degrees yesterday and seemed just as hot today. Therefore, I really didn't want to suit up to blast outside. Cooler in the shop. Like 100 degrees. Not too bad with the sun not beating down on one:



Tabs welded on:



Half blasted in the cabinet. Happy I went with the larger cabinet. This one really beats the little Harbor Freight unit I used for years:



Getting them into OD:

[Tapper02]

Zeph,
Awesome that you got to make a trip like you did, and with the son of a veteran. Absolutely jealous!

Regarding your dilemna on whether to paint first or not...I just found out there is "weldable primer"...news to me. Could you possibly paint everything that won't get hot OD, but only use the weldable primer in the areas that you are planning to weld. That way you don't burn off the corrosion prevention you just sprayed on...thoughts?

Glad you're suffering through the heat and are back to making content for us backseaters to sit back and read/critique! Great job and I will continue to follow...

-Tom

[zepher11]

Zeph,
Awesome that you got to make a trip like you did, and with the son of a veteran. Absolutely jealous!

Regarding your dilemna on whether to paint first or not...I just found out there is "weldable primer"...news to me. Could you possibly paint everything that won't get hot OD, but only use the weldable primer in the areas that you are planning to weld. That way you don't burn off the corrosion prevention you just sprayed on...thoughts?

Glad you're suffering through the heat and are back to making content for us backseaters to sit back and read/critique! Great job and I will continue to follow...

-Tom

Thanks Tom. Yes, the trip was made extra special having George Luz, Jr. along with us. He is a remarkable guy.

I have used the weld through primer when welding internal parts that mate and one can't paint for sure. Like spot weld areas. It works pretty good when I have used it. I guess I just find it fascinating how the Budd and Dodge workers put these trucks together back in the day. They were real craftsmen for sure!

Good to hear from you. Having never been to Europe, it was like eye candy everywhere we went, however, it is good to be home in the heat getting things done now. I'm a real doer, and any day that I don't feel like I accomplished something stresses me out!

[zepher11]

Worked on the body a little more last weekend. I also was able to finally reinstall the window boxes that I made at the rear two windows. I then cut out the front two rear window boxes. I will need to blast underneath and finish some rusted out metal here. I primed and painted underneath before installing the rear windows. Will do the same when I get the front rear section all mopped up:









Also drilled the holes for the rear side reflectors:

[chibobber]

Zeph,
It is turning out so nice.I would be tempted to make it a semi daily driver. Of course you would have to sin and put in a vintage air conditioning unit to deal with the heat. Heck,if your not having it judged,I would do it. Maybe you could militarize a vintage widow mounted swamp(evaporative) cooler.
Bob

[zepher11]

Zeph,
It is turning out so nice.I would be tempted to make it a semi daily driver. Of course you would have to sin and put in a vintage air conditioning unit to deal with the heat. Heck,if your not having it judged,I would do it. Maybe you could militarize a vintage widow mounted swamp(evaporative) cooler.
Bob

Thanks Bob. I am used to the open cabs, so A/C would be nice. I actually like your thought of the evaporation cooler in the window. Just looked around and doesn't appear they are made any longer, and the vintage units are quite pricey. May be better to go with a new Vintage Air unit. I'll have to ponder that. It does cut into the authenticity of the vehicle, however. Next I'd be looking at a heater! lol

This is the first year we have used air conditioning. Sure makes it nice to sleep and handle the 100 degree plus days. One can get used to home A/C...really liking it!

Appreciate the comments. Happy Labor Day weekend!

[zepher11]

Last Weekend I tried to finish up the last of the belt line hole repairs:



After that, I finished up building the front window boxes and installed those. Had to cut out the old boxes and then cut the end pieces off and clean them up. Then weld them to the new boxes. Also soldered on the drain hose nipples:









Also had to deal with some stretched metal. The driver's side rocker panel was oil canned. Was popped inward. One could pop it out but it just popped back. Fired up some heat to shrink it a bit. Had to do a few more spots than I anticipated:







Nice, straight, and tight now:



It was quite hot last weekend and tried to blast in the morning, but after an hour or more I was burnt toast:



I have come upon an idea to modify my rotisserie and add some wheels on one side and a hitch on the other side and move it out to the shade in the field next time. I found some spindles kits and some wheels on Amazon. We'll see how it goes on the modification...