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Restoration of my 1941 Dodge WC16 Radio Command Car


zepher11
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Sounds like a good time was had by all!

Terry

 

It was fun!

 

Now that's a shopping trip!

 

You know if you left the fenders and hood off and painted the CC yellow, it would make a great beach buggy! :lol:

 

I'm sure a few were converted to beach cruisers after the war!

 

Well, just catching up. Of course, while I am away for four days my wife is sending me videos of sprinkler broke off and leaking and saying "Is this supposed to be like this?" One would think they could get away without the homestead falling apart. :)

I have a few photos of the MVPA show that I thought I would post. All with my phone which is lousy at taking photos without getting in the correct position. Anyway, I convoyed down with a couple of guys from up here. WWII Halftrack, International crash truck and the CC:
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After a bit of looking around, I was able to get the Ford tug to tow me in to my spot:
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I'll post some random photos I shot at the event in no particular order:
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1940 Dodge command car next to a 1941 command car.
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I found my spot here:
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One of my favorites. Looked like a burned out motorhome with plywood repair that had "Nationwide Insurance Sucks" written on the side. I wish I would have taken a better photo:
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The truck that helped win the war. CCKW and the Red Ball Express that is:
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My friend Tim checking out the Ford Tug:
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Early model Jeep:
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Harley WLA:
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Roberto drove all the way down from Canada in his WC54:
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The LRDG, or Long Range Desert Group always does a great job:
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One of these mannequins is not like the others:
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Made some good contacts with the WWII radio guys:
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Few things for sale here and there:
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Ford prototype for the Canadian military in WWII:
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Little reenactment of a beach landing. Which was kinda cool:
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Sadly, finally had to pack up and head home... Amazing how many people from all over the world I know now when we all get together. I think there were people from Italy, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Canada and all over the US.


Had to use the GPW to tow the CC back into the garage upon the return. Came in handy due to its size:


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And of course, I found a number of items to buy. Not that I needed anything...

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Wow, that show looks fantastic! I'm really impressed with the array of vehicles, armored and softskin, that were on display. Definitely a show I'd love to get to. Thanks for sharing your work and adventure with The Forum, zeph!

Terry

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WOW! That is an amazing show! I am so jealous that you and Mikie were able to see so many amazing vehicles. It looks like there was one of everything there.

 

In post 253 above the Italian Fiat are two cars that look WWI vintage. Can you please tell me what those two are? They look interesting.

 

....Kat

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Wow, that show looks fantastic! I'm really impressed with the array of vehicles, armored and softskin, that were on display. Definitely a show I'd love to get to. Thanks for sharing your work and adventure with The Forum, zeph!

Terry

 

No problem Terry!

 

WOW! That is an amazing show! I am so jealous that you and Mikie were able to see so many amazing vehicles. It looks like there was one of everything there.

 

In post 253 above the Italian Fiat are two cars that look WWI vintage. Can you please tell me what those two are? They look interesting.

 

....Kat

 

Hi Kat,

 

Geez, I neglected to specifically look, but I believe those are 1917 Dodge Touring cars. My head was on a swivel, and I was easily distracted, so I missed getting up close and personal with all the vehicles.

 

My BIG question is...When is the next show???

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie,

 

Next year's show will be in Cleveland Ohio. It's about a 2,700 mile drive for me, so not sure I will make it. It will be held in a WWII bomber plant I have heard, so that does sound interesting.

 

Thanks again for the beer(s). It was hot out there...!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I'm still working on the CC when I can, but work has been keeping me really busy. Plus, it was 104 degrees here today, so not totally excited to run out and work in the garage after work. :wacko: I have been working on the wiring. Slow going as it isn't my area of strength.

 

I did get some tailgate chain covers, but the were so tight that I couldn't get them over the chains. I finally ended up tearing them. Lately, it seems that every other part I order ends up being the wrong part or doesn't work. The vendors are good and replace everything no charge and just ship it out, so I'm getting quite the collection of extra parts:

 

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Also rewired the charging circuit filter that mounts under the dash on the firewall:

 

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Also, I finally collected together five wheels from some donor trucks in the backyard. Had to soak them in PB Blaster and used a six foot breaker bar. It was a good workout. Some goof ball installed right handed thread studs on the left front. All the WWII trucks had right handed threads on the passenger side and left handed threads on the driver's side, so that was a real curve ball when it takes all one's strength to break a lug nut loose:

 

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Also installed the splash shields inside the battery box compartment. I had to redrill the holes in the floor to mount them as I had to replace those sections of the floor:

 

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Also came up with a solution to allow the oiler on the generator to sit level so the oil flows to the front bearing:

 

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Had to kick out the bottom. Now the brass oiler sits level. It was pointed downward, so I wasn't sure if the oil would flow up hill:

 

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The gentleman that I picked up the suppression plug wires sent me his first attempt at a shielded distributor cover. He is a machinist and made his own. I may be able to make this work, but it may take me a very long time:

 

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The shielding cover would sit over the distributor cap and be held down by the butterfly screws:

 

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This is what his looks like after he finished his. It is a work of art. The threads have to be turned on a lathe as they are an odd size:

 

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I couldn't stand the chrome handles on the tailgate, so I blasted, primed and pianted:

 

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I tried to avoid the wiring as much as possible, but finally decided to give it a go. It's starting to get busy now:

 

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Installed the high bean indicator light:

 

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Tada! After that taxing event I had to take a break. But it looks good installed:

 

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Should be able to post more progress photos tomorrow.

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I made a connection with a nice gentleman at the MVPA show that lives in the Napa, CA area. He had mentioned to me that he may have a rear seat frame for the CC. I went down there last Friday to check it out. Wow, driving through the wine country it is amazing all the large wineries. Absolutely stunning. Here it this guys house:

 

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He is into a lot of WWII related things. He said he sanitized the valley of command cars back in the day. I saw probably 10 half-ton command cars around the boneyards around the property. Anyway, I scored the rear seat frame, an original top bow set, glove box door, dome light and a spare tire carrier for a 3/4 ton Dodge WC. Been looking for the carrier for a while for my WC63 project:

 

Here is one of his artifacts. He also had a carryall, scout car a nice WC12 and a couple of complete command cars under cover:

 

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One of the boneyards. There were more:

 

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Here are some of the parts I brought back:

 

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Spent some time modifying the original brass bezels that were originally on the command car to be used with some of the new dash controls. I also found one for the panel light switch. A little old with the new:

 

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Here is the rats nest I have been working on:

 

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This is the dome light for the trunk area. After the huge cost of the wiring harness, I have found it didn't come with a dome light wire, nor battery cables. In fact, the original wiring diagrams don't show the dome light:

 

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Also, learned that there is a light that goes between the volt meter and amp gauge. Not in the wiring diagram either, but I had an extra instrument light socket and couldn't figure out where it went. I was also pondering what went between the two gauges as there are two holes there. I recall taking something off there, but couldn't recall what it was. As I was poking around behind the dash, I noticed the the two gauges had little side windows that would allow light in behind the dash. Ahhh..I see said the blind man. There is a light that mounts between the gauges. I found a rusted piece of metal that looked like a bulb socket holder that was rusted away in a bag I had. I duplicated it our of aluminum:

 

I have a flashlight outside the gauge and one can see the light coming in, so I figured the bulb goes between the gauges:

 

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Bulb socket holder:

 

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Mounts where the two holes are between the gauge:

 

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Off to a car show this morning.

 

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Zeph,

 

I get all excited when I see your updates! :)

 

That boneyard must have been like walking thru a candy store. :lol: Did you want one of everything? After seeing a picture of his house, I guess you can say a man's home is his castle. :D

 

However, after seeing you pull 5 tires from your own boneyard, it looks like you have one too!

 

I LOVE all of the updates. The handles look much better primed and painted! The wiring looks very daunting! Everything is looking just great!

 

Thanks for the updates....Kat

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Great updates. I'm continually amazed by your ingenuity. I had to laugh when I pictured you and the 6-fool breaker bar. The wiring is the one area where i'd feel halfway familiar. Though the stuff I work with is on a vastly smaller scale. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Mikie

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I always look forward to seeing you posts on the progress of this project. You are doing an awesome job. To tell you the truth I will be a little sad when you are finished but I'm sure you'll have another project to start.

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Zeph,

 

I get all excited when I see your updates! :)

 

That boneyard must have been like walking thru a candy store. :lol: Did you want one of everything? After seeing a picture of his house, I guess you can say a man's home is his castle. :D

 

However, after seeing you pull 5 tires from your own boneyard, it looks like you have one too!

 

I LOVE all of the updates. The handles look much better primed and painted! The wiring looks very daunting! Everything is looking just great!

 

Thanks for the updates....Kat

 

Thank you Kat. Yes, I have a mini boneyard which comes in very handy, but not on the scale above. Slowly been working through the wiring project. Not too much longer and it should be completed!

 

Great updates. I'm continually amazed by your ingenuity. I had to laugh when I pictured you and the 6-fool breaker bar. The wiring is the one area where i'd feel halfway familiar. Though the stuff I work with is on a vastly smaller scale. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie,

 

Now that I have looked at the wiring diagram like a thousand times, it is starting to sink in and make some sense. I installed the battery cable to the starter motor, so it's starting to get serious! lol

 

You do great work! Thanks for posting.

 

Thank you!

 

I always look forward to seeing you posts on the progress of this project. You are doing an awesome job. To tell you the truth I will be a little sad when you are finished but I'm sure you'll have another project to start.

 

Thanks! Not to fear. I think I have at least two more vehicle restorations in me after the command car.

 

Over a 100 degrees here yesterday, and it was really getting to me. I think during this winter I am going to keep my eye out for an old swamp cooler I can modify for use in the garage next summer....

 

I think it was the media blasting that got to me. I tried to get out there early, but it took a while to blast all of the half-ton wheels. Lots of nooks and crannies on these wheels, but they are all ready for primer and paint now. They'll have to wait as I will be going down to the military vehicle show at Tower Park on Wednesday:

 

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I finally completed getting all of the fuel, oil and vacuum lines completed for the engine. Took me a long time to get everything together:

 

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Also found a vintage style toggle switch. They just don't make 'em like this any longer. All of them now have a single threaded post around the toggle switch itself and a single panel nut:

 

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Completed all of the wiring under the dash and installed the controls. The modified original brass fittings don't look too bad. I can live with them. They pop right off if I change my mind:

 

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Also installed the speedometer and drilled a hole in the dash for the BODL switch which can be seen through the spokes of the steering wheel:

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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